Ukraine Summer Offensive Update for Sept 6 (Europe Edition): ‘We Are on Alert in Romania’

Overview

• Romania “on alert” due to proximity of Russian strikes
• Germany announces more military aid to Ukraine
• Russian commander admits Ukrainian artillery is slowing the laying of minefields
• Ukrainian forces advancing south of Robotyne and Verbove
• Watch the Azov Brigade break through Russian defenses
• VIDEO: Anti-collaborator vigilantes in action

Operations: Ukrainian forces advance in the Zaporizhzhia region

Footage verified by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and posted on Tuesday shows Russian forces striking Ukrainian positions northwest and west of Robotyne, indicating that Ukrainian forces have advanced into an area that Russian forces previously claimed to control.

Additional geolocated images posted on Telegram on Tuesday show that Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) have advanced south of Robotyne and northwest of Verbove (about 10 km east of Robotyne).

Evidence also suggests that Ukrainian forces northwest of Verbove are advancing along the line of Russian fortifications that runs into the town. Communications officials of the AFU confirmed that they have been successful in the Robotyne-Novoprokopivka area south of Orikhiv, and further reported that Ukrainian forces are continuing to push southward from Bakhmut.

Germany to send millions of rounds of ammo and other supplies

The German government announced a new round of military aid to Ukraine on Tuesday, amounting to €5.4 billion ($5.8 billion) for 2023 (as compared to about €2 billion – $2.15 billion – for 2022) and additional commitments in the following years amounting to €10.5 billion ($11.3 billion).

This latest package includes more than 10,000 shells for Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, a Beaver armored bridge paver, four border protection vehicles, 20,000 protective goggles, 32 Zetros trucks, four 8×8 HX81 tractors, and perhaps most importantly, about nine million rounds of ammunition, including almost 27,000 rounds of 40mm shells.

Other Topics of Interest

NATO, Ukraine to Meet Tuesday Over Russian Missile Strike

Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Moscow had hit Ukraine using a new-generation intermediate-range missile -- which he hinted was capable of unleashing a nuclear payload.

Romanian president concerned that war is coming “very, very close” to border

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said Tuesday that attacks in Ukraine happened “very, very close” to its border, with Russia repeatedly launching drone strikes on Danube infrastructure in southern Ukraine, AFP reported.

“We had attacks... which were verified at 800 meters from our border. So very, very close,” Iohannis told a press conference.

“There was no drone and no other part of any device that made it into Romania,” Iohannis said, again denying earlier reports from Kyiv that drone attacks transgressed Ukraine’s southwestern border during Russia’s strike on the Ukrainian port of Izmail.

“But yes, we are concerned because these attacks are taking place within a very short distance from the Romanian border,” he said. “We are on alert.”

Russian commander admits that Ukrainian shelling has slowed the pace of mine-planting

Russian military bloggers are saying that Ukrainian forces have increased the tempo of the counteroffensive along the Donetsk-Zaporizhzhia regional border on Tuesday, ISW reports. The bloggers said that the AFU has conducted small-scale armored assaults against positions of the Russian 37th Motorized Rifle Brigade and the 40th Naval Infantry Brigade (Pacific Fleet) in particular, resulting in modest advances.

Russian Battalion Commander Alexander Khodakovsky posted on Telegram that Ukrainian forces have captured unspecified Russian positions in the area, and he also ceded that heavy Ukrainian artillery fire southeast of Velyka Novosilka is degrading Russian morale and reducing the pace at which their troops are able to lay more mines.

“In addition to the psychological impact it has had on the fighters… the continuity of shelling has made it impossible for us to lay mines and replace those that have been destroyed,” Khodakovsky posted.

Footage spotlights the Azov Assault Brigade’s triumphs

A promotional video from the Azov Assault Brigade and its highly regarded commander, Lieutenant Colonel Denys “Redis” Prokopenko, presents a montage of Ukrainian platoons breaking through Russian defenses in the South.

“This is how residents deal with collaborators”

Another sensational video appears to show how local residents deal with those who collaborate with Russian occupying forces. It claims to document how vigilantes in the Kherson area slashed a Russian-flagged sport wagon’s tires and applied a cosmetic makeover of the sympathizer’s vehicle as retribution. Kyiv Post could not confirm its authenticity.