The Ukrainian military reports the following Russian losses:
o 260,270 Soldiers (Wounded or Killed)
o 4,390 Tanks
o 8,539 Armored vehicles
o 5,379 Artillery
o 315 Aircraft
o 316 Helicopters
o 4,367 Drones
o 1,411 Cruise Missiles
On August 25th, Ukrainian air defense shot down four cruise missiles and two drones before they could reach their intended target.
F-16 Aircraft Availability and Training:
o The United States will begin training Ukrainian pilots and maintenance personnel on the F-16s fighter aircraft in October at the Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, AZ.
o On August 20th, Denmark has begun training for pilots and maintenance personnel. They are planning on providing 19 F-16s to Ukraine.
o The Netherlands has provided the first F-16 on August 22nd.
The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense provided the following updates:
o Ukrainian Counter-offensive Progress:
ü The Ukrainian counter-offensive has put Russian forces under pressure in Bakhmut and southern Ukraine. Despite this, Russia’s Western Group of Forces has continued small-scale attacks in the north-east, in the Kupiansk-Lyman sector, and has made some limited local advances.
ü As Ukraine continues to gradually gain ground in the south, Russia’s doctrine suggests that it will attempt to regain the initiative by pivoting back to an operational level offensive. Kupiansk-Lyman is one potential area for this.
ü There is a realistic possibility Russia will increase the intensity of its offensive efforts on the Kupiansk-Lyman axis in the next two months, probably with the objective of advancing west to the Oskil River and creating a buffer zone around Luhansk Oblast.
o Apparent death of Yevgeny Prigozhin:
ü On August 23rd, exactly two months after the Wagner Group’s mutiny, a Wagner-associated Embraer business jet crashed near Tver, between Moscow and St Petersburg. The Russian authorities claim 10 people on board died, including Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin.
ü There is not yet definitive proof that Prigozhin was onboard, and he is known to exercise exceptional security measures. However, it is highly likely that he is indeed dead.
ü The demise of Prigozhin would almost certainly have a deeply destabilizing effect on the Wagner Group. His personal attributes of hyper-activity, exceptional audacity, a drive for results and extreme brutality permeated Wagner and are unlikely to be matched by any successor.
ü Wagner’s leadership vacuum would be compounded by the reports that founder and field commander Dimitry Utkin and logistics chief Valery Chekalov also died.
o Russian uses of Pontoon Bridges in Occupied Areas:
ü As of mid-August 2023, Russian forces were continuing to employ pontoon bridges at Chonhar and Henichesk crossing points on the border between southern Ukraine and occupied Crimea. Both permanent bridges sustained damage from Ukrainian precision strikes in early August 2023.
ü The pontoon bridges are unlikely to be able to fully sustain the flow of heavy vehicles carrying ammunition and weaponry to the front.
ü The resulting bottlenecks mean Russian forces are partially reliant on a long diversion via Armiansk, northern Crimea. This is adding further friction to Russia’s logistics network in the south.
War and Atrocity Crimes Investigations Highlights:
The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine reported that between August 18-25, 929 new crimes were registered.
As of August 13th, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 26,384 civilian casualties (9,444 killed and 16,940 injured) in the country.
Between August 28th to September 4th, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine will undertake their third visit to the country. The commission members will visit several locations as part of their ongoing fact-finding mission to investigate alleged human rights violations and abuses, and international humanitarian law violations.
Humanitarian Impact and Response and Recovery Highlights:
· Winter in Ukraine typically begins in October. The UN urgently needs $268 million to ensure 1.3 million people will be safe and warm during the winter.
· On August 23rd, a UN convoy delivered vital assistance to nearly 1,000 people in three front-line villages of the Kharkiv Region. The assistance included household items, repair materials and medicine.
· World Central Kitchen continues to provide services throughout the country. One of the areas served is Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk Oblast. Every month, they distribute 3,500 meal kits.
· The UN Children Fund on August 23rd has delivered 20 neonatal ambulances for newborns to Ukraine. These ambulances are supplied with newborn intensive care equipment that provides emergency care to mothers and babies.
· Russian attacks on August 23rd destroyed 13,000 tons of grain. This was the 8th consecutive drone kamikaze attack on the infrastructure at the Port of Izmail:
o Several private grain terminals and warehouses, as well as cargo infrastructure, suffered damage.
o The agricultural products stored there were heading for Egypt and Romania.
o In total Russia has destroyed an estimated 270,000 tons of grain just in August.
· The UN Refugee Agency continues to work with 26 partner organizations throughout the country.
· As of August 21, the EU has provided 4,000 generators.
Russian Dis-information Campaign Highlights:
President Putin claims that Ukraine is recklessly throwing its soldiers into combat. Here is the fact check.
Russia continues to frame Ukraine as a Nazi State. This has been a leading disinformation narrative since the start of the war.
Cultural Heritage Protection Highlights:
As of August 23rd, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has verified damage to 284 cultural sites. These include:
o 120 Religious sites
o 27 Museums
o 104 Buildings of historical and/or artistic interest
o 19 Monuments
o 13 Libraries
o 1 Archive
Sources:
Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine to Conduct Mission to the Country
UNICEF delivers neonatal ambulances for 20 perinatal centres in Ukraine
Ukraine: Civilian casualties as of 14 August 2023
Damaged cultural sites in Ukraine verified by UNESCO
UNESCO Kyiv Twitter Page
OCHA Ukraine Twitter Page
EU ECHO Twitter Page
· Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Twitter Page · Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine Twitter Page · U.S. Department of Defense Twitter Page · United Kingdom Ministry of Defense Twitter Page · PolyGraph Info Twitter Page · EU East Stratcom Task Force Disinformation Review Twitter Page · World Central Kitchen Twitter Page Resources Russia’s War on Ukraine’s Grain and Global Food Supply, in Five Myths (New) https://www.state.gov/russias-war-on-ukraines-grain-and-global-food-supply-in-five-myths/ UN Refugee Agency, Ukrainian Refugee Operational Data Portal http://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine Centre for Humanitarian Data, Ukraine Data Explorer https://data. humdata.org/visualization/ukraine-humanitarian-operations/ Humanitarian Logistics Association, Ukraine Crisis Information Website https://www.humanitarianlogistics.org/donate ACAPS Ukraine Analysis Hub https://ukraine-analysis-hub.acaps.org/ UKRAINE- HEALTH CLUSTER ACTIVITIES Dashboard https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/ukraine/ukraine-health-cluster-activities U.S. Department of State, Disinformation Website https://www.state.gov/disarming-disinformation/ U.S. Department of Defense, Support for Ukraine https://www.defense.gov/Spotlights/Support-for-Ukraine/ Alliance For Securing Democracy War in Ukraine Dis-Information Dashboard https://securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/war-in-ukraine/ National Democratic Institute Disinformation Coordination Hub https://t.co/OctUrivBQC International Fact-Checking Network, #Ukraine Facts https://ukrainefacts.org/ Monetary Donations
Ukrainian Red Cross: Cryptocurrency and PayPal
United Nations Crisis Relief
UN Refugee Agency Donations
UN Migration Agency Donations
UNESCO Paypal Account
International Council of Museums
Ukrainian Emergency Art Fund
WHO Foundation, Ukraine
Center for International Disaster Information
Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Ukraine
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
· Ukrainian Government United 24
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants