Bob Homans August 19
20220819
Sooner or later Bob’s messages will be too long for email. If so, please simply navigate to my substack. Graham
Ukraine – 8/19 Sitrep
Compiled by: Robert Homans
Twitter: @rhomansjr
August 19, 2022
More Blasts Inside Occupied Crimea and Within Russian Territory
Last night there were two attacks, one against an airbase near Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea, and another inside Russia at Belgorod. Judging by the secondary explosions, the target was an ammunition dump. Belgorod is near the Ukrainian border, opposite Kharkiv and has for years been a staging area for the Russian Armed forces. Lately, it is a staging area for Russian forces operating near Kharkiv. Given the amount of Russian shelling on Kharkiv, hitting targets inside Russia as large as an ammunition dump was only a matter of time.
As is the case with Ukrainian partisans in Southern Ukraine who have been training for 8+ years, since the end of the Revolution of Dignity, there have been Ukrainian partisans operating inside Russia, mostly trying to stir up resistance among ethnic minorities. Since the start of the war, it is reasonable to assume that they have broadened their activities.
Latest Tim Ash
This is Tim Ash’s latest Substack blog, where he talks about Putin’s apparent offer to talk with Pres. Zelenskyy without preconditions. As usual, I agree with everything Tim says here.
Times Radio
Lord Richard Dannatt, former Chief of the General Staff – In his interview, Dannatt seems to think that Ukraine will conduct a frontal assault to retake the Right Bank of the Dnieper River around Kherson in a manner similar to the Russian offensives in Donbas. As Time Ash points out in his piece, I think that’s unlikely.
Dannatt does pose an interesting theory about the attack on the Saky Airbase in Crimea. He poses the idea that Ukraine used modified MiG-29s firing HARMS missiles.
Mariana Budjeryn, Project of Managing the Atom – Discusses the recent talks in Lv’iv between Zelenskyy, Erdogan and Guiteres, and the dangers posed by the nuclear power plant.
8/19 Sitrep (my comment in bold face)
Russian Invasion of Ukraine 12:00 noon August 18 to 12:00 noon August 19, 2022
Abbreviations:
RMA = Regional Military Administration
MLRS = Multiple Launch Rocket System
AFU = Armed Forces of Ukraine
INTERNATIONAL
August 19
11:50 RND: Wolfgang Kubyki, the vice-speaker of the Bundestag from the Free Democratic Party, which is part of Germany's ruling coalition, spoke in favor of opening the "Nord Stream-2" gas pipeline to fill gas reservoirs for the winter, despite Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
11:16 Bloomberg: The date of a possible meeting between Zelenskyі and Putin has been announced. Putin plans to come to the G20 summit in Bali, said Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
● If he does arrive, the summit could host Putin's first meeting with the President of Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion. Since Vоlоdуmуr Zelenskyі is also invited to Bali on November 15-16.
09:57 ERR : Estonia has approved a new military aid package for Ukraine.
● We are talking about additional lethal aid, such as mortars and anti-tank weapons. In addition, Estonia plans to support the United Kingdom's initiative to scale up the training of Ukrainian forces and send a field hospital to Ukraine in cooperation with Germany.
08:02 Reuters: The US is going to provide about $800 million of military aid to Ukraine. The White House may announce this on August 19
00:40 Visegrad24: ''Türkiye is on the side of Ukraine," Turkish President Erdogan said following trilateral talks.
August 18
22:29 : An 84-year-old Ukrainian woman has become the oldest user of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange
● Binance shared the story of a client from Ukraine who, at the age of 84, was forced to flee from Russian aggression abroad. The granddaughter issued a crypto-card from Binance for the woman and is now sending funds to her grandmother through BinancePay.
22:38 : London-based DADEX will give Ukrainians 20,000 solar-powered mobile phones.
● Free phones will be provided to Ukrainians who are experiencing a shortage of electricity.
● “About 20,000 phones worth about 5 million euros will be transferred to Ukraine. Solar powered phones can be used to communicate in places where there is no electricity because they are powered by the sun. They need a little time to turn on and use satellites to communicate,” said Kresimir Mostarchic, DADEX brand manager.
21:28 : German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and apologized to him for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' statement about the Holocaust. Israeli Prime Minister's Office reports.
● During the telephone conversation, Scholz stressed that he strongly condemns any attempt to deny or relativize the Holocaust. The publication said that it was important for the German chancellor ""to personally clarify this for the Prime Minister of Israel, and not just announce it publicly.
20:32 Politico: The United States allowed the Ukrainian army to use Western weapons to strike at the Crimea, if Kyiv considers it necessary.
● "Of course, we don't choose targets, and everything we provide is for self-defense. Any target they decide to pursue on sovereign Ukrainian soil is, by definition, self-defense", – a White House official told the publication on condition of anonymity. At the same time, he stressed that, according to the position of the United States, "Crimea is Ukraine."
20:24 : Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte had a conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the topic of military assistance for Ukraine.
● Rutte assured that Ukraine can continue to count on his country.
