A fighter of the Russian Air Force shot down a Mi-8 helicopter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an aerial battle over the Donetsk People’s Republic
Kyiv, Ukraine Aug 14 2023, 07:55 6879 read 11 comments
On August 13, the Air Force of Ukraine carried out 10 strikes on the areas of concentration of personnel, armaments and military equipment of the Russian troops and four on their anti-aircraft missile systems.
Also, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, during the day, rocket-artillery units hit two artillery installations on firing positions, one anti-aircraft missile complex, one radio-electronic warfare station, one Russian air defense system.
Meanwhile, in 24 hours, the Russians carried out two missile strikes, 24 airstrikes and about 40 attacks with rocket launchers (MLRS) on positions of Ukrainian troops and populated areas.
“The probability of launching missile and air strikes on the entire territory of Ukraine remains high,” warns the General Staff.
Amid the world’s attention on Ukraine’s counter-offensive, Russia quietly launched a new offensive in the eastern part of the Luhansk regionwhich analysts say is aimed at undermining the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
As THE HILL says, while this occupation operation is much smaller than Moscow’s winter offensive, the Russian offensive could put pressure on Ukraine and distract it.
Russian troops have been rapidly advancing on Kupyansk, Kharkiv Oblast, which is right next to Luhansk, and if it is captured it will strengthen Russian control over the area. The city was captured by Moscow in the early days of the war before Ukrainian forces retook it last fall.
Mark Kanchian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, doubts Russia can move forward. But if that happens, he says, it will be a serious blow to Ukraine at a dangerous time.
“It’s worth paying attention to. If the Russians make any progress here, it’s really a big deal,” Kanchian said.
“If they manage to do that at a time when the Ukrainian counter-offensive is stuck in the defensive zone, it will be a very powerful failure and, I think, very discouraging for the Western backers,” he added.
Ukrainian officials have confirmed that attacks near Kupyansk are intensifying. Russia is also advancing from Kremennaya towards the city of Liman in the Donetsk region. The estuary south of Kupyansk is another important target in Moscow’s efforts to stabilize its power in the east.
Aram Shabanyan, manager of open source intelligence at the New Lines Institute think tank, said that Russia has made progress but is not capturing major cities or Ukrainian positions.
“They are trying to force the Ukrainians to transfer their forces to another battlefield while they study where there are weak points,” he said.
Shabanyan also stressed that Russia has already used up most of its resources and is unlikely to be able to mount any major offensive until next year, an assessment shared by most military analysts.
Russian troops were forced to withdraw from their positions in the eastern sector of the front as Ukraine retook a key village in the Donetsk region.
According to The Independent, Russian occupiers have abandoned their positions in Urozhane, a strategically important southeastern village that Ukrainian soldiers have been fighting for several days as part of a counteroffensive.
According to some reports, Ukrainian soldiers used American smart bombs delivered in March. However, there is no official confirmation of this.
Harvest was retaken amid reports that dictator Vladimir Putin was no longer funding the mercenaries of the Wagner group. Belarus is probably the main financier of the militants.
The situation at the front
The Russian invaders tried to control the situation in Kupyansk, but suffered losses. Commenting on the current situation in this section of the front, the spokesman of the eastern group of troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Serhiy Cherevatiy, noted that the main attacking actions were concentrated by the enemy in the area of Ivanovka and Sinkovka.
The other day, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said that despite extremely difficult combat conditions and enemy resistance, Ukrainian troops were partially successful in the direction of the village of Urozhaynoe, Donetsk region, which is next to the previously liberated village of Staromayorskoe. In addition, the enemy there is experiencing logistical problems due to the constant breakdown in their communications.
A fighter of the Russian Air Force shot down a Mi-8 helicopter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an aerial battle over the Donetsk People’s Republic. This was stated by the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov.
“Fighter aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the area of the village of Brusovka of the DPR shot down a Mi-8 helicopter of the Air Force of Ukraine in the air,” Konashenkov said.
According to data from the Ministry of Defense, during the SVO, the armed forces of Ukraine lost 458 aircraft, 246 helicopters, 5,708 UAVs, 429 air defense systems, 11,274 tanks and armored vehicles, 1,144 MLRS machines, 5,862 artillery guns and mortars. In addition, 12,207 special military vehicles were destroyed.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced that the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donetsk direction for 24 hours amounted to 300 people. Servicemen of the Ukrainian army unsuccessfully tried to attack Russian positions in the area of the settlements of Belogorovka, Veseloye, Krasnogorovka, as well as west of Klescheevka in the DPR.
Translation: BLIC
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2023-08-14 04:55:00
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