The attacks, utilizing homegrown Ukrainian drones, have little strategic effect, but they send a message to Muscovites that the war is not just some faraway conflict. Meanwhile, the British Defense Ministry noted “an uptick of fighting” in southern Ukraine in recent days. “Ukrainian forces defeated elements of Russian airborne forces’ (VDV) 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment to capture the village of Staromaiorske,” the ministry reported in its daily social media post . In a post yesterday , Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, suggested that if Ukraine’s counteroffensive succeeds in capturing what Russia now considers its territory, Moscow would have no choice but to use nuclear weapons. TUESDAY | AUGUST 18 a.m. — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group conversation with Mara Karlin, assistant secretary of defense for strategies, plans, and capabilities.

Source: Washington Post July 31, 2023 11:11 UTC