Russian/Ukraine War Situation Report #97
- Global Crisis Management Report
- Aug 26, 2024
- 4 min read
Military and Diplomatic Highlights:
· Since August 6th, Ukrainian forces have penetrated Russia’s Kursk region to a depth ranging from 10-25 kilometers over a frontage of approximately 40 kilometers:
o Russia had established defensive lines and had border forces in the area, these were not prepared to respond to a multi-battalion assault force.
o After initial disarray and disorganization, Russian forces have deployed in greater force to the region, likely from elsewhere along the contact line.
o Russian has begun to construct additional defensive positions to prevent Ukrainian advances.
· The Ukrainian military on August 26th reported the largest Russian air attack on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure:
o Russian forces launched 127 missiles and 109 drones, but Ukrainian air defense shot down 102 missiles and 99 drones.
o The Ukrainian State Emergency Services has reported that seven people were killed and 47 injured.
o These attacks resulted in damage to the electrical grid affecting nearly 250,000 customers.
o The railway infrastructure in the Sumska Oblast was also damaged.
· As of August 26th, Ukraine has reported the following Russian losses:
o 608,820 Soldiers (Wounded or Killed)
o 8.551 Tanks
o 16,648 Armored vehicles
o 17,443 Artillery
o 14,134 Drones
o 367 Aircraft
o 328 Helicopters
o 2,444 Cruise missiles
o 28 Warships/boats
o 1 Submarines
· On August 24th, Russia released 115 Ukrainian soldiers.
· The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on August 23rd reported that the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) lost connection to its only remaining off-site back-up power line, leaving it once again reliant on a single power source:
o The back-up power line was disconnected due to a short-circuit. The cause of this disconnection is currently unknown.
o This latest outage follows reports of military activity in the region and beyond. The IAEA team have reported hearing explosions near the ZNPP over the past 24 hours.
War and Atrocity Crimes Investigations Highlights:
· The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine between August 16-23 registered 866 new crimes committed by Russian forces.
· As well as prosecuting Russian military and other officials, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine notified on August 25th an Iranian brigadier general of suspicions of abetting Russia in waging an aggressive war and committing war crimes:
o According to the ongoing investigation, in July-August 2022, representatives of the Russian Armed Forces agreed with representatives of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to purchase Shahed-136 and Mohajer-6 attack drones and components for them.
o Iranian experts also trained the Russian military to use these drones in combat operations.
o Between September and October 2022, a group of Iranian instructors launched at least 20 attack drones in the Dnipro and Mykolaiv regions.
· Health Cluster Ukraine as of July 31st has recorded 1,926 attacks on healthcare.
· The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that as of August 23rd there have been 43 incidents involving damage to humanitarian property since January 2024.
· On August 21st, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a bill ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
Humanitarian Impact and Response and Recovery Highlights:
· The security situation continues to deteriorate in the Donetska Oblast as hostilities intensify mostly near the towns of Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad and Selydove.
· On August 26, due to the deterioration of the security situation in the Donetska oblast, local authorities announced a mandatory evacuation of children and their caregivers from two more areas.
· The evacuation of residents from border areas in the Sumska Oblast is ongoing, with local authorities reporting that most people chose to remain within the oblast. Between August 15-25, nearly 500 people were evacuated through two transit centers in Sumy City.
· The Ukrainian Red Cross in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP) is continuing to distribute food parcels to elderly residents of Kherson who have limited mobility and disabilities.
· As of August 24, OCHA reports that nearly 600 humanitarian organizations are involved in the humanitarian response.
· On August 14th, the World Health Organization (WHO) delivered medicines and medical supplies to the critical hospital in the Donetsk region.
· As of August 21st, the Ukrainian Red Cross mobile health units have during the week visited 44 remote towns/villages and provided medical consultation to 767 people.
· OCHA reports that as of August 21st, more than two million homes have been damaged or destroyed since February 2022.
Russian Dis-information Campaign Highlights:
· On August 22nd, the Russian Federation informed the IAEA that the remains of a drone were found 100 meters from the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant:
o The Russian President has repeated unfounded accusations that this drone was launched by Ukraine.
· The Ukrainian military incursion in the Kursk region of Russia has resulted in a mixed and at times confused messaging from Russian leadership.
Cultural Heritage Protection Highlights:
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as of July 31st has verified damage to 432 cultural heritage sites. This includes:
· 139 Religious sites
· 214 Buildings of historical and/or artistic interest
· 31 Museums
· 32 Monuments
· 15 Libraries
· 1 Archive
Sources:
· Ukraine: Humanitarian Impact of Intensified Hostilities in Donetska and Sumska Oblasts - Flash Update #5 (26 August 2024)
· Ukraine: Health Cluster Bulletin #7 (July 2024)
· Damaged cultural sites in Ukraine verified by UNESCO
· Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Twitter Page
· Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine Twitter Page
· Ukrainian State Emergency Services Twitter Page
· Ukraine Red Cross Twitter Page
· OCHA Ukraine Twitter Page
· WHO Ukraine Twitter Page
· United Kingdom Ministry of Defense Twitter Page
· EU East Stratcom Task Force Disinformation Review Twitter Page
· PolyGraph Info Twitter Page
· IAEA Twitter Page
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