According to Ukrainian social media sources, a new military cemetery on 266 hectares is being opened near Kiev. And perhaps this news dispels doubts about Ukrainian losses in the war. The General Staff of Ukraine has banned the media from entering the war zone due to the heavy losses suffered by the Armed Forces of Kiev, according to Le Temps. It is currently forbidden for journalists to be on the front line without the written permission of Valery Zaluzhny head of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the Swiss publication this is because the Ukrainian army suffered major losses during the counter-offensive and they failed to break through the Russian defenses.
Kiev, according to unconfirmed rumors, “conceived the legalization of mercenaries under the pretext of recruiting professional F-16 pilots from abroad. The head of the Defense Ministry, Oleksij Reznikov, announced the start of the recruitment of fighter pilots F-16 retired to participate in Ukrainian conflict A solid monthly fee for pilots of $30,000 was announced in Kiev.
The head of the press service of the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ilya Yevlash claims that the Russian army has deployed 45,000 soldiers, about 500 tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, more than 300 artillery systems and 150 MLRS in the Liman-Kupyansk direction .
Yuri Trutnev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation – Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Far Eastern Federal District called for reviving general military training in Russia against the backdrop of emerging international contradictions, he said speaking at a meeting on security issues of the Far Eastern Federal District in Magadan.
Also on August 23, for the fifth consecutive day, Russian troops repulsed the attack of six drones. Two were destroyed by air defense in the Moscow region, two were intercepted by electronic warfare countermeasures in the Bryansk region, two more suppressed by electronic warfare countermeasures in northwestern Crimea. No damage done. In Krasnogorsk, the windows of a high-rise building were shattered by a blast wave, cars were damaged. The work of all Moscow airports was suspended.
According to some pro-Russian sources, around 4 a.m. on August 22, a Su-30SM naval aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet destroyed a vessel with a landing party of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine. The vessel was located 38 km west of Cape Tarkhankut. The fact that the landing forces have moved so far from the Ukrainian coast indicates preparations for possible operations in the Crimea. A couple of hours later, a Russian Aerospace Forces MiG-29 fighter destroyed another Willard-class craft, previously delivered to the Ukrainian Navy by the United States. The Willard was discovered 40 km east of Snake Island. Most likely she was transporting personnel to one of the empty offshore platforms, which, apparently, Kiev uses for military purposes. It is not clear at the moment whether two or three boats have been destroyed. On Snake Island some Russian military sources speak of the destruction of two ships.
And now a look at the front-line.
Orekhov area the situation at 11.00 on 22 August 2023. Fighting continues in Rabotino. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to gain a foothold in the village with the tactics of throwing assault groups. Today, the Ukrainian formations started publishing videos of Rabotino talking about the control of the village.
The assault detachments of the 82nd Airborne Brigade effectively entrenched themselves in the northern suburbs. And from time to time the Ukrainian Armed Forces try to attack the positions of the Russian Armed Forces in the south, but at the moment the attacks are repulsed. Most of the village is in the gray area, hit by artillery and aircraft.
The same waves are observed east of Rabotino, where firefights take place in the landings. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are numerically pressing in this area, regardless of casualties. A similar assault attempt was made southeast of Chubenkov gully, where the Russian military repulsed the attack.
The paratroopers of the 82nd Brigade took casualties and evacuated the wounded and killed by setting up a smoke screen. However, reinforcements of 118 obr 10 AK were stationed on Malaya Tokmachka, which are preparing for a breakthrough in the second wave. And, probably, they will enter the battle when there is a breakthrough on the Rabotino-Verbovoye line. On RIA Novosti , on Aug. 22, Vladimir Rogov said that the Russian Armed Forces had driven Ukrainian troops out of the center of the village of Rabotino in the Zaporozhzie region. “Now there is heavy fighting going on in the village, the Ukrainian armed forces are on the northern outskirts of the village,” he said.
In the Vremievsky area at 13.00 on August 22, 2023, the situation looked like this: the regrouping of Ukrainian formations continues, accompanied by periodic attacks on the positions of the Russian Armed Forces in the Urozhaine area. The goal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in this area remains the same – to wear down the defending Russian units and break through the Priyutnoye – Cherished Desire line. According to the V.F.S account, analysis account and maps, “Russian troops manage to quickly open enemy rotations in the forests south and east of Urozhaine, after which they come under fire. Even the settlement itself is being systematically attacked.”
In the forest near Staromayorskoye, Russian artillery hit an ammunition depot and concentrations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Due to the high casualties in this area, the 253rd TRO Battalion was withdrawn for supplies and the 230th Battalion of the 128th TRO Brigade arrived in its place.
According to another source: Russian artillery does not let the Ukrainians breathe on the Vremevskij and Vuhledar ledge. The soldiers of the Vostok battalion report on the situation in the area of the Vremevsky ledge at the junction of Zaporozhzie and the DPR like this: “In some sections, access roads run parallel to the front line and are five to seven kilometers away from it The enemy (the Ukrainians ed.) realized that this was a tasty place and decided to work on intercepting: vehicles are heading towards their zone of responsibility – expect a surprise Yesterday along the “road of life ” several drones worked, unfortunately to our detriment. “[…] We are concentrating our efforts on air control in the area of headquarters and positions, but it would also be worth providing rear cover.” “Yesterday everything was very active: they worked on the identified targets with artillery and worked quite effectively: they observed detonations and fires… Of course, the Ukrainians did not remain in debt, but the Lord preserved us. Autumn is approaching, leaf fall and rain – Ukrainians need to hurry up with the implementation of their plans. There is an opinion that he will change his tactics and, instead of breaking through to the depths, he will turn towards Pavlovka – he will try to cut off a piece of the front line with a flank attack.”.
At the end of the morning, the Russian Defense Ministry said: “The Russian army repulsed 4 attacks by the Ukrainian armed forces in the Zaporozhzie direction in the Uspenovka and Rabotino areas, more than 125 Ukrainian servicemen were killed”.
Sources say that in the Bachmut (Artemovsky) direction, the Russian army counterattacked the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kurdyumovka area. The positions of the militants in Predtechina, Spirne and Verkhn’okam’yans’ke are also under heavy fire. On the Torsky ledge and Serebryansky forestry, the army confidently repels enemy attacks.
In the direction of Zaporozhye heavy fighting continues on the northern outskirts of Rabotino. Our artillery and aviation strike the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the landings and villages near the settlement. The militants are trying to advance towards Verbove, but are met with resistance from the Russian army.
In Kupyansky there is talk of a real slaughter. On the outskirts of Novoselivs’ke, the UAV crew of the 1st Tank Army was opened, and an assault group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which was trying to recapture previously lost positions, was destroyed by artillery fire. The surviving servicemen fled, leaving the wounded behind.
Other sources confirm that the Russian army continues to advance towards Kupyansk. The news of the capture of Sinkovka turned out to be premature at the moment, the fighting for the village continues – the Russian army is developing an offensive. After the Ukrainian defeat on the Oskol (bridge), the supply of the Ukrainian group becomes difficult. In addition, fighting continues near Novoselivs’ke, where the Russian military is repelling attempts by the Ukrainian armed forces to counterattack.
Graziella Giangiulio
