UKRAINIAN air strikes destroyed a bridge over the Seim river in the Kursk region and damaged another over the weekend, moves designed to impede Russian troops should they attempt to drive Ukrainian forces out of the country.

Kiev’s strike into Russian territory continued, with the government claiming complete control of the Russian town of Sudzha. So far, 120,000 Russians have been evacuated from the border areas of Kursk and Belgorod, with Ukraine saying it has taken 82 settlements.

Ukraine says its motive for the surprise incursion, which began on August 6, is to bring home to Russians the reality of the war. It is also speculated that if a prospective Donald Trump government in the US halts military aid, control of some Russian territory could be used in negotiations as leverage for the return of Ukrainian territory occupied or annexed by Russia.