● Stoltenberg said that NATO agrees on the importance of continuing long-term support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
20:01 : Businessman Dan Rapoport, the creator of the Moscow club Soho Rooms and an opponent of Volodymyr Putin, died under unclear circumstances in the United States. (Dan had numerous undertakings in Ukraine and was well known amongst Expats)
● The circumstances of the death of 52-year-old Rapoport are unclear. Journalist Yunia Pugacheva, who was the first to report Rapoport's death, claimed that the businessman committed suicide - and that before that he allegedly released a dog into the park with a suicide note. According to the journalist, he recently broke up with his wife, Ukrainian Aliona Rapoport.
● Aliona Rapoport herself, however, rejected the version of suicide, and also stated that she and her husband did not part. According to her, an investigation into the cause of the businessman's death is now underway.
19:36 Associated Press: The Russian cargo ship SV Konstantin with stolen Ukrainian grain arrived in the port of Tartus in Syria.
● The ship departed from Russian-occupied Crimea around 6 July. The Ukrainian embassy in Lebanon told the agency that the ship was transporting stolen wheat in Sevastopol.
● "On board this vessel is grain that was stolen and illegally transported by the Russian occupation authorities from storage facilities located in the temporarily occupied territories in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions", – the Ukrainian embassy says.
18:56 BNS agency: The Estonian government today at a meeting decided to provide Ukraine with additional military assistance, including mortars and anti-tank weapons.
● In addition, together with Germany, a field hospital will be delivered to Ukraine, and it is planned to send specialists to the UK to train Ukrainian military personnel.
18:46 : The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo failed to reach an agreement during bilateral talks that took place today in Brussels. This was stated by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell.
18:45 : The European Commission will provide $21 million to the United Nations Development Program to clear the rubble of destroyed infrastructure, buildings and homes in Ukraine.
● "The funds will also be used to identify and address urgent environmental threats, as well as to repair, rehabilitate and/or acquire strategic infrastructure for the affected areas, namely transformers, heating substations, water pumps, heating and water supply pipes, water disinfection systems and equipment for the supply of renewable energy''.
18:11 Politico: The United States may recommend that American companies reconsider business relations with Türkiye. Such a scenario may take place in the event of a rapprochement between the leaders of Türkiye and Russia.
16:44 Defense minister: Slovakia will supply weapons to Ukraine, despite Russia's resistance - the country's
● He expressed confidence that the decline in Slovak support for the initiative to transfer weapons to Ukraine relates to the activity of Russian propaganda in his country.
15:33 : The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Latvia proposes to stop issuing residence permits to citizens of the Russian Federation and Belarus until June 30, 2023.
● Amendments to the law on immigration have been submitted to other ministries for approval, and then they will be considered by the Diet and the government of the republic, the BNS agency reports.
● According to the amendments, citizens wishing to stay in Latvia (including by extending their residence permit) will need to apply for the status of a permanent resident of the EU, confirm knowledge of the state language and the availability of sufficient financial resources.
● The amendments also apply to restrictions on long-term visas. They want to issue such visas to international cargo and passenger carriers.
13:11 CNN Türk: Russia has declared its readiness for direct negotiations between Zelenskyi and Putin.
12:40 Politico: Europe began to reduce the volume of military aid to Ukraine.
● Thus, for the first time since the start of the war in July, the six largest European countries did not offer Ukraine any new military obligations. There is no list of "refusenik countries", but it is specified that Germany and France are among them.
12:24 : The EU Foreign Ministers will discuss on August 31 the possibility of changing the Schengen visa code to significantly reduce the issuance of visas to Russian citizens.
NATIONAL
August 19
11:57 : The new Ukrainian corvette of the "Ada" class, which is currently being built in Turkey, has been named "Hetman Ivan Mazepa".
11:40 : The Central Directorate of Intelligence of the MD of Ukraine:
● On the Independence Day of Ukraine, the Russians are planning to hold a demonstrative "trial" for the captive defenders of "Azovstal" in the temporarily occupied Mariupol.
● For this purpose, the surviving premises of the Mariupol Chamber Philharmonic are urgently being re-equipped. On the stage of the philharmonic hall, iron cages will be mounted, which will contain Ukrainian defenders. Several new temporary buildings are also being built near the premises.
● To give this action the appearance of "legality", the Russians prepare specially trained "witnesses" and involve representatives of the Russian "media".
● According to one of the possible scenarios of the Russians, they can make a pinpoint missile attack on the object. In the event of such a scenario, the Russians will traditionally try to shift the blame for the crime committed in Ukraine.
11:30 : Operational command "Pivden" officially confirmed that the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed the plans of the Russians to repair and use the Kakhovka bridge.
10:37 : The Security Service of Ukraine exposed an attempt by the FSB to install "bugs" in the corridors of the Verkhovna Rada.
● Counterintelligence of the Security Service exposed the fact of recruitment by the special services of the Russian Federation of an employee of the support unit of the Administrative Department of the Administration of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
● At the direction of his Russian curator, the agent must collect intelligence on the visits of foreign delegations to the Ukrainian parliament, including their personal composition, the content of official and informal conversations.
● In addition, he was given the task of studying the possibility of installing special technical means of secret collection of information in the halls and on the sidelines.
10:16 British Intelligence:
● Russian strikes on residential areas of Kharkiv killed at least 12 civilians on the afternoon of 17 August 2022. Although the front line in this sector has moved little since May, Ukraine's second city has been one of the most consistently shelled since the start of the invasion, when Russian forces probably aimed to reach the outskirts within 24 hours.
