The Ukrainian military during the battles with the Russian invaders had some success in the Luhansk and Zaporozhye regions, advancing in these sectors of the front.
On August 15, the Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out counter-offensive operations in at least three sectors of the front and reportedly advanced in the Luhansk region and the western part of the Zaporozhye region, the publication says.
As the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine informed, the military continued counter-offensive operations in the Bakhmut, Melitopol (west of the Zaporozhye region) and Berdyansk (west of the Donetsk region – eastern part of the Zaporozhye region) directions.
Coordinates released by a Russian “military correspondent” on 15 August indicate that the Defense Forces have advanced south of Dibrova (7km southwest of Kremennaya) in the Luhansk region.
Geolocation footage released on August 14 shows that the Ukrainian Armed Forces also advanced towards Robotino, and further Russian and Ukrainian reports released on August 15 suggest that the Defense Forces sent additional counter-offensive brigades to the western part of the Zaporozhye region.
Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Petro Chernyk said that the counter-offensive is slowly advancing in the south of the country, because the Ukrainian forces must overcome the three-echeloned defense line of the Russian invaders.
He also noted that the enemy’s line of defense includes:
- the first line of minefields several kilometers wide;
- the second line with the concentration of artillery, equipment and personnel;
- the third line of rear positions, designed to conserve resources.
As Chernyk pointed out, Ukrainian counter-battery measures are especially important in order to prevent enemy artillery from destroying the mine-clearing equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The ISW noted that the colonel’s statements are consistent with previous assessments by experts from the Institute for the Study of War that Russia’s “doctrinally sound elastic defense” is slowing down the advance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in southern Ukraine.
Key takeaways:
- On the night of August 14-15, the Russian Federation launched a large-scale missile attack on targets mainly in the Ukrainian rear.
- The Kremlin is using the Army-2023 forum in Moscow (August 14-20) to develop bilateral military-political relations with other states and position itself as a “reliable and technologically advanced partner.”
- Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made mostly standard comments that portrayed the government as effectively countering Russian military-building efforts, portraying Western and Ukrainian resources as limited, and promoting international cooperation against the West.
- Sources affiliated with PMC “Wagner” undermine private military companies affiliated with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
- The founder of PMC “Wagner” Yevgeny Prigozhin continues to comment on the issues of the “Wagnerites” on the African continent in order to remain active in the information space, but noticeably refrains from commenting on the war against Ukraine.
- The Russian news outlet Kommersant reported that the Russian authorities are developing a mechanism to fully control and disable civilian mobile networks in the event of an emergency, possibly related to pro-Ukrainian raids across the border.
- Russian troops have been conducting offensive operations on the Kupyansk-Svatovo-Kremennaya line, in the Bakhmut area, on the Avdiivka-Donetsk line and in the border area of the Donetsk-Zaporozhye region, and have reportedly advanced in the Svatovo and Bakhmut areas.
- On August 15, the UAF conducted counter-offensive operations on at least three sectors of the front and reportedly advanced in the Luhansk region and the western part of the Zaporozhye region.
- The Russian Vostok battalion, which operates near Urozhayne, claimed on August 15 that Russian troops had completely lost the village and blamed the loss of the village on a lack of infantry and equipment, but ISW has not yet observed visual evidence that Russian troops have completely withdrawn from him.
- It is reported that a volunteer formation of the subject of the Russian Federation “Bashkortostan Regiment” has been transferred to Ukraine.
- The Russian authorities continue to “integrate” the occupied Ukrainian territories into the Russian cultural and educational sphere.
The situation on the front
Earlier, Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar noted that a decrease in the number of Russian shelling and attacks was recorded in the east , because the Ukrainian military hit the invaders powerfully when they activated in the Kupyansky and Limansky directions.
In addition, the Defense Forces transferred reserves to the Liman-Kupyansk direction in order to make it impossible for the Russian invaders to advance.
Source : RBC