Photo : Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters
Photo : Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters
By Advik S Mohan
WAR ON THE GROUND
On 01 September, Reuters reported on a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting power plants and a refinery near Moscow. The Government of the Russian Federation stated that drone debris had caused fires at the Moscow oil refinery owned by Russian oil company Gazprom Neft and at the Konakovo Power Station in Tver Oblast. Igor Rudenya, Governor of Tver Oblast, confirmed the fire in Konakovo, but electricity and gas supplies were continuing uninterrupted. Mikhail Shuvalov, Head of the Kashira City district in Moscow Oblast informed that there was an attempt to strike the Kashira power plant, although no damage or casualties were recorded. According to the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, air defence units had destroyed 158 drones including nine over Moscow and its surrounding oblasts.
On 01 September, the Government of Ukraine confirmed the death of a resident in Russian airstrikes. In a statement by the Sumy Regional Military Administration, an overnight Russian missile had struck grain trucks, killed one and injured four others near the village of Verkhnya Syrovatka, which is 14 kilometres southeast of Sumy city in Sumy Oblast. The Ukrainian Air Force also claimed that Russia had launched an Iskander-M missile and eight attack drones over Sumy Oblast and Mykolaiv Oblast. Meanwhile, Oleh Synyehubov, Governor of Kharkiv Oblast informed that the number of residents injured by shelling in Kharkiv city rose to 41. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, in response to the attacks called for assistance from global leaders for its defence.
On August 31, an article in CNN reported on Russian bomb attacks on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv resulting in the death of eight residents. Ukrainian authorities informed that six residents including a 14-year-old girl in a playground had been killed and 97 injured on August 30, when the Kharkiv was hit by five guided aerial bombs dropped by Russia. On the same day, two people were killed and 10 injured by an airstrike on the village of Cherkaksa Lozova. Oleksandr Filchakov, Head of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office informed that Russian forces had conducted the “massive bombardment” through Su-34 fight jets carrying 500 kilogram guided aerial bombs which are hard to intercept. Filchakov stated that the bombs struck civilian infrastructure in four districts of Kharkiv, with apartment buildings, educational establishments and administrative buildings among the places damaged. According to Oleh Syniehubov, Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, the bombs contained a “control module” which indicated that Russia was deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure. Zelenskyy stated the attacks were “horrific” and “cowardly” and that Russia “would be held accountable for its evil deeds.” Zelenskyy also urged Western allies to increase their support.
THE MOSCOW VIEW
Claims by Russia
On 01 September, RT reported on the destruction of 158 Ukrainian drones over Russia. The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation informed that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) launched by Ukraine were shot down. These included 46 UAVS above the Kursk Region, 34 above Bryansk Region, 28 above the Voronezh Region, and 14 above the Belgorod Region. Sergey Sobyanin, the Mayor of Moscow informed that at least 11 drones were destroyed near or inside the Russian capital of Moscow, including two in the vicinity of the Moscow Oil Refinery. In a statement by the Russian Defence Ministry, seven drones were shot down over the Moscow Region along with two more. This comes after increased attacks by Ukraine on Russia’s power plants.
On 01 September, WCVB Chronicle reported on the interception of 158 Ukrainian drones by Russian air defences overnight. The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation confirmed the same where 46 drones were subject to an incursion in Kursk Oblast by Ukraine. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, drones were intercepted in over 15 regions, including the border regions of Belgorod, Voronezh, and Bryansk Oblasts. Sergei Sobyanin, the Mayor of Moscow informed on a spark from fire from debris at an oil refinery. The drone strikes come amid an increase in aerial attacks inside Russia by Ukraine since 2024.
WEST VIEW
On 31 August, Deutsche Welle published an opinion on the threat to the Ukrainian logistical and supply hub of Pokrovsk from potential Russian attacks. According to Zelenskyy, the situation in Pokrovsk is “extremely difficult,” and the Institute for the Study of War confirmed: “Russian forces continue to make significant tactical advances southeast of Pokrovsk.” Colonel Markus Reisner, an officer in the Austrian Armed Forces and head of the research department at the Theresian Military Academy informed how Pokrovsk was crucial for it forms the backbone of the Ukrainian defence supply line on the frontline. Reisner stated that the capture of the city of Avdiivka was to protect towns, railroad lines and roads in western Ukraine was also a turning point as it advanced rapidly against the Russian troops. According to the report, Russian forces can target Ukrainian supply routes as soon as they reach the outskirts of Pokrovsk. Gustav Gressel, a military expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations stated that Russian forces would attempt to destroy Pokrovsk and its logistics, with the worst-case scenario being a Russian occupation of the entire Donetsk region. However, Mykhailo Samus, Director for International Affairs at the Centre for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies stated that Ukrainian forces could still block their ground corridors even if Russian forces reach Pokrovsk. While Reisner and Gressel stated that the Kursk offensive into Russia by Ukraine was a gamble which had failed to compel Russia into moving troops away from eastern Ukraine towards Kursk; Samus informed that the further the Kursk incursion progresses and creates a southern flank on the border, Russia would be forced to send resources and troops to Kusk away from Ukraine.
On 01 September, an article in Swissinfo.ch informed that the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation had stated that its forces had captured two settlements in the eastern part of Ukraine. According to the Ministry, Russian forces had taken Ptyche settlement, about 21 kilometres southeast of the crucial logistical hub of Pokrovsk, and “were continuing to advance deep into the enemy defences.” The Ministry also stated that Russia had seized the Vymika settlement in Donetsk Oblast. Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine acknowledged that the situation was “difficult” but that all the necessary decisions were being taken. The battlefield reports could not be independently verified.
References
“Russia captures another settlement in eastern Ukraine-Moscow,” TRT World, 30 August 2024
Burc Eruygur, “Ukraine says 1 killed, 45 injured in Russian airstrikes in Kharkiv, Sumy regions,” Anadolu Ajansi, 01 September 2024
“Russia says Ukrainian drones target refinery, power plants near Moscow,” Reuters, 01 September 2024
Radina Gigova and Maria Kostenko, “Russian bomb attacks on Ukraine’s Kharkiv leave at least 8 dead, more than 100 injured,” CNN, 31 August 2024
“Russia says it has downed over 150 drones in one of the biggest Ukrainian drone attacks of the war,” WCVB Chronicle, 01 September 2024
“Russian air defenses repel large-scale Ukrainian drone attack-MOD,” RT, 01 September 2024
Dmytro Kaniewski and Iryna Ukhina, “Can Ukraine save Pokrovsk?,” Deutsche Welle News, 31 August 2024
“Russia says it has captured two more settlements in east Ukraine,” swissinfo.ch, 01 September 2024