Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar announced on August 16 that the armed forces had recaptured the village of Urozhaine in Donetsk region during their advance on the southeastern front, according to Reuters. "Our defense forces have dug trenches in the suburbs," Ms. Maliar wrote on Telegram.
It is one of a handful of settlements that Ukraine has claimed to have retaken since it began its counter-offensive in the east and south in June. The most recent locality to be recaptured by Ukraine was the village of Staromaiorske next to Urozhaine, which was retaken on 27 June.
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The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on the Ukrainian statement but said Russian artillery and warplanes are attacking Ukraine in the Urozhaine region. Ukraine’s statement suggests it is advancing south toward the Sea of Azov in an attempt to cut off Russian forces. Retaking Urozhaine would also bring Ukraine closer to the village of Staromlynivka, Russia’s weak point in the region.
Ukrainian servicemen at the front line in Donetsk on August 9.
On the other hand, the British Ministry of Defense said on August 16 that it was almost certain that Russia had deployed a domestically produced one-way attack drone (UAV) based on the design of Iran's Shahed UAV. Domestic production would help Russia become more self-sufficient in supplies in the coming months.
Also on August 16, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had shot down a Ukrainian UAV in the Crimean peninsula and three UAVs in the Kaluga region of western Russia.
Grain warehouse attacked
Grain warehouse at the port of Odessa, Ukraine attacked on August 16.
Also on August 16, Ukraine announced that Russian drones had damaged grain storage facilities at the port of Reni on the Danube River in Odessa province. Romania strongly condemned the attack, which included Reni and Izmail, ports bordering Romania, according to AFP.
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The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 13 drones overnight in the Odessa and Mykolaiv regions. There have been several attacks on Ukrainian and Russian Black Sea ports since a grain export deal between the two sides expired in July. The deal established a safe corridor in the Black Sea for grain exports.
However, the Hong Kong-flagged container ship Joseph Schulte left the port of Odessa on August 16 via a temporary corridor. The ship has been in port since February 23, 2022, a day before Russia launched its operation in Ukraine.
The Joseph Schulte ship left the port of Odessa on August 16.
Last week, Ukraine announced a humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea to free cargo ships stuck in its ports, stressing that the corridor would not serve a military purpose. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the ship was carrying 2,114 containers containing more than 30,000 tons of cargo.
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Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, which co-owns the ship with a Chinese bank, confirmed the ship was en route to Istanbul, Türkiye.
Sea Baby unmanned boat, the type used by Ukraine to attack the Crimea bridge
The head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Vasily Malyuk, admitted that the SBU attacked the Crimean Bridge on July 17 with two unmanned boats loaded with explosives. The incident killed two people, injured one person and destroyed part of the bridge.
This is the first time the SBU has claimed responsibility for the incident. Mr. Malyuk said the SBU acted independently and without the involvement of any private organizations. The Crimean Bridge is the only direct route connecting Russia to Crimea. The SBU provided CNN with footage of the attack.
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In addition, Mr. Malyuk admitted that Ukraine had attacked warships at Russia's Novorossiysk naval base in the Black Sea and the oil tanker The Sig in the Kerch Strait recently, also with explosive-laden boats.
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