Ukraine Summer Offensive Update for Sept 5 (N. America Edition): ‘Russia Not Preparing for Winter’

Overview

• Ukraine loses first Challenger 2 tank
• Zelensky meets with military brass near Bakhmut
• Russia “not preparing for winter”
• AFU repels Russian attacks near Bakhmut
• Ukrainian forces reportedly making headway in the Zaporizhzhia region
• Three Russian tank battalions reported eliminated in one week
• Kyiv seeks to close loophole used to avoid conscription
• Russia claims it intercepted sabotage group at border

Ukraine Loses First Challenger 2 Tank

Ukraine appears to have lost its first British-supplied Challenger 2 tank, after video surfaced on social media early on Tuesday morning of one of the vehicles burning at the side of the road believed to be south of the recently-liberated town of Robotyne.

It was not clear how the British tank was destroyed. Video reviewed by Kyiv Post analysts suggested the Challenger 2 was in an area that had been subjected to active artillery fire.

A stationary Ukrainian T-64 tank some 50-60 meters away had evidence of shell splinter damage in its side armor.

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Zelensky visits combat brigades near Bakhmut

President Zelensky visited troops leading a counteroffensive towards the eastern war-battered town of Bakhmut, Kyiv said on Tuesday.

“As part of a working trip to Donetsk region, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky visited combat brigades conducting offensive operations in the Bakhmut region,” the presidency said.

It added that Zelensky had “listened to reports on the operational situation” on the eastern front.

Russia “not preparing for winter”

Ukraine has not seen any evidence that Russian forces are taking steps to prepare for winter, Natalia Humeniuk, head of the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces, said on Tuesday.

“Perhaps because their logistics are complicated,” she said, adding: “They barely have time to meet their current needs for ammunition, protective equipment, and to bring in some new units of equipment to replace damaged or destroyed ones.

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“That is why we have not seen such a massive procurement of winterization supplies.”

AFU troops hold back Russian attacks near Bakhmut

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), defending troops held off Russian attacks near Bakhmut, in a total of 22 combat clashes there on Monday.

The General Staff reported a total of 13 AFU airstrikes on Russian positions: 11 on troops and weapons clusters, and 2 on anti-aircraft missile systems.

Meanwhile, Ukraine defense officials reported five Russian missile attacks and 68 airstrikes that same day, as well as 42 attacks involving multiple rocket launchers. Artillery was primarily aimed at 15 settlements in the northern potions of the Donetsk region, including Ivanivske, Bohdanivka, Chasiv Yar and Bila Hora.

AFU records “tactically significant advances” in the Zaporizhzhia Region

Ukrainian forces made tactically significant advances in the western Zaporizhzhia Region on Monday, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

The ISW geolocated footage published on Sept. 4, showing Ukrainian forces advancing south of Robotyne (9 km south of Orikhiv) and west of Verbove (18 km southeast of Orikhiv).

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported that Ukrainian forces continue offensive operations in the Melitopol area and achieved unspecified successes in the direction of Novodanylivka (5 km south of Orikhiv) and Novoprokopivka (13 km south of Orikhiv).

She said that, overall, Ukrainian troops have recaptured approximately three square kilometers of land in that area over the past week.

Ukraine Media Center claims three Russian tank battalion equivalents destroyed last week.

According to a post from the publicly funded Ukraine Media Center: “Over the past week, the following were eliminated. “Personnel: 3,810 (nearly 8 battalions); tanks:80 (about 3 tank battalions); armored combat vehicles: 101 (about 3 motorized rifle battalions); artillery units: 186 (around 10 artillery divisions); missiles: 322.”

Kyiv seeks to close loophole used to avoid conscription

Kyiv has drafted a law aimed at closing a loophole that “a significant number of individuals” had been using to avoid being conscripted into Ukraine’s armed forces.

Under current legislation, men aged 18-60 are exempt from being mobilized if they are students enrolled on a higher education course.

The new law seeks to limit this so that it would only apply to those aged over 30 as a large increase in the number of older, male students since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine suggests it was being used to avoid conscription.

From 2019 to 2021, around 40,000 male students in Ukraine were aged over 25. After February 2022, this number jumped to 106,000.

Russia says it thwarted Ukrainian sabotage group, partisans disagree

Russian claims that it thwarted an attack by Ukrainian intelligence operatives has been mocked by the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) which not only took credit for the attack but claimed it had resulted in the deaths of two FSB border guards.