Running Newsticker for the War in Ukraine

Ukrainians in Kursk. ISIS in Volgograd Oblast.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 23, 2024

Click here to read the full report
Key Takeaways:

• Ukrainian forces continued to marginally advance near Sudzha amid continued Ukrainian operations in Kursk Oblast on August 23.
• Ukrainian officials continue to highlight how Ukrainian forces can leverage tactical and technological advantages to offset Russian materiel advantages.
• US President Joe Biden announced a new military assistance package for Ukraine following a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on August 23.
• Ukrainian forces reportedly conducted another drone strike against the oil depot in Proletarsk, Rostov Oblast on August 23.
• Islamic State (IS)-affiliated inmates took prison employees and other inmates hostage at a penal colony in Surovikino, Volgograd Oblast on August 23.
• Russian milbloggers reacted to the hostage crisis with criticisms of the Russian prison system and migration policy.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed India's support for peace in Ukraine on the basis of India's participation in Ukraine's July 2024 peace summit and signed several bilateral cooperation agreements during a visit to Ukraine.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Kreminna, Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Donetsk City.
• Russian authorities continue efforts to leverage conscripts to free up manpower elsewhere for combat operations in Ukraine. . . .

Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh stated on August 22 that the US is gaining "a better understanding" of Ukraine's goals in Kursk Oblast and noted that Ukraine wants to create a buffer zone in Kursk Oblast.[8] Singh stated that the US is still working to determine how the buffer zone fits into Ukraine's strategic objectives and that the US continues to provide materiel to support Ukraine's battlefield needs. Singh clarified that current US restrictions on Ukraine's ability to use US-provided weapons to strike military targets in Russian border areas allows Ukrainian forces to engage in counterfire while defending against Russian attacks across the international border, including in Kursk Oblast. . . .

 

Ukraine in Kursk is a nightmare for Putin and the Russian high command.

"SUDZHA, RUSSIA—We piled out of the Ukrainian armored personnel carrier to a scene of devastation. The sculpture of Lenin in the main square had been defaced, his name crossed out with and “pidor,” an obscene curse word scribbled below it. The streets were full of broken glass and branches of blown-up trees. On the wall of one house was graffitied “Ukraine Above All.” The streets were almost completely quiet, except for the crack of artillery and drone fire in the distance.

Until August 6, this was Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Now it is Ukrainian-held territory."...


"But honestly, I was amazed how easy it was to get in. The border was unguarded, and there were no signs of any Russian shelling close to us. When we entered Sudzha, we could hear the thump of artillery. Yet it was far less intense than equivalent sound when I have visited under-fire Ukrainian cities like Bakhmut or Kherson. All along the road armored personnel carriers, tanks and regular cars and vans were carrying Ukrainian soldiers to and from the frontline. In the Ukrainian border town of Yunakivka, we couldn’t hear any artillery fire or drones, but several buildings on the road were completely destroyed by Russian glide bombs."...

We peered out the narrow slits of windows at the border crossing point, every building of which had been turned to rubble. On August 6, Ukrainian forces launched a surprise offensive into Russian territory, aiming to throw yet another spanner into Putin’s war machine. After two weeks of intense fighting, the Ukrainians had nearly 25 miles into Russia proper, controlling around 750 square miles of territory, according to Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s top general."...


"Underneath a disused school a shelter was being used by some of the civilians yet to evacuate. The sign next to the door says “peaceful people.” Nikolai, a middle-aged man bringing supplies in and out of the basement, maintained that ordinary Russians had nothing to do with the war and should not be blamed. When asked what the people living so close to the warzone thought of the situation in Ukraine, he said “We are small poor people, we don’t know what to do, whatever we do will not help. We don’t watch TV or this propaganda... but, these are the masters of the country, they are doing this war, not us. We are not guilty.” He didn’t vote in elections, he said because “I’m not going, because nothing will change so why should I waste my time.”

“Oh. Not political!” Vadim said with a smirk."...

