International
Ukraine destroys another key bridge in the Russian region of Kursk and takes another locality
The Ukrainian Army claims that it has destroyed a second bridge in the Russian region of Kursk where its detachments are “reinforcing” positions, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk reported on his Telegram channel. In addition, he has taken the Russian town of Otruba.
Oleshchuk posted a video on that social network where he apparently shows what he described as a “precise” air strike on the structure of the bridge.
Although Oleshchuk did not specify the location of the damaged structure, the Russian Telegram channel ‘Mash’ said that it was a bridge over the Seim River, near the town of Zvannoye.
He also stated that the attack used HIMARS (multiple rocket launcher system) supplied by the United States, according to information from local Russian media that cannot be independently verified.
If this attack is confirmed, it would be the second bridge destroyed by Ukrainian forces in recent days, which will further hinder Russia’s ability to replenish troops to defend itself from Ukraine’s incursion.
Another bridge over the Seim River in the Glushkovsky district in the Russian region of Kursk was attacked on August 16, as confirmed by Alexey Smirnov, interim governor of the region.
For its part, Russia affirmed that “this is not the time” to negotiate with Ukraine in view of its offensive in the Russian border region of Kursk, but insisted that Moscow’s conditions for the settlement of the conflict “are not annulled.”
“No, (the conditions) are not canceled, but right now it would be inappropriate to start a negotiation process,” Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov told the Telegram Shot channel.
He insisted that at the current stage of Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk, Russia is not going to talk to the authorities of that country.
Ushakov thus referred to the conditions of Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, which go through the withdrawal of Kiev forces from four regions annexed by Moscow in September 2022.
Russian forces captured 19 Ukrainian soldiers during the defense of the Russian region of Kursk from the Ukrainian offensive, the state agency RIA Novosti reported.
Almost two weeks after the start of Ukraine’s cross-border offensive in the Russian region of Kursk, Ukrainian troops claim to control about 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory and more than 80 settlements in the region and continue to move forward.
One of the objectives of the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk is to create a plug zone in the territory of the aggressor country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed.
“Right now, the main task of our defensive actions is to destroy as much as possible of the Russian potential, of its war potential, and maximize our counterattacks,” Zelenski said in his last night speech.
“This includes the creation of a plug zone in the aggressor’s territory: our operation in the Kursk region,” he explained.
Everything that inflicts damage to the Army, the State, the defense or the economy of the Russian Federation helps Ukraine to prevent the expansion of the war and put an end to it with “a just peace for Ukraine,” Zelenski emphasized.
On the other hand, Ukrainian forces have taken the Russian town of Otruba and 11.5 square kilometers of its surroundings after penetrating the Russian region of Kursk crossing the border in another area, 35 kilometers from the initial incursion, Ukrainian military analysts say.
The take of Otruba was confirmed by the Ukrainian analysis platform DeepState on Sunday at the last minute.
According to the map of the fights, there are several more localities that are in the running, including Tiotkino and the territories near Popovo-Lezhachi, so in total there are six square kilometers that are being contested in that area.
These fighting is taking place west of the Glushkovo district of the Kursk region, about 35 kilometers away from the area that Ukraine already controls in the Russian region, east of that district.
To the east of the Glushkovo district, Ukraine captured the towns of Snagost and Apanasivka, Deepstate also reported on Sunday night, and its forces have also made advances in Olgovka, near Korenevo, to the north.
As a result, Ukraine already controls or disputes more than 1,200 square kilometers of Russian territory in Kursk, according to Deepstate.
However, families with minors will have to leave the city of Pokrovsk, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, due to the danger posed by the Russian advance towards the important logistical node, the authorities announced.
Russia has lost more than 600,000 of its soldiers, between dead and wounded, since the beginning of its large-scale invasion that began almost two and a half years ago, said the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army.
In addition, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warns of the deterioration in the safety of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporijia, under Russian occupation and with the reactors turned off since 2022, after the impact this weekend of a drone with an explosive charge near the plant.
“Nuclear power plants are designed to withstand technical, human and external events, even extreme failures, but they are not built to resist a direct military attack,” explains the director general of the IAEA, the Argentine Rafael Grossi, in a statement.
The Ukrainian Air Force also stated that last morning it has managed to successfully intercept the 11 kamikaze-type drones launched by Russia from the Kursk and Primorsko-Akhtarsk regions.
For its part, the Russian Army took the Ukrainian town of Zalizne, known to the Russians as Artiomovo, in its advance towards the city of Toretsk, one of the objectives of the Russian offensive in the annexed region of Donetsk, as reported today by the Russian Ministry of Defense in its daily war report.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
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