Ukrainian forces have recaptured 745 sq km (288 sq miles) of Russian-occupied land in a key sector this year, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. “This offensive operation of ours was carried out with precision – exactly as planned.” Ukraine’s president outlined gains broadly in line with assessments from the well-regarded Ukrainian open-source group DeepState. Russia’s battlefield advances have slowed this year across much of the front, analysts say, though Russian forces still threaten cities in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. The Russian military still regularly announces the “capture” of villages, though observers say these are often shortlived flag-raising incursions involving a handful of troops.
“From January to August of this year, our warriors of the airborne assault forces and other units carried out an effective offensive operation in the Oleksandrivskyi sector … Russian losses amounted to at least 9,550 people killed and more than 6,600 people wounded.” Ukraine’s “exchange fund” was also replenished, Zelenskyy said, referring to Russian prisoners of war who can be swapped for Ukrainians held by Russia.
The Oleksandrivskyi sector is a 60km (37-mile) stretch of the front taking in parts of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk oblasts where they meet. Zelenskyy said 26 settlements there had been brought back under Kyiv’s control. DeepState, which tracks both sides’ positions on the front, said in its latest assessment that Ukrainian forces had restored control over 19 settlements along the frontline, and pushed back Russian troops in six more settlements. The US-based Institute for the Study of War said in an assessment that Russian online sources were likely using AI-enhanced video footage to support Moscow’s claims of advances.
A major Ukrainian attack on Russia’s Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk hit warships at a naval base and forced two major grain terminals to halt operations on Wednesday, according to Russian and Ukrainian officials as well as grain industry sources. Zelenskyy said two frigates, a large landing ship, a corvette and other vessels were hit. Describing the attack as having “strategic significance”, Ukraine’s SBU security service said Kyiv’s forces hit the Novorossiysk naval base with drones and missiles. The Russian regional governor, Veniamin Kondratyev, said the attacks killed at least two people including an eight-year-old child.
Novorossiysk also hosts oil export infrastructure, including for the Caspian Pipeline Consortium owned partly by US oil companies Chevron and Exxon Mobil, and carries Kazakh oil exports to market. The Financial Times (paywall) reported on Wednesday that after a request from JD Vance, the US vice-president, Ukraine agreed not to target CPC infrastructure and non-Russian vessels, as long as they were not under Ukrainian sanctions or carrying Russian oil or other cargo.
Russia’s Orenburg region has introduced fuel rationing after a Ukrainian drone strike on the Orsk refinery this week in the Urals mountain province. “Dear residents of our region, I will be frank: a difficult fuel situation is developing in the region,” said Yevgeny Solntsev, the regional governor. He announced restrictions on gasoline sales, including a ban on filling up containers, limits on sale volume, and sales on odd or even days based on licence plate numbers. Other Russian regions were already under similar restrictions.
A group of Ukrainian soldiers appealed to their military leadership for help in a video where they told of spending four months on the frontline without rotation and drinking urine during a 12-day stint when drone-dropped water supplies did not arrive. Ukraine’s 121st Brigade command confirmed the social media video’s authenticity and said the brigade “continues to take all necessary measures to properly supply the servicemen” in what it described as “extremely difficult” battlefield conditions.
Platoon commander Anatoliy Saichuk accused senior officers of lying to soldiers’ families by assuring them the men were fully supplied. “Some of my servicemen were semi-conscious for several days due to lack of water and food,” he added, saying he had eventually decided to abandon the positions when circumstances allowed. The South joint forces group, which commands the area, said the platoon was fighting in a “difficult and dynamic sector of the front”, adding the video showed “an isolated fragment of a complex operational environment”.
Moldova has agreed to give Ukraine a 50% discount on rail cargo shipments until the end of the year, according to both governments. Ukraine, a major grain exporter by sea, has sought the alternative route because of Russian attacks on its ports and shipping. Russia struck Ukraine’s Izmail port area in the southern Odesa region over Wednesday night, causing damage and fire, local authorities said. Izmail, close to the Romanian border, is home to Ukraine’s largest Danube port, handling grain and other commodities. Russia’s agriculture ministry has also said it is working to redirect its export flows to alternative routes because of Ukrainian attacks in the Black Sea.
Extracted and lightly reformatted for readability. · Source: pt