I asked the Ukrainian soldiers if they had sympathy for the civilians sheltering ironically from the shelling of their own army. “Honestly, not really. I am from Mariupol,” said Oleksiy, a Ukrainian soldier in Sudzha “so after seeing what happened in Bucha and in my home city, I maybe feel a little sympathy for them, but they are very low down my list.”






RUSSIA


My Wild Ride Into the Sacred Russian Soil of Kursk—Invaded by Ukraine in Humiliation for Putin


PLANTING A FLAG

Banned from Russia after explosive stories revealing the depravity Putin unleashed in Ukraine, our correspondent delivers a searing dispatch from inside invaded Kursk.


Tom Mutch


Updated Aug. 24, 2024 8:54AM EDT / Published Aug. 24, 2024 7:20AM EDT



The Daily Beast

Eyewitness Account of the Uncensored Truth Putin Wants to HideSUDZHA, RUSSIA—We piled out of the Ukrainian armored personnel carrier to a scene of devastation. The sculpture of Lenin in the main square had been defaced...

.

56 minutes ago [8/24/24]

 

Thanks for posting. Very interesting.

 

Russians will soon be compelled to redeploy forces to meet the Ukrainian threat in Kursk.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 24, 2024

Click here to read the full report.
Key Takeaways:

• Ukrainian long-range strikes against Russian military targets within Russia’s rear are crucial for degrading Russian military capabilities throughout the theater, and the lifting of restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western-provided weapons would allow Ukrainian forces to strike a wide range of significant targets undergirding Russia’s war effort.
• An unnamed senior Biden administration national security official reportedly stated that Ukrainian strikes with Western-provided weapons against targets within Russia would not be effective because the Russian military has redeployed military aircraft from Russian airbases near Ukraine — but this assessment ignores how Russian forces are leveraging sanctuary space in deep rear areas within Russia for a wide array of infrastructure besides airfields to support military operations against Ukraine.
• The redeployment of Russian air assets from Russian air bases in range of ATACMS does not remove the utility of using ATACMS against other Russian military targets, however.
• Ukrainian forces do not have to strike every single Russian military and paramilitary object in Russia within range of Western-provided weapons to start generating significant operational pressures on the Russian military.
• Recent successful Ukrainian strikes against Russian military targets within ATACMS range with Ukraine’s own domestically produced precision weapons demonstrate that Ukraine still has a requirement to conduct strikes that lifting the US restrictions could help fill.
• Some US officials assess that the Russian military will likely need to redeploy significant forces from Ukraine and/or operational reserves to repel Ukrainian forces from Russian territory.
• Ukrainian forces continued offensive operations within their salient in Kursk Oblast on August 24, and neither Russian nor Ukrainian forces made any significant claimed advances.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on some of the objectives of the Ukrainian operation into Kursk Oblast on August 24.
• Ukraine and Russia conducted their first prisoner of war (POW) exchange since the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Toretsk and Pokrovsk.
• Kursk Oblast officials announced the creation of the BARS-Kursk volunteer detachment on August 24 and stated that the detachment will fight solely within Kursk Oblast. . . . .

 

Ukraine is now able to manufacture its own DIY cruise missiles.
Even more long range strikes into Russia coming soon.

"The visual reveal follows President Volodymyr Zelensky’s announcement on Independence Day that Ukraine now possesses this advanced weapon system.

The “Palyanytsya” drone missile, which was featured in a video released by the Ukrainian initiative “United24,” is designed to target Russian airfields and other strategic sites from which attacks on Ukraine are launched. The video offers a glimpse of the drone’s aerodynamic design, which closely resembles that of traditional cruise missiles."
Defence Blog

Ukraine discloses details of secret Palyanytsya missileUkraine unveiled the first official images of its new long-range drone missile. The visual reveal follows President Volodymyr Zelensky's announcement on...

.

