August 11 2024

Small update:
A spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, Dmytro Pletenchuk, reported that the gas platform Ukraine struck with naval drones was being used to confuse and fool GPS tracking for ships, posing a hazard for shipping in the Black Sea. He said there were no civilians on the platform and it was not performing its normal peacetime functions.


The Belarusian Ministry of Defense published a video allegedly showing the wreckage from a downed Ukrainian drone. On August 10, Lukashenko declared that Belarus had shot down “several” Ukrainian drones flying through Belarus’ airspace. Belarusian state TV said that the drones contained several components made in NATO Countries and that the drones had “presumably” “assembled jointly with NATO engineers.” According to the monitoring group Belarusian Hajun project, on August 9, 2024, no drones (UAVs) were detected by Belarus’s armed forces, and none of their aircraft fired at aerial threats. They have declared Lukashenko’s claims to be “nonsense.”


Zaporizhzhia Oblast is building 6 underground schools to increase the number of children attending school in person while keeping them safe from bombs. Some of the schools will be opened to students in October. The schools will be distributed across the Oblast.

Russia launched 57 shaheds and 4 North Korean KN-23 missiles at Ukraine. Ukraine intercepted 54 of the shaheds.

On August 11, Russian attacks across Ukraine resulted in eight deaths and 30 injuries. Fragments from a North Korean KN-23 missile hit a residential building in Brovary, Kyiv Oblast, killing a 35-year-old man and his 4-year-old son. In Kharkiv Oblast, a Russian missile struck Zolochiv’s House of Children and Youth Creativity, and an 87-year-old man was killed in Lisova Stinka. FPV drones targeted Dniprovske in Mykolaiv Oblast, and shelling in Ochakiv injured four people. In Donetsk, three cities and towns were attacked, resulting in three deaths and three injuries, while Polohy in Zaporizhzhia experienced an attack that killed a 68-year-old man and injured a 63-year-old woman. Drone strikes on Kherson injured 10, including a 15-year-old boy, and one person was killed in the region. Additionally, Russia bombed and shelled Sumy Oblast 34 times resulting in two injuries. The UN reported that in July, 219 Ukrainian civilians were killed by the Russians, the deadliest month for civilians since October 2022.


More than 3,000 educational institutions have been destroyed by Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion.


There was a video published of an Iskander Strike in Kursk Oblast. The missile was used to target a small group of Ukrainian soldiers. Milblogger/soldier Kravchuk reports that the group was likely a DRG/Ukrainian infiltration and sabotage group. Kravchuk reported that the missile probably missed, as the soldiers were far enough away from the blast. But this incident raises serious questions. An Iskander missile reportedly costs $3-4 million dollars and to use them on a small group of men seems to imply Russia had very few other alternatives to stopping the Ukrainian advance in that direction. The coordinates of the Iskander strike are 51.4444, 35.2207. There is a visible thermal signature in the footage approximately 150m away, presumably this is the DRG.


Russia published a photo of a FAB 500 with a UMPK glide bomb kit mounted on an SU-24. This is apparently a new development and possibly implies that Russia’s number of suitable Su-34s is running low. It could also mean they have increased glide bomb production enough that they need more airframes to launch them, or that Russia is now trying to preserve its remaining SU-34 fleet and will use its aging Su-24 fleet as something akin to fodder that will take the risk of being hit by missiles instead.


The Economist wrote an article where they reported that some Ukrainian units had advanced up to 40km into Kursk. It also reported that friendly fire was common in all the chaos. They also reported that some of the offensive seemed really well planned, experience Ukrainian troops were pitted against Russian conscripts who readily surrendered. However, there were some Ukrainian troops pulled off of the front lines in other areas and sent into Kursk without rest.


Russian opposition outlet Verstka wrote about the fates of conscripts on the frontlines of the Kursk offensive. According to the mother of a Russian conscript, "those who were closer to the border were killed or taken prisoner." According to the mother of another conscript, "When Guevo was captured, the boys from the encirclement wrote to their mothers, asking for help. But we can't get through to Moscow [to the Defense Ministry hotline] at all, the military registration and enlistment offices tell us: "What nonsense are you talking about, they're not there, they just took their phones." In short, they take us for fools. The Kursk hospital won't give us information, they say there's no time, there are a lot of wounded.”


Ukrainian troops published a video where they raised a Ukrainian flag in the Russian village of Guevo. The coordinates of the flag raising are 51.0940, 35.2620.


Chklalovsky Air Base, 25 km northeast of Moscow was targeted by drones. Russia claims to have shot down numerous drones.


The Bozena-5 and PT-300 D:MINE demining machines are now being produced locally inside of Ukraine. The Bozena-5 is a Slovakian design and the PT-300 is Italian. Localizing the production reduces the paperwork needed to import them into Ukraine, thus getting them working faster. Ihor Fedirko, a representative of the Ministry of Strategic Industries said that Ukraine needs about 300 demining machines. The Bozena-5 has proven itself as an effective demining machine in Ukraine. The PT-300 can clear mines while traveling at a speed of 6.5 km/h.


The United States released a new fact sheet covering US military aid to Ukraine. The last one was released on July 29th. This new one shows an additional 10,000 RAAM shells were delivered. These are artillery shells that open up in the air and disperse 9 anti-tank landmines. This allows Ukraine to create minefields from a distance, not only in front of Russian assaults but also behind them, hindering and disrupting retreats/withdrawals. Not all 10,000 were necessarily delivered in the latest aid package, but it at least highlights Ukraine is still receiving them.


