Ukraine Summer Offensive Update for August 2: ‘The Day of the Deadly Drones’

Snapshot

Drone warfare achieving new milestones. The infantry slugfest slowly slogs on. Ukraine and Russia exchange meters in some theaters. Fire departments busy in Russia.

Analysis

As Russia’s war on Ukraine goes forward, and Ukraine substantially increases production, the role of drones becomes ever more poignant.

Operational Aspects in Crimea, Russia, Kupyansk, Kherson and other areas

Kyiv experienced another Russian aerial assault overnight, including 10 drones. Its mayor reported that there were no injuries from falling drone debris.

Russian drones were also reported by Odesa authorities. “As a result of the attack, fires broke out at the facilities of the port and industrial infrastructure of the region, and the [grain] elevator was damaged,” Suspilne said.

A Russian drone attack was also recorded at a Danube grain shipment port.

The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) accused Ukraine of attempting to attack two Black Sea Fleet patrol boats with unmanned semi-submersibles on August 1, according to ISW.

A drone attack took place in the vicinity of occupied Sebastopol, which is the port of the Russian Black Sea fleet, according to local occupational authorities.

Ukraine continued its strategy of hitting the Russian rear, including this troop concentration in occupied Kherson taken out by HIMARS missiles.

Individuals tried to set alight six military registration offices in Russia, including in St. Petersburg. All those arrested in relation to the attempted arsons are women. Russian authorities blamed “UkroNazis.”

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Military intelligence of Ukraine reported on Telegram that partisan activity in occupied Crimea is rising. In particular, attacks by local civilians, including those of Crimean Tatar background, on military targets using Molotov cocktails have become systematic.

“To counter such attacks, the personnel of the Russian Armed Forces have been put on high alert. Suspicious persons who could potentially be involved in such ‘incidents’ are being monitored. The use of physical force and weapons is authorized. Mass detentions and arrests are being carried out,” the statement said.

A fire occurred at a sawmill in Bryansk in Russia, reported local Telegram channels. Russian mass media write that an explosion was heard and that the site is located next to a military unit. Russian Telegram channels reported a blaze at an IT manufacturing facility in Moscow.

A pro-Russian milblogger stated that “relative calm remains on the fronts. The enemy is regrouping his forces, preparing for the next phase of the offensive.

“Ukrainian formations continue to shell houses and civilian infrastructure in the Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk regions, as well as in the DPR.”

On the morning of Aug. 1, the Russians attacked Kherson again, targeting a healthcare facility, killing a doctor and injuring five more people, Ukrainska Pravda reported. Another assault took place earlier today.

Russian forces shelled Pershotravneve in Kharkiv region and killed an elderly woman, according to local authorities.

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said “in the Kupyansk, Lyman, and Svyatohirsk axes, the enemy has concentrated people and equipment and is surging in order to pull our forces away from the eastern axis of the offensive. Our defenders have repelled all enemy assaults in grueling battles.”

General developments

Russian forces undertook one missile attack, 75 airstrikes, and 68 MLRS rocket assaults against Ukrainian settlements and positions, according to the morning update of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Ukraine undertook eight airstrikes.

·       Russian forces conducted offensive operations along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, near Bakhmut, on the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line, in the Donetsk-Zaporizhzhia regional border area, and in the western Zaporizhzhia region on Aug. 1 and made advances in certain areas, according to ISW.

·       Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations on at least three sectors of the front on Aug. 1 and advanced near Kreminna and Bakhmut, according to ISW.

Some 120 Ukrainian settlements across nine Regions were shelled or mortared by Russian forces yesterday, according to the Military Media Center.

Operational Aspects in Bakhmut

Ukrainian officials reported that Ukrainian forces continued gradually advancing near Bakhmut, and a Russian source claimed that Ukrainian forces captured an unspecified height south of Bakhmut near Klishchiivka, according to ISW.

“Somehow, it was suspiciously quiet in the Bakhmut axis. On the ground, almost no movement,” one notorious pro-Russian milblogger posted on Telegram.

Operational Aspects on boundary of the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions and in western Zaporizhzhia

Ukrainian forces continued to undertake activity on the southern Dnipro River. Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern forces said: “We are trying to maneuver along the left bank and find positions for ourselves, where our counter-battery work cannot reach. The enemy is nervous; the enemy is exhausted. Their morale and psychological spirit have fallen, but they are forced under the pressure of barricades, which are very often used on the left bank, to hold their positions.”

She further noted that these positions are often not equipped after the flood caused by the Russians' detonation of the Kakhovka HPP in June 2023.

Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces conducted unsuccessful attacks against Russian forces along the Donetsk-Zaporizhzhia region border area near Staromaiorske and Urozhaine and in the western Zaporizhzhia region near Robotyne, according to ISW.

The UK Ministry of Defence reported that Russian commanders in southern Ukraine largely struggle with artillery ammunition shortages, a lack of reserves, and challenges with securing the flanks of defending units, according to ISW.