Daily Briefing From Ukraine

·      Top 7 Headlines

·      President Zelensky’s Message of the Day

·      Ukraine Summer Offensive Summary

·      Infographic of the Day

Headlines

1.     At least 7 people have been killed and more than 60 injured by a Russian repeat missile attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, including in what President Volodymyr Zelensky described as “an ordinary residential building.” Pokrovsk lies 70 kilometers north-west of the city of Donetsk, held by Russia, and 50 kilometers from the frontline. Many were hurt when Russian forces hit the site a second time as rescue operations were underway – with 19 police and rescue workers among the injured.

2.     Ukraine’s security service detained a woman accused of helping Russia plot an attack on President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said the woman was gathering intelligence about Zelensky’s itinerary ahead of his visit to the southern Mykolaiv region. It alleged the suspect was helping Russia prepare a “massive air strike on the Mykolaiv region”.

Photo: SBU.

3.     Ukrainian-held nuclear power plants will be fully operational by winter to provide electricity for the country, Ukraine’s atomic energy operator said. “We will enter winter with nine reactors at full capacity,” said its spokesperson, adding that four reactors currently under repair would be operational before November, with a total capacity of almost 7,600 megawatts.

Other Topics of Interest

‘A Gangster Threat That Smacks of Desperation’ – Ukraine at War Update for Dec. 19

UK announces $286M in military aid; Kyiv to receive first tranche of US $20B promised loan; Kremlin calls British journalists “legitimate targets” after op-ed piece on general’s killing.

4.     The former vicar of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Pavlo Lebed, was released from custody. A bail deposit of around $900,000 was posted for him. On April 1, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) charged Lebed with inciting inter-religious enmity and dissemination of materials justifying Russian aggression. He has been under house arrest.

5.     30 US M1A1 Abrams tanks will be on their way to Ukraine’s frontlines by autumn, CNN reported.

6.     The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), General Valerii Zaluzhny, briefed the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. “As for the defense, it is stable,” Zaluzhny said. “The enemy is conducting active assault operations in a number of axes, but they haven’t been successful. Their effort is meant to distract Ukrainian forces from certain areas of the front.” Commenting on the offensive, Zaluzhny reported that “Ukrainian troops step by step continue to create conditions for moving forward [and] the initiative is on our side.”

7.     The American bank JPMorgan has stopped processing payments from Russia’s Rosselkhozbank, which is under sanctions from the United States and the European Union, said Kremlin spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

President Zelensky’s Message

Ukraine Summer Offensive Summary

Snapshot

Officially, there were limited on-the-ground developments across the 1,000-kilometer front of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Unofficially, there may be more going on than spokespeople are saying along the islands of the Dnipro River.

General Developments

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged in an interview published on August 6 with Argentine news outlet La Nacion that the tempo of counteroffensive operations is slower than expected and stated that patience is necessary for Ukraine to win, ISW reported. Zelensky stated that Ukrainian forces are in the offensive phase of operations and continue to hold the initiative.

·       Russian forces conducted offensive operations along: the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line on the northern front; near Bakhmut and the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line on the eastern front; the Donetsk-Zaporizhzhia regional border, and in western Zaporizhzhia on August 7. They made advances in certain areas, according to ISW.

Prominent tracker of independent satellite imagery, Brady Africk, identified that Russian forces have continued to strengthen and expand their defensive fortifications.

Over the past 24 hours, Russian forces launched 7 missiles, 42 airstrikes, and 66 attacks from MLRS rocket systems, according to Ukraine’s General Staff 06:00 report.

Over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian air defense forces have flown nine airstrikes, according to the General Staff.

Over the past 24 hours, 100 Ukrainian population settlements regions were shelled by artillery or mortar fire, according to the General Staff.

The US is likely to announce a further $200 million military aid package for Ukraine today, including: demining equipment; Javelin, TOW and AT4 anti-tank systems; guns and ammunition; and missiles for Patriot and HIMARS systems.

Russian authorities claimed drones were shot down approaching Belgorod and in Kaluga region in Russia.

Operational Aspects near Kherson and in Crimea

Some prominent pro-Ukrainian milbloggers are claiming Ukrainian advances along the Dnipro River near Kherson in preparation for the opening of a further major front. They claim Ukrainian troops secured a further bridgehead at Hola Prystan, as well as existing ones at Oleshky and near the Antonivka Bridge. There has been virtually no comment from Ukraine’s official spokespeople about action on the Dnipro.

Ukrainian southern forces spokesperson Nataliya Humenyuk noted that Ukrainian strikes on the Chonhar and Henichesk bridges in Crimea were intended to specifically target Russian plans and strategies and inhibit the ability of Russian forces to bring supplies and personnel to the front, ISW reported. Humenyuk also emphasized that Russian forces must now route supplies and personnel through Armyansk, directly on the border between Kherson Oblast and Crimea and within 80 kilometers of the frontline.

About Crimea and the Black Sea, a pro-Russian Telegram channel wrote: “Ukrainian pirates are turning to attacks on civilian shipping in the region. It is no longer possible to ignore the problem – the key transport artery of the country is under threat.”

Operational Aspects on the Northern Front

Two civilians were killed by Russian forces using guided aerial bombs on the village of Kruhliakivka in Kharkiv region, according to the local Governor. 

Operational Aspects on the Southern Front

A Russian Ka-52 Alligator assault helicopter was downed near Robotyne, according to the General Staff of the AFU.

Some pro-Ukrainian milbloggers are claiming that Ukrainian forces have breached the Surovikin line at Robotyne and that the point is now fully contested.

The Ukrainian General Staff reported that the AFU conducted offensive operations in the Berdyansk (western Donetsk-eastern Zaporizhzhia regional areas) and Melitopol (western Zaporizhzhia Region) axes, according to ISW.

Pro-Ukrainian milbloggers claimed that “the AFU continues its counteroffensive through Urozhayne and south of Staromaiorske and also west to Novodonesk… The AFU is less than 8 kilometers from the only fortification line on the Surovikin line between where they are now and Mariupol.”

Infographic of the Day