Key Takeaways from the ISW:
- Ukrainian forces continued to marginally advance southeast of Sudzha on August 16 amid continued Ukrainian operations in Kursk Oblast.
- Ukrainian strikes reportedly destroyed two bridges in Glushkovo Raion, Kursk Oblast.
- Ukrainian forces reportedly advanced further into western Belgorod Oblast during recent cross-border assaults than previously reported, but available open-source reporting and evidence indicate that Ukrainian forces no longer maintain positions within Belgorod Oblast as of August 16.
- Ukrainian officials reported that Ukrainian forces continued to advance in Kursk Oblast and suggested that the incursion has forced Russia to more readily consider prisoner-of-war (POW) exchanges.
- The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Office (UN OHCHR) requested that Russian authorities allow UN representatives to visit Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod oblasts as part of a human rights monitoring mission.
- US officials reiterated that US policy on Ukraine's ability to use US-provided weapons to conduct long-range strikes against Russian military targets has not changed amid the ongoing Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast.
- The Kremlin reportedly fired former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s advisor on information policy Andrei Ilnitsky possibly as part of an ongoing effort to shift control of Russia's wartime information policy from the Ministry of Defense (MoD) to the Russian Presidential Administration.
- Russian forces recently advanced near Chasiv Yar, Toretsk, and Pokrovsk.
- Russian milbloggers claimed on August 16 that Russian drone operators are limiting their use of Mavic drones amid claims that Russian commanders are forcing operators to either personally pay to replace drones lost outside of combat or risk being sent to an infantry assault unit as punishment for losing a drone.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
Authors: Kateryna Stepanenko, Christina Harward, Riley Bailey, Angelica Evans, and Frederick W. Kagan.
See the original here.
To suggest a correction or clarification, write to us here
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
Hospital wards are being prioritized for DPRK militants, while wounded Russian soldiers are left in worse conditions, according to a Russian nurse during an intercepted phone conversation.
Dec. 19