Summary of the daily livestream with Aleksey Arestovych, kindly brought to you by Atis: @savaadaak

English voice-over video by Privateer Station:

Original video in Russian:

Battlefield update:

Sumy, Chernihiv:

🇷🇺 restarted shelling, after a pause of several weeks.

Kharkiv:

🇷🇺 started bombing with Iskander missiles, small tactical actions. There are wounded and killed. Near Balakliia, after 🇺🇦 advances 🇷🇺 attempted a counter-attack, but did not succeed.

Izium:

Ukrainian Kulchytsky battalion put up a flag in the 🇺🇦-controlled part of Sviatohirsk, which was already reportedly captured by 🇷🇺 more than month ago.

Siversk:

Similar unsuccessful 🇷🇺 attempts to advance near Siversky Donets river. More concentrated attempts from Spirne to Vyimka, also without success.

Bakhmut:

Concentration of 🇷🇺 forces in this area with an objective to reach M-03 crossroads, Krasna Hora and Zaitseve, then encircle.

Avdiivka:

🇷🇺 trying to encircle from Vesele/Krasnohorivka, advances couple hundreds of metres in grey zone, without pushing 🇺🇦 back. 🇷🇺 has returned to traditional method of local artillery concentration, failed due to timely 🇺🇦 artillery involvement. Near Pisky 🇷🇺 attempts from 3 sides, no progress, 🇺🇦 infantry holding. At Marinka: failed 🇷🇺 attack

Vuhledar:

🇷🇺 attempting counter-attack on Pavlivka.

Zaporozhye:

Shelling of the Zaporizhye nuclear reactor is a provocation by Russia.

Kherson:

🇺🇦 aviation working in unexpectedly large groups (4-5 pairs of aircraft), multiple sorties during daylight, some to the east coast of Dnipro river. There haven’t been such large air-raids in this war. Either 🇷🇺 doesn’t have any working air-defense, or it’s very limited. This was objective in last 2 weeks, with multiple hits on air-defences and ammo warehouses. Aviation has larger firepower than artillery, if this keeps happening for several days, it’s not a good outlook for 🇷🇺. 🇺🇦 hits on Beryslav, Nova Kahovka, Kahovka, Oleshky, Chornobaivka.
Information, that 🇷🇺 considering to speed up Kherson referendum, before or near 🇺🇦 independence day [August 24], but 🇺🇦 will disrupt that too.

Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Nikopol:

Continued systematic bombing, indiscriminately at civilian objects, many wounded and killed every day.

Volodymyr Saldo:

Rumours of 🇷🇺 collaborator Saldo being in medical coma, relocated to Crimea. Update later in stream – Saldo got poisoned with non-fresh alcohol. That will keep happening until Kherson is liberated.

Stealing in occupied territories:

🇷🇺 minister of agriculture Dmitry Patrushev is involved in 🇷🇺 stolen grain deals, his father Nikolai Patrushev is secretary of 🇷🇺 Security council, and previously director of FSB, belonging to Putin’s inner circles. There are gang wars between 🇷🇺 officials for stealing harvesters and other equipment.

🇷🇺 ships:

2 separate videos, white smoke from diesel engine exhaust. 🇺🇦 would report hitting or sinking, if it was its operation.

🇹🇷 Erdogan met Putin:

Drones weren’t discussed. No change of 🇹🇷 politics. Erdogan is working for 🇹🇷 interests in the region, there have been military clashes, and if necessary he could hit 🇷🇺 aircraft tomorrow. Erdogan is not going to bend to Putin, he is going to exploit, as much as 🇷🇺 allows.

Nuclear threats:

🇨🇳 China calls for nuclear no-use deal. 🇷🇺 delegation in 🇺🇳 UN claims that use of nuclear weapons in 🇺🇦 is not in their doctrine. 🇷🇺 desperately wants cease-fire and peace talks, thus provocation in Enerhodar Nuclear power plant, conveniently when Nuclear forum is ongoing.

Visas for 🇷🇺 citizens:

🇱🇻 Latvia stopped issuing visas to 🇷🇺 citizens, except for funerals of close relatives. Similar proposals in 🇧🇬 Bulgaria, 🇪🇪Estonia and 🇫🇮Finland.
Everyone who really wanted to escape, had 6 months to do so. Problem is, that governments and border guards can’t check – who is a good Russian, and who isn’t, it’s impossible to verify everyone. It’s an attempt to fight infiltration, create isolation, increase social pressure on Putin, and force 🇷🇺 society to take collective responsibility. It’s a needed to break trend of war approval.

War approval:

🇷🇺 is significantly afraid of any 🇺🇦 success, which would be a threat to 🇷🇺 war approval trend. That’s why 🇷🇺 needs to advance, even if it’s 100 meters with huge losses, to keep the trend of being victorious and advancing. If they switch to defence, they will sooner or later lose. There was already huge backlash for retreating from Snake island. Even signing peace deal, which is humiliating, would be better perceived, than 🇺🇦 success. It’s time to do counter-offensive.