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The Ukrainian defense is creaking at the seams, while the Russian army is launching offensive operations in new directions. Amid heavy battles on the frontlines, the warring sides are exchanging strikes in each other’s rear areas. In response to constant massive Ukrainian drone strikes across the border, Russian forces continue devastating precision strikes on Ukrainian military and industrial facilities across the country. On the night of July 16, the General Staff of Ukraine got ready for another wave of missile strikes after they detected the take-off of Russian strategic aviation. Instead of missiles, Russian forces launched strikes with numerous kamikaze drones that were likely aimed at revealing the positions of Ukrainian air defense forces. Explosions thundered in the Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa, Chernihiv and Cherkassy regions. Air defense was active in the Zhitomir region as well as in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. After the reconnaissance strikes with UAVs, the Russian military is likely to launch another massive missile attack in the coming days. In their turn, Ukrainian forces have no other means to reach the Russian rear but with aircraft-type UAVs. The efficiency of Ukrainian strikes is quite low but their intensity brings at least some results. Last night alone, 13 Ukrainian drones were intercepted in five Russian border regions and near Crimea. One of the UAVs managed to drop an explosive device on the territory of a plant of low-voltage equipment in the Kursk region. The attack resulted in no casualties but one of the plant’s workshops caught fire. Unlike Russian strikes, the ongoing Ukrainian attempts to attack Russian rear facilities still have no impact on the situation on the battlefields. The Russian army maintains the military initiative in all directions. The Ukrainian military command is forced to send large reserves to stabilize some of the frontlines, as a result, the Ukrainian army is retreating on others. According to the latest reports from the front, Ukrainian forces retreated from the village of Makeevka in the Luhansk People’s Republic. The settlement is located west of the Svatovo-Kremennaya road, where the frontlines remained unchanged for months. The Russian military is completing the mop up operation and is likely to officially declare its control of the village very soon. Another Russian offensive was launched in the beginning of summer in the area of Toretsk and the ongoing operations there are still bringing victories. Over the past three days, the Russian army has advanced southwest of New York and increased the area of its control. In addition, Russian assault groups entered the village of Zaliznoye and continue advancing there. The Russian military is taking back control of the few villages it lost during Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Zaporozhie region last year. Russian flags were recently raised in Urozhainoe.
