The situation on the battlefield is worsening day by day, and the commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces Oleksandr Syrsky has once again raised the cry of alarm, this time relying on social media: «Conditions at the front are deteriorating. Russian troops will make significant tactical gains in the coming weeks.” Moscow’s armies have conquered Ocheretyne and Solovyovo, and threaten the collapse of the entire defense guard in Donetsk which is retreating to new lines west of Berdichev, Semenovka and Novomikhailovka. For former American intelligence officer Scott Ritter it is “a large-scale attack”. Reports coming from hot spots show confusion and anomalies among Kiev’s troops. The commander of the 47th Magura mechanized brigade, Mykola Melnyk, says that Russia’s advance occurred «due to an unforgivable mistake made during the rotation of troops in the settlements. During the replacement we left several areas unattended for days.” Something of the sort had already happened last February in Avdiivka, easily occupied by the Russians since Kiev’s troops spontaneously abandoned their positions in a turnover that was slow to materialize. Furthermore, according to the Polish and German intelligence services, there are constant arguments between the commanders of the brigades, many of whom do not recognize the authority of Commander Syrsky, loudly demanding the return of General Zaluzhny, jubilated by Zelensky and sent to London with the role of ambassador. The mutiny attempts also involved the 67th Dnipro mechanized brigade, dismembered by the Ministry of Defense after a heated argument between officers which led to the fall of Chasov Yar (Donetsk). As if that wasn’t enough, just yesterday Moscow claimed the conquest of the village of Novobakhmoutivka, near Avdiivka, in a sector where Russian forces have been advancing rapidly in the last ten days.
The invaders are also pounding in the South. In the last 24 hours the Zaporizhzhia region was attacked 335 times. Seven settlements found themselves under enemy fire. More than 100 drones of various types attacked Huliaipole, Verkhnya Tersa, Levadne, Robotyne, Mala Tokmachka, Malynivka and Novoandriivka. Other unmanned aerial vehicles hit Mykolaiv, damaging a hotel. Moscow’s successes are underlined by the Kremlin, where spokesman Peskov explains that «panic is growing among the Ukrainians at the front. It is therefore important for our troops to exploit this dynamic and maintain pressure on the enemy.” According to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), in the summer period Russian forces could deploy new technological and tactical instruments to compensate for Kiev’s greater capabilities after sending the US weapons package. However, it is unlikely that Ukraine will be able to launch a real counter-offensive in the short term. For the ISW it will happen no earlier than the beginning of 2025.
On the 795th day of fighting, an incursion by Ukrainian drones into Krasnodar was also reported: refineries and the military airport in Kushchevsk were damaged. Still on Russian territory, SBU forces hit the railway line near Orenburg to block enemy logistics. Moscow has destroyed ammunition and equipment depots at three airports in Ukraine, including drones stored at Kamjanka (Lviv) airport. The Russians eliminated 14 mercenaries in an attack against Nikolaev.
Air alerts in progress in Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkov.