● Sitting around 15 km from the Russian front line, Kharkiv has suffered because it remains within range of most types of Russian artillery. Multiple rocket launchers and generally inaccurate area weapons have caused devastation across large parts of the city.
● Russian forces hold the Kharkiv sector relatively lightly but continue to conduct local raids and probing attacks against Ukrainian forces. They are probably trying to force Ukraine to maintain significant forces on this front, to prevent them from being employed as a counter-attack force elsewhere.
10:08 Deputy Minister of Infrastructure: Mykolaiv port cannot yet be used for the export of Ukrainian products.
● At the same time, Yuriy Vaskov emphasized that the problem lies precisely in the absence of a safety factor, since technically the port is ready to ship.
08:46 Operational Command Pivden (South): Ukrainian Armed Forces in the south inflicted 4 strikes on the accumulation of Russian manpower, weapons, and equipment in the Bashtanskіy and Berislavskіy districts.
● Rocket and artillery subunits performed more than 200 fire missions. Including the destruction of Russian plans to repair and continue to use the Kakhovka bridge.
08:38 Institute for the Study of War:
● Yesterday, for the first time since July 6, Russia was unable to advance into the territory of Ukraine, nor to declare any territorial achievements
● Russia is preparing a fake attack on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant to blame Ukraine.
● The day before, Russia placed military equipment near the nuclear reactor and forbade the station's employees to go to work on August 19.
● In addition, the Russian command has already prepared the information ground for provocations. The Russians want to shift the informational narrative in order to blame Ukraine for future operations on the territory of the station, analysts from the Institute for the Study of War say.
● Russian troops were advancing south of Siversk and northeast and south of Bakhmut, as well as around Donetsk;
● Russians launched an unsuccessful offensive in the Zaporіzhіа direction;
● Occupation administrations in the occupied territories are preparing for long-term integration of occupied territories of Ukraine into Russia.
● There are several possible versions of nighttime explosions in Crimea - Institute for the Study of War.
○ “It is not clear whether the reported explosions are caused by Ukrainian attacks or the poor behavior of the Russians with military equipment, the successful operation of the Russian air defense, or the nervous Russian occupiers, who are likely preparing for attacks in areas previously considered inaccessible to the Ukrainian army”, - analysts say.
08:20 Operational report of the General Staff of the AFU:
● In the Sloviansk direction, the Russians tried to conduct assault operations in the directions Barabashivka - Karnaukhivka, Sulyhivka - Dibrivne, Sulyhivka - Nova Dmytrivka.
● In the Kramatorsk direction, the Russian troops waged offensive battles in the directions of Spirne - Vyimka, Stryapivka - Soledar, Volodymyrivka - Soledar, Klynovo - Bakhmut, Vershyna - Kodema. In these directions, the units of the Russian Federation had no success and retreated. Fighting continues in the direction of Pokrovske - Bakhmutske.
● In the Avdiivka direction, the Russians are conducting assault operations in the direction of Lozove - Pervomaiske, the fighting continues.
07:41 : The Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed 4 ammunition depots and 2 Russian bases in 24 hours.
● Ammunition depots were destroyed in Amvrosiivka, Donetsk region; Belgorod region (Russia); Blahodatne, Kherson region; Beryslavskyi District.
● Russian bases were destroyed in Nova Kakhovka of the Kherson region and Kadiivka of the Luhansk region.
● Also, the destruction in Kerch (Crimea), Stary Oskol (Belgorod region, Russia) and Belbek (Crimea) is being specified.
00:47 Channel 24 - President’s Office: “The Tourist season in Crimea will be bright”
● He stressed that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will do everything possible to eliminate military bases and illegally installed bridges in Crimea."
00:26 : At the time of the explosions, there were more than 40 units of Russian fighter aircraft at the Belbek military airfield in Sevastopol
00:07 Military expert Oleh Zhdanov: We are gradually approaching the southern coast of Crimea, there is very little left to the Crimean bridge.
● “Explosions in Crimea are a logical continuation of hostilities, which are automatically transferred to the entire territory of Ukraine, within the boundaries of 1991.”
August 18
23:32 : The defender of Mariupol Dmytro Kozatsky is alive. It is he who is the author of the world-famous photographs of Azovstal.
● “Dmytro said that he was healthy. He said that he is now in Donetsk. When he spoke, there was an "interrogator" nearby. He was allowed to call."
20:47 : President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyі signed a law on the introduction of a moratorium on increasing utility tariffs
● The moratorium will be in effect during martial law and 6 months after its completion for tariffs for gas, heat supply and hot water. The difference in tariffs will be compensated by the state to the supplier.
20:41 : Ukrzaliznytsia (State Rail Company) reported that it had launched a games library and was returning chess to trains.
● "We selected 100 wagons on long routes to Vienna, Budapest, Warsaw, Chelm, Przemysl and Uzhgorod for a "pilot" launch and, together with Kilogames, equipped them with chess, checkers, backgammon and the exclusive board game "Railroad", - the message says.
20:40 UN representative: There is still a long way to go before discussing the issue of a complete cessation of the war in Ukraine.
● “The Secretary General discussed efforts to advance the cause of peace. But we are still very far from the time when we can discuss efforts for a complete cessation of hostilities'' - Haq said.
