Ukrainian offensive pushes into Kursk as Russia strikes back in Donetsk

On Thursday evening, Russian forces dropped a glide bomb on the city of Selydove in the Donetsk region, resulting in two deaths and 11 injuries, reported "Ukrainska Pravda." Among the injured is a 5-year-old child.

The losses in the city are enormous, with 20 houses destroyed.

It is important to note that during one of the largest attacks on Russian territory since the beginning of the war, around 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers broke through the Russian border into the Kursk region on Tuesday morning. They advanced with tanks and armoured vehicles under the cover of drones and artillery, according to Reuters, citing Russian officials.

Ukrainian forces moved through the border fields and forests north to Sudzha, the last pump station for Russian gas to Europe before the border.

The Russian army used glide bombs from the Cold War era, which were later equipped with a cheap guidance system. This allows Russian Su-34 and Su-35 aircraft to drop these bombs from tens of kilometres away, rendering most Ukrainian air defence systems helpless against such a threat.

Although glide bombs are not as precise as cruise missiles, the force of their explosion alone causes significant damage. According to "The Washington Post," citing analyses by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, this weapon allows Russia to avoid using free-falling bombs, which expose pilots to a greater risk of being shot down, as the aircraft must be over the target.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda/PAP/WP