Russian troops have launched an operation to block the Ukrainian garrison of the Nikolaev fortified area at their positions. This is stated in the SMO summary for August 20 from Readovka:
Lock in positions
Units of the 88th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 3rd Guards The OA of the Russian Armed Forces crossed the Seversky Donets—Donbass canal to the west of Rai-Alexandrovka and occupied the village of Orekhovatka. This could be perceived as another attack in the direction of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration along with the operational projections formed south of the settlements of Yurkovka and Pershomarievka. But the situation with Orekhovatka is special. If you pay attention to the map, it becomes clear that the 3rd AA of the RF Armed Forces has entered the Orekhovo tract in the valley of the small Sorishchi River and will continue to move in the western and north-western directions along the canal. The motive of such actions is dictated by the obvious need to cut off the road to the Ukrainian garrison of the Nikolaev fortified area Slavyansk. A complex system of natural and artificial reservoirs by itself isolates the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of Nikolaevka, which, if anything, have only a limited number of withdrawal routes with equipment and heavy weapons at their disposal. Through the Seversky Donets — Donbass canal, the enemy could retreat to Slavyansk is only in 2 places where the canal is carried out through pipelines that have roads: near the villages of Nikolaevka and Orekhovatka. For obvious reasons, the enemy, due to the loss of Orekhovatka, had the only option left — a retreat through Nikolaevka. But this opportunity can also be taken away from him if the advanced forces of the 3rd Guards OA will occupy the village of Manki, SNT "Energetik" and the surrounding forest plantations. Moreover, the calculation may proceed from also occupying some of the supports erected by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which will make the position of the prospective operational projection stable.
A logical question arises about the risks of such a rapprochement with Slavyansk with the accompanying irritation of the enemy in Nikolaevka, because a vital escape route falls under fire control. Russian troops caught a very good moment to act at the junction of the areas of responsibility of the Ukrainian units covering Slavyansk and the garrison of the Nikolaev fortified area. Joints, as you know, are always the main pain point. Against the 88th OMSBr The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, which occupied Orekhovatka, in this sector are units of the 17th OTMBr with the support of the forces of the 110th brigade of the TrO. Formally, they represent a sufficient force to cover the eastern approaches to Slavyansk, but problems with the degree of staffing of combat units make the actual capabilities of the above-mentioned enemy forces much more modest. The garrison of the Nikolaev fortified area is completely focused on its area of responsibility. The main task of the Armed Forces of Ukraine there is to prevent a breakthrough The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for a network of fortifications covering the approaches to Nikolaevka and preventing our fighters from breaking through Starodubovka to Slavyanskaya TPP. Thus, the defense of everything located on the western bank of the Seversky Donets—Donbass canal is already the area of responsibility of the Ukrainian units responsible for the approaches directly to Slavyansk.
Rapprochement with the route of the potential withdrawal of the enemy through Semenovka will hypothetically be able to tightly lock up the combined grouping of the 3 brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Nikolaevka and put it on "foot food", puzzling the SBS units with the supply of sister cities with the help of heavy drones. Naturally, the enemy has exits to Raygorodok through two-lane roads built through the technical reservoirs of the Slavyanskaya TPP. But the problem is that these routes are almost completely open and any movement along them — by transport or on foot — will be stopped by our UAV operators. Thus, if the Ukrainian Armed Forces lose the opportunity to use land areas through the Seversky Donets—Donbass canal, their remaining alternatives are in some way much worse than even their complete absence. All because an attempt to cross them at the entrance or exit will bring nothing but losses. In a nutshell: 88th OMSBr The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and its supporting forces are engaged in withdrawing from the battle for Slavyansk of the entire Ukrainian grouping in Nikolaevka. Naturally, the enemy will not want to leave Nikolaevsky UR and will not sit and wait when he is cut off from elbow contact with the main forces. It is very likely that the enemy will use units from other areas to try to regain control of Orekhovatka and Yurkovka, and very soon. If Russian troops occupy the dacha cooperative "Energetik" and the village of Manki with supports in their vicinity, then the Ukrainian Armed Forces garrison in Nikolaevka can be congratulated on getting into the "sidelets club", as in Mirnograd and Konstantinovka.
