Victory Chronicles-DAY 1266

The First Corps of Ukraine’s National Guard Azov unit has taken over the key approaches to toward Dobropillia and the Dobropillia–Kramatorsk road in the westernmost region of Donetsk., according to Ukrainska Pravda sources. 

Dobropillia sits on a vital route to Kramatorsk, the administrative center of Ukrainian-held Donetsk region, making its defense critical to preventing a deeper Russian breakthrough in the east.

Reports indicated that on Aug. 11 that Russian forces were advancing in small assault groups toward Dobropillia and were bypassing the first line of Ukrainian positions. Azov described the situation as “difficult and dynamic,” but stressed that enemy troops are taking heavy losses in both manpower and equipment. 

Military sources say that Azov units had moved quickly to block Russian advances in what is now considered one toughest salient on the Pokrovsk front. The area was previously held by the Pokrovsk Tactical Group, which, according to UP’s military sources, had been failing to maintain the defence there.

Ukraine expects 35 billion euros in non-repayable aid from the EU by the end of the year. By this year’s end, Ukraine expects to receive 35 billion euros (around $39 billion dollars) from the European Union under the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans for Ukraine (ERA Loans) initiative, according to Roksolana Pidlasa, who chairs the Ukrainian legislature’s  Budget committee.

She noted that $18.8 billion has already been received from G7 countries, with a new 1.6 billion euros tranche from profits on frozen Russian assets marking the third installment this year.

The ERA Loans were announced by the G7 last year as a $50 billion “non-repayable loan” for Ukraine — effectively a grant for Kyiv but structured as a loan for donor countries. 

Russian guided bomb attacks, kills two civilians in Donetsk region town. Overnight on Aug. 11, at 10:55 p.m., Russian forces carried out an airborne strike in the Donetsk regional small mining town of Bilozerske by dropping two FAB-250 bombs fitted Universal Gliding and Correction Module (UMPK) guidance kits on a residential neighborhood, the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office said.

A 43-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman were killed. Seven more people, including a 16-year-old boy, were injured. The injured sustained blast and shrapnel injuries, concussions, brain trauma, and other wounds. Eight apartment buildings and six passenger vehicles were damaged in the strike.

Drones strike a sapphire plant in Russia’s southwestern North Caucasus Stavropol region. Russian social media reported on Aug. 12 that drones attacked the “Monocrystal” plant in Stavropol, southwestern Russian region.

Videos posted online showed explosions and smoke rising in the city. The Astra Telegram channel said the footage indicates the strike struck the major chemical industry enterprise and which is one of Russia’s main producers of synthetic sapphire for the optoelectronics sector. The aftermath was filmed from near a restaurant on Kulakov Avenue, where the plant is located.

According to the company’s website, Monocrystal is a global leader in synthetic sapphire production for LED emitters and consumer electronics, as well as metallization pastes for solar power. Synthetic sapphire is used in optical systems, protective sensor and laser covers, and components for aerospace, instrumentation, and other high-tech industries, including military applications.

Key Takeaways:

• U.S. President Donald Trump expressed the United States’ willingness to facilitate substantive peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in an effort to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine.
• Trump signaled that the United States would aim to return some of Ukraine’s economically and strategically significant territories during the peace negotiations process.
• Trump indicated that Putin’s fear of the impact of U.S.sanctions against Russia and Russia’s economic partners drove Putin to propose a bilateral summit.
• Putin’s decision to reach out immediately before Trump imposed further economic restrictions against Russia or its trading partners undermines the Kremlin’s ongoing narrative that sanctions have not and will not affect the Russian economy.
• Kremlin officials continue to emphasize that Russia is unwilling to compromise and remains committed to achieving its original war goals in Ukraine.
• Russian officials and media are also setting informational conditions for Russia to renege on any future peace agreement to end the war.
• Putin may try to use the prospect of US-Russian arms control talks to gain concessions from Trump about the war in Ukraine in the August 15 meeting in Alaska.
• Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups are reportedly infiltrating areas near Dobropillya (northwest of Pokrovsk), and Russian forces likely recently advanced southeast of the settlement.
• Ukraine continued its long-range drone strike campaign against Russian defense industrial infrastructure overnight on August 10 to 11.
• Russian forces recently advanced in northern Sumy Oblast and near Lyman, Chasiv Yar, Toretsk, and Pokrovsk.

• Europe builds for war as arms factories expand at triple speed
• NYT: Foreign volunteers die in Russian strike on training camp near Kropyvnytskyi
• Anti-Putin protest planned in Alaska ahead of Trump-Putin meeting
• All EU states, except Hungary, approve statement supporting Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin meeting
• German foreign minister says violence must not change borders in Europe
• UK and Canadian PMs emphasise peace must be built with Ukraine, not imposed on it
• ISW expert: Putin isn’t seeking peace and Alaska meeting won’t change that
• Bloomberg: Saratov oil refinery in Russia halts oil intake after drone attack