Editor’s note: The transcript of this interview has been edited for clarity. As it entered its second week, Ukraine’s cross-border offensive into Russia’s Kursk Oblast is showing no signs of slowing down. Although the element of surprise that overwhelmed the thin Russian defending force in the first
Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day killed at least 5 people and injured at least 21 others, regional authorities reported early on Aug. 15.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the Anti-Monopoly Committee and former governor of Donetsk Oblast, was charged with illicit enrichment, the NV news outlet reported on Aug. 14, citing law enforcement sources.
Ukrainian air defenses downed 17 of the 23 "kamikaze" drones launched by Russia overnight from occupied Crimea, the Air Force reported. Russia also attacked Ukraine with two Kh-59/69 guided aerial missiles from Belgorod Oblast.
"Despite the difficult, intense battles, the advance of our forces in Kursk Oblast continues," President Zelensky said.
Russian forces continue attacking Toretsk, and battles have now reached the outskirts of the town, military spokesperson Oleksandr Bordiian told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
"Unlike Russia, Ukraine does not seek to seize territory. We want to protect the lives of our people," spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said.
Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day killed at least five civilians and injured at least 25, including children, regional authorities reported early on Aug. 13.
Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast over the past week is lifting some hopes for Ukrainian soldiers losing ground on the eastern front amid worsening manpower and ammunition shortages. Ukraine launched its stunning counterattack in the northeast into Russian territory 10 months into Russia’s renewed large-scale
Vaso Kardava was reportedly killed by a Russian artillery strike near Soledar-Siversk in Donetsk Oblast. He had been fighting in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, the Georgian media outlet Mtavari reported.
While the Security Service of Ukraine said only that a deputy energy minister had been arrested and did not mention Oleksandr Kheilo by name, Ukrainska Pravda confirmed that he was the individual in question.
Russian Aug. 9 missile strike on the town of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast killed 14 people, including three children, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office said on Aug. 11.
Missile fragments fell on residential buildings in Kyiv Oblast's Brovary district, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said. The bodies of a 35-year-old man and his 4-year-old son were found under the rubble during search and rescue operations.
"Russian Ground Forces have continued conducting offensive operations along multiple areas of the front line, with Russia achieving further tactical advances," the British Defense Ministry said.
Russia struck a supermarket in the town of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast on Aug. 9, killing at least 14 people and injuring at least 43 others, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office said.
Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day killed at least five people, including a child, and injured 30, regional authorities said early on Aug. 9.
A Russian glide bomb attack on the town of Selydove in Donetsk Oblast killed two civilians and injured 11 others, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported on Aug. 8.
A "targeted" Russian drone attack also struck a department of the State Emergency Service in Nikopol, damaging a service car and the fire station but inflicting no casualties, the Interior Ministry said.
"The practice of a 10-year war shows that the offensive potential of any side does not last more than two months. The Russian offensive operations are approaching three months, so there will be some decline," Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) chief Kyrylo Budanov said.
A total of 13 Ukrainian oblasts came under Russian attacks – Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Luhansk, Khmelnytskyi, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk. Casualties were reported in the latter five regions.
The front-line settlement of Niu-York lies just south of Toretsk, a town that has become one of the focal points of the Russian offensive in Donetsk Oblast.
A total of 11 Ukrainian oblasts came under Russian attacks over the past day – Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Luhansk, Khmelnytskyi, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk. Casualties were reported in seven regions.
More than 700 children from four communities in Donetsk Oblast will be evacuated away from the front line, Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin said on Aug. 4 as heavy battles continue in the direction of Pokrovsk.
Speaking in his daily address on Aug. 2., President Volodymyr Zelensky said those fighting in the Pokrovsk sector "are in many ways the basis of defense in the entire east of our country."
Key developments on Aug. 1: * Pokrovsk became Russia's main target after Kharkiv push failed, Zelensky says * Russia suffers big losses but has 'minor gains' on eastern front, Syrskyi says * Ukraine received 6 F-16s from Netherlands, The Times reports * Defense Ministry to purchase Ukrainian-made unmanned ground vehicles * Russian shelling kills mother,
"During active hostilities, the tactical positions of the troops can change several times during the day. As of now, there have been no significant changes," Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Aug. 1.
Russia targeted a total of 10 Ukrainian oblasts over the past day – Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Luhansk, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk. Casualties were reported in the latter seven regions.
Ukraine's 79th Tavrian Air Assault Brigade stopped another large-scale attempt by Russian forces to advance near Kurahove in Donetsk Oblast, the Airborne Assault Troops Command reported on July 30.
A total of 60,000 people, including 4,000 children, remain in Pokrovsk, Serhii Dobriak, head of the city's military administration, said. Another 4,000 children have been evacuated.
The transport of Russian military equipment toward Zaporizhzhia Oblast through occupied Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast has "sharply increased," said Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the city's exiled mayor, on July 29.
Russia targeted a total of nine Ukrainian oblasts over the past day – Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk. Casualties were reported in the latter four regions.
Despite the tense situation near Pokrovsk, "Ukraine has the strength to achieve its goals," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
