Running Newsticker for the War in Ukraine

Justice will eventually be done.

Ukrinform

UN presents evidence of torture of Ukrainians in Russian captivity

Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, has said that the testimonies of freed Ukrainian soldiers confirm the systematic...
.

34 minutes ago
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-at...rture-of-ukrainians-in-russian-captivity.html

 

This bridge mattered.

The Sun

Dramatic moment Ukraine destroys key Russian bridge in Kursk delivering yet ANOTHER huge blow to Putin...THIS is the moment Ukraine destroyed a key bridge in Kursk being used by Russian forces in a humiliating blow to the enemy.Dramatic footage showed Kyi.

.

29 minutes ago
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/29923236/russia-ukraine-war-putin-bridge-kursk-destroyed-moment/



Sky News

Russia-Ukraine: Ukraine destroys bridge in Kursk, Russia, according to Ukrainian Air ForceAccording to Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk, Ukrainian pilots hit Russian strongholds which held equipment and were a route for supplies.

.

12 minutes ago
https://news.sky.com/video/russia-u...sia-according-to-ukrainian-air-force-13198054

 

Bridges are coming down.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 16, 2024
Click here to read the full report with maps
Key Takeaways:

• Ukrainian forces continued to marginally advance southeast of Sudzha on August 16 amid continued Ukrainian operations in Kursk Oblast.
• Ukrainian strikes reportedly destroyed two bridges in Glushkovo Raion, Kursk Oblast.
• Ukrainian forces reportedly advanced further into western Belgorod Oblast during recent cross-border assaults than previously reported, but available open-source reporting and evidence indicate that Ukrainian forces no longer maintain positions within Belgorod Oblast as of August 16.
• Ukrainian officials reported that Ukrainian forces continued to advance in Kursk Oblast and suggested that the incursion has forced Russia to more readily consider prisoner-of-war (POW) exchanges.
• The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Office (UN OHCHR) requested that Russian authorities allow UN representatives to visit Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod oblasts as part of a human rights monitoring mission.
• US officials reiterated that US policy on Ukraine's ability to use US-provided weapons to conduct long-range strikes against Russian military targets has not changed amid the ongoing Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast.
• The Kremlin reportedly fired former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s advisor on information policy Andrei Ilnitsky possibly as part of an ongoing effort to shift control of Russia's wartime information policy from the Ministry of Defense (MoD) to the Russian Presidential Administration.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Chasiv Yar, Toretsk, and Pokrovsk.
• Russian milbloggers claimed on August 16 that Russian drone operators are limiting their use of Mavic drones amid claims that Russian commanders are forcing operators to either personally pay to replace drones lost outside of combat or risk being sent to an infantry assault unit as punishment for losing a drone. . . .

 

The "C" word in Russia:

Irish Star

Vladimir Putin faces coup over Ukraine failure as Russia teeters on 'brink of disaster'Georgy Zakrevsky, who heads up the Paladin PMC, one of the shadowy military groups that are loosely linked to the Kremlin, called for the Russian army to...

.

49 minutes ago [8/17/24]
https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/vladimir-putin-faces-coup-over-33484432

 

The Ukrainian operation in Kursk Oblast has already generated theater-wide operational and strategic pressures on Russian forces, and subsequent phases of fighting within Russia will likely generate even greater pressures on Putin and the Russian military.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 17, 2024

Click here to read the full report
Key Takeaways:

