Ukraine War Update NEWS: Overnight & Other News
Table of Contents 📖
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"Every day is a bad day for their artillery. Who would want to be a Russian artillery crew member?"
Hello Team!
Jonathan provides the latest Ukraine war news update for 21 August 2023. He starts with the Ukrainian general staff figures for Russian losses, noting an uptick in tanks and APVs lost in the last 24 hours which tracks with online footage. 19 artillery systems and 2 MLRS were also lost, continuing the degradation of Russia's artillery. Jonathan emphasizes the pockmarked landscape resulting from the intense shelling.
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🪦 DISCLAIMER FOR GENERAL STAFF LOSSES DATA
- These are real people with real lives and real families who love them. Don’t let the numbers sap your humanity.
- These numbers probably aren’t accurate but they’re the best we have and we don’t need them to be accurate to be indicative of patterns of activity.
- All losses are estimates. Losses cannot be counted with accuracy because of the conditions on the ground.
- Both sides would see it to be of their advantage to minimize their own losses maximize the other side’s losses.
- Neither side releases their losses but we have enough transparency from the Ukrainian side to have confidence in they are indicative.
- Personnel losses are hard to count. If a soldier gets injured, heals up, and returns to the front line only to get injured again, is that one loss or two? Also, how to deal with losses from PMC’s or soldiers fighting with RF from occupied territories?
- Equipment losses are hard to count. If an AA complex involves several parts and one part gets disabled, is that a loss, or a fraction of a loss? If a tank gets disabled, repaired, back into the fight, then disabled again, is that one lost tank or two?
- All recorded losses are vulnerable to multiple reporting. We have already seen numerous cases of multiple drones in the air reporting the same loss from different angles as multiple engagements.
- Losses are not always reported on the same day they occurred. It is frequent that drone losses are reported at least 24 hours after other terrestrial equipment losses. Certain losses may not be reported for days or weeks for military intelligence reasons.
Russian War Crimes
A Wagner PMC fighter admitted in an interview that his unit executed prisoners of war, including a Polish volunteer. The fighter was a convict recruited from prison. Jonathan questions how anyone can defend these actions which are clear war crimes that the fighter was proud of committing.
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Russian Equipment Losses
Footage shows the destruction of Russian military equipment including:
- A Murom-P military surveillance complex reportedly blown up inside Russia
- Two tanks, two IFVs and other vehicles destroyed south of Bakhmut
- Tanks and artillery pieces taken out as pointed out by a Ukrainian drone operator
In the Tavria direction (area between the Dnipro and Molotchna rivers), Ukraine reports killing 79 Russians, capturing 153, wounding 232, and destroying 27 units of equipment in the last 24 hours. This suggests a lot of activity on the Dnipro front.
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Airbase Strike in Russia
Regarding the strike on Soltsy-2 airbase in Russia, new photos shared first by Ukraine show the destruction of a Tupolev Tu-22M3 bomber. There are claims the drone attack was done locally within Russia by Ukrainians or anti-war Russians. The initial white smoke suggested cruise missiles were hit, but the black smoke in the photos indicates the jet fuel of the bomber. Airports in Moscow were briefly closed due to alleged Ukrainian drone attacks.
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Distant Strikes
Russia claims 2 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over Moscow, with debris injuring 2 people. However, they were forced to shut down Moscow's airspace due to the attack. Smoke was also seen in Russian-occupied Mariupol, possibly from Storm Shadow missile strikes by Ukraine. Jonathan notes Ukraine may be running low on these missiles and Germany is still undecided on providing Taurus cruise missiles.
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Media Coverage of Counteroffensive
Jonathan analyzes the conflicting coverage of Ukraine's counteroffensive in mainstream US media like the New York Times and Washington Post. Some articles paint a more optimistic picture while others suggest Ukraine is running out of options. He argues the shifting narratives could reflect unrealistic expectations of a lightning quick offensive despite the challenges of minefields and entrenchments. Setting arbitrary time constraints on Ukraine's progress is unfair and sets them up for perceived failure. Jonathan emphasizes Ukraine's goal is to liberate their territory, however long it takes. Allied support should not be tied to meeting media-imposed deadlines.
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Life in Odesa
Several beaches have reopened in Odesa, Ukraine's major seaport, after being closed since the invasion began. While some restrictions remain in place, designated swimming zones protected by anti-mine nets have allowed a return to some normalcy for residents. Jonathan reflects on the difficult balance for Ukraine between funding the war effort and supporting quality of life for citizens.
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Russian Hypocrisy on Cluster Munitions
Pro-Kremlin voices have decried Ukraine's use of cluster munitions as an escalation. However, Jonathan points out the hypocrisy, sharing photos of Russian AO-2.5RT bomblets found in Ukraine. These have a 20m kill radius and are dropped en masse in RBK-500 aerial bombs. Russia previously used cluster munitions extensively in Syria.
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Wrap Up
Jonathan concludes part 1 of the update, apologizing for background noise from electrical work at his house. He thanks viewers for their support and encourages them to like, subscribe and share. He will return with part 2 shortly, hopefully once the tapping stops.
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