ISW

Key Takeaways

• Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks southwest and southeast of Izyum, east of Siversk, and to the east and south of Bakhmut.
• Russian forces have likely made incremental gains in settlements on the northwestern and southwestern outskirts of Donetsk City and continued efforts to break Ukrainian defensive lines along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line of contact.
• Russian forces unsuccessfully attempted to advance east of Mykolaiv City on August 7.

Main Effort—Eastern Ukraine

Subordinate Main Effort—Southern Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk Oblasts (Russian objective: Encircle Ukrainian forces in Eastern Ukraine and capture the entirety of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, the claimed territory of Russia’s proxies in Donbas)

• Russian forces did not conduct any confirmed ground assaults northwest of Izyum on August 7. Social media imagery posted on August 7 showed elements of the 5th Tank Brigade and 37th Motorized Rifle Brigade operating in unspecified locations along the Izyum axis, indicating that elements of the Eastern Military District group are still operating on the Izyum axis.[11]
• Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks southwest and southeast of Izyum in the direction of Slovyansk on August 7.
• The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian force repelled a Russian attack near Virnopillya- about 18km southwest of Izyum.[12] 
• Russian forces also conducted ground assaults near Bohorodychne and Dolyna, both about 20km northwest of Slovyansk along the Izyum-Slovyansk line.[13] 
• Slovyansk Military-Civilian Administration Head Vadym Lyakh stated that Russian forces shelled residential areas in the center of Slovyansk.[14]
• Russian forces conducted a limited ground attack east of Siversk on August 7.
• Ukrainian sources reported that Russian troops failed to improve their tactical position in Verkhnokamyanske, 5km due east of Siversk.[15] 
• Russian forces otherwise conducted air and artillery strikes on and around Siversk.[16]
• Russian forces continued ground attacks to the northeast, east, and south of Bakhmut on August 7. The Ukrainian General Staff stated that Ukrainian troops neutralized a Russian reconnaissance-in-force group in Bilohorivka, about 18km northeast of Bakhmut along the T1302 highway.[17] 
• Russian forces also conducted ground attacks in the vicinity of Yakovlivka, Volodymyryvka, and Pokrovske- settlements within 15km of the eastern outskirts of Bakhmut.[18] 
• Russian forces continued efforts to gain ground south of Bakhmut and conducted ground attacks around Zaitseve, Vershyna, Kodema, Vidrodzhennya, and Semihirya.[19]
• Russian forces continued ground attacks to the north and west of Donetsk City on August 7 and have likely made incremental advances in settlements near the outskirts of Donetsk City.
• The Ukrainian General Staff stated that Russian forces maintained efforts to break Ukrainian defensive lines in the directions of Krasnohorivka (15km north of Donetsk City), Pisky (5km northwest of Donetsk City), Avdiivka (5km north of Donetsk City), and Maryinka (directly on the southwestern outskirts of Donetsk City).[20] 
• Combat footage posted to social media on August 7 shows Russian forces in the central part of Pisky, which indicates that Russian troops are likely moving to consolidate control of the settlement.[21] 
• Additional combat footage from August 6 showed Russian troops advancing into the eastern sector of Maryinka.[22]

Supporting Effort #1—Kharkiv City (Russian objective: Defend ground lines of communication (GLOCs) to Izyum and prevent Ukrainian forces from reaching the Russian border)

• Russian forces did not make confirmed ground assaults near Kharkiv City on August 7.[23] 
• Russian forces struck Kharkiv City in the early morning likely with an Iskander ballistic missile.[24] 
• Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration Head Oleg Synegubov additionally reported that Russian forces launched probable S-300 missiles at Kharkiv City’s Industrialny and Novobavarsky districts from Belgorod.[25] 
• The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces continued shelling along the entire line of contact around Kharkiv City and conducted airstrikes against Ukrainian frontline positions near Pryshyb (65 km southeast of Kharkiv City), Verkhnii Saltiv (40 km northeast of Kharkiv City) and Rtyshchivk (50 km southeast of Kharkiv City).[26]