• The Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast and Russian offensive operations in eastern Ukraine are not in themselves decisive military operations that will win the war. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces lack the capability to conduct individual decisive war-winning operations and must instead conduct multiple successive operations with limited operational objectives that are far short of victory, but that in aggregate can achieve strategic objectives.
• It is too early to assess the outcomes and operational significance of the Ukrainian incursion into Russia and the ongoing Russian offensive effort in eastern Ukraine. The significance of these operations will not emerge in isolation, moreover, but they will matter in so far as they relate to a series of subsequent Russian and Ukrainian campaigns over time.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian military command likely view maintaining the theater-wide initiative as a strategic imperative to win a war of attrition against Ukraine, and both the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk Oblast and the Russian offensive effort in eastern Ukraine will impact whether Russian forces can retain the initiative in the short-term.
• Ukrainian officials have indicated that Ukraine's operation in Kursk Oblast does not have long-term territorial objectives but instead aims to generate theater-wide operational and strategic pressures on Russian forces.
• The Ukrainian operation in Kursk Oblast has already generated theater-wide operational and strategic pressures on Russian forces, and subsequent phases of fighting within Russia will likely generate even greater pressures on Putin and the Russian military.
• Russian forces will not be able to retain the initiative throughout eastern Ukraine indefinitely, and the culmination of Russian offensive operations will present Ukrainian forces with opportunities to contest the initiative further.
• The Russian offensive operation to seize Pokrovsk is emblematic of the Russian approach to the war in Ukraine that embraces positional warfare for gradual creeping advances and seeks to win a war of attrition.
• Ukraine's incursion into Kursk Oblast illustrates how Ukrainian forces can use maneuver warfare to offset Russian manpower and materiel advantages.
• It is simply too early to draw dispositive conclusions about the lasting effects that the two very different Russian and Ukrainian efforts will have on the course of the war.
• ISW offers these observations about the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk Oblast and the months-long Russian offensive effort in eastern Ukraine to provide a balanced framework for assessing the significance of the current Russian and Ukrainian operations on the course of the entire war, which will remain uncertain for the foreseeable future.
• Russia and Ukraine were reportedly planning to meet in Qatar in August 2024 to discuss a possible moratorium on Ukrainian and Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, but Russia temporarily postponed the summit after the start of the Ukrainian operation in Kursk Oblast.
• Russia remains uninterested in any broader, meaningful negotiations regardless of Russia's willingness to entertain or agree to a possible moratorium on energy infrastructure strikes.
• Russia is almost certainly only considering a possible moratorium on energy strikes due to Ukraine's months-long strike campaign against Russian oil refineries — demonstrating a secondary effect of Ukraine's strike campaign.
• Ukrainian forces advanced within Chasiv Yar, and Russian forces recently marginally advanced near Kreminna, Pokrovsk, and Donetsk City.
• The Russian government continues efforts to use the "Time of Heroes" program to integrate trusted Russian military veterans into Russian government roles. . . .

 

The two sides have different strategies.
Assessing the Significance of the Current Russian and Ukrainian Operations on the Course of the War
Aug 18, 2024 - ISW Press



The scale of the war in Ukraine prevents either side from resolving the war in a single decisive campaign. The Ukrainian operation in Kursk Oblast has already generated theater-wide operational and strategic pressures on Russian forces, and subsequent phases of fighting within Russia will likely generate even greater pressures on Putin and the Russian military. The Russian offensive operation to seize Pokrovsk is emblematic of the Russian approach to the war in Ukraine that embraces positional warfare for gradual creeping advances and seeks to win a war of attrition. It is simply too early to draw dispositive conclusions about the lasting effects that the two very different Russian and Ukrainian efforts will have on the course of the war. ISW offers these observations about the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk Oblast and the months-long Russian offensive effort in eastern Ukraine to provide a balanced framework for assessing the significance of the current Russian and Ukrainian operations on the course of the entire war, which will remain uncertain for the foreseeable future.

 

The Russians still don't have an answer.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 18, 2024

Click here to read the full report
Key Takeaways:

• Ukrainian forces continued assaults throughout their salient in Kursk Oblast on August 18 and marginally advanced southeast of Sudzha.
• The Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast continues to force Russia to redeploy forces from elsewhere in the theater, and likely subsequent phases of fighting within Russia will require more Russian manpower and materiel commitments to the area.
• Ukrainian forces struck a Russian oil depot in Rostov Oblast that supplies oil to the Russian military on the night of August 17 to 18.
• Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Spokesperson Maria Zakharova denied that Russia planned to engage in reported negotiations with Ukraine and Qatar on a moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Kreminna and Donetsk City. Ukrainian forces regained previously lost positions near Siversk. . . .

 

Putin has crammed almost all of Russia's military into Ukraine.

Risky business.


Business Insider

Ukraine is taking out key bridges in Russia, isolating Russian soldiers on the wrong side of the river, analysts say

Ukraine is striking strategic bridges in Russia's Kursk region to create a 'buffer zone' and disrupt Russian logistics, according to military experts.

.

11 minutes ago [8/19
https://www.businessinsider.com/ukr...in-kursk-isolate-russia-troops-experts-2024-8

 

there's a link to the video on

 

...amazing what a cigarette can do to a refinery.....

 

The Russians have resumed conscription within the Russian Far East, Northwestern, and North Caucasian federal okrugs.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 19, 2024

Click here to read the full report.
Key Takeaways:

• Ukrainian forces continued to marginally advance in Kursk Oblast on August 19 amid continued fighting throughout the Ukrainian salient in the area.
• Chechen Akhmat Spetsnaz Commander Apty Alaudinov aggravated a situation that the Kremlin has historically treated with extreme caution by calling for conscripts to participate in combat operations in Kursk Oblast and dismissing concerns from relatives of conscripts.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Azerbaijan on August 18, likely in an effort to shift focus away from the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast and present himself as a continually effective diplomat.
• The Kremlin's response to Ukraine's incursion into Kursk Oblast has emphasized how the Kremlin's internal priorities have increasingly oriented towards regime stability, especially over the past year.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on August 19 further codifying a vague Russian state ideology into Russian law without concretely modifying the Russian Constitution. Putin's effort to codify a specific ideology may be intended to counter the Russian ultranationalist community's own efforts to establish an accepted national ideology.
• Russian officials continued attempts to falsely frame Ukraine as responsible for the lack of negotiations to end the war.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Kupyansk, Svatove, Pokrovsk, and Vuhledar.
• Local Sakhalin Oblast media outlet Sakhalin Media reported on August 19 that the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Border Service in Sakhalin Oblast and other federal subjects within the Russian Far East, Northwestern, and North Caucasian federal okrugs has resumed conscription for the first time in an unspecified "long" length of time. . . .

