“The military resources of Ukraine are almost exhausted”, estimated this Tuesday August 15 the Russian Minister of Defense, while Kiev launched a counter-offensive in June to retake its territories. Ukraine is getting “no result” despite the “full support” of the West, assured Sergei Shoigu at a conference on security in Moscow. He claimed that the military campaign in Ukraine, launched almost a year and a half ago, had proved a “serious test” for the Russian army, but that Russia had managed to “significantly” increase its production armored vehicles.
Regarding the Western weapons delivered to kyiv, Sergei Shoigu said they were “nothing unique or invulnerable” for Russian troops. “We are ready to share our assessments of the weak points of Western equipment”, declared the Russian minister, in front of an assembly of international military officials. He also thanked Russian soldiers who he said are fighting on the battlefield against “neo-Nazism”, echoing the Kremlin’s rhetoric that claims the offensive in Ukraine is aimed at overthrowing a neo-Nazi regime.
Strikes on two towns in western Ukraine
Night strikes targeted the cities of Lviv and Lutsk, in western Ukraine, and killed at least three people, local officials said on the morning of Tuesday August 15. In Lutsk, “we (had) a ‘strike'” on the premises of a company in the industrial sector, declared on Telegram Yuriy Poguliaiko, the governor of the Volhynia region of which Lutsk is the regional center. “According to initial information, unfortunately, there are three dead and three injured,” city mayor Igor Polichchuk said on Telegram.
A strike also targeted Lviv, a large city in western Ukraine rarely targeted, located some 150 km southwest of Lutsk. “Missile fragments fell on apartment buildings on Patona and Kakhovska streets,” Maksym Kozytsky, the head of the regional military administration, said on Telegram. The official reported injuries, adding that they had received all the necessary medical assistance.
In July, Lviv was the target of a Russian strike that killed ten people. The salvo of Russian missiles had damaged more than thirty apartment buildings and other buildings, according to local authorities. “This is the most destructive attack against the civilian population of the Lviv region since the start of the war,” Maksym Kozytsky noted at the time.
Small Ukrainian advances
On the front side, Ukraine claimed some gains in the east and south on Monday, small advances as part of its grueling counter-offensive launched two months ago to liberate these territories occupied by Russia. In the east, the battle for Bakhmout continues to rage. In this sector, “3 km2 were liberated last week. In total, 40 km2 have already been liberated on the southern flank of the Bakhmout sector”, announced Ganna Maliar, the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defence.
Ukraine is in difficulty further north, around Koupiansk, so that it could not “concentrate (its) forces on the offensive in the Bakhmout sector”, according to Ganna Maliar.
Regarding the southern front, where Ukrainian soldiers have been searching for weeks for weak points in Russian defense lines, made up of minefields, trenches and anti-tank booby-traps, Ganna Maliar remained vague, nevertheless mentioning progress. “Hostilities continue in the locality of Ourojaïné, we have some successes,” she said.
War in Ukraine: the situation on August 14
© / afp.com/Cléa PÉCULIER, Valentin RAKOVSKY, Sophie RAMIS
German finance minister in favor of long-range missile deliveries
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner expressed support on Monday for the delivery by Germany of Taurus cruise missiles requested by kyiv to repel Russian forces. “I hope and I think it can be possible,” said the Liberal minister, in an interview with Bild media, Die Welt and Politico, at the end of his first visit to Kyiv since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. “In times of war, speed is everything,” he added.
Germany is under increasing pressure from Kiev to send it long-range Taurus cruise missiles to support its counteroffensive against Russian troops. The German government has so far opposed the request, fearing the missiles could reach Russian territory and escalate the conflict. Asked about this on Sunday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz remained vague. “As in the past, we will always look very carefully at every decision, what is possible, what makes sense, what our contribution can be,” he said.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Germany has provided some 22 billion euros to Ukraine in the form of humanitarian, financial and military aid.
New US Arms Deliveries
The United States announced on Monday a new delivery of weapons to Ukraine for a value of 200 million dollars, to make up for an error in the valuation of the weapons already sent. These weapons, which will be taken directly from existing stocks, include ammunition for Patriot anti-aircraft systems and Himars artillery systems, as well as millions of shells, cartridges and grenades, and mine clearance equipment.
American journalist detained in Russia is in “good health”
Evan Gershkovich, journalist for the wall street journal detained in Russia since the end of March, received his third visit on Monday from the American ambassador to Russia, who assured that he was in good health. Lynne Tracy went to the Moscow prison of Lefortovo, a little more than a month after her second visit, the US State Department said. “Ambassador Tracy said Evan still appears to be in good health and remains strong despite the circumstances,” a spokesperson said.
Evan Gershkovich, who worked for AFP, is the first American journalist arrested in Russia for espionage since the fall of the Soviet Union. He was arrested during a report in the Urals on March 29. Evan Gershkovich had not received consular access between April and June.