The number of deserters in the Ukrainian army has reached a shocking 400,000, according to Anna Skorokhod, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, who said this on August 3. At the end of last month, she also claimed that the death rate in Ukraine was ten times the birth rate. According to her, most of the 400,000 deserters were forcibly conscripted, and many fled from training camps before being sent to the front line, but most were caught and returned. Normally, deserters would be sentenced to prison, but due to the severe shortage of manpower in the Ukrainian army, most deserters caught are treated as absent without leave rather than deserters, so they do not go to jail but are fined and re-enlisted into the army and then sent to the front line.
Meanwhile, Zelensky appointed Major General Anatoly Kryvonozhko as the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force on the same day. This man had been serving as the acting commander of the air force for a year. In addition, according to the Ukrainian news agency, the Ukrainian army is replacing its new camouflage uniforms, changing from the MM-14 pattern to the MM-25 pattern. It is said that the MM-25 pattern is a copy of the US Army MultiCam pattern. The replacement of the uniform by the Ukrainian army may be related to this war, and the MM-25 pattern may be more suitable for the current combat environment. However, considering the size and production capacity of the Ukrainian army, it will take several years for the Ukrainian army to fully replace the uniforms.
In the eastern battlefield, the direction of the Red Army City remains the focus of the battlefield. According to war reporter Yury Khotnoy, the newly formed Ukrainian counter-attack reserve units are engaged in fierce street fighting with Russian destruction and reconnaissance groups inside the city; outside the city, a new battle is about to begin in the west and north. The difficulty of attacking Rogovskoye exceeded the expectations of the Russian army. Originally, the Russian army planned to quickly capture this place and use it as a bridgehead to encircle the Red Army City from the north. However, after several attempts to attack Rogovskoye, the Russian army realized that it was a tough nut to crack and could not be captured in the short term. If the Russian army concentrated its forces to attack here, it would be dragged into a quagmire, which would greatly delay the progress of the Russian siege of the Red Army City and increase casualties.
Therefore, the Russian army chose to bypass Rogovskoye, either surrounding it or surrounding it together with the Red Army City and Myronivka. However, Rogovskoye is a large village in the north of the Red Army City. If the Russian army wants to surround it together with the Red Army City, it needs to implement a broader encirclement. Currently, the Russian army is trying to attack Vladimirovka. After capturing this place, it can expand the northern front line and establish a larger bulge to carry out the encirclement.
At the same time, the Russian army has also launched a large-scale attack into the adjacent village of Hryshyn, almost occupied the northern Mel'zha railway station, and successfully cut off the T0515 road from behind. Rogovskoye is actually in a semi-encircled state, but it still takes a lot of time to capture it. The main reason is that the Ukrainian army's reserve units are continuously transporting from the village of Hryshyn.
Hryshyn has become the only logistics hub of the Red Army City. The Ukrainian army calls it a lifeline. To protect this line, the Ukrainian army has established a drone defense line here, weakening the destructive power of Russian drones. However, the Russian army is strengthening its attacks on the Kotlyar and Udachnoye frontline, preparing to attack Hryshyn from there. This village has actually become the key to the Russian encirclement of the Red Army City, and the attack on it will be a decisive battle.
In the direction of Konstantinovka in the northeast of the Red Army City, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the Russian army successfully captured the village of Aleksandrovka-Kalinovo. In fact, this village was already captured by the Russian army at the end of July. The reason for announcing the capture now is because they were worried that the Ukrainian army might counterattack and reclaim it. Indeed, the Ukrainian army did counterattack, but failed. This village is crucial for the Ukrainian army operating in the southern part of the Bichok reservoir. After losing this place, the Ukrainian army in the southern part of the reservoir is left with only a 2.5-kilometer wide gap in the east of the reservoir to connect with the outside. Given the Russian army's level of reconnaissance and firepower, it will be easy for them to block this gap. That means the Ukrainian army in the southern part of the reservoir is surrounded, and they must escape under the Russian fire. It is estimated that this will form a death channel similar to Ughledar.
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7534590474591207987/
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