They do not want to fight us
In the second week of an unprecedented cross-border operation, Ukraine has destroyed a second bridge inside Russia's Kursk region, extending a campaign to sever the supply lines that sustain Moscow's border forces. President Zelenskiy has named the operation's purpose plainly: to carve a buffer zone on Russian soil and degrade the machinery of war before it can reach Ukrainian territory. The advance — 800 square kilometers in six days against positions that were, by most accounts, unprepared — raises a question that wars rarely answer quickly: whether a bold tactical rupture can bend the arc of a conflict that has resisted bending.
- Ukraine has struck a second bridge in Kursk, near Zvannoye, following the earlier destruction of the Glushkovo crossing — a deliberate campaign to choke Russian logistics from inside Russia itself.
- The incursion, now in its second week, has overrun roughly 800 square kilometers of Russian territory, exposing how badly Moscow was caught off guard by an operation that shattered the assumption Ukraine would stay within its own borders.
- Prisoner counts tell a human story: Ukraine is capturing 100 to 150 Russian soldiers on some days, many of them young conscripts who, according to Ukrainian officials, show little will to fight.
- Diplomatic back-channels toward a partial ceasefire on energy infrastructure — reportedly set to involve delegations in Qatar — appear to have collapsed in the wake of the Kursk offensive, with Russia denying the talks ever existed.
- Even as Ukraine presses into Russian territory, Russian forces continue their slow grind eastward in Donetsk, leaving the war unfolding simultaneously on two opposing fronts with no clear resolution in sight.
Ukraine's air force has destroyed a second bridge inside Russia's Kursk region, near the town of Zvannoye, following a strike the previous week on a crossing near Glushkovo. Air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk documented the strike with aerial footage and offered a terse summary: "Minus one more bridge." The paired strikes represent something larger than tactical disruption — they signal that Ukraine is now actively dismantling Russian logistics from within Russian territory itself.
The incursion, which began on August 6, has entered its second week with President Zelenskiy offering his clearest articulation yet of its purpose: to establish a buffer zone on Russian soil, preventing further cross-border attacks into Ukraine while degrading Moscow's capacity to wage war. This was not framed as a raid. It was framed as a foothold.
The speed of the advance has been remarkable. Ukrainian forces moved through approximately 800 square kilometers in six days, aided in large part by the state of the Russian defenses they encountered — undermanned, underequipped, and in many cases simply absent. Even after Moscow rushed reinforcements to the region, Ukrainian forces continued to push forward.
The prisoner figures offer a window into why. Officials in Sumy reported capturing between 100 and 150 Russian soldiers on some days, many of them young conscripts assembled hastily from recent mobilization efforts. "They do not want to fight us," one Ukrainian official said — a remark that speaks to the quality, and perhaps the morale, of the forces Russia had stationed along this stretch of border.
The offensive has also cast a shadow over quiet diplomatic efforts. Reports emerged that Ukraine and Russia had been preparing delegations for talks in Qatar aimed at a partial ceasefire on strikes against energy infrastructure. Russia denied any such process was underway, but whatever momentum existed appears to have dissipated. Meanwhile, Russian forces continued their advance in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, pressing forward even as their own territory was being entered from the other direction — leaving the war, as it has so often been, suspended between audacity and attrition.
Two weeks into an operation that has no precedent in this war, Ukraine's military has now destroyed a second critical bridge inside Russian territory, this time near the town of Zvannoye in the Kursk region. The strike, documented in aerial video released by Ukraine's air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk, represents a deliberate campaign to sever the supply lines Moscow relies on to sustain its forces along the border. Oleshchuk's statement was spare and direct: "Minus one more bridge." The previous week had seen Ukraine claim destruction of another crossing near Glushkovo. Together, these strikes signal a shift in how Ukraine is prosecuting the war—no longer only defending its own territory, but actively degrading Russian logistics from inside Russia itself.
The incursion, which began on August 6, has now stretched into its second week with no sign of slowing. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has for the first time articulated the operation's strategic purpose with clarity: to establish a buffer zone on Russian soil that would prevent Moscow from launching further attacks across the border into Ukraine. In his nightly address, Zelenskiy framed it as part of a broader defensive strategy—destroying Russian war capacity while simultaneously conducting offensive operations. The language was careful but unmistakable. This was not a raid. This was a territorial foothold.
The scale of the advance has been striking. According to the Institute for the Study of War, Ukrainian forces have pushed through approximately 800 square kilometers of Russian territory in just six days. What made this possible was the condition of the Russian defenses they encountered: largely unprepared positions, inadequately equipped, and in many cases unmanned. Even after Moscow rushed reinforcements to the area, Ukrainian forces have continued to advance. The Russian military, it appears, was caught flat-footed by an operation that violated the implicit assumption that Ukraine would remain confined to its own borders.
The human dimension of this advance is visible in the prisoner counts. Oleksii Drozdenko, who heads the military administration in the Ukrainian city of Sumy, reported that Ukraine has been capturing between 100 and 150 Russian prisoners of war on some days. Many of these captives are young conscripts—men with little training and, according to Drozdenko, little appetite for the fight. "They do not want to fight us," he said. The statement carries weight. It suggests that the Russian forces guarding this sector were not elite units but hastily assembled manpower, possibly drawn from recent mobilization efforts.
The operation has also disrupted diplomatic efforts that were quietly underway. The Washington Post reported that Ukraine and Russia had been preparing to send delegations to Qatar to negotiate a partial ceasefire focused on halting strikes against energy and power infrastructure on both sides. Russia denied on Sunday that any such talks were in progress, but the timing is suggestive. Whether the talks were derailed by Ukraine's Kursk incursion, as the Post reported, or whether they never existed in the form described, the effect is the same: any momentum toward negotiated limits on the war appears to have stalled.
On the broader battlefield, Russian forces have continued their grinding advance in eastern Ukraine. TASS reported that Russian troops took control of the village of Svyrydonivka in the Donetsk region, though The Guardian could not independently verify the claim. The war, in other words, continues on multiple fronts simultaneously—Ukraine pushing into Russian territory while Russia pushes deeper into Ukrainian territory. What remains unclear is whether Ukraine's incursion will ultimately shift the balance of the conflict or whether it will prove to be a tactical success that does not alter the underlying trajectory of the war.
Citas Notables
It is now our primary task in defensive operations overall to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions. This includes creating a buffer zone on the aggressor's territory.— President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
They do not want to fight us.— Oleksii Drozdenko, head of military administration in Sumy, on captured Russian conscripts
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why would Ukraine risk an incursion into Russian territory when it's already struggling to hold its own ground in the east?
Because supply lines matter more than you might think. If you can destroy the bridges and roads that feed Russian forces, you degrade their ability to attack. It's not about holding territory—it's about disrupting the machine.
But doesn't this give Russia a propaganda victory? Ukraine attacking Russian soil?
Possibly. But Ukraine's argument is that Russia has been attacking across the border for months. This operation is saying: we're not waiting for the next attack. We're creating a buffer. It's a shift in posture.
The prisoner numbers are striking—100 to 150 a day. What does that tell you?
It tells you the Russian positions weren't ready. These are young conscripts, many of them. They weren't expecting an invasion of their own territory. When you're unprepared and outmatched, you surrender rather than die.
What about those ceasefire talks on energy infrastructure? Is that really derailed?
Russia denies the talks existed at all. But the timing is suspicious. Whether Ukraine's incursion killed a real negotiation or just a rumor, the effect is the same—any diplomatic off-ramp just got harder to reach.
How long can Ukraine sustain an operation this deep inside Russia?
That's the question no one can answer yet. It depends on supply, on Russian reinforcements, on whether Ukraine can hold the territory it's taken. We're still in week two. Ask again in a month.