News
In this week’s summary:
- The Russian offensive towards Pokrovsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk Region has stalled, with heavy fighting reported south near Selydove and in Halytsynivka.
- Russian forces are attempting a pincer movement at Vuhledar by attacking its western and eastern flanks, avoiding direct assaults on the city.
- Ukrainian National Guard brigades launched counterattacks in the town of Niu-York (near Toretsk) and in the northern Kharkiv Region.
- Vladimir Putin claimed Russian forces are “pushing out” Ukrainian forces from the Kursk Region — in reality, the situation there remains mostly unchanged.
- War Mapper: Ukrainian forces gained control over 770 km² (close to 300 square miles) of territory in August, matching all of Russia’s gains since April 2024.
- For the first time, a stray Shahed drone was shot down over Belarus during a Russian air attack.
- A missile strike on a military communications institute in the Ukrainian city of Poltava killed 55 people and left 328 injured.
- New military aid packages announced for Ukraine include Bradley IFVs, Leopard 1A5 tanks, and air defense systems.
Situation at the front
This week marked one month since the start of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's (AFU) incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast, but the main action occurred in eastern Ukraine in the Pokrovsk direction and near the Vuhledar bulge. Russian forces did not advance toward Pokrovsk but focused their attacks on the southern flank. Heavy fighting took place throughout the week in the suburbs of Selydove, where the Ukrainian National Guard's Kara-Dag Brigade captured a Russian tank, and in Halytsynivka, where the sides reportedly battled for “every meter” of territory.
Another dangerous area for the AFU was the Vuhledar bulge, where Russian forces are attempting a pincer movement around the population center. Russian forces there are abandoning the tactic of using the kinds of bloody frontal assaults seen in the winter of 2022-2023. On the western flank, Russian forces captured Prechystivka. On the eastern flank, they reached Vodyane and the “Pivdenno-Donbaska No. 1” mine.
By the end of the week, Ukrainian forces had counterattacked on two fronts. The National Guard's Azov Brigade cleared the northern part of the town of Niu-York near Toretsk, while the Khartia Brigade advanced near Lukyantsi in the northern Kharkiv Region.
Meanwhile, the situation in Kursk Oblast remains relatively stable, despite Vladimir Putin's claims of the Ukrainian forces being “pushed out” of the area. Ukrainian troops are continuing to destroy pontoon bridges and engineering equipment, isolating the Glushkovsky District, while Russian forces are constructing new crossings over the Seym River.
The War Mapper project published a summary of the territorial changes in the combat zone for August. Russian forces captured about 350 km² (135 square miles — their highest monthly figure since August 2022), while Ukrainian forces reclaimed 770 km² (close to 300 square miles), matching all of Russia’s gains since April 2024.
Mutual strikes and sabotage
Throughout the week, Ukraine's Air Command reported that it had repelled the following night-time missile and drone attacks:
- On the night of Aug. 31, Russian forces launched 52 Shahed drones, of which 24 were shot down, 25 “fell on their own” (likely due to electronic warfare), and three flew into Russia and Belarus.
- On Sep. 1, Ukraine was attacked by 11 Shahed drones (eight were shot down), along with an Iskander-M ballistic missile.
- On Sep. 2, Russia launched 23 Shahed drones (20 shot down), 16 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles (nine intercepted), 14 Kh-101 cruise missiles (13 intercepted), four surface-to-air missiles from S-300/S-400 systems (none intercepted), and one unidentified missile (not intercepted). Most missiles were intercepted during an attack on Kyiv, where two people were injured.
- On Sep. 3, Russia launched 35 Shahed drones (27 shot down, six were “radar lost”), three Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, and one Kh-59/Kр-69 guided air-launched missile. In Dnipro, one person was killed and six injured during the night raid, while two people died and two were injured in Zaporizhzhia.
- On Sep. 4, Russia launched 29 Shahed drones (22 shot down), six Kh-101 cruise missiles (four intercepted), three Iskander-K cruise missiles (all intercepted), two Kinzhal missiles (not intercepted), and two supersonic Kh-22 cruise missiles (not intercepted) at Ukraine. The strike hit the city of Lviv in the west of the country, killing seven people and injuring 64. Russia’s target may have been the Lviv aircraft repair plant.
- On Sep. 5, Ukraine was struck by an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 78 Shahed drones, of which 60 were intercepted, and 15 were “radar lost.” At least eight drones flew into Belarusian airspace, with one of them being destroyed by Russian air defenses for the first time. Its falling debris caused a fire at a warehouse in Gomel.