20 minutes ago [8/25/24]
https://defence-blog.com/ukraine-discloses-details-of-secret-palyanytsya-missile/

 

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-at...arkiv-chuhuiv-4yearold-among-the-injured.html

Putin continues his favorite activity which is to hurt Ukrainian children.


The Russians attacked Kharkiv and Chuhuiv , injuring a 4-year-old child among people. Reports are based on posts by the the region authorities.

 

Telegram is surprisingly important for Russian military communications.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 24, 2024

Click here to read the full report.
Key Takeaways:

• Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces recently regained lost positions in Kursk Oblast amid reports of continued Ukrainian attacks in the area on August 25.
• The Russian military likely continues to redeploy forces from lower priority sectors of the frontline in Ukraine to the frontline in Kursk Oblast.
• French authorities arrested Telegram founder Pavel Durov on August 24, prompting concern among Russian ultranationalist milbloggers about their ability to report freely on the war in Ukraine. ISW has not observed any direct evidence indicating that Durov's arrest will affect Telegram operations in the near term, however.
• Russian milbloggers reacted to Durov's arrest by focusing on how Russian soldiers rely on ad-hoc communications, including Telegram, for organizing operations in Ukraine and called on the Russian military command to establish an adequate official communication system.
• Russian forces recently advanced near and within Toretsk and southwest of Donetsk City. . . .

 

An insight into Putin's "special military operation." Told by a Russian deserter. Even if it cannot really be confirmed, still absolutely sick.

 

Is the Ukrainian the older brother of Putin? Ukrainians know the Ukrainian language and law. Putin does not know. Europeans taught Ukrainians

 

The Russians are still looking for an answer in Kursk.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 26, 2024

Click here to read the full report with maps
Key Takeaways:

• Russia conducted one of the largest combined series of drone and missile strikes against Ukrainian critical infrastructure to date on August 26.
• Ukraine issued a warning to Belarus amid the recent buildup of Belarusian forces at the Ukrainian border in Belarus' Gomel Oblast.
• The current Belarusian build-up along the Ukrainian border is likely intended to divert and stretch Ukrainian forces along a wider frontline, as ISW continues to assess that Belarusian forces remain unlikely to invade Ukraine due to constraints facing Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
• Ukrainian forces reportedly attempted to strike Engels Air Base in Saratov Oblast and an oil refinery in Yaroslavl Oblast with drones on the morning of August 26.
• Ukrainian forces continued offensive operations within their salient in Kursk Oblast on August 26, but neither Russian nor Ukrainian forces made any significant confirmed or claimed advances.
• The Kremlin may be leveraging the leadership of the prominent Kremlin-linked Rybar Telegram channel to set cultivate increased Russian influence in Iraq.
• Russian Presidential Administration Deputy Head Sergei Kiriyenko was reportedly in charge of a Kremlin think tank that tried and failed to establish rhetorical justifications for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine after the fact, underscoring the Kremlin's rhetorical failures in the first months of the war and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s continued prioritization of loyalty over competency in officials.
• Russian forces recently advanced northeast of Kharkiv City, north of Chasiv Yar, southeast of Pokrovsk, and west of Donetsk City.
• The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) continues to recruit foreigners to fight with the Russian military in Ukraine. . . .

 

Confirmed use of F-16's in Ukraine's air defense.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 27, 2024

Click here to read the full report with maps
Key Takeaways:

