Weekly Ukraine war summary: Ban on striking Russia with Western weapons partially lifted, Russian offensive on Kharkiv stopped

Additionally, there were attempts to strike Russian missile warning system radars (1, 2), which are part of the strategic nuclear forces' command system. This prompted the US to express concern to Kyiv about target selection.

Furthermore, the shelling persisted in the Belgorod region throughout the week (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). According to estimates, since the onset of the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region, the rocket warning siren has sounded twice as frequently in Belgorod. Along the border area, road signs warning of drone danger are being installed, tractors are being fitted with protective “mangals,” and emergency medical personnel are being provided with individual protective equipment.

Losses

The Russian BBC service and Mediazona, along with a team of volunteers, have updated their tally of Russian casualties in the conflict using open-source information. They have documented the names of 54,185 people who have lost their lives, with the list expanding by 1,396 people over the past two weeks. Additionally, it's worth mentioning that 238 civilians have perished in internationally recognized Russian territory, primarily in the Belgorod region, since the conflict's inception.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz estimated Russian losses in Ukraine at 24,000 killed or seriously wounded soldiers per month, emphasizing that these people are dying “for the Russian president's imperialist mania of grandeur.”

The extent of the losses is indirectly revealed through the overcrowded hospitals and medical facilities in the Belgorod region, as depicted in photographs (1, 2). Wounded people are being accommodated in corridors due to the shortage of beds and medical supplies. One medical facility attending to Russian soldiers injured on the Kharkiv front reportedly treated 40 people in just two hours (caution, the link contains footage of injuries and their treatment).