20:05 : Turkish President Erdogan says that not only Ukraine, but the whole world feels the positive results of the Istanbul Agreement. Erdogan also intends to discuss with Putin the results of the Lviv talks with Zelenskyi and Guterres.
● According to him, the President of Ukraine and the UN Secretary General agree that the situation in Ukraine should be resolved at the negotiating table.
● TRT Haber - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he does not want a repeat of Chornobyl, commenting on the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, – .
○ According to him, Türkiye is making efforts to end the war through diplomacy. He also announced the constant support of Ukraine.
19:55 : Negotiations with Russia are possible only if Russian troops leave the illegally occupied territory of Ukraine, – Zelenskyi after meeting with Erdogan and Guterres.
19:37 : UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for an urgent agreement on the restoration of the civil status of the Zaporizhzhia NPP and ensuring the security of this zone.
● A representative of Brazil will be appointed head of the mission to establish the facts of the explosion in Olenivka, which killed 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
● He also says that the UN is working on obtaining safe access to the pre-trial detention centre in Olenivka.
19:15 Operational information from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:
● In the Kharkiv direction, the Russian army is trying to hold its positions, take measures to restore the combat capability of the units that have suffered losses, and replenish the stocks of logistical support for the troops.
● In the Kramatorsk direction, the Russians made an unsuccessful attempt to advance in the direction of Mykolaivka - Vyimka. They suffered losses and retreated.
● In the Bakhmut direction, the Russian troops tried to break through the defenses of the Ukrainian troops by offensive and assault actions and advance from the areas of Volodymyrivka, Pokrovske, Klynove, Semyhirria and Holmivskyi in the direction of the city of Bakhmut. They had no success, they left.
● In the Avdiivska direction, the Russian troops used aircraft to strike directly at the settlement of Krasnohorivka.
● The Russian army made unsuccessful attempts to improve the tactical situation in the areas of Verkhniotoretske - Kamianka, Novoselivka Druha - Avdiivka, Pisky - Pervomaiske and Lozove - Pervomaiske.
● On the Novopavlivka direction, the Russians tried to improve the tactical situation in the direction of Taramchuk - Vodiane by offensive actions. They were rebuffed and retreated.
19:12 : The SBU (Ukrainian Intelligence - ed.) stopped the activities of hackers who terrorized Ukraine with mass reports of "mining".
● The perpetrators were particularly active on the eve of Russian large-scale invasion of Ukraine and have resumed their destructive activities in recent months.
18:55 : Volodymyr Zelenskyi says that during the tripartite meeting in Lviv they have discussed:
● the possibility of improving the grain initiative;
● the situation around the Zaporizhzhia NPP and nuclear blackmail by the Russians;
● large-scale theft of grain by Russia in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine;
● touched upon issues of defense cooperation;
● post-war restoration of Ukraine.
18:34 : A memorandum of understanding on the restoration of infrastructure, which provides for Türkiye's participation in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, was signed in Lviv in the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
● "Turkish business has extensive experience in the construction of roads and bridges, in particular, Zaporizhzhia and Kremenchuk, and has established itself as a reliable partner. Therefore, we expect that very soon we will reach concrete practical results of joint restoration", – the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov says.
17:12 Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine: Exposed a large-scale enterprise, which is one of the largest manufacturers of semi-finished products in Ukraine, in tax evasion.
● During the pre-trial investigation, it was established that the beneficial owner of the asset is a citizen of Russia.
● The Bureau reported the seizure of corporate rights and real estate with a total value of more than UAH 350 million. The seized property was transferred to ARMA management.
16:59 Ministry of Health: About 15 million Ukrainians need psychological support, without it, about 3 million risk serious psychiatric disorders.
· Sadly, this is going to be a long-term burden on Ukraine, not only for its health sector but also its economy, preventing thousands of capable individuals from leading fully productive lives.
15:58 Bureau of Economic Security: The court arrested the gas station netwrork and the shares of the Amic Energy network.
● An arrest was made on 308 facilities of one of the largest networks of gas stations connected to the Russian Federation, which once belonged to the Russian "Lukoil".
15:33 : The head of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Viktor Lyashko, said that the work of doctors under the conditions of occupation will not be considered collaborationism.
● "Providing medical care and working in a healthcare facility will not be considered collaborationism. This was our position, which we coordinated with the power structures, and made several declarations in this regard. Cooperation with the occupiers for political reasons, which will be recorded, can be considered collaborationism", - the minister explained.
15:15 : In a press release, the ICEYE company clarified that it is about renting a satellite, not buying it.
● The agreement states that ICEYE will transfer all the capabilities of one of its search and rescue satellites already in orbit. The SAR satellite will be operated by ICEYE.
● In addition, ICEYE will provide access to its group of SAR satellites, which will allow the Armed Forces to receive radar satellite images.
15:06 Ministry of Statistics: The first helicopter purchased with the funds of UNITED24 has already been sent to the front .
● It is capable of transporting two seriously wounded and three doctors or cargo weighing up to 1,200 kg over a distance of up to 600 km and at a speed of up to 200 km/h
15:14 Turkish TV channel A Haber: Negotiations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan started in Lviv..
● Erdogan brought an impressive delegation to the talks with Zelenskyi.
○ Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
○ Ministry of Agriculture,
○ Ministry of Trade,
○ Ministry of Energy,
○ Ministry of Defense,
○ Ministry of Intelligence,
○ the Department of the Defense Industry and the company Baykar Makina (producer of "Bayraktar").
15:01 : The Alpha Centauri project reports that the satellites of the Iceye group (ICEYE) observe the Earth in the microwave range (SAR) - this allows you to take pictures of the surface at any time of the day and under any weather conditions.
● Usually, the data is updated every few hours - it is possible to monitor combat operations at the tactical level. Ukraine will receive a satellite operating in an orbit with an inclination convenient for observation.
● The photo shows a satellite image of the Krymskyi Bridge.
14:45 : From August 1 to August 15, 21 dry cargo ships, which were loaded with 563 thousand tons of grain, and left the ports of "Odesa", "Chornomorsk" and "Yuzhnyi".
● According to the UN Grain Coordination Center in Istanbul, importers include:
○ Türkiye 26%
○ Iran 22%
○ South Korea 22%
○ China 8%
○ Ireland 6%
○ Italy 5%
○ Djibouti 4%
○ Romania 2%
14:37 : For UAH 600 million, which Ukrainians collected for the purchase of Bayraktar drones, the Serhii Prytula charitable foundation purchased satellite time.
● It will provide access to the database of satellite images of the Aisai company for more than an hour, which will allow the military to plan operational operations.
14:31 State Security Service: During August 18, due to Russian shelling of Zaporizhzhya NPP, the radiation and chemical intelligence will monitor the situation from Dnipro.
● Today, a special mobile radiation and chemical reconnaissance vehicle will be used to measure and monitor radiation pollution.
14:09 Business Insider: The USA "quietly" transferred AGM-88 HARM missiles to Ukraine
● It is noted that Ukraine has begun to use high-speed AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles against the Russian Federation, which can create problems for Russian air defense radars.
● The Pentagon confirmed the transfer of the AGM-88 HARM already after the Ukrainian military struck the Russian troops, and Russian bloggers announced the discovery of fragments of these missiles.
13:26 British Intelligence:
● The heavy attrition of Russian Main Battle Tanks in Ukraine is highly likely partially due to Russia's failure to fit and properly employ adequate Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA)
● It is highly likely that many Russian tank crews lack the training to maintain ERA , leading to either poor fitting of the explosive elements , or it being left off entirely.
● These deficiencies probably contribute to the widespread incidents of turret ejection, which are well documented in eye - witness videos from Ukraine.
● The war has seen numerous failures by Russian commanders to enforce low - level battle discipline - such as the use of ERA . The cumulative effect of these failures is likely a significant factor behind the poor performance of Russia's forces.
12:40 : The SBU (Ukrainian Intelligence - ed.) detained a Russian agent who, at the beginning of the invasion, “guided” more than 120 pieces of Russian equipment to the outskirts of Kyiv.
● The traitor turned out to be a resident of the Sumy region, recruited by the special services of the Russian Federation. From the first days of the temporary occupation of the region, he began to actively cooperate with the enemy, offering to become a guide and show safe ways to Kyiv.
MORDOR (Russia)
August 19
11:21 Russian media: Russians sent $4.7 billion abroad in June, which was the largest amount since the beginning of 2018.
11:03 : Footage of the Russian military enlistment office burning near Tver has appeared. It is reported that because of the fire, only the foundation remained from the building.
10:43 Intelligence Directorate Ministry of Defense of Ukraine - Intercepted Conversation: A Russian, while in the Kharkiv region, talks about the refusal of the command to rotate them due to the fact that the replacement military raped three girls 14, 15 and 17 years old in Belgorod.
07:47 : The media report that Russians have set up a checkpoint and began to check the cars in Sevastopol, temporarily occupied Crimea
August 18
22:58 : Explosions at the airfield in the city of Stary Oskol, Belgorod region.
22:20 : A video from the village of Timonovo in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation, where an ammunition depot is on fire.
21:47 : Local residents in social networks report explosions in the temporarily occupied Crimea, in the city of Kerch.
● Advisor to the "head of Crimea" Oleg Kryuchkov said that the air defense systems had worked.
21:06 : The Russians place their military equipment directly on the territory of the Zaporizhia NPP.
● The entire arsenal of imported heavy equipment with all the ammunition is now very close to the equipment that ensures the operation of the turbogenerator. In particular, in close proximity to the main oil tank, which contains flammable oil that cools the steam turbine. There is also explosive hydrogen used to cool the generator.
18:24 Russian media: Tomorrow, the Russians want to conduct an online broadcast from the Zaporizhzhia NPP. They are going to carry it out with the help of drones.
● "The administration of the Zaporizhzhia region promises that tomorrow the drones will broadcast online the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, where, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian troops are preparing a provocation", – the report says.
18:11 : Russian troops are preparing a provocation at the ZNNP tomorrow. Rosatom representatives urgently left the territory of the facility - CDI of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Only operative personnel will be at the station. The entrance will be closed to all other employees. Also, after Russia's alleged preparation of a provocation by Ukraine, the Russians can "raise the stakes" and stage a real terrorist attack on Europe's largest nuclear facility, timed to the UN Secretary General's stay in Ukraine.
