The situation on the front lines and in the border regions of Ukraine and Russia remains critical in the early hours of today. Last night, Russian forces carried out new drone strikes, while sharp disputes erupted in the diplomatic sphere between Israel, Russia and Ukraine. Meanwhile, NATO is reorienting the training of the Ukrainian military, borrowing their experience in robotic warfare.
Bloody drone strikes in Kushugum, DPR and Odessa
On the night of August 22, Russian occupation troops carried out another brutal drone attack against the settlement Kushugum in Zaporizhia region. The head of the Zaporizhia regional military administration Ivan Fedorov reported that as a result of the strike, one man died on the spot, and four other civilians were seriously injured. The injured were hospitalized and are currently receiving emergency medical care. The information was confirmed by the Ukrainian UNN agency at (unn.ua).
At the same time, a tragic incident involving civilian transport was recorded in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). A Ukrainian drone attacked a passenger minibus traveling along the Sukhumi - Donetsk line. According to the head of the republic, Denis Pushilin, two people were killed in the attack near the village of Kharkovskoye - the driver and a teenager born in 2011. Four more women were injured to varying degrees of severity. Details of the incident were published by the Russian publication “Kommersant“ on (kommersant.ru).
There was also tension on the Black Sea coast, where a series of loud explosions erupted in the city of Odessa. An air alert was declared in several Ukrainian regions due to the threat of Russian missiles and drones of the “Geran“ type. Local channels reported that air defense systems (ADF) were operating, and information about the extent of the damage is still being specified. The chronicle of events was followed by the Russian portal NEWS.ru on (news.ru).
Ukrainian Armed Forces are teaching NATO robotic warfare
The influential American publication Business Insider revealed details about the radical change in the Alliance's tactical training. Western armies, and in particular Norwegian instructors, have excluded basic training in drone control and electronic warfare (EW) from the programs for Ukrainian soldiers in Poland.
The reason is that the actual combat experience of the Ukrainian Armed Forces significantly exceeds that of NATO experts. Now the Ukrainian military is practically training its NATO partners on how to fight with ground and air robots, instead of putting the lives of soldiers at risk. According to the Business Insider report, cited by „Glavcom“ on (glavcom.ua), Western armies are actively readjusting their doctrines to Ukrainian innovations.
Poland strengthens border with Russia with concrete „hedgehogs“
In response to growing threats from the East, Poland has begun a large-scale deployment of concrete anti-tank barriers – the so-called „hedgehogs“ or „hedgehogs“, along its entire 210-kilometer border with the Russian Federation (Kaliningrad Region).
The initiative is part of the defense strategy “Eastern Shield“ (Tarcza Wschod). Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Poland Wladyslaw Kosyniak-Kamysz announced readiness to completely close all border crossings with Russia and Belarus within two weeks, and for this purpose the country has already purchased thousands of defensive mines. Details of the fortification were reported by the Russian agency “Interfax“ at (https://www.interfax.ru/business/1055816).
Diplomatic tension: Israel responds to Alaudinov and Kiev
A serious international scandal was caused by the words of Russian Lieutenant General Apti Alaudinov, who predicted “the disappearance of Israel as a state“ as a result of the current conflict in the Middle East. The Israeli embassy reacted sharply to his comments to TASS, stressing that Israel will defend its sovereignty against any threats and will not allow itself to be drawn into foreign geopolitical scenarios. An analysis of the situation was published by Haberler at (https://ru.haberler.com/russian-news-2300835/).
At the same time, the Israeli diplomatic mission in Moscow also commented on the official state reburial of the founder of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) Yevgeny Konovalets in Kiev. Israeli diplomats recalled the historical responsibility of the OUN for crimes against the Jewish population during World War II and expressed concern about the heroization of such figures. The funeral ceremony of Konovalets, whose ashes were returned from the Netherlands, was held with state honors in the presence of Volodymyr Zelensky. Information about the event was reported by “Novoe Vremya“ at (https://nv.ua/ukraine/events/evgeniya-konovalca-perezahoronili-pod-kievom-gosudarstvennaya-ceremoniya-i-podrobnosti-50633551.html).
Leonid Kuchma: I was the first to order the shooting at Russian soldiers
Against the backdrop of the current war, the second President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma recalled the events of late 2003 surrounding the dispute over Tuzla Island in the Kerch Strait. In an interview with the “Ukrinform“ agency Kuchma said he became the first modern leader to give a direct written and oral order to open fire on Russian servicemen if they crossed the Ukrainian border.
According to him, it was this firm position that forced Moscow to back down and sign an agreement on the joint use of the Sea of Azov. The ex-president's statement was published by the URA.RU news portal at (https://ura.news/news/1053120369).