Russia unveiled the MGT-LB, a new version of the MTLB, at the ARMY 2024 defense industry exhibition. This new version has innovative new features such as resistance to some small arms fire. The MGT-LB is a simplified 16.5-ton vehicle with a 450-horsepower turbo diesel engine allowing it to reach speeds up to 70 km/h on roads and 10 km/h on water. It has an 800 km range, a 2.5-ton payload capacity, and can tow 7 tons. It has a crew of 2 and carries 8 infantrymen. The vehicle has STANAG 4569 Level 3 armor that can stop armor-piercing 7.62 rounds and is equipped with a remotely controlled 12.7 mm Kord machine gun. At the same exhibition, Russia has unveiled a stationary version of the Pantsir and a remote-controlled, self-propelled D-30 howitzer.


Ukraine managed to strike an ammunition depot in the Horlivka Machine Plant in Horlivka. The plant was also used as storage and as a repair depot for Russian equipment. This same plant was struck back on July 27, which also resulted in the detonation of ammo stored there.


British farmers and volunteers from the US and the Netherlands donated a new batch of vehicles to Ukraine through the Pickups for Peace program. This batch includes 38 vehicles that will be provided to the 24th Mechanized Brigade, the 5th Tank Brigade, units of the National Guard of Ukraine, the 80th Air Assault Brigade, the Georgian Legion, and other units on the front line. All of the donated vehicles are in working condition and are ready to be sent to the front.


The Come Back Alive Foundation donated 10 mobile operations centers. They will be used to coordinate air defense units in the Mykolaiv, Kherson, Odesa, Dnipro, Kirovohrad, and Zaporizhzhia regions.


The Olympics have ended. Ukrainian athletes have brought home 3 gold, 5 silver, and 4 bronze medals. Yaroslava Mhuchikh won a gold medal in the high jump, Oleksandr Khyzhniak won a gold medal in the 80kg weight class in boxing, and Olha Khalan won a gold medal in saber fencing.


Ukraine’s Ukroboronprom, a defense manufacturer, is now one of the 50 biggest defense companies in the world. It is now in 49th place, rising 16 positions from the previous year. It was the fastest-growing company in the top 100 list, seeing an increase in revenue of 72%.


On August 11, the IAEA reported strong dark smoke from the northern area of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) following multiple explosions. The IAEA stated there was no risk to nuclear safety. President Zelenskyy accused Russia of starting a fire at the plant by burning tires in the cooling tower. No radiation leaked. Photos and video have been released showing incredibly dark, black, thick smoke emanating from the cooling tower. The tower, under normal conditions, would have nothing inside it that would burn, much less anything that would put off such dark smoke. The fire has been successfully extinguished as of the time of publishing. There was no fire risk to the nuclear reactors, the fire was in the cooling towers, which are situated about 1.5 km away from the closest reactor building.


Russian officer batalyon_vostok made a post on telegram where he discussed some challenges the Russian army is facing. Specifically, he points out that Ukraine is using drones that operate on a frequency outside of the range of Russian electronic warfare systems. He said that this allowed “breakthrough units” to function more effectively than they otherwise would have been able to. I think he is referring to units in Kursk. He said that the “most powerful obstacle” to Russia’s success in the “technology race” is China. He said that Russian units recently received drones from China that operate outside the common frequencies and “almost the entire batch turned out to be defective,” despite the drones being “not cheap.” He said that Russia also faces troubles making deals and getting deliveries from China, as Chinese companies try to avoid violating Western sanctions, but China faces no such obstacles to providing Ukraine with “goods of dual or direct purpose.” He added that “it is wildly disappointing to feel such dependence on such a ‘friend’ who will only rejoice at our weakening.”


Ukrainian soldier Muchnoyairborne

    “Briefly in the Kursk sector: The enemy is withdrawing two brigades from some areas: Donetsk and Kupyanske. FPV units are also being added to slow down our advance, and aircraft have started working with air defense systems in the rear. No one stops on our side, we are moving on no matter what strikes they inflict, we have new "special" prisoners who will soon be punished for their crimes, and we are also advancing in one settlement, I will not say yet, let the Cossacks consolidate because it is very hot there, the [Russians] are trying to stop us by all means!”
…
“Situation at the front.
Kursk sector: Svedlikove is behind us, Makhnovka is also under our control near Sudzha. The village of Ivashkovsky is still being cleared!

Kharkiv sector: no changes in Hlyboke, in Vovchansk we are pushing the [Russians] out of the center, keeping the plant under control, gradually smoking them out!

Bakhmut sector: slight advance of the enemy west of Kalynivka. Fighting in Zhovtneve continues, we are holding back the Russian attacks, enemy FPVs are covering the pig infantry, they are very annoying!

Pokrovske sector: the situation is hot near Hrodivka, the enemy attacks are very powerful, but they cannot get further, our Cossacks are holding back, the outer houses on the outskirts of the village are constantly under our fire control with aerial bombers. Karlivka: we are holding, we are working day and night, the enemy is entrenched in the dachas, yesterday I showed you footage of them running from our strikes!

Kostyantynivka: enemy is in the eastern part, managed to advance 400 meters to Sukhi Yaly river.”

Quote of the Day:
“Who is wise? He that learns from a hedgehog.”
― Benjamin Franklin