Victory Chronicles-DAY 1286

Ukrainian military intelligence said on Sept. 1 that its special forces struck two Russian military helicopters and a tugboat in occupied Crimea.

The attack occured on Aug. 30 and struck a Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopter parked on an airfield. 

The airborne assault by the HUR’s “Phantoms” unit, targeted a Russian airbase in Hvardiiske near Simferopol. Both helicopters were hit by drones, with their estimated value equivalent to $20 million–$30 million.

Separately, a Russian tugboat, believed to be the BUK-2190, was struck during an air attack in the Sevastopol Bay. “Demilitarization of occupied Crimea continues,” Ukrainian intelligence said in a statement.

DeepState: Russian occupation rate in Ukraine dropped by nearly 20 percent in August. Russian military advances in Ukraine are still going at a snail’s pace with minimal territorial gains.  A Ukrainian Defense Ministry open-source intelligence site said that the pace of occupation is falling by 18 percent. 

Deep State said that Moscow seized 464 square kilometers in August, leaving 19 percent of Ukraine under occupation — the same proportion as in October 2022, just before Ukraine’s counteroffensive near the southern Kherson regional town of Dudchany. “The increase in occupied territory over nearly three years is practically zero,”.

Analysts noted that invading Russian forces carried out about 5,027 assaults in August, fewer than in May, June, or July. 

The slowdown was attributed largely to troop rotations, including the redeployment of four brigades and a marine regiment toward Dobropillia, reinforcements in Zaporizhzhia, and unit replacements in the Kramatorsk and Dnipro sectors. DeepState cautioned that Russia is likely to increase its activity in September.

Drones strike power substation in Russia’s Krasnodar region. Drones struck a major power substation that is a key facility to the electrical grid where electricity is converted in Russia’s Krasnodar region overnight on Sept. 1, sparking a fire, Russian officials and local media reported.

The attack targeted the 330 kilowatt Kropotkin substation near a railway hub, according to the Astra Telegram channel, which cited eyewitnesses. Images shared online showed flames rising from the facility.

Electrical substations use transformers to increase or decrease voltage levels and distribute power to homes, businesses, and industries.

From invention to battlefield: Ukraine’s ‘Ptashka’ net gun proves effective against FPV drones. Ukraine has demonstrated the frontline use of its “Ptashka” (Birdie) net gun, an innovative homegrown weapon that is designed to counter Russian first-person view (FPV) drones, the Ptashka Systems channel reported on Sept. 1.

The video released by the aforementioned military unit shows Ukrainian soldiers firing the device and ensnaring and disabling the enemy drone in mid-flight. “Combat use of the infantry net gun Ptashka. Decisive, courageous, cold-blooded,” the channel wrote.

The reusable launcher resembles a firearm and fires cartridges that release a 3.5-by-3.5-meter net, tangling a drone’s propellers and forcing it to crash. It has an effective range of 25-30 meters. Depending on the configuration, the Ptashka costs between 7,900 and 19,500 hryvnias ($190–$480), while each combat cartridge with a net costs about 1,500 hryvnias ($37).

Key Takeaways:

• The Kremlin is pursuing a multi-pronged informational effort aimed at deterring Western support for Ukraine and undermining European participation in the peace process. 
• Russian milbloggers criticized the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) for exaggerating its battlefield successes.
• The Kremlin is intensifying these information efforts because its territorial gains remain disproportionately limited and slow relative to the high losses incurred.
• Ukrainian forces advanced near Novopavlivka. Russian forces advanced near Toretsk.

• Zelenskyy orders purchase of more air defense systems to protect energy sector
• Indian PM meets Putin and urges him to stop war and look for peaceful settlement
• Plane carrying von der Leyen lands in Bulgaria using paper maps due to Russian interference with suspected global position system jamming
• Ukraine Military Intelligence: : Russia’s largest tank manufacturer uses hundreds of foreign equipment
• Germany’s Prime Minister Merz prepares for long war in Ukraine