- On Sep. 6, Russia launched 44 Shahed drones (27 were intercepted, eight were “radar lost,” and at least one was shot down by Russian air defenses in the Kursk Region) and a Kh-59 guided missile. A fire broke out in Lviv after the attack, engulfing four trucks.
Additionally, Russian forces conducted strikes on the following targets during the week:
- At a concentration of personnel and equipment, and at a convoy in Ukraine’s Sumy Region, the latter reportedly including grain trucks (1, 2)
- At a military communications institute in Poltava, where drafted signal troops were being trained. The latest reports indicate that 55 people were killed and 328 injured as a result of the strike.
- A crossing over the Oskil River in the Kharkiv Region.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) reported on the number of Ukrainian drones destroyed this week over the territory of Russia and occupied Crimea:
- On the night of Aug. 30, 18 fixed-wing UAVs.
- On the night of Aug. 31, four UAVs.
- On the night of Sep. 1, a record 158 UAVs. The most massive drone raid on Russian territory since the start of the war hit the Moscow oil refinery in Kapotnya, Kashirskaya and Konakovskaya state district power plants, and a gas distribution station in Konakovo.
- On the night of Sep. 2, two aircraft-type UAVs.
- On the night of Sep. 3, Russia downed two UAVs. There was also an alleged raid on an airfield in Tver, which the MoD never reported.
- On the night of Sep. 4, four UAVs and four sea drones.
- On the night of Sep. 5, a Vilkha MLRS rocket, seven UAVs, and two sea drones.
- On the morning of Sep. 6, one UAV.
The above indicates that, according to the AFU, the Russian Armed Forces launched 272 Shahed UAVs and 54 missiles of various types at Ukraine during the week, while Russia’s MoD reported the destruction of 196 Ukrainian UAVs, six sea drones, and one rocket.
In the month of August, according to reports by volunteers at the independent investigative organization Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), at least 251 civilians were killed and at least 1,593 injured by strikes in Russia and Ukraine (including in the occupied territories).
Losses
The BBC Russian Service, together with the independent media outlet Mediazona and a team of volunteers, identified the names of 68,011 people from the Russian side who have died in the war with Ukraine. The investigators noted that 13,152 of them (20%) had entered military service voluntarily since February 24, 2022, marking the first time this group has topped the list in terms of casualties. Ex-prisoners account for 19% of the losses, followed by mobilized soldiers at 13%.
Weapons and military equipment
Ukraine's allies held a regular meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to announce the following military aid packages:
- A $250 million package from the U.S. will include RIM-7 surface-to-air missiles, Stinger MANPADS missiles, 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, TOW anti-tank guided missiles, Javelin anti-tank guided missiles, and AT-4 RPGs, Also included are: Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, M113 armored personnel carriers, MRAP-class armored vehicles, small arms and ammunition, patrol boats, explosive ordnance, maritime training equipment, and spare parts.
- Germany will supply Ukraine with 12 Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzers and 77 Leopard 1A5 tanks.
- The UK pledged to deliver 650 LMM surface-to-air missiles.
- Canada announced training for Skyranger drone operators and F-16 fighter pilots and the transfer to Kyiv of an additional 80,840 CRV-7 rocket engines, along with 1,300 warheads. In addition, Ukraine will receive machine guns, pistols, and the chassis of decommissioned armored fighting vehicles.
- The Netherlands will supply Ukraine with spare parts and materials for the maintenance and repair of F-16s, as well as aircraft missiles of an unspecified type — most likely JASSMs.
- Spain is to supply a HAWK air defense battery.
Earlier this week, the following military aid packages were announced:
- The Netherlands undertook to transfer 28 BvS 10 Viking amphibious all-terrain armored vehicles to Ukraine.
- The Romanian government has officially approved the transfer of a Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a contract for the production of 17 IRIS-T surface-to-air missiles in fulfillment of Germany's earlier promises.
- Norway has allocated the equivalent of $53 million for UAVs and air defense assets for Ukraine.
- The UK has signed a contract to supply Ukraine with £300 million worth of artillery ammunition of the Soviet 152 mm caliber.
Previous weekly summary (Aug. 24–30, 2024:) Weekly Ukraine war summary: Russia “heroically defends” a women's prison near Kursk, Ukraine's first F-16 goes down, Battle of Selydove