17:47 : Russia sent three new Russian leaders to Kherson, who are to be part of the so-called "government" of the Kherson region. Thus, there are fewer and fewer local collaborators with the occupation "authorities" in the region. As reported on terrorist Telegram channels, the occupiers appointed a new "first deputy chairman of the military-civilian security administration", "minister of industry" and "minister of finance" to their "power".
17:09 Operational command Pivden "South": Russia has relocated about 10 ships to the Black Sea.
● Ships of the Russian Federation take shelter in safe areas along the Crimean coast to Novorossiysk (mainland Russian coast). There are two surface carriers of the Russian Federation with 16 Kalibr-type cruise missiles and a large amphibious ship on combat duty.
16:55 Expert Alexey Golobutsky: Sabotage was carried out on the railway near Moscow, because of which the railway equipment was put out of order
● As a result, the railway section will temporarily stop working. This is another sabotage in several similar ones occurring throughout the territory of the Russian Federation. Most of them, one way or another, are aimed at disabling the communications that supply weapons for the war with Ukraine.
● "The actions of the unknown are not similar to the work of the Ukrainian special services. The most likely option is the activity of the Russian partisan movement, which is gaining momentum in the Russian Federation," the expert said.
16:18 : In the temporarily occupied Crimea, they say that the cause of the smoke in the Mezhvodne region is the burning of dry grass in the village of Snizhne in the Black Sea region.
● According to the Crimean "Ministry of Emergency Situations", the fire on an area of 250 square meters has already been extinguished.
15:43 : The mass media are reporting on a fire in Mezhvodnoy, in the north-west of the temporarily occupied Crimea.
15:18 : Donetsk mass media report that a direct hit to the railway track occurred near the temporarily occupied Makiivka. The published photos show that a hole has formed in the overpass.
● The nature of the damaged fabric is similar to that which was previously fixed on the Antonovsky bridge and the Kakhovska hydroelectric dam.
14:10 The Moscow Times: A military unit in Chechnya complained about a hundred Kuban Cossacks who left combat positions in Ukraine.
● At the disposal of the publication was the mourning for the governor of the Krasnodar region from military unit No. 16544 from the Chechen Republic. The text says that the second company of BARS-11, formed from Kuban Cossacks under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Valery Efremov, in the number of about 100 people, voluntarily left their positions.
● In particular, it is noted that the Cossacks refused to go on the offensive, sabotaged orders and drank alcohol. The unit set a "negative example for other servicemen".
12:52 : The military command of the Russian Federation threatens to stop the operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest one in Europe.
● This statement was made by the head of the troops of radiation, chemical and biological protection of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant-General Ihor Kyrylov, in a comment to the Russian media.
○ "If the negative development of the situation related to the "shelling of the nuclear power plant by Ukraine" continues, the issue of putting the 5th and 6th power units into the ""cold reserve" may be considered, which will lead to the shutdown of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant", – he says.
12:30 Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense - Intercepted conversation: A Russian soldier tells his mother about the plans of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for a counteroffensive. According to him, such information was provided by Russian intelligence. He also complains about his brigade commander leaving them in position for a "third term".
“On August 24, huge forces should attack us. There will be Independence Day. They want to arrange a demonstration execution”, – the Russian soldier says in a conversation.
KHARKIV
August 19
09:50 RMA: Showed a photo with the consequences of today's morning rocket attack on Kharkiv, which killed a 52-year-old woman.
● It is reported that another person was assisted on the spot. Only civilian infrastructure facilities were hit - 2 private residential buildings, an educational institution and a civil enterprise.
08:55 RMA: This morning, the Russians again fired at the civilian population of Kharkiv. Around 6 am, at least 5 rocket strikes were recorded in Kyivskiy, Nemyshlyanskyi and Osnovyanskiy districts of the city.
● In the Kуіv region, the building of one of the institutions of higher education was destroyed, in Osnovyanskіy - the building of a civil enterprise, in Nemyshlyanskіy - rockets hit 2 private houses.
● At the moment, we know about one dead woman, she was a security guard at an educational institution. Emergency services are on the scene. Information about the victims and the scale of destruction is being specified.
● During the day, the Russians continued to fire artillery at the settlements of Chuhuyevskyi, Kharkiv, Bohodukhovskyi districts of the region. Damaged residential buildings and outbuildings, burnt grass and wheat in the field. In the Zolochiv society, fires broke out in the club, library and fields.
● A 68-year-old man was injured in the Pechenegs of the Chuhuyevskyi district.
07:32 Mayor of Kharkiv: Today in the city is declared a Day of mourning.
● “The evening of August 17 and the morning of August 18 became one of the hardest for Kharkiv since the beginning of the war. People were killed, and many were injured, including children.
● I think it would be right today to remember everyone whose lives were taken by war, everyone who died in the walls of their home, in the streets of their hometown, on the battlefield.”
August 18
19:14 RMA: The death toll from a rocket attack on a hostel in Kharkiv's Saltivskyi district has risen to 17, including a 13-year-old child. Another 42 people were wounded.
14:38 : The brother of Kharkiv track and field athlete Kateryna Tabashnyk showed the consequences of the Russian missile attack on a hostel in Kharkiv and told how he and the rescuers exhumed their dead mother.
12:24 : A Russian missile attack on a Kharkiv dormitory claimed the lives of the mother of Ukrainian athlete Kateryna Tabashnyk. She announced this on Instagram.
