Ukraine continued its gradual rearguard action during nan past week, ceding crushed successful feet and inches to sphere nan lives of its soldiers while managing to forestall a Russian breakthrough anyplace on its beforehand line.
Meanwhile, it began to person its first F-16 combatant jets from Western allies, a caller limb that could thief move nan equilibrium of powerfulness successful nan skies, which is cardinal to developments connected nan ground.
It besides continued to build an estimated 15 caller battalions it is counting connected to 1 time equine a counteroffensive that will rotation backmost Russian conquests.
The fighting was fiercest successful cardinal Donetsk, nan eastbound state that has seen galore of nan bloodiest battles of this war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Pokrovsk was nan attraction of Russian efforts connected August 1.
“Pokrovsk, I would opportunity for today, this is simply a privilege for them … nan largest number of personnel, nan largest number of weapons and [glide bombs], everything they have, they are centring coming successful nan Pokrovsky direction,” Zelenskyy was quoted arsenic saying by Suspilne, Ukraine’s nationalist broadcaster.
Pokrovsk lies 20km (12.4 miles) disconnected nan extremity of a salient that Russian forces person created westbound of Avdiivka since seizing it successful February.
In nan intervening six months, they person precocious 26km (16 miles).
Russian forces completed their seizure of Vesele astatine nan extremity of this salient connected August 4.
(Al Jazeera)The eventual Russian goal, Zelenskyy said, was to prehend Sloviansk, which together pinch Kramatorsk, forms nan backbone of Ukraine’s defences successful Donetsk.
But Russia has obfuscated nan guidance from which nan main thrust for Sloviansk and Kramatorsk would come, prioritising different fronts astatine different times.
For example, Ukraine’s wide unit said connected Friday that Russian attacks were expanding successful Toretsk, a front-line metropolis 50km (30 miles) eastbound of Pokrovsk. That strength grew by Sunday erstwhile nan wide unit said Toretsk was absorbing 80 percent of Russian attacks.
The conflict for Chasiv Yar
About 50km (30 miles) northeast of Pokrovsk, different fierce conflict raged.
Russian forces began to beforehand done Chasiv Yar, a precocious crushed Ukrainians person defended stoutly to hold different Russian violative to break done to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
Geolocated footage connected Friday showed that Russian forces had crossed nan Siversky Donets-Donbas canal, a cardinal protect characteristic that had held them astatine bay for months.
By Monday Ukraine’s wide unit said attacks were still being repulsed successful Chasiv Yar, however, 1 Ukrainian statement was announcing its departure, an evident admittance that nan metropolis would not yet beryllium held.
“Chasiv Yar is different Ukrainian metropolis that really ceased to beryllium aft nan alleged ‘liberation’ by nan Russians,” wrote Ukraine’s Black Swan onslaught group from nan 255th Assault Battalion online. “Our battalion defended it for 4 months, steadfastly holding nan positions assigned to us. Now it’s clip to remainder and hole for caller tasks,” it posted.
(Al Jazeera)Video taken by nan battalion showed an utterly deserted and gutted city, pinch occasional artillery explosions connected August 5 continuing to rustle isolated nan abandoned actual skeletons of buildings.
Asked by nan Philadelphia Inquirer in precocious June whether Ukraine would negociate to clasp Chasiv Yar, nan main of Ukrainian intelligence Kyril Budanov had said, “I will refrain from response.”
All these gains person travel astatine a precocious cost.
Ukraine’s crushed forces commandant Oleksandr Pavlyuk connected Sunday gave nan play tally of Russian losses: 8,220 soldiers, 67 tanks, and 160 armoured fighting vehicles – play Russian losses emblematic for nan past respective months.Jazeera could not independently verify nan toll.
What is Ukraine’s game?
Russian President Vladimir Putin had group nan conquest of Donetsk and Luhansk arsenic a extremity for his armies by past February, nan war’s 2nd anniversary.
In June, he told Ukraine he would work together to a ceasefire and bid talks only if Ukraine handed complete those 2 provinces on pinch Zaporizhia and Kherson, which Russia besides partially occupies.
Ukraine’s inability to lucifer Russian unit spot and firepower appeared to vindicate Putin’s strategy of attritional warfare to forestall Ukraine from ever retaking nan initiative.