• Russian forces have made significant tactical advances in the Pokrovsk direction amid reports that Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from select areas southeast of Pokrovsk.
• Russia's most combat-capable troops are currently sustaining Russian advances towards Pokrovsk, and Russia's offensive operations are emblematic of the wider Russian theory of victory in Ukraine, premised on seemingly indefinite grinding tactical advances. Russia's continuous and complete prioritization of the Pokrovsk direction will likely impact Russia's overall combat capabilities in Ukraine in the aftermath of any Pokrovsk scenario, especially as the Kremlin tries to balance gains in Pokrovsk with defending against the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Ukraine's incursion into Kursk Oblast was in part an effort to preempt a Russian offensive operation into Sumy or Chernihiv oblasts and noted that the incursion is an aspect of Ukraine's wider efforts to achieve a just and lasting diplomatic solution to the war based on the principles of international law and the inviolability of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
• Ukrainian forces reportedly attempted to advance into two areas of Belgorod Oblast on August 27 amid continued Ukrainian offensive operations in Kursk Oblast.
• Russian officials attempted to use International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi's visit to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) to falsely portray Ukraine as threatening a radiological incident, likely to undermine Western support for Ukraine by stoking unfounded fears about Ukraine's incursion into Kursk Oblast.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized India's commitment to ending the war in Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin following Modi's recent visit to Ukraine.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Kreminna and Russian forces recently advanced near Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Donetsk City.
• The Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast has reportedly heightened willingness among Russian citizens to sign military service contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on August 27 that Ukrainian forces used F-16 fighter jets to down missiles during Russia's most recent massive drone and missile strike against Ukraine.[33] Zelensky previously noted that Ukraine intended to use F-16s are part of a combined air defense and fighter aircraft system to protect Ukrainian positions and cities from Russian air, drone, and missile strikes.[34] . . .

 

The most important front may be in Washington.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 28, 2024

Click here to read the full report.
Key Takeaways:

• Multiple reports from Western media indicate that the US government is prohibiting the United Kingdom (UK) from allowing Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles to strike military targets in Russia.
• Several Russian milbloggers claimed on August 28 that the tempo of Ukrainian attacks in Kursk Oblast has slowed and that Ukrainian forces are now attempting to dig in and hold select areas they recently seized.
• Ukrainian forces conducted drone strikes against oil infrastructure in Rostov and Kirov oblasts and reportedly conducted a drone strike against Voronezh Oblast overnight on August 27 to 28.
• The prominent Kremlin-linked Rybar Telegram project's continued meetings with Iraqi officials appear to be supporting Iranian-backed Iraqi efforts to gain greater control of their information and media space.
• Kremlin newswire TASS will soon open an office in Iran, supporting Moscow's efforts to deepen its partnership with Tehran.
• Russia's allies appear to be increasingly restricting their transactions with Russian companies and financial institutions amid ongoing concern about the impact of secondary US sanctions.
• The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reportedly prevented a terrorist attack in the Republic of Ingushetia on August 28.
• Ukrainian forces recently regained positions in the Siversk direction.
• Russian forces recently advanced southeast of Kupyansk, within Toretsk, southeast of Pokrovsk, and northeast of Vuhledar.
• The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) is reportedly supporting the creation of a new type of combat unit that will specialize in using and countering drones, unmanned systems, and other electronic equipment in occupied Zaporizhia Oblast. . . .

 

.....sounds like it was a monumental f*ck-up with the pilot....in that the pilot failed to manage or co-ordinate with any other units in his operational area and was shot down by a Patriot battery.....they'll learn....you can train people to fly the bloody plane but it takes a crap ton of learning to be able to fight the thing....

 

Well with the crash of the Uke F-16 the Ukes need a little little bit of good news.

See link
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/08/29/7472461/

Russians employed tanks and armoured fighting vehicles to break into centre of Vovchansk but they suffered suffer losses and had to retreat.

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO — THURSDAY, 29 AUGUST 2024, 11:47


Russian soldiers attempted to deliver personnel into the center of the city of Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast, using only two MT-LB armoured fighting vehicles were forced to retreat with losses.

Source: Kharkiv Operational Tactical Group

Ukraine needs more of this.

 

The west will reach Moscow again

 

...Ben Hodges at his best I think....Jonathan Fink is a damned good interviewer

 

Do all Russian generals steal?