12:04 State Emergency Service: Updated information on the morning shelling of Kharkiv.
● According to preliminary data, 3 people died, including one child (a boy born in 2009). 8 people, including 2 children, were saved.
LUHANSK
August 19
09:30 RMA: The Russians are trying to strengthen the offensive on Bakhmut, so they expect new forces in the infantry to reduce their own losses. Compulsory mobilization is underway in the cities seized in the summer.
● During August 18, 8 Russian attacks were repelled. Near eight settlements, the Russians attracted aircraft.
● Last night alone, they used cannon and rocket artillery 16 times, directing attacks on settlements and fortifications of the Ukrainian military.
DONETSK
August 19
09:09 RMA: During August 18, Russians killed 5 civilians of Donbas: 2 in Avdiivka, 1 in Druzhba, 1 in Zelenopolye and 1 in Pervomaiske. Another 10 people were injured.
07:53 Mayor: Morning strike on Kramatorsk. An educational institution was destroyed. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties.
August 18
17:06 Mariupol City Council: Russians are trying to export metal products from the temporarily occupied Mariupol to the Russian Federation, and this is already leading to internal clashes
● "They are making a request to launch the port, because there is a lot of metal products left there. They have already exported 2-3 thousand tons each. They even arranged criminal showdowns for this metal. Because it's big money,".
ZAPORIZHYA
August 19
11:30 National Police: Over the past day, the Russians fired on civilian infrastructure in the area of the settlements of Zaporizhia, Preobrazhenka, Novomykolaiivka, Mala Tokmachka, Orikhove, Nesteryanka.
● There were 34 reports of destruction of civilian infrastructure as a result of shelling by Russian troops.
August 18
14:10 : President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi created a military administration in the temporarily occupied Berdyansk of the Zaporizhzhia region.
● He also appointed Viktoria Halytsyna as the head of the Berdiansk military administration.
13:11 Mayor: The Russians have closed the exit from the temporarily occupied Melitopol towards the Crimea.
● Due to the great danger of a nuclear catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, Fedorov asks the townspeople to evacuate.
DNIPRO
August 19
08:29 RMA: The Russian army covered three districts with fire at once - Kriyvorizhska, Synelnikovska and Nikopolsky.
● Russians killed a 36-year-old man in the Apostolovskyi community of the Kriviy Rih district. They fired at the bulk with Hurricanes. In the village of Persho Travneve, housing, a gas pipeline and a power line were damaged.
● They hit Velyka Kostroma with cannon artillery. There is destruction.
● A 12-year-old boy was wounded in the Synelnikovskiy district. He was sleeping at home when shells from the Russian MLRS "Tornado S" flew into his house. The child is in the hospital, he was operated on. The village has destroyed houses.
● In the center of the night Nikopol, the Russians sent 10 shells from cannon artillery. Up to 20 high-rise buildings, a dozen shops, a lyceum, a bank and a bus stop were damaged in the city. The power line was out of order. Electricity works. No dead or wounded.
KHERSON
August 19
00:58 Kherson Regional Council: Confirmed that the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck at the military targets of the Russian army in the temporarily occupied Nova Kakhovka
August 18
18:38 Regional police department: Due to the hostilities, the communities of the Kherson region were left without a centralized water supply. It is impossible to carry out repair work now, because the Russians are constantly shelling settlements. People literally found themselves on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe.
● "Together with colleagues from Kryvyi Rih, we organized the supply of drinking water to the residents of the Novovorontsovka community. Then we will communicate with other communities that were left without water supplies".
17:21 National Police: In Kherson, armed soldiers of the Russian Federation broke into the house of a 45-year-old local resident. They conducted an illegal search on the territory of the household. A Ukrainian flag was found in the garage, after which the military tied the man's hands, covered his face, put him in a car and took him to an unknown destination. Now the whereabouts of the man are unknown.
16:31 RMA: Situation report
● In the village of Korobky, Russians kidnapped a local resident from his house, now the man's whereabouts are unknown.
● At the Armyansk checkpoint, the Russians abducted a Kherson man who was trying to leave the temporarily occupied territory through Crimea to Poland. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
● Occupiers detained a doctor in Nova Kakhovka during the relocation of the HPP. The man's whereabouts are unknown.
● Many cases of looting by Russians have been recorded.
● Near the village of Heroyskoye, a car carrying civilians trying to evacuate to the territory controlled by Ukraine exploded on a mine.
○ Previously, the car ran into an explosive object in the forest. The driver and passenger were killed, another passenger was seriously injured.
16:22 : Anti-personnel fragmentation mines (POM-2) were discovered in the de-occupied territories of the Kherson region by units of the operational command "Kakhovka" of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The nature of this mine is that it is possible to suffer from it without even touching it.
15:55 Center of National Resistance: Russians are forced to bring youth from other regions to draw Russian symbols in temporarily occupied Kherson.
● "However, these groups do not have time to cope, because the Ukrainian underground is actively inflicting it again".
15:42 RMA: Due to the successes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russians are intensifying the terror of the local population - they are kidnapping teachers, doctors and heads of territorial communities.
● There is also a problem with a shortage of products, because in several cities food stores have not been open since the beginning of the occupation.
● Yanushevych emphasized that temporary evacuation from the occupied territories will significantly speed up the liberation of the region.
