THE RUSSO-UKRAINE WAR BRIEF
For: 2024-09-07
Slava Ukraini! In early 2022 I began a Telegram channel aggregating news from a number of sources daily on the war in Ukraine. In June 2023 I began providing a daily draft for the Ukraine War Brief Podcast collecting news from over 70 sources daily, much of which formed the basis of the script. While the Podcast no longer exists I have continued to make this Brief available both on my own Substack and The People’s Media for those who wish to keep up with events on a daily basis.
All the latest news on the Russo-Ukraine War 6 days per week
ALONG THE CONTACT LINE
GSAFU Morning Report
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in its Operational Information update at 22:00 on Sep 06 stated that day 926 of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation against Ukraine was about to begin.
During the past day, 165 combat engagements took place. Over the past 24 hours, the enemy carried out 2 missile strikes, 57 air strikes, 472 drone strikes and 2,776 artillery strikes across the positions of Ukrainian forces.
At the same time, Ukrainian soldiers continue to inflict losses in manpower and equipment on the occupying troops, exhausting the enemy along the entire front line and continue to disrupt the plans of Russian occupiers to advance deep into the territory of Ukraine.
Air Force Daily Report
On the night of September 7, 2024, the enemy attacked with attack UAVs of the "Shahed" type (launch areas - Kursk, Yeisk - Russian Federation, Chauda - Crimea).
In total, 67 "martyrs" were identified and escorted by the Air Force's radio engineering troops.
Air force, anti-aircraft missile troops, mobile fire groups, units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine's Reb Air Force were involved in repelling the enemy's air attack.
As a result of anti-aircraft combat, 58 attack UAVs were shot down.
6 drones – left the controlled airspace of Ukraine, flying in the direction of Russia, Belarus and the temporarily occupied Luhansk region. Three more enemy UAVs were lost in location on the territory of Ukraine (probably fell under the influence of EW devices).
That night, air defense worked in Vinnytsia, Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Sumy, Kherson and Poltava regions.
The Russian Border Incursion
Ukraine continues to expand its inclusion into Kursk
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US based think tank, in its Sep 06 Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment assessed that Russian forces recently regained lost positions in Kursk Oblast amid continued fighting throughout the Ukrainian salient on September 6. Geolocated footage published on September 5 indicates that Russian forces recently regained positions northeast of Zhuravli (east of Korenevo).
Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces conducted assaults southwest of Korenevo near Komarovka; near Korenevo; east of Korenevo near Matveyevka and Olgovka; northwest of Sudzha near Malaya Loknya and Pogrebki; north of Sudzha near Russkoye Porechnoye; northeast of Sudzha near Martynovka; and southeast of Sudzha near Cherkasskaya Konopelka and Borki.
A Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces destroyed another Russian pontoon crossing in an unspecified area of Glushkovsky Raion (west of Korenevo).
Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups are continuing to try to reach the 38K-017 (Kursk City-Rylsk) highway and that Russian forces are setting up checkpoints along the road.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukrainian forces "control" more than 1,300 square kilometers in Kursk Oblast, including more than 100 settlements. ISW has observed claims and geolocated footage indicating that Ukrainian forces are operating within roughly 1,153 square kilometers of Kursk Oblast and 49 settlements in Kursk Oblast as of September 6, although there are many extremely small settlements and localities within this area that ISW has not included in this count.
The Khortytsia operational-strategic group
(Responsible for the northeastern part of Ukraine. )
Kharkiv Sector: Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 4 Russian attacks near Liptsiv and Vovchansk.
Kupyansk Sector: Russia Forces carried out 24 offensive actions against Ukrainian defensive positions near Synkivka, Hlushkivka, Berestove, Stelmahivka and Anriivka. 6 engagements are ongoing.
Lyman Sector: Russian Forces carried out 17 offensive actions against Ukrainian defensive positions near Novoiehorivka, Cherneshchyna, Druzhelyubivka, Makiivka, Terny and Torske. 1 engagement is still ongoing.
Siversk Sector: Russian forces carried out 5 unsuccessful assaults in the vicinity of Verkhnokamianske and Spirne. 1 engagement is ongoing.
Kramatorsk Sector: Russian forces carried out 3 unsuccessful offensive actions near Chasiv Yar, Klishchiivka and Andriivka.
Toretsk Sector: Russian forces carried out 7 unsuccessful offensive actions near Toretsk and Nelipivka. 2 engagements are ongoing.
The Tavria operational-strategic group
(Responsible for the central-eastern and southeastern part of Ukraine.)
Pokrovsk Sector : The greatest activity of the enemy continues to be in this sector. The enemy conducted 45 attacks against Ukrainian defences in this area over the last day concentrating in the vicinity of Hrodivka, Novohrodivka and Mykhaillivka. 9 engagements are ongoing.
