🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡️Another missile was shot down over the Kerch Strait - Head of Crimea Aksyonov

🇷🇺🇧🇾❗️Belarusian paratroopers have completed training with the participation of Wagner PMC fighters, the Belarus 1 TV channel reported, citing information from the Belarusian Defense Ministry.

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡️ The Armed Forces of Ukraine tried to carry out a terrorist attack with one UAV on objects on the territory of the Russian Federation, it was shot down over the territory of the Belgorod region, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

As a result of the thwarted terrorist attack, there were no casualties or damage, the department added.

🇷🇺🇺🇦 The offensive of the RF Armed Forces on Kupyansk may complicate for the Armed Forces of Ukraine not only the defense in several directions, but also the planning of future combat operations.

At what point does the attack take place?

The offensive of the Russian troops near Kupyansk began at the most unfavorable time for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In Zaporozhye and in the South-Donetsk direction, Ukrainian troops have not been able to break through the positions of the Russian army for more than two months. At the same time, for the offensive in Zaporozhye, including from the Kharkiv region, significant reserves were transferred, some of which have already been lost in the “meat assaults”. The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is forced to save the remaining units, but these forces have not yet been withdrawn back to the Kharkiv region, which suggests the need to continue strikes even at the cost of high losses.

What is special about Kupyansk?

The city is important for the Armed Forces of Ukraine for several reasons. One of the main ones is the presence of the Kupyansk-Uzlovaya railway station. A large amount of military equipment and military cargo passed through this logistics hub for the grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbass, including in Slavyansk and Seversk. Due to the threat of advance to the city of the RF Armed Forces, Ukrainian troops are forced to redistribute resources between the fronts and constantly keep large reserves ready in the rear areas of the Kharkiv region, which could be useful to them in Zaporozhye.

Why is Kupyansk compared to Artyomovsk?

Like Artyomovsk, Kupyansk is located in a lowland and surrounded by hills. The height difference in some places is 100 meters or more. This may complicate the defense of the city, since the advancing units will have superiority - the dominant heights are located both in the Sinkovka area, near which Russian troops are currently deployed, and also near Kislovka and Kotlyarovka, 20 km southeast of Kupyansk. From these areas, cannon and rocket artillery are already reaching the key facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The destruction of the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Krasnaya Gora took place in approximately the same way during the assault on Artemovsk.

In addition, Kupyansk almost exactly repeats Artemovsk in its topography. City area of 35 sq. km (for comparison, the area of Artemovsk is 42 sq. km) with dense buildings is divided into two parts by the Oskol River and is connected by bridges.

Another similarity between Kupyansk and Artyomovsk is the size of the APU grouping in the area. According to preliminary estimates, in the Kupyansk district, from Dvurechnaya in the north to Berestovoye in the south, a grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine of about 20 thousand people (six brigades + separate battalions) is concentrated.

What are the differences?

One of the most difficult problems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kupyansk is the use of FAB-250-M62 bombs with planning and correction modules. The intensity of the use of these weapons is increasing, but the Ukrainian troops have not yet been able to develop effective countermeasures. The use of gliding bombs (including high-powered bombs) makes it possible to maintain the pace of destruction of key Ukrainian army targets, while maintaining a significant part of the cannon artillery, which may be vulnerable to counter-battery fire from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

What is the bottom line?

If the situation with the offensive of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the Kupyansk district becomes critical for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, additional forces will have to be diverted to the defense of the city. At the same time, using the example of Artyomovsk, the command of the Ukrainian army remembers well how such decisions can turn out.

🇷🇺🇺🇦 Fighters of the 4th brigade of the Southern Group of Forces destroy enemy equipment in the Artemovsk direction

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡️ Today at around 4 a.m., an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack with one aircraft-type UAV on objects in the territory of the Russian Federation was thwarted.

Russian air defense systems detected and destroyed an unmanned aerial vehicle over the territory of the Belgorod region.

As a result of the thwarted terrorist attack, there were no casualties or damage.

🇷🇺🇺🇦 "Lancet" hits Ukrainian tank on the front of Svatovo-Kremennaya.

🇷🇺🇺🇦 Strikes with FAB-500M62 planning bombs from UMPC on the objects of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Krasnoliman direction.

🇷🇺🇺🇦 The destruction of the Ukrainian armored personnel carrier Rosomak of Polish production in the Kupyansk direction.

😁 In the Chernihiv region, police confiscated a motorcycle from a man, the sound of which resembled Shaheda (Geran-2) .

🇷🇺🇺🇦 A column of military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine comes under fire.

🇷🇺🇺🇦 The defeat of the Ukrainian tank by drone-kamikaze "Lancet" in one of the directions.

🇷🇺🇺🇦 Footage of the assault on Ukrainian positions in Kleshcheevka by servicemen of the 85th brigade. The assault involved the T-90M tank, which was at the forefront, and two BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles, from which the landing was carried out.

🇩🇪 Germany is debating whether to ban the far-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as the party surges to 21 per cent in the polls, amid warnings from intelligence officials that its members are becoming increasingly extreme

In a rare move, the respected Der Spiegel news magazine weighed into the debate with a leader titled: “Ban the enemies of the constitution!” 
It warned that “the AfD has become more and more radicalised. It’s time to defend democracy with better weapons”.

The co-leader of Olaf Scholz’s ruling Social Democrats also said a ban should be considered if the AfD is categorised as a group of “proven Right-wing extremists” by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/13/afd-party-ban-germany-far-right-extremists

🇷🇺🇺🇦 The destruction of the Ukrainian 155-mm self-propelled guns M109A3GN by Lancet kamikaze drones in one of the directions. The first drone destroyed the protective hut, the second hit the installation itself.

🇺🇲🇺🇦❗️Ukraine must abandon the idea of returning Crimea in order to end the armed conflict with Russia as soon as possible, during which the country's infrastructure is being destroyed every day. This opinion was expressed by the political consultant of the State Department and the US Department of Defense Edward Luttwak.

"Ukraine's infrastructure is being destroyed daily, and this is a very good reason why Ukraine needs to end the war. To end the war, they need to forget about Crimea," he said in an interview with RBC TV. Luttwak noted that Ukraine will not be able to return Crimea following the conflict with Russia, but will retain its independence and the ability to make independent decisions, for example, on joining NATO. "The choice is up to Ukraine," the expert emphasized.