Ukraine Summer Offensive Update for Sept 8 (Europe Edition): ‘Full Breakthrough in South By 2024 Possible’

Overview

• More Russian drone strikes near Odesa, more port buildings in flames
• Zelensky addresses relations with Israel on call with Netanyahu
• Footage confirms further Ukrainian successes near Klishchiivka
• Secretary of State Blinken visits school where Russians took hostages
• US defense analyst thinks Ukraine may breach Russian lines by year’s end
• Troops advance again in southern Donestk
• WATCH: soldiers raise Ukrainian flag in de-mined districts on eastern border

Russia continues kamikaze-drone attacks near Odesa

The Ukrainian Air Force Command reported Thursday that Russia launched 33 Iranian-made Shahed drones in several groups aimed at grain infrastructure in the Odesa region and that Ukrainian forces destroyed 25 of them. This follows similar attacks on Wednesday by Russia that wreaked havoc on grain storage facilities and port infrastructure in the same area.

Geolocated footage of the strikes on Thursday show a burning building at the port of Kiliya:

Ukrainian Southern Command Spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk said that Russia is increasingly using these kinds of “loitering munitions” because they are cheaper to manufacture than missiles and are available in larger quantities.

“Loitering munitions” are basically kamikaze drones that are used in only one attack. They are more difficult to detect than reusable drones because of their relatively low geothermal profiles.

The attacks came several hours after Ukrainian drones struck targets near Rostov-on-Don, Russia.

US top diplomat visits war-torn Ukrainian school-turned-museum

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday visited a school in northern Ukraine where Russian soldiers kept Ukrainian children and other civilians hostage in 2022. Blinken, who returned to the US shortly after the visit, congratulated the Ukrainians there for their “extraordinary resilience” during the invasion and for documenting the crimes of Russian soldiers.

Other Topics of Interest

Guitar-Playing Blinken Sparks Criticism in Ukraine

Blinken is on a surprise trip to Kyiv weeks after Washington approved a $61 billion package of aid for the country following months of delays in Congress.

“This is a story that we’ve seen again and again and again,” he said.

The school, in Yahidne near the city of Chernihiv, is being turned into a museum.

Video shows AFU troops advancing south of Bakhmut

Geolocated footage posted on Thursday of the Russian 4th Motorized Rifle Brigade striking Ukrainian positions shows that Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) have advanced slightly northwest of Klishchiivka (about 5 km southwest of Bakhmut).

The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces advanced on Bakhmut’s southern flank, supporting comments on Wednesday from Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces Spokesperson Ilya Yevlash that Ukrainian forces advanced near Klishchiivka.

Zelensky discusses pilgrimage safety and Israeli military aid with Netanhayu

In addition to the topic of increased Israeli aid for Ukraine in its counteroffensive against Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked about assuring the safety of Hasidic Jews as they make their annual pilgrimage to Uman.

Every year around Rosh Hashana, tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews visit the city where the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement is buried.

“Ukraine has always warmly welcomed pilgrims and took responsibility for their safety,” Zelensky posted on social media.

Ukraine could breach entire Southern Front by 2024, says US analyst

An analyst from the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Director of Analysis Trent Maul, projected on Thursday that there is a “realistic possibility” that Ukrainian forces will break through all of Russia’s defenses in southern Ukraine by the end of 2023, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian source suggested that upcoming Russian defensive positions are weaker than those Ukrainian forces have previously pierced, according to the ISW.

AFU soldiers raise the blue-and-yellow in newly de-mined districts on the border

Paying tribute to the newly liberated and de-mined towns of Stroivka and Topoli, both of them within a grenade’s throw of the Russian border, Ukrainian forces raised their national flag. Previously, densely planted land mines had kept these towns isolated for many months.

Ukraine’s troops make more advances in southern Donetsk region

In the southern Donetsk region on Thursday, Russian troops launched 62 air strikes and opened fire with multiple launch rocket systems on Ukrainian positions and civilian settlements 26 times, according to Ukrinform.

Meanwhile, the Ukraine Air Force launched nine counterstrikes on Russian personnel, ammunition and military equipment clustered in the area, including the use of surface-to-air missile systems. Those missiles and artillery units reportedly hit one Russian ammunition depot, five enemy artillery systems in firing position, two command posts, and two surface-to-air missile systems.

Ukrinform added that the fighting near the Belarussian and Russian borders with Ukraine, in the Volynka and Polissya vicinity, the operational situation remained rather unchanged.

WATCH: Anti-aircraft Gepard gun takes down Russian drones

Two days after Germany promised more weapons to Ukraine, here is a video of a Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft gun creating a fireworks show out of an invading Russian drone.

In Germany, the Gepard was phased out in late 2010 and replaced by the Wiesel Ozelot.