Recently, Ukrainian troops destroyed three drones in use for reconnaissance purposes by Russian military forces in the Kherson region of Ukraine, according to newly available info — and Ukrainian personnel did so within the span of just an hour.
“Between 12:00 and 13:00 on 21 August, soldiers from the Air Force Command Pivden (South) detected and brought down three operational-tactical unmanned aerial vehicles in the sky over Kherson Oblast,” the portion of Ukraine’s military responsible for the operation said in an update. The destroyed aircraft — Orlan-10 UAVs (UAV stands for unmanned aerial vehicle) — were evidently meant for providing information used in the adjustment of artillery fire, according to the same Ukrainian military source, which also recently revealed the destruction of another pair of Russian ammo storage facilities. Such strikes significantly impact the ability of Putin’s aggressors to wage war.
The destroyed Russian ammo storage sites were in Chornobaivka and Starytsi, which are in the Kherson region. Chornobaivka has seen frequent Ukrainian strikes on Russian military personnel and assets located there throughout the unfolding war. Journalist Emma Burrows reported just the other day that a Western official said it seemed the Russians were running low on ammunition. “We have a large range of evidence to suggest munitions are being depleted… [including] munitions coming out of deep storage,” that official said, per Burrows’s reporting. Strikes on ammo depots could certainly accelerate that trend. “Ukrainian rocket-artillery units struck the command post of the 247th Air Assault Rifle Regiment of the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division,” a Ukrainska Pravda report adds in summary of operations on August 20, which is evidently when Ukraine hit the Russian ammo depots.
The U.S. is continuing to provide significant support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. On August 8, the Defense Department announced another $1 billion in various assets for Ukrainian defenders, ranging from munitions for the HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems put into use inside the country to armored medical vehicles. Also included in the huge cache of support were 20 mortar systems and 20,000 rounds for those systems, alongside surface-to-air missiles, explosives such as C-4, and more. The August 8 announcement constituted the single largest drawdown of Defense Department assets in support of Ukraine thus far, and it was the eighteenth drawdown by the Biden administration for Ukraine since August of 2021. “To meet Ukraine’s evolving battlefield requirements, the United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with key capabilities calibrated to make a difference,” Defense Department spokesperson Todd Breasseale said alongside the announcement of that U.S. support.