 

Burn Baby Burn -

 

Burning for 3 days now.

 

Solution: Electric Tanks!

 

Could be shocking.

 

Ukrainians are still advancing into Russia while Moscow is still scrambling to find forces.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 20, 2024

Click here to read the full report.
Key Takeaways:

• Ukrainian forces continued attacking throughout the Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast on August 20 and recently made additional advances.
• Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi displayed a map depicting the situation in Kursk Oblast on August 20, and ISW will use the boundaries of this map to update its assessment of maximalist claimed limits of Ukrainian advances in Kursk Oblast, consistent with ISW's mapping methodology for the Ukrainian incursion thus far.
• Russian authorities have reportedly re-deployed Russian units from the Chasiv Yar direction to Kursk Oblast amid efforts to address the ongoing Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast with Russian forces previously in the area and re-deployments from lower priority sectors of the frontline in Ukraine.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the site of the 2004 Beslan school siege on August 20, likely in an effort to link the Russian "counterterrorism" response to the Ukrainian operation in Kursk Oblast to a "successful" Russian counterterrorism operation in the early 2000s.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Donetsk City.
• Russian federal subjects (regions) continue to increase monetary incentives for signing Russian military contracts in order to bolster Russia's force generation efforts. . . .

A Russian milblogger claimed on August 20 that elements of the Russian 11th Airborne (VDV) Brigade struck a Ukrainian armored vehicle in southern Russkaya Konopelka (east of Sudzha), and elements of the Russian 11th VDV Brigade were reportedly operating near Chasiv Yar as of late July 2024.[25] The Russian military command likely re-deployed elements of the 11th VDV Brigade intended to relieve or reinforce frontline units and not units that have been engaged in combat on the frontline, however. ISW previously noted that such deployments could affect the tempo of Russian offensive operations, but that it would likely take several weeks to observe any possible impacts of such redeployments on Russian operations in Donetsk Oblast.[26] ISW continues to assess that the Russian military command is likely extremely averse to pulling Russian military units engaged in combat from higher priority sectors in Donetsk Oblast due to concerns about further slowing the tempo of Russian operations in these directions.[27]

Russian sources also claimed that Russian forces re-deployed elements of the 30th Motorized Rifle Regiment (72nd Motorized Rifle Division, 22nd Army Corps [AC], Leningrad Military District [LMD]) to Kursk Oblast, and elements of the 30th Motorized Rifle Regiment were reportedly operating in northern Kharkiv Oblast as of mid-July 2024.[28] A Ukrainian military observer claimed that an unspecified element of the 4th Tank Division (1st Guards Tank Army [GTA], Moscow Military District [MMD]) is also operating in Kursk Oblast, although the military observer insinuated that the element was operating in the area prior to the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast.[29] ISW has previously observed additional indications that Russian authorities are largely relying on an amalgamation of conscripts, irregular Russian forces, and regular Russian forces re-deployed from lower priority frontline areas in Ukraine to counter the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast.[30] . . . .

 

The Russian military seems unable to move troops and equipment out of Ukraine to defend Russia.

AP News

Putin's slow response to the Kursk attack could test the patience of some of his backers in Russia

Ukraine's rapid military offensive into Russia's Kursk region seems to have caught Moscow unprepared.

.

28 minutes ago [8/21/24]
https://apnews.com/article/russia-p...war-invasion-72d96d8cb52c105e9289dc6909900b13

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/08/21/us-russia-journalists-kursk/

U.S. Embassy denies Russian accusations of role in Ukraine incursion

Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned reporting by U.S. media into areas controlled by Ukrainian forces and complained that an American private military company was operating there as well.

What a load of bovine excrement from the Putin administration.

