UAF – Ukrainian Forces
UAS – Ukrainian Sources
UGS – Ukrainian General Staff
RF – Russian Forces
RS – Russian Sources
R-MoD – Russian Ministry of Defense
Summary of the Events
Everything has come to a standstill as RF are focusing solely on the capture of Bakhmut and UAF are preparing for a controlled retreat from the city.
Eastern Ukraine: (Russia’s Main Objective)
Kupyansk – Ukrainian officials have ordered the mandatory evacuation of all vulnerable civilians from Kupyansk as the city has come under Russian shelling and RF are making advances on the settlement near Synkivka (5 miles N).
Kreminna/Svatove – UAF repelled all attacks in the region. UAF struck a Russian column near Svatove resulting to heavy casualties of Russian troops and equipment.
Donetsk Oblast: (Russia’s Second Objective)
Bakhmut – UAF have begun to prepare for a controlled withdrawal from Bakhmut by destroying two bridges. The first bridge is in the eastern half of the city over the Bakhmutivka River and was destroyed to slow down RF advances within the city. The second bridge is to the west of the city and was destroyed to slow down RF if a withdrawal is ordered. Some UAF have already begun to fall back in the east and north. A RS claims that RF broke through the defense line in Ivanivske and have begun attacking the city from there as well. But this has not been confirmed.
Siversk – No confirmed RF advances. UAF continue to hold their ground.
Avdiivka – UAF continue to repel RF in the region with the exception near Vodiane where geolocated footage shows incremental advances.
Marinka – No confirmed change on the ground in the battle for Marinka.
Vuhledar – There were no confirmed attacks in the region.
Southern Ukraine: (Eastern Kherson, Southern Zaporizhia, and Western Donetsk)
Apart from the daily shelling of Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts by RF, there was not activity in Southern Ukraine on the ground.
Russian Mobilization and Troop Morale
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Friday that allows the government to take control over any private enterprise that is supplying equipment for the conduct of the war with Ukraine.
Russian courts are again providing amnesty to Russian prisoners who agree to fight in Ukraine, but this time the recruitment is being done by the R-MoD and not the Wagner Group forces.
Activity in Ukrainian Occupied Territory
Donetsk People’s Republic Head Denis Pushilin announced on Friday the creation of the Election Commission to begin preparation for regional elections to be held on September 10.
Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) Head Leonid Pasechnik announced the creation of a social medical insurance program to allow all residents in occupied Luhansk Oblast to receive free medical care.
LNR Head Pasechnik also announced forcibly sending Ukrainian children from occupied Holubivka to Siberia to participate in a Russian youth program entitled “The Future Is Ours”.
Belarus
Russian troops continue to be rotated in and out of Belarus.
The radar aircraft sabotaged by Belarusian partisans earlier in the week has been seen taking off from the airfield to prove that the plane is still operational. But it was not used in the latest missile launch against Ukraine, suggesting that its radar system was neutralized, and is no longer of any use.
Other News
New information has become known about the attack on Thursday in the Russian region of Bryansk which borders Ukraine. Saboteurs, the identity of which has not yet been confirmed, purportedly laid mines provided by NATO near Sushany. A Russian National Guard vehicle ran over a mine injuring four Russian personnel. Video footage was released as evidence of the sabotage but contained no geographical identity to prove its location and was not geolocated. A person claiming to be a leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps, an arm of the UAF made up of Russian soldiers who defected, has claimed responsibility, and claimed Ukrainian officials had greenlit the incursion. None of these claims or evidence has been confirmed.
Russian officials claim that Ukrainian personnel at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) opened fire with a machine gun against Russian personnel during a rotation of monitors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday. Several Russian security personnel tripped mines as they were escorting the IAEA monitors away. The IAEA did not corroborate these claims and stated that the rotation was “successful”.
Two more bodies were discovered under the rubble from a Russian missile attack on Zaporizhia earlier in the week bringing the civilian death toll to five.
A Kazakh journalists reported he has received information that Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is terminally ill from kidney problems.
International Support
The Moldovan Parliament finally adopted a declaration officially condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Moldova has been walking a fine line as a large section of their own country is occupied by RF.
Major Source Materials
- Institute for the Study of War daily report on the Russian invasion
- Kyiv Post
- Militaryland milblogger site.