Ukrainian forces were "striking pontoon bridges and engineering equipment in the western part of their operational zone
These engineers have a shit job if the military is forcing them to work under fire. Usually you try to defend the less armed part of the military (medics, command, engineers, supply) because that's what really powers the organization. If you can't defend your weak spots, you are going to lose.
These engineers have a shit job if the military is forcing them to work under fire.
If Russia had the ability to force Ukrainian artillery and airpower out of range of the rivers, which is probably what it'd take to keep said engineers from having to work under fire, then I suspect that there wouldn't be a need for a cross-river evacuation in the first place.
Well I'm not an expert, but it's possible to use cruise missiles and long range bombers to provide cover for the few days it might take to evacuate. Maybe they are busy blowing up apartment buildings and hospitals though.
Saw the footage a few days ago, they actually used drones for this too. Not the bridges but the construction vehicles. Blew them up while they were building it.
I wonder if this is another one of those perfect areas to waste Russian resources. I doubt they have an endless supply of temporary bridge materials and engineers to build them.
Logistics wins wars. You could mail a package from Ohio and it would end up in Afghanistan at some soldiers hooch (send white lighters and socks). Russians throw bodies at the fight and trade space for time, they are getting a small taste of NATO/US logistics and now the UA is on the offense.
They need the bridge for logistics. Fuel, Food, Water, munitions. It's all dandy if you can get a couple of these war machines across, but if you cannot resupply them sufficiently they are just heavy trailers for ukranians farmers.
Military & Defense
Russia keeps trying to replace the bridges that Ukraine destroys. Ukraine is taking out those, too.
Mia Jankowicz Aug 22, 2024, 8:47 AM EDT
A screenshot from drone video shared by Ukrainian special operations forces on August 21, 2024. It appears to show engineering equipment attempting to lay down a pontoon bridge platform on the Seym River, in Kursk, Western Russia, amid Ukraine's incursion into the region.
Special Operations Forces of Ukraine/Telegram
Ukraine says it is destroying Russian pontoon bridges in Kursk before they can even be constructed.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian special forces released a video compilation that appeared to show attacks on several Russian efforts to build pontoons, or temporary floating bridges.
"Where do Russian pontoon bridges 'disappear' in the Kursk region?" wrote Ukraine's Special Operations Forces Telegram account, adding that its soldiers "accurately destroy them," according to Reuters' translation.
The claim comes after reports that Ukrainian forces had destroyed three permanent bridges over the Seym river in the western Russian region, in an apparent effort to isolate Russian forces there.
The footage, which Business Insider was unable to verify, was shared on the 16th day of Ukraine's incursion into Russian territory.
As of Monday, Ukrainian forces were "striking pontoon bridges and engineering equipment in the western part of their operational zone in the Glushkovo district," the Ukrainian think tank the Centre for Defence Strategies reported.
Satellite imagery seen by the Associated Press showed pontoons at two locations along the Seym.
One of them, between Glushkovo and Zvannoye, was visible in the imagery as of Sunday — but by Monday it had disappeared, with smoke rising nearby, the news agency reported.
The images were shared on X by Radio Free Europe reporter Mark Krutov:
A low-res @planet satellite image taken today, Aug. 19th, shows that the Russian pontoon bridge between Zvannoye and Glushkovo in Kursk oblast is gone, with smoke rising 500 meters away from where it used to be, on the 'Russian' bank. Makes sense if we speak about the withdrawal. pic.twitter.com/YxtaNeyOzh
— Mark Krutov (@kromark) August 19, 2024
Ukraine says it has captured just under 500 square miles of territory in Kursk, and has set up a military headquarters there, in a sign that it intends to dig in for a while.
On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he intended to create a buffer zone in the region.
The bridges destroyed so far are all along the Seym; their destruction appears to be an attempt to pin Russian troops between Ukrainian-controlled territory, the Ukrainian border, and the river, the AP reported.
The footage shared by Ukraine's special forces on Wednesday appeared to show drones targeting engineering equipment on the banks of the Seym being used to lay down the temporary bridges.
Other clips show vehicles — presumably carrying the necessary equipment — also being taken out by drones.
Soviet security strategy always relied on maintenance of a buffer zone in which to contain any fighting. This war was lost the minute the Budapest accords were signed.