At 13:30 Italian time on August 3, a large fire broke out on the territory of a battery production plant in the village of Achkasovo near Moscow. Local residents report that the explosion reported by the media did not happen. Allegedly, the fire broke out in the former Red Builder factory.
It would be a workshop for the production of oxygen batteries in Voskresensk near Moscow, seven people were evacuated, reported TASS, source Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The causes of the fire are not known, the yellow-gray smoke of which has dominated the skies of Moscow.
Pope Francis has urged to seek “creative solutions” to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, as reported by the press service of the Holy See.
A meeting on Ukraine at the level of heads of state could take place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September or as part of the G20 meeting in India, writes Politico. Earlier, Bloomberg wrote that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was likely to arrive in September for a session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
And while numerous heads of state are busy finding a plan for peace in Ukraine, BILD newspaper claims that Putin is ready to wage war in Ukraine for another 2-3 years, according to German government experts. German experts speak of the militarization of Russian society and then do not rule out the possibility that Russia may launch another major offensive in Ukraine. According to them, Russia can increase the number of active servicemen to 3 million if the course of the war requires it. Now the number of Russian military personnel is about 1.15 million.
So, according to the Germans, there will be more soldiers in the Russian army than in the Chinese armed forces. The training level of many of these soldiers is unlikely to be high, according to BILD, and there would also be huge problems for the Russian military with their equipment.
President Zelensky named 12 countries that have so far expressed their willingness to sign agreements on “security guarantees” with Kiev: Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Finland, the Czech Republic and Sweden. According to the commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhiy Naev, in July, Russian DRGs made four attempts to penetrate the border into northern Ukraine. And again Zelensky reported that Ukrainian pilots will begin training on F-16 aircraft in August.
For the second day in a row, NATO reconnaissance aircraft activity has increased in northern Russia. While Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, confirmed that Kiev is attacking Russian warships using naval drones. And the same confirmed that the SBU participated in both the first and second attacks on the Crimean bridge. He also said that Kiev cannot use Western weapons to strike Russia, but these restrictions do not apply to products of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex.
In Russia, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin signed a decree on compulsory life and health insurance for volunteers participating in the special operation. The signed and published decree is on the website of the Russian government: “On measures to ensure compulsory state life and health insurance of citizens of the Russian Federation who are in voluntary formations”.
On the night of August 2-3, while trying to fly over the Kaluga region, the Russian Air Defense Forces shot down 6 UAVs in the south-west of the region. There were no casualties or damage. A seventh drone tried to attack on the morning of August 3 Kaluga was also shot down.
And now a look at the front line.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine are regrouping on the outskirts of Bachmut, there are battles for nearby settlements such as Kleshcheevka, Kurdyumovka and Andreevka – adviser to the acting head of the DPR Yan Gagin told RIA Novosti. At the same time, Kleshcheevka, Gagin said, is now under the control of the Russian armed forces. And Russian troops are advancing on Avdiivka from three sides, by analogy with the capture of Bachmut. The Ukrainian counter-offensive has slowed down due to the heavy losses suffered, Yan Gagin commented.
According to another social source: in the direction of Bachmut (Artemovsk), the intensity of hostilities has increased in the Kleshcheevka area, where the Ukrainian FA are desperately trying to attack the Russian positions and are actively throwing foreign mercenaries into battle. The Russian army repels the attacks of the Ukrainian armed forces, and counterattacks in the area of Kleshcheevka and Kurdyumovka.
In the Zaporozhzhia direction, the Ukrainians are still trying to break through the Russian defense line through the use of armored vehicles and artillery. At the same time, the intensity of the fighting has decreased somewhat: many Ukrainian “offensives” have been unsuccessful, and there are significant losses of servicemen and equipment.
Volunteers of the “Yenisei” Cossack battalion of the “Siberia” brigade hold the defense near Soledar in the DPR, destroying Ukrainian armored vehicles. The Ukrainian military uses cluster munitions in this area.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian gunners stopped the transfer of reserves of Ukrainian troops in the Kupyansk direction. The Ministry also reported that movement in the Kerch Strait is restricted for the movement of ships and aircraft. On August 2, the Ukrainian armed forces tried to attack a ship of the Russian Navy, which was escorting civilian maritime transport in the Black Sea, with a marine drone: “The Ukrainian boat was identified and destroyed in a timely manner” , the ministry noted.
An air alert was declared in the Kiev and Chernihiv regions starting at 23:55 on August 2, according to the Ukrainian authorities. The alarm was also sounded in the regions of Sumy, Poltava and Cherkasy, Kharkov, Kirovograd and Dnepropetrovsk.
From social sources it becomes known that Ukrainian militants on the right bank of the Dnieper are losing equipment. With the help of a drone, the Russian Armed Forces monitor what is happening on the other side. “We are monitoring where the Ukrainian army will move, i.e. changing its position. We see all this and are already preparing in the newly occupied positions,” reports one social account, citing Russian military sources.
Vremyevsky site situation at 13.00 on August 3, 2023. The situation in the Vremievsky area remains tense. According to a telegram account Ukrainian marines resumed their attacks near Priyutnoye, attempting to gain a foothold in plantations near bodies of water to the northeast.
A group of 10 people under the cover of an infantry fighting vehicle was hit, the Ukrainian army fell back. However, judging by the formation of new assault groups in Novodarovka and the deployment of a self-propelled battery on the Temirovka-Novoivanovka line, the attacks will soon resume. And, most likely, they will be coordinated with the units of the 35th brig and 128th brig of the TRO operating in Makarovka.
In the evening, detachments of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on two AFVs began a firefight near Staromayorsky, and one tank provided fire support from the northeast. The activity of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in this area does not subside. But at the same time, the Ukrainian command is replenishing manpower and ammunition, preparing for a new offensive. Russian gunners, drones and aircraft operators are attacking the rear in an attempt to thwart enemy plans. As a result of one of the Lancet shots, a nomad tank of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was hit.
In the Donetsk direction, Russian fighters conducted successful offensive operations southwest of Avdiivka and took a number of positions previously controlled by the Ukrainians. A similar situation has developed in the Vesele area, the mastery of which will make it possible to go out from the northeastern flank to the fortified area of the militants in Avdiivka. The Russian army also continues to storm the defense lines of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at Marinka – there are heavy battles.
Graziella Giangiulio
