ISW says strikes against bridges to Crimea ‘part of Ukraine's counteroffensive strategy’, Kyiv uses modernised Soviet warplanes

The Ukraine war has been on for 529 days. Yesterday’s strikes against bridges in Crimea are part of Ukraine’s counteroffensive strategy, ISW says.

Individuals linked with Ukraine have hacked into Moscow’s real estate register.

Ukraine has modernised Soviet-made warplanes to use it with Western munitions, such as Storm Shadow missiles, Ukraine’s military reports.

Russia will have constructed its first factory producing batteries for drones by 2025, Kommersant reports.

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ISW: strikes against bridges in Crimea set conditions for future decisive counteroffensive

Ukraine’s strikes against bridges in Chonhar and Henichesk that connect Crimea with mainland Ukraine are a part of the Ukrainian interdiction campaign focused on setting conditions for future decisive counteroffensive operations, the US-based Institute for the Study of War believes.

Ukrainian forces struck two key road bridges along critical Russian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) connecting Crimea and and the Kherson region on 6 August, causing Russian forces to reroute road traffic from shorter eastern routes to longer western routes. This will likely pose significant disruptions to logistics and chances for delays and traffic jams, ISW says. It is unclear how quickly Russian officials will be able to repair the Chonhar bridge and it is equally as unclear if Russian officials have repaired the Chonhar railway bridge that Ukrainian forces struck on 29 July.

The damage to the Henichesk Strait bridge will likely take Russian officials substantially longer to repair, as per ISW.

The experts even believe that Ukrainian forces are methodically trying to cut off the Russian grouping in southern Ukraine and disrupt its logistics in a way similar to the Ukrainian interdiction campaign during the Kherson counteroffensive. They appear to be also expanding their interdiction efforts to target Russian naval targets involved in Russian logistics in the Black Sea.

Ukraine-linked individuals hack into Moscow region real estate register

Individuals linked with Ukraine have hacked into the real estate register of Moscow and the Moscow region, as per IStories.

The website currently displays a message that the hackers have obtained info on the whereabouts and real estate ownership of Moscow’s residents. “The information on state clerks, politicians, military personnel, and officers of the security services who support the war against Ukraine has been handed over to Ukraine’s defence forces,” the statement reads.

The register’s website is currently out of operation; its representatives have yet to comment on the matter.

IStories notes that the agency in question collects information on the owners of real estate in Moscow and the Moscow region.

Ukraine has modernised Soviet warplanes to work with Storm Shadow missiles

Ukraine has modernised Soviet warplanes, such as Su-25 attack jets, Su-24M bombers, Su-27 fighters, as well as other models, to be used with Western munitions, says Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of the country’s Air Force.

“These aircraft have been modernised to use weapons provided by partners, including ZUNI air-to-surface missiles, Storm Shadow missiles, and AGM HARM anti-radiation missiles,” reads the website of Ukraine’s President.

Kyiv received ZUNI and HARM missiles, as well as the Patriot systems, from the US, while the UK provided Storm Shadow missiles, and Germany did the same with IRIS-T systems. The Storm Shadow missiles have a range of 250 km.

Russia to construct factory to produce drone batteries by 2025

Inenergy, involving Gazprombank, and the Transport of the Future company are planning on erecting a factory in the Moscow region to produce Li-ion batteries for drones, scheduled to be finished by 2025, Kommersant cites its sources.

The factory is to be named Metalion and located next to the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in Dolgoprudny. The plant’s annual capacity will be 750 MWh, and its construction will cost 25 billion rubles (€235.2 million).

Half of the total funding comes from the National Technology Initiative (NTI) project support fund. It is implied that in the future, third party investors, including Gazprombank and the Moscow City government, will be investing into the factory.

Metalion is going to produce low-capacity batteries (up to 1 kWh) for portable equipment and drones, as well as large batteries with a capacity of more than 100 kWh for electric vehicles and energy storage devices. The contractors of the plant will be mainly law enforcement agencies, Kommersant reports.