Two Russian Tu-22M3 bombers damaged during strike on Olenya airfield

Two Russian Tu-22M3 bombers were damaged during an attack on the Olenya airfield in Russia. The confirmation of this information came from Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
The cause of the damage was reported to be an explosion that occurred over the plane’s location. The damaged sidewalls of the bombers have corresponding tail numbers. It is estimated that it will take Russia several months to restore these aircraft.
The date and time of the attack have been clarified by military intelligence, indicating that it occurred on July 25th at approximately 15:47. The involvement of Ukraine in the attack has not been confirmed or denied by the GUR (Main Intelligence Directorate).
SOURCESymbolic number of the Day
In an interview, Colonel Markus Reisner of the Austrian Armed Forces estimated that Russia may have lost between 500,000 and 750,000 soldiers in its war against Ukraine, with up to 150,000 soldiers killed. Reisner referred to a recently published study that suggested 100,000 to 150,000 Russian soldiers had died, considering the lessons of military history and the assumption that the number of wounded would be 3-4 times higher than the number of deaths.
SOURCEWar in Pictures
A Russian attack on the village of Velykyi Burluk in Kharkiv Oblast resulted in the death of a woman and injuries to her 10-year-old son. The attack occurred around 10:10 am and involved guided aerial bombs (GABs). The shelling caused a residential building to catch fire and another house on a different street to be damaged. Unfortunately, the woman was killed in the attack. Her son suffered burn injuries and has been taken to the hospital for treatment. Emergency services are currently working to handle the aftermath of the attack.
SOURCEVideo of the Day
The 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, known as the Yakiv Handziuk Brigade, has recently successfully neutralized the assault potential of the Russian occupiers. The brigade destroyed and damaged numerous Russian vehicles, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and unmanned aerial vehicles. In total, 39 pieces of equipment and 28 units of various types of UAVs were destroyed or damaged. In addition, the brigade’s fighters killed 206 enemy personnel.
SOURCEISW report

Periodic and pulsating Russian mechanized assaults likely represent the extent of Russia’s current offensive capacity, and Russia is unlikely to mount a distinct new summer offensive operation due to material and manpower constraints. ISW previously noted that Russian forces have struggled to conduct simultaneous large-scale offensive operations throughout the war but are prone to conducting offensive operations in “pulses” along different sectors of the front, with one sector decreasing in intensity as another sector increases.
Russian forces have conducted periodic platoon and company-sized mechanized assaults in the Lyman, Chasiv Yar, and Avdiivka directions in Donetsk Oblast throughout the summer, and have more recently intensified assaults west and southwest of Donetsk City. Russian forces also reportedly recommitted elements of the Central Military District’s (CMD) 90th Tank Division (41st Combined Arms Army [CAA]) from Avdiivka to southwest of Donetsk City, suggesting that the Russian military command may assess that Russian forces are unlikely to make rapid tactical gains near Avdiivka and are re-prioritizing the Donetsk City area. Russian forces are likely to commit additional mechanized forces to the area in order to exploit weak spots in the Ukrainian line and achieve some territorial advances, however limited, during the summer of 2024.
The Russian military command may assess that these periodic, pulsating mechanized assaults are either sufficient to accomplish the command’s revised, more limited objectives for the summer of 2024 or that these assaults are the extent of Russian forces’ current capabilities. Western media, citing unspecified Ukrainian sources, reported in December 2023 and January 2024 that Russian forces planned to seize the remaining territory of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia oblasts during a large-scale offensive operation in the summer of 2024, but Russian forces likely revised those plans following the passage of US military assistance to Ukraine in April 2024.
The Kremlin, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, has also previously tried to oversell the seizure of tiny frontline settlements west of Avdiivka as major battlefield victories for informational purposes. The Russian military command may intend to present limited tactical advances in western Donetsk Oblast (an area of Ukraine whose geography the average Russian has no familiarity with), including cutting the Vuhledar-Kostyantynivka highway, as a major victory to the Russian people. The Russian military command may also be trying to push degraded Russian forces in the area to advance as far as possible before their combat capabilities culminate, regardless of the losses those forces take in the process.
SOURCEWar heroes

Junior Sergeant Dmytro Melnyk, with the call sign Brat, died on February 15, 2023, near the village of Masiutivka, Kharkiv Oblast. Saving his fighters-in-arms, he was killed by a sniper’s bullet. The warrior was 43 years old.
Dmytro was born in the village of Seretets, Ternopil Oblast. He received two higher education degrees from Ternopil National Technical University named after Puluj, specializing in Electrical Power Systems and Management of Organizations. In civilian life, he worked as a chief engineer in electrical engineering.
With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the man voluntarily went to the military registration and enlistment office, as he wanted to protect his home and family from the enemy. He joined the 105th separate territorial defense brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served as a squad leader in the 83rd separate infantry battalion.
“His call sign was Brat, because he was a real brother to every military comrade, always lending a shoulder and covering during shelling. His character traits were: patriotism, justice, courage, kindness, sincerity, responsibility, wisdom and resilience. That is why he was so loved, appreciated and respected. And he saw every friend as a younger brother who needed to be saved, even at the cost of his own life.
Dmytro is an example for many Ukrainians. His most important goal was for his family to live under a peaceful sky, so he did not hesitate to take up arms and go to defend Ukraine. Through his actions and guidance, he repeatedly saved the lives of his fighters and charged them with motivation to fight and will,” wrote Volodymyr Melnyk, the brother of the deceased.
The defender was buried in the village of Zahiria, Ternopil Oblast. Dmytro is survived by his wife, two daughters, relatives, friends and fighters-in-arms.
*Dmytro’s story on the Heroes Memorial – a platform for stories about the fallen defenders of Ukraine.
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