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Russia has exhausted its combat capabilities in Ukraine

August 22, 2022, Russia-Ukraine War Update

[UKRAINE] – MTN It has been 3,098 days since Russia occupied Crimea on February 27, 2014. Here is our latest update. You can visit our Russia-Ukraine War Center to find more news about Ukraine. You can also listen to our in-depth podcast, Malcontent News Russia Ukraine War Update, hosted by Linnea Hubbard.

Breaking News

Russian cruise missiles struck Zatoka for the twelfth time since February 24. Russian cruise missiles hit the disabled Zatoka Bridge. There are no reports of injuries.

Northeast Donetsk

Russian forces were attempted an advance on Vesele [Donetsk] from Spirne while Siversk and the surrounding settlements were shelled, as was Ivano-Daryivka.

An ammunition depot in Alchevsk was destroyed in a rocket attack launched by HIMARS.

Bakhmut

PMC Wagner Group and elements of the 2nd Army Corps of the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) attempted to advance into Soledar and Bakhmutske without success.

Private Military Company (PMC) Wagner Group, supported by the LNR separatists, remains on the outskirts of Bakhmut. The 58th Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine shot down a Russian Su-25 ground attack aircraft. 

Russian forces continued their attacks on Zaitseve, 10 kilometers southeast of Bakhmut, striking from two directions.

In the Svitlodarsk bulge, Russian forces attacked Kodema from three directions but failed to dislodge Ukrainian defenders.

Southwest Donetsk – Zaporizhia

North of Donetsk, an attempt to advance on Niu York ended in failure. DNR separatists fought positional battles near Krasnohorivka but could not improve their tactical situation.

West of Donetsk, elements of the 1st Army Corps of the DNR attempted to advance on Optyne and Pisky using reconnaissance in force without success.

The village of Nevelske was attacked from two directions, but a lack of tanks made moving across the open fields near impossible for light infantry forces.

DNR separatists tried to improve their positions in eastern Marinka using reconnaissance in force. They also attempted to flank Markina from Luhanske without success.

In Donetsk, rockets fired from HIMARS made a precision strike on a large ammunition depot in the eastern part of the city.

On the Donetsk-Zaporizhia administrative border, Russian forces tried to advance on the Velyka Novosilka suburb of Neskuchne and were unsuccessful.

Kharkiv

North of Izyum, Russian forces launched offensives on Dementiivka and Pytomnyk, but they were unsuccessful.

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Izyum

South of Izyum, Russian forces maintained tradition with attempted advances on Dmytrivka and Bohorodychne using reconnaissance in force. They weren’t successful. Russian units attacked Ukrainian positions in Dibrovne, Dolyna, and Karnaukhivka. They also tried to advance in the direction of Nova Dmytrivka from Brazhkivka. They were not able to gain new territory.

Kherson

Rockets fired from HIMARS hit the Antonivsky Bridge in Kherson, producing a major fire and a large explosion. Rockets also hit the bridge and Russian bases in Nova Kakhovka.

Russian airborne troops (VDV) continued their attempts to advance on Tavrijs’ke from Oleksandrivka. They could not improve their positions. Russian forces attempted to capture all of Blahodatne [Mykolaiv] but remained unsuccessful.

Ukrainian forces launched offensives on Novohrednjeve and Sukhyi Stavok, intending to expand the Inhulets River bridgehead. Fighting was described as intense. However, Ukrainian troops did not capture either settlement.

Dnipropetrovsk

The situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is unchanged. None of the parties involved in negotiations to allow inspectors into the power plant have set a date for when the International Atomic Energy Agency will arrive.

Valentyn Reznichenko, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Administrative and Military Governor, reported that Nikopol was hit by Grad rockets fired from the Zaporizhzhia NPP region.

Sumy and Chernihiv

Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, Sumy Oblast Administrative and Military Governor, reported that the settlements of Bilopillia, Khotin, and Velykopysarivska were shelled from across the international border with Russia. There were no injuries, and none of the strikes caused major damage.

In Chernihiv, the settlements of Muravyi and Zaliznyi Mist were shelled. There were no reports of damage or injuries.

Odesa, Crimea, and the Black Sea

North of Odesa, Russia fired five Kalibr cruise missiles into the Odesa Oblast. Two were shot down, with three landing in the area of Maiors’ke. Russia also fired two cruise missiles at the Zatoka Bridge south of Odesa. The bridge has been disabled since early May, and this was the sixth strike on the structure since the start of the war.

Russian air defenses fired at unidentified objects across the Crimea Peninsula, but there were no confirmed drone or missile strikes. Russian sources did not provide any proof to support claims of rockets, missiles, and drones being shot down.

Beyond Ukraine

Russia’s National Republican Army claimed responsibility for the assassination of Daryna Dugina on August 21. The group claims that they planted an improvised explosive device (IED) under the driver’s seat of her father’s SUV.

Daily Assessment

  1. The British Ministry of Intelligence and the ISW assessed that Russian forces had exhausted their combat strength, validating our conclusion from August 19.
  2. Russian officials have likely kicked out Ukrainian employees of Energoatom from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to eliminate evidence of its use as a military base in preparation for the agreed-to International Atomic Energy Agency inspection.
  3. There is a very high chance of multiple and significant punitive strikes against Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure the week of August 22 due to attacks on Belgorod, Russian-occupied Crimea, the assassination of Darya Dugina, and Ukrainian Independence Day celebrations on August 24.