12:03 Regional Council: Officially minus 29 Russian soldiers (rashists) and equipment in Bilohirka
MYKOLAIV
August 19
10:28 : Russian soldiers lost a drone with a flash drive that contained a video of their base in the vicinity of the village of Pervomayske in the Mykolaiv region.
09:26 RMA: Information about Russian shelling in the Mykolaiv region
● According to the information of Operational Command "Pivden" , on August 18, port infrastructure facilities were once again attacked in Mykolaiv. There were no casualties.
● On the night of August 19, around 04:00, the city was shelled with S-300 missiles. Three rockets again hit P. Mohyla Chernihiv National University, nearby houses were damaged. Initially, 1 person was injured. An enterprise was also damaged in another district of the city. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties.
● Mykolaiv district.
○ In the afternoon, on August 18, at 12:55 shelling was recorded in the village Galitsinove. As a result of the hit by cluster munitions of the Smerch MLRS, several residential buildings were damaged, the building of the fire station was destroyed and a fire truck was destroyed. Three people were injured.
● Bashtanskiy district.
○ Yesterday, August 18, approximately at 9:30 and 17:30 there were shelling on the territory of the Shyrokovska community. The community was also shelled from 22:00, August 18, to 04:00, August 19. The hits were outside the settlements. There were no casualties.
○ The settlements of the Bereznegovatska community, located on the line of demarcation, remain under constant fire. Information about the victims and damage is being specified.
04:59 Mayor of Mykolayiv: After a series of explosions that the 101 and 112 lines in the city were temporarily out of service
● The Russians fired two S-300 missiles at the Petro Mohyla Black Sea State University.
● Emergency crews and utilities are working on the spot.
August 18
17:22 Deputy Minister of Infrastructure: Mykolaiv port is still impossible to use for the export of Ukrainian products.
● "If the military situation begins to change, we will come up with an initiative that we hope will be supported by the UN. The technical port is ready to work," the deputy minister emphasized.
16:43 : This afternoon, the Russians again shelled the Mykolaiv region, reported the region's emergency services.
● As a result of the impact of the cluster munitions of the MLRS in the village of Halytsynovoe, one fire truck caught fire, and the other was seriously damaged. The soldiers of the State Emergency Service themselves were not injured.
15:14 Mayor : In Mykolaiv, they do not plan to carry out a forced evacuation due to likely problems with winter heating, but the season will be very difficult.
● According to the mayor, one of the problematic issues is the water that will be used to fill the networks. Now it is being prepared, because it must be of high quality so that piping is not destroyed.
● There may also be problems with gas supply in private houses, so the mayor advises to stock up on electrical appliances, coal and firewood.
14:36 Mayor: As a result of daytime shelling in Mykolaiv, two people were injured and hospitalized. Another person died on the way to the hospital.
● "We are collecting detailed information about the consequences of shelling. The affected areas and all other details will be communicated to you later," - he clarified.
OTHER REGIONS
August 19
11:31 Sumy RMA: From the very morning, from 6 o’clock, the Russians began shelling the territory of the Belopolska community in the Sumy region from a mortar, 10 arrivals.
● Already at 8 o'clock the mortar opened fire (4 parishes) on the Krasnopolska community. Previously - without loss and destruction.
00:25 Sumy RMA: On August 18, the Russians shelled the territories of the Belopolska, Krasnopolska and Miropolska communities 7 times. About 100 arrivals were recorded. Preliminary, no casualties.
August 18
17:36 : The SSU found more than UAH 8 million in cash held by an official of the Lv’iv city council and her accomplices, suspected of illegally transporting conscripts abroad.
● The asking price was $1,300. The price included a certificate of establishment of the disability group with which it was possible to leave the country. The official was detained, suspicion was raised against her.
17:20 Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office: An employee of the Kyiv police is suspected of extorting funds and selling information from state databases.
16:17 : In Zhytomyr, the SSU blocked a large-scale scheme for the sale of cars imported into Ukraine under the guise of humanitarian aid.
● According to the investigation, the perpetrators illegally sold crossovers and jeeps imported from abroad as humanitarian aid allegedly for the Armed Forces. Two "businessmen" from Zhytomyr and Berdychev are involved in the organization of the scheme.
15:42 Kyiv RMA: Not far from the village of Zelena Polyana, Vyshhorod district, during harvest, an explosive device exploded on a tractor.
● The driver of the vehicle was injured. Medical assistance is provided to him.
15:03 : A resident of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district of the Odesa region was sentenced to 5 years in prison for spreading information about the deployment of the Armed Forces.
14:55 Mayor: Kyiv received 19 buses from four German cities - Munich, Regensburg, Hanover and Zeven - as aid from private transport companies.
● In particular, the capital of Ukraine received 11 ordinary city buses, 6 long (so-called accordions) and 2 intercity buses of the "Tourist" class.
Comparing Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to Russian invasion of Ukraine using Wikipedia and Ukraine Ministry of Defense Daily Bulletins. Soviet and Russian military losses not including captured equipment.
SOURCES
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/
https://euromaidanpress.com/
https://invite.viber.com/?g2=AQBD3wxTrZ6XUU7IdXeHUfjVCydekezQCCGuwYnT6qPd1r7n1aVbFIewa6ng6Lis