‘Minus One More Bridge’ – Ukraine at War Update for Aug. 19

According to Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) on Sunday destroyed a second bridge in the Kursk region that was critical to the Kremlin’s resupply routes in the area.

“Minus one more bridge,” Oleshchuk posted on Telegram, showing a video of the destruction near the Russian town of Zvannoye. “The aviation of the Air Force continues to deprive the enemy of logistical capabilities with accurate air strikes, which significantly affects the course of hostilities!” he wrote.

He did not specify the time of the attack.

Ukraine’s 12-day incursion into neighboring Russia began on Aug 6, and on Friday, Aug 16, the AFU celebrated the destruction of the first bridge over Russia’s Seym River, near the town of Glushkovo.

In his nightly address to the nation on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky noted of the counter-invasion, “Our guys are doing a great job in all areas,” and clarified that the operational objective was to establish “a buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory.”

AFP reported that the destruction of the bridges has left Russian forces with “limited options to cross the river in the area,” citing military bloggers. Meanwhile, Moscow countered that the destruction of the bridges had hindered evacuation efforts. More than 120,000 people have fled the region since fighting began, Russia said.

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Kyiv’s plans to draft an additional 160,000 troops by February are underway, though experts doubt they will hit the target, expecting closer to 100,000.

Conversely, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, the Russian Ministry of Defense on Sunday claimed that its forces had captured Svyrydonivka, a frontline town about 15 kilometers, or nine miles, from Pokrovsk, a strategically important site along a road that is a critical supply route for Ukrainian troops. AFP noted that Russian forces have been inching towards Pokrovsk for months, taking a string of tiny villages as they seek to reach the outskirts of the city. The head of Pokrovsk’s military administration warned last week that Moscow’s forces were within about six miles of the city’s outskirts and had urged residents to evacuate.

“There have been dozens of attacks in just one day,” Zelensky said of the Donetsk fighting in his address. “But our units, our brigades are doing everything they can to maintain their positions.”

He went on to call, again, on partners to step up their military aid to Kyiv, saying “There are no holidays in war.”

Once a VP hopeful, an Arizona senator says the US should re-think restrictions on arms sent to Kyiv

As US Democrats prepare to kick off their national convention in Chicago on Monday, party luminaries are looking at the AFU success in Russia's Kursk region over the past week and a half, and legislators from both parties are saying that limits on the use of American-supplied arms to Kyiv should be less restrictive.

Once a frontrunner to be the Democratic nominee for vice president, Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former Navy fighter pilot and NASA astronaut who now serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told a TV interviewer on Sunday that Ukraine’s successes in Kursk are a game-changer.

“About 130,000 Russians have had to leave their homes and, at this point in this conflict, I think the Ukrainians did something unpredictable that could really change the tide of how this conflict’s going to play out,” he said on the CBS program “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

When asked if he was okay with US-made missiles being used on Russian soil, he said that now he was.

“The Ukrainians were illegally attacked by Vladimir Putin,” Kelly said. “He is intentionally killing women, children, old people. It was an illegal invasion. This incursion... let’s characterize it that way for now. I don’t think the Ukrainians want to intentionally hold Russian territory for a long period... But, this really set Putin back on his heels.”

 “Since the invasion, now, over two years ago, we have... periodically, as we should, reevaluate[d]... how we’re going to conduct ourselves with regards to the Ukrainians’ use of the security assistance that we provide them. And I think it’s appropriate to continue to look at what their needs are.”

A later guest on the same program, Republican Congressman Mike Turner of Ohio, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, affirmed his support for Ukraine and agreed with Sen. Kelly in terms of loosening restrictions on arms sent to Kyiv.

“Those [restrictions] certainly are troublesome, and do result in a sort of status quo in what can be a game of attrition,” Turner said.

The line-up for speakers at the Democratic National Convention on Monday evening includes President Joe Biden, who officially will pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the party ticket in November, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Source in UK administration says it will make no secret of use of British weapons in Russia

In the UK, the Sunday Times reported that Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Defence Secretary John Healey believe, without secrecy or equivocation, that the tanks and drones that Britain has provided to Ukraine should continue to be used in the counter-invasion in Russia’s Kursk region.

As Downing Street has faced questioning at home about whether UK-provided weapons are being used in Russia, a source told the Sunday Times, “There won’t be shying away from the idea of British weapons being used in Russia as part of Ukraine’s defense. We don’t want any uncertainty or nervousness over Britain’s support at this critical moment and a half-hearted or uncertain response might have indicated that. We should be proud that we’ve donated a kit that is helping Ukraine in their defense,” the source said.

The newspaper clarified that not only were Challenger 2 tanks being used in Kursk, but also several unspecified types of drones. The British government has also made it clear that it does not oppose the use of Storm Shadow missiles in Russia, despite whatever position the co-developers of these long-range weapons, the French, may have on the matter now or in the future.