Over 100 Russian soldiers captured by Ukrainian troops in Kursk incursion

Ukraine has captured around 100 Russian soldiers during its Kursk incursion in Russia. Hinting a successful operation during the first day of the incursion, Ukrainian officials claimed that there had been only 15 casualties needing hospital treatment.  

Several videos of Ukrainian troops capturing prisoners of war (PoW) were circulated during the initial hours of the incursion on August 6. 

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had said that Kyiv is increasing its "exchange fund" to swap for PoWs held by Russia. 

In less than two weeks into the cross-border incursion, Ukraine has destroyed another key bridge in Russia’s Kursk region. The destruction of the bridge would affect the deliveries of supplies to Russian forces repelling Ukraine’s incursion.

Ukraine’s air force on Sunday morning released a video of a hole being blown in a bridge at Zvannoe, over the Seym River inside Kursk province. According to Oleshchuk and the Russian regional governor, Alexei Smirnov, in less than two days a second bridge, north of the village of Glushkovo in Russia was destroyed by Kyiv. 

Glushkovo lies around 12 kilometres north of the Ukrainian border. 

Though Ukraine’s intentions are unclear with the recent destruction of the bridges, it seems that the troops will hold the ground seized in the Kursk region. 

Zelenskky on Saturday urged Kyiv’s allies to lift the remaining restrictions on using Western weapons to strike targets deeper into Russia. 

“It is crucial that our partners remove barriers that hinder us from weakening Russian positions in the way this war demands. The bravery of our soldiers and the resilience of our combat brigades compensate for the lack of essential decisions from our partners,” said Zelenskyy. 

Meanwhile, Russia's Foreign Ministry alleged that US-made HIMARS launchers have been used to destroy bridges on the Seym.