Supporting Effort #2—Southern Axis (Russian objective: Defend Kherson and Zaporizhia Oblasts against Ukrainian counterattacks)

• Russian forces unsuccessfully attempted to advance east of Mykolaiv City on August 7 but did not make any territorial gains.
• Ukrainian military officials reported that Russian forces conducted an unsuccessful assault in the direction of Vasylky-Blahodatne, approximately 45km east of Mykolaiv City.[27] 
• Russian forces continued to intensify aerial reconnaissance and launch airstrikes at Andriivka, Bilohirka, and Velyke Artakove, all situated in the vicinity of the Ukrainian bridgehead over the Inhulets River.[28] 
• Russian forces also continued to launch cruise missiles and fire rockets from Smerch and Uragan MLRS systems at Mykolaiv City and settlements in its vicinity.[29] 
• Dnipropetrovsk Oblast officials reported that Russian forces fired 60 rockets from Grad MLRS systems at coastal settlements in the Nikopol area.[30]

Al Jazeera

• The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, sounded an alarm about the situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after shelling damaged parts of the compound on Friday, saying any fighting close to the site amounts to “playing with fire”.
• Russia’s defence ministry accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the plant, saying a radiation leak had been avoided only by luck.
• The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, hit out at Russia for the attacks that damaged Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. The incident was “another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms”, he said.
• Ukraine’s nuclear operator Energoatom confirmed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been “seriously damaged”, and that one of its reactors was forced to shut down.
• Russia began an assault on two key cities, Bakhmut and Avdiivka, which are a cornerstone of the defence system around the last Ukrainian-held urban area in the eastern Donbas region.
• The UK’s defence ministry said the war in Ukraine was “about to enter a new phase”, with most fighting shifting to a nearly 350km (217-mile) front stretching southwest from near Zaporizhzhia to Kherson.

Washington Post

• Russian shelling struck several factories on the outskirts of the southern port city of Mykolaiv early Sunday, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said in a post on Telegram. Since the war began, 132 residents of Mykolaiv have died in Russian shelling, including one child, and more than 619 people have been injured, the mayor said.
• The “poor performance” of Russian troops in the conflict has been costly for its military leadership, Britain’s Defense Ministry said Sunday, noting that at least six Russian commanders had been dismissed from their roles in recent months.
• In Kharkiv, Russian missiles targeted at least two city districts overnight, said the city’s mayor,Ihor Terekhov. The extent of the destruction, and the potential death toll, was not yet clear on Sunday, he said. Russian attacks have killed more than 1,000 civilians, including 50 children, in the Kharkiv region since the war began, the head of the regional prosecutor’s office said Sunday in a news release.
• In the city of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk province, “constant shelling” from Russian troops has killed civilians and destroyed infrastructure, but local leaders say their resistance is still strong. Bakhmut is key to Russia’s war plan in the east, and the city’s deputy mayor said the offensive has not stopped essential service providers such as hospitals, pharmacies and markets. “There is no humanitarian disaster,” he told Suspilne, Ukraine’s public broadcaster.
• Russian forces have carried out ground attacks as they seek to break through Ukrainian defensive lines north, west and south of the city of Donetsk. In southern Ukraine, Russian troops remain on the defensive, according to an Institute for the Study of War analysis.

CBC

Though the scale of Russia’s brutality in Ukraine is great, recent reports from Amnesty International, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and Human Rights Watch — have also raised concerns about the conduct of Ukrainian forces. This includes the mistreatment of prisoners of war, extrajudicial punishment, and the use of residential areas for military operations, putting civilians directly in the line of fire. 

SCMP

• North Korea has offered 100,000 “volunteer” troops to the Kremlin to help Russia win the war against Ukraine, according to Russian state media.
• “There are reports that 100,000 North Korean volunteers are prepared to come and take part in the conflict,” said Russian military pundit Igor Korotchenko on Channel One Russia, according to the New York Post.
• Korotchenko praised the North Korean military’s “wealth of experience with counter-battery warfare”, the newspaper reported.