Russia-Ukraine Mini SITREP for 05 SEP 2022 21:15 PDT

The team took the day off (thank you, Linnea, for the podcast, you slayed it today) for Labor Day in the United States. We had stated last week (hello, new subscribers) that there wouldn't be a situation report today.

The map has been updated with the latest data we could verify.

It was a good day to take a break as not much happened, and there wasn't a lot of intel specific to territorial gains/losses.

• Aleksey Arestovych reported that when Vysokopillya was liberated, Russian forces retreated to Novopetrivka. Mind - blown. Based on that information, a few things. There is no way Russian forces retreated because they feared encirclement if Ukraine didn't hold Novopetrivka. They had a clear path of withdrawal. Retreating in this direction and not moving into Arkhanhelske essentially confirms that Ukraine does control Arkhanhelske. We adjusted the map to move the line of conflict north of Novopetrivka
• Video emerged of Ukrainian troops in Olyhne - confirming it is under Ukrainian control
• Something has been burning near or at the Darivka pontoon bridge for 36 hours, hot enough to show up on NASA FIRMS through the cloud cover
• Ukraine did 18 airstrikes and 370 fire missions (artillery requests) in Kherson
• A LOT of videos of captured Russian positions, captured Russians, captured equipment, and dead Russian soldiers
• No information on the Inhulets River bridgehead, don't follow Rybar's nonsense here (if you're reading their reports, you may have noticed that the 3 bridges "destroyed" over the Inhulets are now actually only 1)
• Ukraine recaptured the Butivka Mine Shaft complex southeast of Pisky - this is a critical area for control of Pisky itself and a literal fortress. We've updated the map and now assess that Pisky is contested by Ukraine - on the big map, this isn't even tactical, but for the army of the DNR, this is a knee to the groin
• No change Soledar/Bakhmut/Svitlodarsk bulge - there is some strong evidence that Russian troops have been pushed back from Bakhmutske into Pokrovske. We adjusted the map
• No change in the Siversk area of northeast Donetsk - there was a report by the General Staff of Russian forces attacking Ukrainian positions in Bilohorivka - but they didn't specify if it was Luhansk or Donetsk, and I silently screamed - we did not move any lines (well I didn't) but expanded the area of uncertainty in the Luhansk, Bilohorivka as a "just in case"
• NASA FIRMS suggested something was going on in Dibrova, northwest of Ozerne (it is the next settlement)
• No change in the Izyum area - Izyum was hit by Ukrainian artillery; Borova City Council reported that residents are tense and can hear almost constant artillery fire in the distance from multiple directions
• No change in Kharkiv area
• Russian missiles destroyed an oil depot in Kryvyi Rih, and the inventory is a total loss
• Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is disconnected from the 330KW support line and had to disconnect Reactor 6 from the power grid - the Reactor is running to power the other five reactors to maintain water circulation and cooling - despite breathless headlines of looming disaster, the IAEA statement made no such hyperbolic claims and Ukrainian officials are working to reconnect the 330 and 750KW power lines, but it could take "a few days" - IAEA report coming soon - two inspectors remain at the power plant

That's it!