Ukraine indicated today, Thursday, that "the fiercest battles in weeks have taken place near Bakhmut on the eastern front against Russia, indicating a lack of signs of diminishing pressure from the Russian army on that front despite more than a week having passed since its incursion into Russia." Kyiv launched a major attack on the Kursk region of Russia on August 6, taking control of a small area, a move that military analysts said was made for reasons including attempting to redirect Russian reserve forces to bolster Moscow's defenses within its territory instead of sending them to the combat front in Ukraine.
Military spokesperson Dmytro Likhovyi stated that Russia has transferred some troops from occupied southern Ukraine to other areas, but has not carried out operations that would constitute a significant redeployment at this time. Likhovyi added in remarks broadcast on state television: "We have not observed significant changes in the size of the group, and the number of personnel does not change enough to indicate any differences or a retreat in... combat operations."
An officer in the Ukrainian army remarked that the Russian pressure remains unrelenting in the partially occupied Donetsk region, where Russia has concentrated its attacks for months. He further noted: "Despite what is happening on Russian territory, the enemy still... keeps most of its forces in this direction and is trying to achieve successes," pointing out that Russian forces have utilized all available reserves in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine and "are really pressing" on Ukraine there.
The Ukrainian General Staff reported that 58 battles occurred between Kyiv forces and Moscow forces along the front line near the city of Bakhmut, which is controlled by Kyiv, marking the highest number of battles recorded by the agency in a single day this month. Serhiy Dobryak, head of the military administration in Bakhmut, urged local residents to evacuate the city.