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Assassination in Moscow – cruise missiles slam Odesa

August 21, 2022, Russia-Ukraine War Update

[UKRAINE] – MTN It has been 3,097 days since Russia occupied Crimea on February 27, 2014. Here is our latest update. You can visit our Russia-Ukraine War Center to find more news about Ukraine. You can also listen to our in-depth podcast, Malcontent News Russia Ukraine War Update, hosted by Linnea Hubbard.

Breaking News

Three Russian cruise missiles struck the Odesa region, with the Russian Ministry of Defense claiming they destroyed rockets meant for NATO-provided HIMARS launchers. Ukrainian officials claim five Kalibr cruise missiles were fired, with two intercepted and three striking warehouses storing grain. Neither Russia nor Ukraine provided evidence to support their claims. The missile strikes are a potential violation of Russia and Ukraine’s grain shipment agreement earlier this month.

Northeast Donetsk

There was limited fighting in northeast Donetsk. Russian forces attempted to advance on Ivano-Daryivka and Vyimka and did not gain new territory.

Bakhmut

Russian forces and their proxies continued their attempts to advance beyond the KNAUF-GIPS sheetrock factory on the eastern outskirts of Soledar. They also tried to advance into Bakhmutske without success.

Russian forces continued their attacks on Zaitseve, 10 kilometers southeast of Bakhmut, striking from three directions. Ukrainian defensive positions withstood the assaults.

In the Svitlodarsk bulge, Russian forces attacked Kodema from three directions but failed to dislodge Ukrainian defenders. To the southwest, separatists with the DNR continued attempts to advance on Mayorsk without success.

Southwest Donetsk – Zaporizhia

In separatist-controlled Horlivka, Ukrainian forces destroyed an ammunition depot. Videos shared on social media showed a large fire with secondary explosions.

Russian-backed troops attempted to advance on Niu York from two directions – striking from the south and east.

DNR separatists attempted to advance on Optyne and retake the northern part of Pisky without success.

Separatist troops made another attempt to advance on Pervomaiske across the open country to the south. The advance was unsuccessful.

Ukrainian forces pushed DNR separatists back from the center of Marinka.

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Kherson

Rockets fired from HIMARS hit the Russian base in Chornobaivka on the outskirts of Kherson city, destroying an ammunition depot and a Russian command post.

West of Kherson, Russian forces attempted to advance on Tavrijs’ke in three separate attacks launched from Olkesandrivka using motor infantry and tanks. They were unsuccessful.

A Ukrainian reconnaissance force tested Russian defenses in the northern part of Snihurivka. Further west, Russian forces attempted to advance on Blahodatne [Mykolaiv] and were unsuccessful.

Mykolaiv

Mykolaiv Oblast Administrative and Military Governor Vitaliy Kim reported that a Russian Kalibr cruise missile hit a five-story apartment building in Voznesensk. Nine people were injured, including four children.

Dnipropetrovsk

Employees of Energoatom, the Ukrainian state-run atomic energy company, have been placed on leave, including operational staff, and told not to return to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. None of the parties involved in negotiations to allow inspectors into the power plant have set a date for when the International Atomic Energy Agency will arrive.

Sumy and Chernihiv

Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, Sumy Oblast Administrative and Military Governor, reported that the settlements of Buryn, Bilopillia, Khotin, and Znob-Novhorodske were shelled from across the international border with Russia. There were no injuries, and none of the strikes caused major damage.

In Chernihiv, the settlement of Pushkari was shelled. There were no reports of damage or injuries.

Beyond Ukraine

Darya Dugina, the daughter of Putin’s “brain” Alexander Dugin, was killed in an apparent professional assassination when the Land Rover she was driving exploded in Moscow. The Russian state news agency TASS confirmed her death.

Dugina was driving her father’s SUV. He was supposed to be a passenger, but he made a last-second decision to travel in a different vehicle.

Video recorded seconds after the explosion showed a stunned Dugin watching the SUV burn on a Moscow road. Dugina was a journalist and analyst who denied the war crimes in Bucha, openly called for the creation of a Ukrainian rump state, and advocated for the destruction of Ukrainian culture, claiming it was a false concept.

Her father is considered a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the architect of Russia’s growing nationalist views. Some have called him the 21st Century Rasputin due to his demeanor, history, and oversized presence in political circles.

Russia is accusing Ukraine of using biological weapons to poison Russian soldiers with Botulism. The Kremlin claims the soldiers have been sickened by Botulinum Type B, a medication sold under the brand name Myobloc. Myobloc is a different purified version of the Botulinum sold as Botox. Both are used for removing wrinkles and other secondary medical benefits.

Daily Assessment

  1. The psychological impact of the drone strike in Sevastopol is evident as Russian air defense has started firing wildly across the region and cars streaming out of Crimea.
  2. As further evidence that the crisis at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was a psychological operation attempting to smear Kyiv, the new crisis is the Kremlin accusing Ukraine of using biological weapons on Russian troops.
  3. Russian forces have made marginal gains in pushing back the Ukrainian offensives south of Izyum.

To read the rest of our report, become a Patreon! For as little as $5 a month, you get access to the daily Russia-Ukraine War Situation Report. The report provides analysis, maps, detailed information about all the axes in Ukraine, international developments, information about war crimes and human rights, and economic news. As an added benefit, you get access to flash reports, breaking news, and our Discord server.

Become a Patreon today!