Ukraine Summer Offensive Update for August 24: ‘Get Nicked, Zelensky Says to Experts As Village Freed’

Snapshot

Ukrainian forces lifted their nation’s colors over Robotyne in southern Ukraine – the 11th village liberated since the beginning of their summer offensive. Meanwhile, President Zelensky told Western armchair generals where to stick their criticisms of the offensive.

Analysis

During a Kyiv media conference with Western journalists, President Volodymyr Zelensky mocked “expert” opinion about the strategy and pace of Ukraine’s summer offensive.

In particular, Zelensky dismissed suggestions that Ukraine has too many troops in the east and should concentrate on the southern front, as recently suggested in the New York Times.

“Does anyone know from the experts how many… occupiers there are in the east? Approximately 200 thousand! The [expert] proposal is this: ‘Let’s take our Armed Forces from there, and they will be transferred somewhere.’… After that the following will happen: Slovyansk, Kramatorsk for a couple of days, then they [Russian forces] will go to Pavlohrad, the Dnipro, and cut off the banks,” he said.

According to the President, such a move would be to Russia’s advantage. “We will not give up Kharkiv, Donbas, Pavlohrad, or Dnipro. That’s right. And, let all the world’s analysts not count on it,” Zelensky said.

ISW said: “Criticisms of continued Ukrainian efforts in other sectors and calls for Ukraine to concentrate all available reserves on a single axis are thus problematic.”

Other Topics of Interest

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Operations – Southern Front

On Ukraine’s Flag Day, soldiers of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade raised a Ukrainian flag over liberated Robotyne in western Zaporizhzhia. Video was released by General Valery Zaluzhny, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) continued to make advances in and around Robotyne in the western Zaporizhzhia Region as of Aug. 22 amid indications that Russian forces likely have a limited presence in the settlement, ISW reported.

The Ukrainian advance in the Robotyne area brings Ukrainian forces closer to launching operations against second lines of defense that may be relatively weaker than the first Russian defensive line in the area, ISW said.

Satellite imagery from November 2022, December 2022, and August 2023 shows that Russian forces have notably sped up the expansion of defensive fortifications near Chervonoselivka (38 km southwest of Velyka Novosilka and 27 km from the current frontline) in the Zaporizhzhia Region over the last month.

Other Operations

There was a Russian aerial strike on Dnipro early this morning with reports of casualties.

Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said that Russia is operating 436 aircraft in its war against Ukraine, including 27 Tu-22 strategic bombers (from an original 31). His comments follow Ukraine’s recent destruction of an additional Russian bomber.

Ukraine destroyed a Russian S-400 anti-aircraft system on the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. “At about 10 a.m. an explosion occurred... destroying a Russian long- and medium-range S-400 Triumph air defense system,” the Ukrainian defense ministry said on social media. This was confirmed by pro-Russian milblogger Rybar on his Telegram channel and by NASA imagery.

Russian milbloggers on Telegram went virtually silent about war-related events and devoted much of their mawkish energy to various speculation and commentary about the death-by-plane of Wagner warlord Yevgeniy Prigozhin.

Ukrainian forces conducted offensive operations on at least two sectors of the front on Aug. 22 and made advances near Bakhmut and in the western Zaporizhzhia region, according to ISW.

Russian forces conducted offensive operations along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, near Bakhmut, along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line, in the western Donetsk-eastern Zaporizhzhia regional border area, and in western Zaporizhzhia on Aug. 22 and advanced in certain areas, according to ISW.

According to the 18:00 daily update of the General Staff of the AFU, during the day of August 23, Russian forces launched 9 missile strikes, 49 air strikes, and 40 MLRS attacks at the positions of Ukrainian troops and various settlements. The Ukrainian Air Force launched 10 airstrikes against Russian positions.

According to the General Staff, Russian forces shelled around 100 Ukrainian settlements with artillery and/or mortar fire.