Ukraine says Russian airstrike hits Sumy residential area

Ukraine's emergency services said on Saturday (August 17) that a Russian airstrike hit a parking lot in Sumy near Russia's Kursk region. The services did not report civilian casualties, but said that 10 cars caught fire. The north-eastern Sumy region is from where the Ukrainian army leads its armed incursion into Russia's Kursk region. Satellite imagery showed a new bridge appearing over the River Seym in Russia's Kursk region on Friday (August 16), the same day a Ukrainian strike heavily damaged a bridge less than 2km (1.2 miles) away. It is unclear who installed the bridge, which was seemingly erected in less than a day, but the town of Glushkovo is understood to remain under Russian control. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces operate bridge-laying vehicles. Russia's foreign ministry said Ukraine had used Western rockets, likely U.S.-made HIMARS, to destroy the nearby pre-existing bridge in Glushkovo. "The bridge over the Seym River in the Glushkovo district was completely destroyed, and volunteers who were assisting the evacuated civilian population were killed" Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, said late on Friday on the Telegram messaging app. Ukraine's Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk posted footage of the strike on the bridge. Reuters could not independently verify either side's battlefield accounts.