Russian troops retreat across the Seym River, destroy bridges as Ukrainian Forces advance in Kursk region
Russian forces are reportedly withdrawing across the Seym River in the Kursk region, a move possibly aimed at avoiding encirclement. Multiple Russian military channels reported the development on August 17, although the information remains unconfirmed.
The withdrawal appears to be taking place on the northern flank of the Kursk region. "The Russian army has organized a retreat to the eastern bank of the Seym River at Tetkino. Populated areas have been evacuated. Two bridges at Tetkino and Popovo-Lezhachi were blown up as the enemy approached. New defensive positions have been established,” the Russian military bloggers claimed.
Tetkino is located just a couple of kilometers from the Ukrainian border. It’s part of a 700-square-kilometer section isolated from the rest of Russia by the Seym River, where the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have set a trap for Russian troops, On August 16, the largest bridge over the Seym, used by Russian forces to supply their left-bank grouping, was destroyed by Ukraine. Only two bridges remain in the area, one of which is damaged, while the other lies dangerously close to the Ukrainian border. Due to this situation, a Russian retreat across the Seym became inevitable.
Meanwhile, the Russian war correspondent Yury Podolyaka reports that Ukrainian Forces are advancing towards Tetkino. He states that the AFU has already taken control of the villages of Apanasyevka and Byakhovo, information that is also confirmed by OSINT resource DeepState. Given this, it appears that capturing these territories and forcing the Russian army to retreat from the entire left bank of the Seym river is only a matter of time.