 

Ukrainians are winning by innovation.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 21, 2024

Click here to read the full report
Key Takeaways:

• The Kremlin appears to have launched an intricate messaging campaign aimed at justifying to its domestic audience why Russia is prioritizing maintaining the initiative in eastern Ukraine over immediately expelling Ukrainian forces from Kursk Oblast.
• Putin notably appears to be demanding that Russia defeat Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk Oblast without sacrificing the stability of his regime, deprioritizing the offensive in eastern Ukraine, or firing his incompetent but loyal lieutenants. The results of such a strategy are too early to forecast.
• Ukrainian forces continued offensive operations throughout the Kursk Oblast salient on August 21 and have made additional marginal advances.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Republic of Chechnya for the first time in 13 years on August 20, likely in an effort to shift domestic focus away from the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast and posture normalcy and stability.
• Recent US intelligence assessments highlight Ukraine's efforts to develop alternative and asymmetric capabilities in the face of Russian manpower and materiel advantages, as well as Ukraine's continued dependence on Western security assistance.
• Ukraine continues efforts to attrit Russia's air defense and aviation capabilities.
• Russian authorities may have attempted to block Telegram and other non-Russian internet communications services on August 21.
• The Russian government is reportedly supporting a bill that would allow Russian authorities to draw up administrative protocols against Russian citizens who violate Russian law while living abroad.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin and People's Republic of China (PRC) Premier Li Qiang discussed deepening bilateral economic and trade relations in Moscow on August 21.
• Russian forces recently advanced southeast of Pokrovsk, southwest of Donetsk City, and northeast of Robotyne.
• Russian occupation authorities continue to create Cossack organizations in occupied Ukraine, likely to build out Russia's military reserves and law enforcement bodies in occupied Ukraine. . . .

 

Almost all of Russia's military has pushed itself into what is strategically a blocked corner.
Not very smart.

Russia faces manpower woes after failing to stop Ukraine's ...

Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com › news › russia-faces-manpo...


2 hours ago — [8/22/24] News| Russia-Ukraine war. Russia faces manpower woes after failing to stop Ukraine's Kursk incursion. Ukraine has seized more Russian territory ...

 

We hope that the Ukies do not over extend themselves in the Kursk oblast. Russia may be having manpower problems still Russia has way more resources than Ukraine. Ukraine for the most part has to rely on friends for weapons. If DJT gets elected or manages to steal the election Ukraine will be be royally screwed.

 

Hot times in Kursk. Ukraine needs more of this.
******* ********. ******* ******** *
Video Shows Huge Fireball Over Russian Airbase Hosting Su-24 Combat Jets

Published Aug 22, 2024 at 7:58 AM EDT


Updated Aug 22, 2024 at 7:58 AM EDT


Footage widely shared on social media shows a massive fireball erupting over a Russian airbase, reportedly hosting tactical and strategic bombers, including Su-24 Combat Jets


A fire broke out at the Marinovka military airfield in the southwestern Volgograd region after Ukrainian forces fired a barrage of drone strikes as Kyiv continues its Kursk offensive.

Multiple explosions were reported at Marinovka, a Russian Aerospace Forces air base in the village of Oktyabrsky in the Kalachevsky district.

 

Yesterday, Le Figaro published an article on the Ukrainian invasion of Russian territory - L’Ukraine face au pari risqué d’une «zone-tampon» en Russie

To capture more than 100 settlements in the Kursk region, Ukraine deployed troops, which may be lacking in the Donbass. The invasion of Russia represents a military and political coup: but what to do about it? asks LF, as the Russian army continues to advance in the Donbass towards the logistics hub - Pokrovsk.

See one of today's comments on this article below.

 

Russians are compelled to redeploy forces and are standing down from the air war, at least for now.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 22, 2024

Click here to read the full report
Key Takeaways:

• The Russian military command recently redeployed elements of at least one Russian airborne (VDV) regiment from western Zaporizhia Oblast in response to Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk Oblast, possibly in an effort to stabilize the lines and improve command and control (C2) over Russian conscripts.
• The Russian military command reportedly heavily committed elements initially intended for the Russian offensive effort in northern Kharkiv Oblast to the defense of Kursk Oblast.
• The Kremlin may be taking steps to address its border vulnerabilities amid the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast and following a series of unsuccessful long-term efforts to improve Russian border security.
• Ukrainian forces marginally advanced throughout their salient in Kursk Oblast amid continued Russian efforts to stop these advances on August 22.
• Recent Russian advances in the Pokrovsk direction appear to have prompted Ukrainian withdrawals from limited positions southeast of Pokrovsk, and Russian forces have likely failed to achieve their apparent objective of tactically encircling Ukrainian forces in the area.
• The tempo of Russian aviation operations is reportedly decreasing throughout most of the theater, although this decreased tempo may be temporary, and its cause is unclear.
• Ukrainian forces conducted a series of successful strikes against targets in Volgograd Oblast and Krasnodar Krai on August 22.
• Russian forces recently advanced north of Siversk, within Chasiv Yar and southeast of Toretsk and Pokrovsk.
• Russian State Duma Committee on Information Policy Head Alexander Khinshtein stated on August 21 that the Russian Union of Journalists and Ministry of Digital Development submitted a bill to the Cabinet of Ministers proposing to grant veteran status to journalists who have worked in Ukraine, the "counter-terrorism operation" zone in Kursk Oblast, and other unspecified combat zones. . . .