Ukrainian forces counterattack on Pokrovsk front
As the Russian 2nd Combined Arms Army and adjacent units ground toward the Ukrainian stronghold of Pokrovsk in late August, some Russian observers cautioned against overconfidence on the part of the Russians. David Axe wrote in an article in Forbes released on Sep 06.
Ukrainian forces have been steadily retreating along the Pokrovsk axis since at least mid-February, when the Russians breached the defences of the fortress city of Avdiivka on the axis’ eastern end.
But despite assigning a dozen battalions from eight or so brigades to their surprise invasion of Russia’s Kursk’s Oblast, the Ukrainians seemed to have kept four or five brigades—each with up to 2,000 troops and hundreds of vehicles—in reserve. Russian propagandist Evgeny Norin described these units as “reasonably intact and well-equipped.”
Now some of those reserves are finally joining the fight along the last line of trenches and fortified towns five or six miles outside Pokrovsk and its vital supply lines. “What is happening is exactly what was predicted—the Ukrainian armed forces have begun counterattacking,” one Russian blogger reported. And that’s helping stabilise the front line—at least for now.
This has surprised some Ukrainian observers who blamed a lack of fortifications, rather than a lack of troops, for the Tavriya operational strategic group’s monthslong retreat east of Pokrovsk. “Not so long ago, there was public discourse suggesting that the deployment of additional brigades to the Pokrovsk direction wouldn’t make much difference,” Ukrainian analysis group Frontelligence Insight noted. “Yet, here we are, seeing that it does make a difference.”
Currently, Axe writes, Ukrainian reinforcements—at a minimum, the national guard’s Kara-Dag Brigade and the army’s 12th Azov Brigade and 93rd Mechanised Brigade—are conducting small-scale counterattacks, the main effect of which has been to slow or slightly roll back Russian gains.
But the Russians can’t afford to lose momentum. Every day they fail to advance is a day the Ukrainians can dig in and reinforce their positions around Pokrovsk ahead of the coming winter. That has implications for the whole wider war in Ukraine. “The upcoming battle for Pokrovsk will be the climax of the enemy’s offensive operation in the southwestern theatre of operations in 2024,” the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies predicted.
The Kara-Dag Brigade’s fierce actions in Selydove, a front-line town southeast of Pokrovsk, might be the most significant of the recent counterattacks. For days now, the brigade’s T-64 tanks have been blowing up and capturing Russian tanks and fighting vehicles trying to infiltrate Selydove along the main east-west road into town.
The high terrain in and around Pokrovsk has the effect of channelling attacking forces into the city’s lower southern approaches. That also channels them into Selydove, whose peak elevation is around 100 feet below the highest ground in Pokrovsk.
It’s fair to say the Russians must get through Selydove in order to have a clear shot at Pokrovsk. “Without securing the Selydove area, the enemy cannot sustain their offensive,” CDS explained.
But now that fresh and well-equipped Ukrainian troops are in Selydove, and attacking, the Russian conquest of Pokrovsk—once seemingly inevitable—is looking a little less likely.
Kurakhove Sector: The situation is difficult in this sector. There have been 41 combat engagements as Russian forces attempted to advance mainly in the areas of the settlements of Krasnogorivka, Heorhiivka and Kostyantynivka. 9 engagements remain in progress.
Vremivka Sector: Russian forces made 8 assaults against Ukrainian positions near Staromaiorske and Vuhledar. 1 engagement remains in progress.
Analysis of the Russian advance near Vuhledar
The UK Ministry of Defence in their Sep 07 Intelligence Update on Ukraine stated that the Russian army has managed to make tactical advances near Vuhledar in recent weeks, and it is likely to remain a difficult front.
The analysis notes that Russian forces have made tactical advances around Vuhledar, which has long been a target for the Russians and whose defence is holding back the Russian army's advance in southern Donetsk Oblast.
"Russia has previously made repeated attempts to assault the town, which resulted in heavy losses, but with little territory gained. However, in August 2024, Russian forces made advances to the east and west of Vuhledar, taking control of the nearby villages of Prechystivka and contesting Vodiane. In the next month, it is likely that Russia will continue attempts to advance around Vuhledar and threaten the town itself," the report says.
Orikhiv Sector: There has been no significant change in the combat environment in the last 24 hours.
The Odesa operational-strategic group
(Responsible for Kherson, Qırım, (also known as Crimea) and the Black Sea.)
Prydniprovsk Sector: There has been no significant change in the combat environment in the last 24 hours.
TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Nothing major to report.
THE HOME FRONT
Ukraine's new foreign minister holds first conversations with his counterparts
Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine's newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, has held telephone discussions with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Romanian Foreign Minister Luminița Odobescu. Ukrainska Pravda reports citing Sybiha’s Twitter account.