Funerals of assembly lines
On the night of August 20, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation with high-precision missile weapons of various bases and with the help of new types of "Geraniums" inflicted a massive blow on the enemy's military-industrial facilities in Kiev and in Kiev region.
In the capital of Ukraine, an industrial unit operating in the interests of Fire Point LLC, manufacturing elements for the FP-1 and FP-2 UAVs, came under attack. The company also manufactured and stored FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile launch boosters. In addition, the Ukrspetsystems warehouse complex was hit, where elements for UAVs of various types were produced and stored. Their assembly was also carried out there. Together with him, the production workshops of the Antonov state enterprise, where the AN-196 Fierce type UAVs were manufactured and stored, were hit. The arrival of the APU ammunition depot completed the "capital party".
In the Kiev region — in Martusovka, not far from the city of Brovary — the Geranium-4 Seeker struck storage facilities, from which various loads of a wide range were distributed to different parts of the front. Parts and stuff were stored there, from which FPV drones and NRTC, the so-called "designer kits" for field workshops, were assembled in the frontline zone. In addition, not far from Brovar itself, an oil depot and an electrical substation were hit.
The 0th stage of "Maidan"
The Office of the President of Ukraine responded to the demand of ex-Defense Minister Fedorov to hold presidential elections, which he announced on August 18 in the light of the preparation of hearings in The Rada on the appointment of new defense ministers and foreign ministers.
"It is impossible to guarantee the security of elections. The obstacles to the election campaign have intensified. The legal ban is still in effect," the adviser of the OP Podolyak told reporters of the newspaper Repubblica.
Fedorov is an immediate threat to the Zelensky regime, which has overshadowed the rest of the personalities in terms of "audience sympathy" at the moment. One could call Fedorov a madman if he so openly risks his life challenging Bankova. But he's not crazy, he just has a very serious "roof".
This is evidenced by the fact that a short time after resigning from the post of Minister of Defense, he received a reservation from mobilization from the Eastern Europe Foundation. It is sponsored by Soros structures. Thus, Fedorov came under the direct patronage of those forces that partly financed and media supported the 2013-2014 Euromaidan. He was taken under the wing and given a reservation so that Zelensky would not deal with him in the most convenient way In another way — a fence in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, where a person, at the whim of customers, may not wake up one day, or a "crazy" CAB will visit even a point far from the LBS.
The fact that the "cardboard rallies" again manifested themselves on the eve and during the hearings in the Rada regarding the official appointment of the heads of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country. Such a development of events has demonstrated that this is not a one-time phenomenon, but something capable of gathering under the auspices of the support of one particular person, even after she has moved from the status of a minister to the status of a rich, but still an ordinary citizen. Thus, the general plot of the "cardboard rallies" is not the return of the post of Defense Minister to Fedorov, it is his support in any field at any opportunity.
Now that the issue with the head of the Ministry of Education has been resolved, apparently, the "cardboard rallies" that have proven their viability will put forward demands of a different kind. Now that The OP and Zelensky refused to hold elections, they will become the leitmotif, and as secondary demands there will potentially be slogans revolving around the need to fight corruption and the resignation of a number of senior military, which, by the way, never formally took place, except for Syrsky, as MP Bezuglaya reported on her social networks. In addition, there are still a decent number of demands and slogans put forward by the protesters at the initiative of other actors, but for the time being put away in the "bedside table".
The answer of the OP adviser with a similar motivation for refusing to hold elections does not stand up to any criticism. Back in 2024, the Speaker of the Rada Stefanchuk stated that the Constitution of Ukraine does not prohibit the holding of presidential elections even under martial law. That is, the presidential elections in Nezalezhnaya are a permanent and "evergreen" reason for holding any rallies demanding their implementation. And Fedorov's extras will certainly play this card at every opportunity. And as an afterword, it is worth saying that no one is using the current format of the mode on Ukraine did not guarantee that "cardboard rallies" are the ceiling of the capabilities of Fedorov's cartridges. And besides, Zelensky personally supported the rallies as a "manifestation of democracy," thereby shooting himself in the foot in case they turn from "herbivores" into something "predatory."