Russia says Ukraine used Western weapons to destroy bridge in Kursk

Moscow says destruction of bridge in western Russia will hinder the evacuation of civilians amid Ukrainian incursion.

Russia has accused Ukraine of using Western rockets – likely made in the United States – to target a strategic bridge over the Seym River in the Kursk region, killing volunteers trying to evacuate civilians.

Ukrainian forces hit the bridge in the Glushkovsky district of Kursk on Friday as they pushed forward with their incursion into the territory in western Russia.

“For the first time, the Kursk region was hit by Western-made rocket launchers, probably American HIMARS,” Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said late on Friday on the Telegram messaging app.

“As a result of the attack on the bridge … it was completely destroyed, and volunteers who were assisting the evacuated civilian population were killed.”

Russia’s news agency TASS released the names of two volunteers it said were “murdered” in the attack.

Russian officials also have said the destruction of the bridge will hinder the evacuation of civilians from the area.