Ukrainian army unit surrenders to Russia in Kursk province.

"24 soldiers from the 22nd Independent Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces surrendered to the Russian army in an organized manner near the village of Komarovka in the Kursk direction. Before surrendering, the Ukrainian army contacted us via the Telegram channel FREE_SOLDIER2022," Sputnik (Russia) quoted a Russian law enforcement official as saying.

On the same day, Major General Apty Alaudinov, Deputy Head of the Main Political-Military Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces and Commander of the Akhmat Task Force, stated that Russian troops were suppressing Ukrainian attempts to break through in the Kursk region day and night.

“The situation is completely under control. The enemy is trying to break into our territory day and night. All these attempts have ended with many soldiers killed and much equipment burned. That is why we are destroying the enemy’s supplies,” he said.

In the latest development, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the Ukrainian army of using Western-made ammunition for the first time to shell civilian infrastructure in Russia's Kursk region on August 16. This is the latest escalation by Kyiv since deploying troops to the area. Previously, attacks by the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) were only conducted in areas that were formerly part of Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Kyiv had carried out a number of “terrorist attacks targeting civilian targets on Russian territory.”

"In particular, for the first time, the Kursk region was attacked by Western-made missiles, most likely from a US HIMARS system," she said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson also emphasized that the Ukrainian attack had "completely destroyed" a bridge over the Seim River in the Glushkovsky district, killing volunteers who were assisting local residents in evacuating.

"As we have said before, all those responsible for these inhumane acts will face severe punishment," Zakharova warned.

The acting governor of Kursk province, Aleksey Smirnov, also confirmed that the bridge over the Seim River had been destroyed.

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that since the start of the Kursk offensive, Russian forces have eliminated at least three HIMARS systems operated by the Ukrainian army.

Earlier this week, the ministry also released a video showing one of its US-made multiple rocket launchers being blown up by an Iskander ballistic missile attack in the Sumy region of Ukraine, bordering Russia.

Early on August 6th, Ukrainian forces crossed the border into Russia and launched an attack in the Kursk region. Commenting on the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine had carried out another large-scale provocation, indiscriminately shelling civilian targets. He warned that the enemy would face an appropriate response in the border regions of Russia.

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated on August 16th that the Ukrainian army had lost at least 2,800 soldiers and hundreds of units of military equipment, including 41 tanks and 40 armored personnel carriers. These figures have not been independently verified, and Kyiv has not acknowledged such losses.