A serviceman of nan 24th Mechanised Brigade of nan Ukrainian Armed Forces, runs connected nan roadworthy on a beforehand statement amid Russia’s onslaught connected Ukraine, adjacent nan municipality of Chasiv Yar successful Donetsk region, Ukraine, connected August 6, 2024 [Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of nan 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanised Brigade of nan Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters]Ukrainian Brigadier-General Andriy Hnatov said arsenic overmuch successful an question and reply connected Friday.
Putin launched his May 10 incursion into Ukraine’s bluish Kharkiv region a period aft Ukraine passed a caller mobilisation rule to raise a 4th of a cardinal caller troops, he said.
“It’s not accidental,” said Hnatov, who has commanded nan Khortytsia group of forces facing nan fiercest battles successful Donetsk.
“The existent extremity of nan force was not to seizure 10-15 kilometres (6-9 miles) of our territory location … nan extremity of nan force was to do everything truthful that we could not quickly consciousness nan results of mobilisation.”
Konstantyn Mashovets, a retired Ukrainian colonel who regularly comments connected subject developments, said Ukrainian troops successful nan Pokrovsk area were “inferior to nan force successful forces and intends … particularly successful nan aerial constituent and artillery”, and called nan Russian beforehand “slow but alternatively confident”.
(Al Jazeera)But Ukraine has played defence knowing that it would return Putin years – by some estimates 14 years – to complete his conquest of conscionable Luhansk and Donetsk.
It appears to person done this to bargain clip for a strategy wherever it feels it has nan advantage – utilizing drones to undermine Russian powerfulness connected land, astatine oversea and successful nan air.
A Russian subject reporter said Ukraine’s strategy was “catastrophic” for Russian forces successful Siversk, wherever “the force [first personification viewer] drones dismantle each nan dugouts and burrows known to them, and location is nary measurement to excavation caller normal shelters, arsenic they are burning successful nan first stages of construction”.
Ukraine has posted videos showing disconnected its drone operators’ dexterity.
In one, drones dispatch dugouts successful Zaporizhia.
In others, a drone drops an explosive straight into nan unfastened hatch of an idling armoured fighting vehicle, aliases onto a speeding patrol boat, aliases onto motorcycles – each hits requiring awesome accuracy.
Ukraine announced this twelvemonth it would build a cardinal ray FPV drones. Its accumulation rates person been truthful impressive, that successful immoderate areas Russian forces person reportedly relied connected Ukrainian losses for up to a 4th of their drones.
But Ukraine has besides utilized aerial drones and missiles to devastating effect successful Russian and Russian-occupied territory.
Ukraine’s wide unit said Ukrainian missiles had “finished off” nan Rostov-on-Don, a Russian $300m Kilo-class diesel submarine berthed astatine Sevastopol. “As a consequence of nan hit, nan vessel sank connected nan spot,” nan unit said connected Friday.
(Al Jazeera)The Rostov-on-Don was first damaged successful an onslaught successful September past year.
“It was further repaired and tested successful nan aquatorium of Sevastopol harbour,” said Ukraine’s staff. Satellite imagery via Planet Labs PBC captured connected August 2 suggested that Ukrainian forces damaged nan submarine.
The aforesaid onslaught destroyed an S-400 rocket launcher and damaged another, outer photography showed.
On Saturday, Ukraine struck nan Morozovsk airfield successful Rostov.
Its wide unit said ammunition depots containing glide bombs were destroyed. Video showed secondary explosions astatine nan site, corroborating that claim. Russian sources said 55 Ukrainian drones were involved, and 1 subject newsman said 18 of them deed their mark, destroying a Sukhoi Su-34 bomber.
Ukraine said its forces besides struck lipid accommodation successful Rostov, Kursk and Belgorod.
Zelenskyy wrote connected societal media that attacking Russian airfields and craft astatine each opportunity was fair. Russia had struck Ukraine pinch 600 glide bombs successful a week, he said – a fig accordant pinch what he told reporters successful April. “This is nan only measurement to realistically supply protection for our people.”
Russia’s defence ministry connected Wednesday claimed it had fended disconnected an “invasion” of Russian territory by Ukrainian forces pinch a battalion’s worthy of armoured fighting vehicles and tanks. The Ukrainian forces, it said, made a two-pronged onslaught from Sumy into Kursk.
Satellite images showed destroyed vehicles astir 7km (4 miles) wrong Russian territory.
Anti-Putin Russian fighters person doubly during nan warfare staged specified incursions connected Russian soil, but not Ukrainian soldiers.
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