The latest Institute for the Study of War report says that “Ukrainian officials confirmed that Russia is using Iranian-provided drones in Ukraine.” Oleksiy Arestovych, the Advisor to Ukraine’s President informed on Friday (August 5) that Iran has handed over 46 drones to Russia and that they have already spotted them on the battlefield.
“Ukrainian officials confirmed that Russia is using Iranian-provided drones in Ukraine. Advisor to the Ukrainian President’s Office, Oleksiy Arestovych, stated on August 5 that Iran handed 46 drones over to Russia and that the Ukrainian government has already noted the use of these drones in combat in Ukraine,” the U.S. think tank report on August 5. (understandingwar.org)
It is also said that the provided drones are older generation “Shahed 129” heavy strike ones. Thanks to them, the Russian army “may seek to use them to attack US-provided HIMARS to Ukraine.”
As the ISW points out, it is unclear whether the 46 drones are the number already fighting in Ukraine or the total number Iran has agreed to hand over to Russia.
The ISW also reported that Russian troops carried out a number of fire ground attacks near Donetsk, as well as ineffective counterattacks near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian General Staff reported that “with offensive actions, the occupiers tried to capture advantageous lines and improve the tactical position in the areas of Bakhmut, Zaytseve, and Vershyn, but they did not succeed, they retreated.” (facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua)
There was also an exchange of artillery fire in the town of Pisky, which may suggest that the Russians have not taken complete control of it, as has been claimed by Russian sources.
“Despite claims made by Russian sources that Russian troops have taken complete control of Pisky, geolocated videos from the area suggest that Pisky remains under heavy artillery fire from all sides, which means that Russian forces likely have not yet been able to actually establish full control of urban parts of Pisky itself,” the ISW informs.