Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 18:58 Russians shelled Konstantinovka in Donetsk Oblast - currently five people are known to have been killed and six wounded, OVA chief Vadim Filashkin reported. Another person was killed and one wounded as a result of enemy shelling of Kotlino in the Pokrovsk community.
17:34 The Defense Forces have struck a field ammunition depot of the Russian West group of troops in the Ostrogozhsk area of ​​the Voronezh Region, the General Staff reported. At least three explosions and a subsequent secondary detonation were recorded. The results of the attack are being clarified. The GUR specified that artillery and tank shells, small arms cartridges and surface-to-air missiles were stored on the territory of the military facility - more than 5,000 tons of ammunition in total.
17:17 The Ukrainian army's operation in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation is complicated, but it is going according to plan and is bearing fruit , Zelensky said: "The operation is complicated. What is important is that it is going according to our plan. There are important results of this operation. I can't talk about everything... First of all, the exchange fund, it is being replenished, this is positive. Secondly, this is the halt of the Russian operation in the north, a preemptive strike. Our operation has accomplished this task."
In addition, according to the president, one of the goals of the operation was to prevent the Russians from advancing on the Sumy region: "We prevented the encirclement of part of the Sumy region and the desire to occupy Sumy. Someone said that we are playing this as a card for dialogue. What dialogue? We are not playing any cards." The head of state also expressed confidence that all the goals set by Ukraine will be achieved, and added that there are "more of these goals than I have named publicly."
In addition, Zelensky emphasized that the operation in the Kursk region showed the world who Putin is, because for him, the occupation of Ukrainian territory is more important than protecting his own population.
Zelensky also assured that Ukraine would like to end the war diplomatically, but if this does not work out, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be ready to forcefully oust the aggressor from its territory. According to him, the end of the war can only be the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity and the prevention of repeated aggression by the Russian Federation.
16:39 All Ukrainians returned during the 55th prisoner exchange are conscripts: soldiers, sergeants and sailors, including those captured in the first months of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported. In particular, nine illegally convicted defenders were released, as well as 82 defenders of Mariupol, including 50 defenders of Azovstal.
16:27 Russians fired artillery at Stepnogorsk in the Zaporizhia region, three employees of the State Emergency Service were wounded, reported the head of the OVA Ivan Fedorov.
16:03 Zelensky reported that he held talks in Kiev with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Å imonytÄ—: "We talked about our next steps, the most necessary ones, in particular about the situation on the front lines, about our active actions. We also talked about protecting our skies from Russian strikes."
15:54 Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Å imonytÄ— announced the transfer of more than 5,000 drones to Ukraine during her visit to Kiev. According to her, the UAVs should arrive by the end of autumn. In addition, Ukraine will soon receive the already announced Lithuanian aid package, which includes ten short-range air defense systems.
14:18 Ukraine has returned 115 Ukrainian defenders from Russian captivity , Zelensky reported. These are soldiers of the National Guard, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Navy, and the State Border Service. The President thanked the UAE for its mediation.
13:45 Zelenskyy, by his decree, awarded Syrskyy the rank of general. Before that, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine had the military rank of colonel general. The president also awarded the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Anatoliy Bargilevich the rank of lieutenant general (previously he was a major general), and the commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andriy Gnatov the rank of major general (previously he was a brigadier general).
13:16 Ukraine has used for the first time a new missile-drone of its own production called Palyanitsa, Zelensky said: "Today was the first and successful combat use of our new weapon. An absolutely new class of weapon - the Ukrainian missile-drone Palyanitsa. This is our new method of retaliation against the aggressor." The President emphasized that the enemy was defeated.
12:21 The EU foreign and defense ministers will discuss sending military instructors to Ukraine for the first time in the middle of next week, Die Welt writes. According to the publication, this topic will also be discussed on August 27 in the EU Political and Security Committee. France, the Baltic states, Denmark and Sweden are in favor of sending military instructors to Ukraine, while Austria, Hungary, Germany, Malta and Slovenia are against it, as they fear an escalation of the conflict.
11:37 Zelensky signed a law banning the Russian Orthodox Church and related organizations in Ukraine. After the law comes into force, Ukrainian churches suspected of cooperating with the ROC will have nine months to sever ties.
10:02 On the night of August 24, Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bombers attacked Zmiyiny Island with four Kh-22 cruise missiles, the Air Force reported. The enemy also struck Kherson Oblast with guided bombs. Over the past 24 hours, August 23, the air defense of southern Ukraine destroyed five reconnaissance UAVs (two ZALA and one Supercam, Orlan-10 and Merlin), as well as two Lancet attack UAVs.
09:51 Russians shelled Antonovka in the Kherson region, one person was wounded, OVA reported. Over the previous day, ten people were wounded in Russian shelling in the region.
09:46 In Donetsk region on August 23 as a result of Russian shelling five people were wounded: two in Kurakhovo, one each in Toretsk, Shcherbinovka and Antonovka, reported the head of the OVA Vadim Filashkin.
09:38 The number of victims as a result of yesterday's Russian strike on the village of Kupyansk-Uzlovaya in the Kharkiv region has grown to three, two people have died, reported the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov.
09:31 Polish President Andrzej Duda arrived in Kiev.
09:09 Zelensky congratulated Ukrainians on Independence Day:
08:44 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of August 24:
- personnel - about 606,490 (+1160) people,
- tanks - 8542 (+9),
- combat armored vehicles - 16,620 (+21),
- artillery systems - 17,349 (+42),
- MLRS - 1169 (+2),
- air defense systems - 935 (+3),
- aircraft - 367 (+0),
- helicopters - 328 (+0),
- Operational-tactical level UAVs - 14,064 (+39),
- cruise missiles - 2444 (+2),
- ships/boats - 28 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 23,383 (+54),
- special equipment - 2911 (+1).
08:32 In Ostrogozhsk, Voronezh Region, a fire with detonation occurred at night after a UAV attack at an ammunition depot. The attack was confirmed by Governor Alexander Gusev. A state of emergency was declared in three settlements in Ostrogozhsk District, 200 people were evacuated. According to local authorities, two people were injured. Ostrogozhsk is home to a training center for junior specialists of the armored service of the Russian Defense Ministry.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that air defense forces allegedly destroyed seven drones overnight over the Voronezh, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions.
07:38 At night, Russians fired artillery at the Zelenodolsk community of the Krivoy Rog district of the Dnipropetrovsk region, one person was injured, reported the head of the OVA, Serhiy Lysak.
05:54 The US has several reasons for not allowing Ukraine to strike its long-range weapons at Russian territory. One of them is the hope of resetting its relations with Moscow in the future, Politico writes, citing sources. According to the White House and the Pentagon, Ukraine has the potential to win without this, the source noted.
One White House official also said that the use of Western long-range missiles against Russia may not be as effective as it seems. In addition, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have a limited supply of such missiles, and the ones they have may not reach critical Russian targets that have already been removed from their range.
00:15 The Pentagon announced the contents of the new $125 million US military aid package:
- counter-unmanned aircraft systems (c-UAS) equipment and munitions;
- ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
- artillery ammunition of 155 mm and 105 mm caliber;
- tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided (TOW) missiles;
- Javelin and AT-4 anti-tank systems;
- High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV);
- small arms ammunition;
- medical equipment;
- sapper equipment and ammunition;
- spare parts, auxiliary equipment, services, training, transport.