Ukrainian forces used US HIMARS missile systems to destroy floating bridges and engineer equipment in Russia’s Kursk region, targeting logistics infrastructure in their major cross-border incursion, the Ukrainian military said today.

Russian officials have said Ukraine damaged or destroyed at least three bridges on the Sheim River since Kiev launched on August 6 a major offensive inside the territory of western Russia advancing to a depth of 28-35 km.

“Where did the floating bridges in the Kursk region ‘disappear’? Operators… destroy them with precisionThe Special Operations Forces of Ukraine announced in a Telegram post.

The announcement states that US-made HIMARS missile systems were used. It is the first official announcement from Kiev that Western weapons are part of the unprecedented offensive.

Washington has not commented directly on the use of US-made weapons in the Kursk region, saying its policies have not changed and that Ukraine is defending itself against Russian attacks.

While its allies have banned Ukraine from launching attacks with Western weapons inside Russia, they have allowed Kiev to use them to hit border areas since Russia began its new offensive in the Kharkiv region this spring.

The Kremlin has characterized the use of US weapons inside Russian territory as escalation.

The video posted by the special forces shows attacks on several waterways. At least one of the attacks appears to have been carried out with cluster munitions.

Reuters cannot independently confirm the announcement and the video.

The video also shows drone attacks on military trucks and other locations listed as ammunition depots and an electronic warfare complex.

Reuters was able to verify that at least one floating bridge appears to have been destroyed.

It was probably placed between 14 and 17 August, between the Russian settlements of Zvanoge and Glushkovo after two bridges were destroyed or damaged earlier.

The pass, about 14 kilometers from the border, disappeared on August 19, satellite images showed. Smoke was also visible in images from the area that day.

While Kiev has reported a number of battlefield successes since it unexpectedly crossed into Russia’s Kursk region on August 6, Russia is pushing on the front lines in eastern Ukraine, two and a half years after its full-scale invasion.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced in the past few days that its forces had taken control of several settlements in the region, including Zelane and Sviridonifka, as well as the city of New York, about 46 kilometers from Porkovsky.

The Ukrainian military has not immediately commented on the claims, while it says heavy fighting is taking place in the region.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry announced that the advance in the Kursk region has made more gains than Russia has made from the territories it has occupied since the start of the war.