Current War Situation in Ukraine
Unfortunately, the war is going on. Russian forces control all of the Luhansk oblast. They also are trying to advance in Donetsk. Over the last 2-4 weeks occupiers have succeeded only within a couple of kilometers. Russians have considerable losses in this direction because Ukrainians are using more sophisticated equipment, not allowing them to move quickly. The good news is that in Kherson oblast Ukrainian army is moving faster towards regaining our territory. On August 2, the Armed Forces of Ukraine freed 7 settlements in the Kherson oblast. Overall, 46 settlements have been freed in the Kherson oblast at the moment.
One of the biggest tragedies for Ukraine is the terrorist attack in Olenivka on July 29. The russians attacked the barracks with Ukrainian hostages (soldiers from the Azov Regiment). Russia claimed that Ukrainians did it with HIMARS systems. However, that is not true, because there are no holes from the explosion, and, as you can see, the beds are still standing just like they were standing. That proves, that it was a torch explosion or torch bomb that didn’t have an explosive wave, but it was creating fire. The rumors told that all the service people from this prison have left this object knowing that it will happen. As a result, about 53 soldiers were killed, and 130 were injured. There is also an opinion that the 53 bodies, that were found after that terrorist attack, were already dead. Russians did it just for the reason to cover the evidence of torturing these soldiers.
Another bad piece of news is a new mass grave found in Bucha (Kyiv oblast). 117 bodies were found, including 12 children. All were with signs of violent death.
On August 7 russians used modern air-launched Kindzhal hypersonic missiles. They attacked military objects in Vinnytsia. This kind of missile carries 500 kilograms of explosives. Its top speed is 12,000 km/ hour.
On August 11 Nikopol (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast) was heavily shelled. 120 grad missiles were launched over the city. As a result, 2 people died and 7 were wounded, including a 13-year-old girl. 40 high-rise buildings, schools, shops, and cars were damaged.
The international human rights organization Amnesty International has accused the Armed Forces of Ukraine of unjustified deployment of military bases in schools and hospitals. On August 4 they said: “Ukrainian forces have put civilians in harm’s way by establishing bases and operating weapons systems in populated residential areas, including in schools and hospitals…”. Subsequently, Amnesty International expressed regret that its report hurt Ukrainians, but did not retract its assessments. Per Westberg, co-founder of the Swedish branch of Amnesty International left the organization because of the report on Ukraine’s violation of the laws of war.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine effectively use all the military help from other countries. During the 1-7 of August 21 storage facilities, 20 military basses, and 2 objects of military infrastructure were destroyed by Ukrainian troops.
Recently Ukrainian army has got AGM-88 HARM (High-speed Anti-Radar Missile) missiles (range: 150 km!). This missile is working against the transmitting stations that are meant to locate and target any objects in the air (missiles, planes, helicopters, or unmanned aircraft). For three days they destroyed 17 air defense systems of russia.
There is a number of bridges that are very important from the standpoint of regaining control over Kherson. Recently, the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit the bridge near the Kakhovska HPP. It had the same logistical importance as the Antonivsky bridge, which was damaged on July 26. However, as occupiers tried to reconstruct it, on August 8 Ukrainians hit the bridge again, and fully damaged the bridge on the 14 of August.
On August 9 there were a lot of explosions at the russian military air base in Crimea (Saky region). One of the biggest airfields of the peninsular was damaged. At least 15 explosions were happening within 30 minutes. An interesting fact is that neither Ukrainians nor russians admitted, that Ukrainians attacked this military base. Incidentally, this is a very important base, because it was heavily used to launch all the aircraft that are hitting the southern part of the country. As a result, losses of the russian army are:
at least 60 people died;
over 100 pilots and civilians were injured;
8 airplanes Su-27;
6 helicopters Mi-8;
5 airplanes Su-24;
4 airplanes Su-30M;
1 airplane IL-20RT;
4 ammunition storage.
Russians have started shelling Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is the biggest nuclear plant in Europe (6 power blocks). The 4th power unit was shut down. It means that nuclear and radiation threat is very high. This NPP has been under russian control since March 4. Up to 500 russian soldiers are there. Russians claimed that the territory of Zaporizhzhya NPP is already mined and it is going to be (will be) either russian or it is going to (will be) be destroyed. This is a very serious official statement, that brought a lot of attention. Western institutions, including United Nations, have had meetings devoted to that threat in the last couple of days.
On August 11 occupiers shelled the Zaporizhzhya NPP again. 10 hits were recorded. They have started to shut down the blocks and reconnect them to russian system (to send electricity to occupied Crimea). Russians said that they are storing their weapons in one of the premises nearby the nuclear power block. This is extremely dangerous because any accidental explosion can result in massive radiation pollution of thousands of square kilometers. Also, Ukrainian personnel is still working here in inhumane conditions.