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 29, 2024

click here to read the full report
Key Takeaways:

• Russian forces are currently pursuing two immediate tactical efforts as part of their ongoing offensive operation to seize Pokrovsk — a tactical effort along the Novohrodivka-Hrodivka line east of Pokrovsk to seize Myrnohrad and advance up to Pokrovsk's outskirts, and another tactical effort along the Selydove-Ukrainsk-Hirnyk line southeast of Pokrovsk aimed at widening Russia's salient in the Pokrovsk direction and eliminating vulnerabilities to Ukrainian counterattacks.
• The Russian military command likely aims to achieve both of these tactical efforts before launching the more resource-intensive effort to seize Pokrovsk itself, although Russian forces may begin urban combat in Pokrovsk regardless, if progress stalls on these preparatory efforts.
• Russian authorities are creating new volunteer territorial defense units in response to the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast, highlighting Russian President Vladimir Putin's unwillingness to counter the incursion more seriously with a mobilization due to the risks of societal discontent or with large-scale redeployments due to possible disruptions to Russia's ongoing offensive operations in eastern Ukraine.
• Ukrainian forces recently marginally advanced north of Sudzha as Russian forces recaptured some areas of Kursk Oblast on August 29.
• The Ukrainian General Staff reported on August 29 that a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet recently crashed while defending against a large-scale Russian drone and missile strike.
• Russian authorities arrested and charged former Russian Deputy Defense Minister Army General Pavel Popov with large-scale fraud on August 29.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin will conduct an official visit to Mongolia despite Mongolia's status as a signatory to the Rome Statue and Mongolia’s legal obligation to enforce an arrest warrant for Putin from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
• The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed on August 29 that Ukrainian forces struck the Atlas Oil Refinery in Rostov Oblast and the Zenit Oil Depot in Kirov Oblast on the night of August 27 to 28.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Kupyansk, Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Donetsk City.
• The Russian government continues to expand pathways for accused criminals to sign military service contracts. . . .

 

..I think they call it re-appropriation

 

...there is a real sh|t storm of a fight taking place between the FSB and MOD at the moment....all wanting a their snouts in the military spending spree going on.....with all the mouths to feed I wonder just how much of the appropriation actually makes it to the end product?

 

https://kyivindependent.com/general-staff-russia-has-lost-612-390-troops-since-feb-24-2022/

Ukrainian General Staff of Armed Forces said Russia has “lost “ 612,390 troops since Feb. 24, 2022

Russia has lost 612,390 troops as of 08 29 2024

Reports are that Russia lost 1200 casualties this past day. This daily 1200 casualty report seems to come up more often than not. Why is it almost always 1200 daily casualties. Obviously I am pro Ukrainian but 1200 daily daily casualties ones up too often. Ukraine has. Othing to gain if this is an exaggerated report.

What do you guys think?
According to the reports Russia has lost 8,571 tanks,
16,699 armored fighting vehicles,
23,706 vehicles and fuel tanks,
17,549 artillery systems,
1,174 multiple launch rocket systems,
939 air defense systems,
368 airplanes,
328 helicopters,
14,369 drones,
28 ships and boats,
and one submarine.

 

Good one LOL. Or their sisters miss-appropriation.

 

Good question.

 

Russians are pulling personnel out of Africa to augment their forces in Kursk.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 30, 2024

Click here to read the full report with maps
Key Takeaways:

• European Union (EU) member state officials continue to express divergent views about Ukraine's ability to use European-provided weapons to strike military targets in Russia.
• Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian and Russian forces made marginal gains in Kursk Oblast on August 30.
• Russian state-owned polling agencies are recognizing limited upticks in Russian domestic discontent towards Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian authorities amid the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast.
• Venezuela extradited Colombian citizens who fought as members of the Ukrainian military to Russia, demonstrating growing Russian-Venezuelan cooperation and Venezuelan support for Russia's war.
• Hungary and Russia continue to deepen their bilateral cooperation.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk as Ukrainian Air Force Commander on August 30.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Svatove, Pokrovsk, and Donetsk City.
• French outlet Le Monde reported on August 30 that about 100 mercenaries from the Russian "Bear Brigade" private military company departed Burkina Faso to join Russian forces fighting in Kursk Oblast. . . . .

 

the Russian language is disappearing the fastest