Enemy trying to advance in 10 areas, – General Staff update

Source: Ukraine’s General Staff

As of 22:00 on August 8,  Ukraine’s General Staff reported a significant escalation in frontline activity. Throughout the day, the frontlines saw 78 combat engagements.

Russian forces launched 47 airstrikes using 56 guided bombs, 493 kamikaze drone attacks, and shelled Ukrainian positions and civilian areas 3,391 times.

In the Kharkiv sector, Russian forces launched six attacks near Vovchansk. Ukrainian defense units successfully repelled five of these assaults, with one engagement still ongoing. Reports indicate Russian losses include 75 personnel killed or wounded, 18 vehicles, two specialized units, 14 drones, and damage to three artillery systems, a tank, an armored fighting vehicle, seven vehicles, and one specialized unit.

In the Kupiansk sector, Ukrainian forces repelled three attacks around Synkivka, Petropavlivka, and Hlushkivka. Two engagements are still ongoing, but the situation remains under control.

In the Lyman sector, Russian forces launched 22 attacks throughout the day, targeting the communities of Makiyivka, Terne, Nevske, and the Serebryansky forest. Six combat engagements are currently ongoing.

The Severodonetsk sector dealt with 12 assaults on Ukrainian positions in the areas of Ivanov-Daryivka, Verkhnyokamianetske, Spirne, and Viyimka. Fighting continues in three locations.

The Kramatorsk sector saw ten combat engagements. Russian troops’ activity was concentrated around Chasiv Yar, Kalynivka, and Ivanivske, with seven attempts to breach Ukrainian defenses failing. Three attacks are ongoing, but the situation remains stable.

In the Toretsk sector, Russian forces got support from their planes attempting eight breakthroughs. They attacked Ukrainian positions near Pivnichne, Zalisne, and New York. Ukrainian defenders repelled five assaults, with three ongoing.

In the Pokrovsk sector, 20 attacks were repelled near Panteleimonivka, Novooleksandrivka, Vozdvyzhenska, Ivanivka, Zhelanne, Novoselivka Persha, and Yasnobrodivka. Nine engagements are still ongoing. Ukrainian forces are “actively working” to hold their lines. Preliminary figures indicate over 200 Russian casualties over the day. Ukrainian forces also destroyed four artillery systems, an armored fighting vehicle, four vehicles, three drones, and three specialized units, with additional damage to two artillery systems, three tanks, nine vehicles, and one specialized unit.

In the Kurakhove sector, three combat engagements were reported. The enemy remains active, attempting to advance near Krasnohorivka and Kostiantynivka, but Ukrainian forces successfully repelled all attacks.

The Vremivka sector saw three engagements towards Vodiane and Vuhledar. Two enemy assaults faltered, with one battle still ongoing.

In the Orikhiv sector, Ukrainian troops repelled one enemy attack near Mala Tokmachka.

The General Staff also gave a special mention to the “steadfast defense” of 57th Kostiantyn Hordiienko Brigade.

In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.

During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.

Rinat Akhmetov’s military initiative, “Steel Front”, has delivered a batch of drones worth UAH 214 million to the 1st “Azov” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. This shipment is part of the Metinvest Group’s ongoing support for the unit in 2025.

On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.