By Rick Clay

President Putin of Russia announced that Russia is ready for a third meeting with Ukraine in Istanbul, but the time and place still need to be clarified. The President did note that the so-called peace memoranda drafted by both sides are, unsurprisingly, completely contradictory visions, but they are still prepared for the next meeting. From the Russian President’s statement, one can infer that Russian leaders are disturbed by information coming from the NATO summit.

Russia and India have agreed on the sale of two Russian S-400 air defense systems to India. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2026. Previously, Russia had committed to delivering five S-400 air defense systems to India for $5.5 billion by 2023. However, due to sanctions and the losses incurred in the war against Ukraine, Russia was forced to admit that it could not deliver a single air defense system to India. The current agreement may be seen as a major concession by India, although India has few options to quickly replace the Russian air defense systems with alternatives. It can be assumed that as long as Russia’s aggression against Ukraine continues, Russia will be unable to fulfill this contract.

Yesterday, the Ukrainian Special Operations Command and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) destroyed two Sukhoi Su-34 strike aircraft and damaged two more at the Marinovka airfield in Russia’s Volgograd region (on the banks of the Volga River) during a joint operation. The report states that the aircraft were destroyed by a strike from long-range drones. However, the capabilities and tasks of the services that conducted the operation leave room for speculation that special forces may have carried out the attack from within Russian territory.

Following the latest successful strike on Russia’s strategic air force, more surprises were promised soon. The Su-34 is currently one of the most valuable targets for Ukraine, as these aircraft are used to drop precision bombs on Ukrainian army positions and settlements near the front lines.

Last night, the Russian army carried out an attack on the city of Odessa using Iranian drones. A residential building was hit, resulting in two fatalities. An Iskander ballistic missile was launched at the town of Tsuhuiiv near Kharkiv, hitting a private enterprise and causing a large fire that had to be extinguished.

Although the number of attacks initiated by Russian units on the front lines has slightly decreased, this does not, in general, indicate any significant change in the situation.
• On the Kursk/Sumy/Belgorod axis, Russian units are very actively attempting in their attacks to regain lost positions in the Sumy oblast areas. Ukrainian forces are mounting counterattacks and have managed to push the Russian army back slightly at one point. There are no major changes in the situation.
• On the Kharkiv axis, the Russian army continues trying to conduct broader attacks, but without success.
• On the Kupiansk axis, Russian units are attacking at their usual level of activity in some spots, but to no effect. On the Lyman axis, Russian activity is higher, but the Ukrainian army has also carried out counterattacks. On the Siversk axis, positional battles are ongoing. There are no significant changes in the situation.
• In the Bakhmut region, Russian unit activity around Chasiv Yar was moderate. An active offensive continues in the Toretsk area. Troop deployments remain largely unchanged.
• Around Pokrovske and southwest of Donetsk, the Russian army’s largest attack continues. Yesterday, Ukrainian General Syrskyi reported that the Russian command has concentrated 110,000 soldiers on this relatively short section of the front. Several other Ukrainian sources have also reported that Ukrainian defenders have faced difficulties south of Pokrovske in recent days and have lost some positions. The Ukrainian command has replaced at least one brigade commander fighting in this area.
• On the southern front, the Russian army carried out some attacks in the Orikhiv sector and around the islands in the Dnipro, but achieved no significant gains. According to Ukrainian southern front intelligence, the Russian army is once again massing troops for a larger offensive. In recent weeks, the Ukrainian army has managed to halt several significant railway convoys, carrying both fuel and equipment to the Russian rear. One such train was struck yesterday. A major offensive has been expected here since March, but so far, the Russian command has achieved nothing.

According to officially released information from South Korea’s intelligence service, North Korea plans to send an additional 6,000 soldiers to Russia to fight.

This aligns exactly with a UK intelligence report published a few weeks ago stating that the North Korean Army has lost 6,000 men as killed or severely wounded in the fighting in Russia.

South Korean intelligence reports that the soldiers will be sent to Russia’s Kursk oblast region, where troops sent last autumn are also fighting. There have been very different assessments of the North Korean soldiers. They are generally considered to be elite units. In that case, one must ask whether a force that loses half its strength over six months without achieving any notable success can truly be called elite.