Sybiha noted that during his conversation with Blinken, they discussed accelerating the delivery of military aid, the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and enhancing sanctions against Russia.
Telegram threatens Ukraine's national security, Budanov says
The Telegram messenger app is "harmful" and a "threat to our national security," Ukraine's military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said in an interview published on Sept. 7. The Kyiv Independent reports.
Budanov made the comments weeks after the arrest of Russian-born Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France.
A French court has charged Durov has with several crimes, including the management of an online platform that allows for illegal transactions, child pornography, drug trafficking, and fraud.
Speaking to Radio Khartiya, Budanov said he has "never been afraid to say" that Telegram represents a threat to Ukraine's national security.
"Telegram is harmful," Budanov said, adding that blocking Telegram would be feasible.
Budanov said that he was not in favour of blocking Telegram in the same way that Ukraine blocked Russian social media VKontakte in May 2017, but that Telegram channel owners should not be anonymous.
Channel owners should be required to register their identity "so that everyone understands that this is a channel of a citizen of the Russian Federation or a citizen of Ukraine," he said.
Telegram remains one of the most popular social media platforms among Ukrainians. A September 2023 poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology indicated that 44% of Ukrainians use Telegram to receive information and news.
Telegram is also widely used by Ukrainian officials and various government institutions against the advice of Ukraine's TV and radio-broadcasting body.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov claims he is a pariah and has been effectively exiled from Russia, but has in fact visited Russia over 60 times since leaving the country, according to Kremlingram, a Ukrainian group that campaigns against the use of Telegram in Ukraine.
RUSSIAN WORLD
Ukrainian drones strike ammunition depot in Russia's Voronezh Oblast
An ammunition depot in Russia’s Voronezh Oblast was attacked by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) drones on the night of 6-7 September. Ukrainska Pravda reported citing sources in SSU.
Sources say the ammunition depot in the village of Soldatskoe was actively used by the Russians for transporting equipment to Ukraine.
Currently, four burning areas and continuous detonation of ammunition have been recorded at the site, which is still ongoing.
NEWS WORLDWIDE
Propaganda ‘humanising’ Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine sparks outrage at Venice, Toronto film festivals
Controversy arose at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 5 following the screening of a documentary film that attempts to humanise Russian soldiers involved in the war against Ukraine. The Kyiv Independent reports.
Russian-Canadian propagandist Anastasia Trofimova, the director of “Russians at War,” was embedded with Russian troops fighting a war of aggression in Ukraine.
The documentary trailer reveals that the film echoes several stereotypes propagated by Russian state-controlled media in an attempt to legitimize its genocidal war against Ukraine, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions.
“Russia and Ukraine have always been inseparable. I miss the brotherly union,” one soldier says to the camera, reinforcing the false narrative that Ukraine cannot exist as an independent state.
Another soldier in the trailer for the film declares, “I came (to war) today so that my kids don’t go tomorrow,” conveying the belief that their military aggression in Ukraine is somehow just.
Some of Trofimova’s previous work was affiliated with Russian state-controlled media. Several of her documentaries, “Congo, My Precious,” “Victims of ISIS,” “Her War: Women vs. ISIS,” and “The Road to Raqqa,” were produced by RT Documentary, a Russian state-owned TV channel.
Controversy over the film only grew louder with the revelation by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) that the film is set to be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and has previously received Canadian government funding.
A database of funded projects maintained by the Canada Media Fund - a public-private partnership backed by Department of Canadian Heritage - reveals that the film had received 340,000 Canadian dollars in funding from the Fund during their 2022-2023 fiscal year.
MILITARY & TECH
New US military aid package includes badly needed ammunition
The US Department of Defense announced a new $250-million-worth military aid package for Ukraine on 6 September 2024, during the 24th Ramstein meeting of over 50 countries coordinating military aid supply for Ukraine at the Ramstein base in Germany.
The military aid package signifies crucial support for Ukrainian land forces. Still, it lacks any supplies for Ukraine’s Air Force, in particular, to fight Russia’s guided bomb threat by targeting military airfields or utilising long-range air-to-air missiles against Russia’s fighter jets.
The aid package is the Biden Administration’s sixty-fifth tranche of equipment to be provided from Department of Defense inventories for Ukraine since August 2021.
The capabilities in this announcement include:
RIM-7 missiles and support for air defense;
Stinger missiles;
Ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition;
Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) missiles;
Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems;
Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles;
M113 Armored Personnel Carriers;
Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles;
Small arms ammunition and grenades;
Patrol boats;
Maritime training equipment;
Demolitions equipment and munitions; and
Spare parts, ancillary equipment, services, training, and transportation.
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