Ukraine updates: Western weapons used in Kursk, Russia says
August 17, 2024
What you need to know
- Russia says Ukraine used Western weapons to target Kursk bridge
- Ukraine says it shot down all drones fired toward the center and south of the country
Here are the latest developments from Russia's war in Ukraine on Saturday, August 17:
Ukraine used Western rocket launchers to destroy bridge in Kursk, Russia says
Russia's Foreign Ministry said Ukraine has used Western rocket systems to destroy a bridge over the Seym river in the Kursk region.
"For the first time, the Kursk region was hit by Western-made rocket launchers, probably American HIMARS," Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, wrote on Telegram.
She said the attack "completely destroyed" the bridge in the Glushkovo district and that volunteers who were assisting civilians with evacuating their homes in the region were killed. The report could not be independently verified.
Ukraine's surprise military incursion into neighboring Kursk region appeared to have caught Moscow by surprise.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine's cross-border incursion was to stop Moscow's offensive in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region and gain leverage in possible future peace talks.
Ukraine says it fires down 14 Russian drones
Ukraine's air defense systems shot down all 14 Russian drones fired in an overnight attack, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Saturday.
The air force wrote on Telegram that Shahed drones that targeted six Ukrainian regions in the south and center of the country had been fired down.
Russia not interested in talks in current moment, says German ambassador
Russia is not ready for peace talks with Ukraine yet, Germany's ambassador to Moscow has said.
"At the moment, the Russian side is not showing any willingness to negotiate but is insisting on exaggerated preconditions," Alexander Graf Lambsdorff told Bonner General-Anzeiger in remarks published Friday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is only prepared to sit down for talks with Ukraine if Ukrainian troops pulled out from the regions that Russia has illegally annexed. "Then it is clear that there is no seriousness behind it," Lambsdorff said.
He added that one day "Russia must also realize that it is achieving far less with this war than it set out to do at the beginning that it is causing itself serious damage internationally and that it is in a war economy that is completely overheated and will not be sustainable."
rm/sri (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)