‘The Enemy Is Advancing Faster Than Expected’ – Ukraine at War Update for Aug. 23

“A railroad ferry carrying fuel was hit in the port of Kavkaz,” the Russian governor of the Krasnodar province, wrote in a post on Telegram. “As a result of the hit and the fire, the vessel sank,” Veniamin Kondratyev added.

Kondratyev said search and rescue operations were ongoing for an unspecified number of crew members. Four who went overboard have been rescued, he added.

CNN: Many Pokrovsk residents refusing to leave home as Russia advances

As Russian forces advance toward the strategically important Donetsk hub of Pokrovsk, many area residents are refusing to leave, going so far as to hide their children from local officials who are issuing mandatory evacuations, CNN reported on Thursday.

Those who live in the vicinity of Pokrovsk are being told they likely only have about two weeks to pack up their belongings and seek refuge further west before the Kremlin’s tanks break through AFU defenses and start rolling in.

“Don’t wait. It will not get better, it will only get worse. Leave,” the military administration head of nearby Myrnohrad, Yurii Tretiak warned the town’s citizens. Myrnohrad is now roughly three miles from the fighting.

“We have cases when parents hide their children,” CNN quoted Tetriak as saying. He noted that his administration has met with law enforcement to discuss “how we will search for such parents who hide children and give false information that the children have long since left.” 

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The Ukrainian military regularly reports that Russian forces are resorting to ‘meat assaults,’ sending wounded or poorly trained fighters into battle as cannon fodder.

Tetriak’s jurisdiction comprises the homes of about 59,000 people. He said about 600 to 700 people are evacuating daily, but he fears many will not get out in time.

“The enemy is advancing faster than expected,” he said in a radio interview this week.

According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Moscow’s forces this week advanced southeast of Pokrovsk, citing Russian sources who claimed that some of its troops have advanced northeast of Hrodivka and Novohrodivka, and north of Ptyche (all of which are southeast of Pokrovsk).

Power returns to 29 towns in Donetsk, as $2.6 million flows to Kherson to guarantee water supply

About 20,000 households in the Donetsk region saw power come back on this week, the press office of the nation’s largest private energy announced on Thursday.

Engineers from DTEK restored the electrical power supply to about 29 settlements in Donetsk Oblast on Tuesday and Wednesday, the company said, explaining that workers start such projects as soon as the periodic shelling and air strikes pause and DTEK is given the green light by government agencies to get to work.

“On 20 and 21 August, DTEK Donetsk Power Grids specialists fully or partially restored the power to 29 settlements that had been cut off due to bombardments. Electricity supply is restored to 19,489 households,” the company wrote in a release.

Meanwhile, another frequent challenge faced by utilities in war-torn regions is making sure that water supplies are protected.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on social media Thursday that the government has allocated some 107.3 million hryvnia (about $2.6 million) from the reserve fund to the Kherson Regional Military Administration to to ensure water supply in the frequently shelled and bombed districts of the southern region.

“The government is engaged in a systematic effort to guarantee the provision of water in regions affected by Russian aggression,” Shmyhal wrote. “During my visit to the Kherson region last month, I highlighted the necessity for the prompt restoration of a number of water supply facilities in the region. The relevant agencies were instructed to address this issue. Today, we are allocating UAH 107.27 million from the reserve fund to the Kherson RMA to perform the necessary work.” 

The emergency funds are directed at a handful of towns, covering about 5,000 people. At the same time, the Prime Minister reported that the government has approved the Integrated Water Supply Program for the War-Affected Territories, which is aimed at guaranteeing uninterrupted access to water for another two million Ukrainians by the end of next year.

Throughout Russia’s 30-month invasion, air strikes have regularly targeted power sources and other utilities to intentionally make life as difficult as possible for the average Ukrainian. Kyiv’s allies have included billions of dollars and euros’ worth of assistance earmarked for infrastructure repairs and electricity imported from European neighbors.

In June, Shmyhal said that Russian attacks had resulted in the loss of 9.2 gigawatts of electricity Although it can import up to 2.2 gigawatts from Europe, Ukraine at the time was importing about 1.7 gigawatts from Western sources.