2 Ukrainian Paras Capture Russian Detachment At Pokrovsk

The two Ukrainian paras not only captured the numerically larger Russian unit, but held them captive for over a day in the bunker where they'd been trapped until Russian artillery fire subsided. JL

Valentyna Romanenko reports in Ukraine Pravda:

On the Pokrovsk front, paratroopers of the 46th Separate Airmobile Brigade managed to discover, thanks to intelligence, a hideout where 11 soldiers from a Russian forward detachment was located. They then encircled the building and took it under fire control. "The capture of prisoners was carried out by only two Ukrainian soldiers." Due to heavy enemy artillery fire, the two Ukrainians, together with the prisoners, remained in shelter at their positions for another day until all the captured Russian soldiers were evacuated." 

CIA and Mi6: Ukraine's Kursk Success Causes Moscow Elite New Anxieties Re War

Confirmation that the Kursk offensive has rattled the Russian elite in ways that further undermine confidence in the wisdom of continuing the war - and in Putin's leadership of it. JL

Greg Miller reports in the Washington Post:

CIA Director William Burns and Mi6 chief Richard Moore said this weekend that Ukraine’s military incursion into Russia has triggered new anxieties among Moscow elites over the direction of a war approaching the end of its third year. Ukraine’s seizure of territory in Kursk “raised questions on the part of Russian elites — where is this all headed?”, alluding to previously undisclosed intelligence on reactions in the Russian capital. The surprise operation by the Ukraine military is a “significant tactical achievement” that exposed Russian vulnerabilities. 

Ukraine Forms New Mechanized Brigades Built Around Experienced Units

Despite concerns this year that Ukraine was running short of troops, the new conscription laws and efforts to recruit Ukrainians living abroad are proving even more successful than anticipated. 

Ukraine has already surprised the Russians - and its western partners - with the strength both of its Kursk offensive and of the defense of Pokrovsk, in both of which reserves have played a significant role. The Ukrainian plan going forward is to create two new series of mechanized (armored) brigades built around experienced formations but largely using new recruits armed and trained with western weapons. JL

Decimus reports in Daily Kos:

Ukraine has begun forming new mechanized brigades. These brigades are being built around experienced units in Ukraine and will be sent abroad for training at Western military facilities. The personnel for these brigades are to be recruited from Ukrainians living abroad. The new mechanized brigades have been assigned numbers in the 160-series. The first known unit is the 160th Mechanized Brigade, which is already forming. The 160-series brigades are expected to be equipped with gear provided by Western partners. These brigades are intended to participate in Ukraine’s 2025 offensive, while 150-series brigades will be tasked with relieving exhausted units currently deployed at the front.

How AI Has Learned To Discover and Resurrect Drugs

AI is proving to be especially successful in the pharmaceutical industry primarily because, unlike many other industries, there already is a lot of high quality data to work with. JL

Dhruv Khullar reports in The New Yorker magazine:

A.I. has been startlingly effective in areas where lots of high-quality data are available; AlphaFold, an A.I. system developed by Google DeepMind, learned to predict the structures of proteins from an enormous catalogue called the Protein Data Bank, which took fifty years to assemble. In other areas, no such database exists—and biotech companies are still making aggressive A.I. investments. A.I. could help scientists make drugs that have lost their potency against bacteria be resurrected. “People are throwing a ton of money at A.I. So now you use an algorithm to short-list the best of the best”

In Another Ukrainian Surprise, Its Reserves Push Back Russians At Pokrovsk

The assumption of many in the mainstream western media has been that Ukraine rolled the dice in its Kursk offensive, committing every reserve it had to that initiative.

But the Ukrainians, as usual, are neither that desperate nor that fool-hardy. They had a number of well-equipped reserve brigades ready to take advantage of what they correctly predicted was the exhaustion of troops and equipment attempting to take Pokrovsk. Those reserves - most of them battle-hardened - have now been deployed and are counterattacking the depleted Russians around Pokrovsk. JL

David Axe reports in Forbes:

Ukrainian troops are counterattacking along the eastern front, blunting the momentum of a Russian offensive that kicked off late last year. Despite assigning a dozen battalions from eight or so brigades to their surprise invasion of Russia’s Kursk’s Oblast, the Ukrainians kept four or five brigades—each with up to 2,000 troops and hundreds of vehicles—in reserve. Now those reserves are joining the fight outside Pokrovsk. “What is happening is exactly what was predicted—the Ukrainian armed forces have begun counterattacking.” Now that fresh and well-equipped Ukrainian troops are in Selydove, and attacking, the Russian conquest of Pokrovsk—once seemingly inevitable—is looking less likely.

Reinforced Ukrainian Units Have Blocked Russia's Advance On Pokrovsk

Underscoring the wisdom of Ukraine's decision to launch its Kursk offensive, Ukrainian forces on the Pokrovsk front, now reinforced with elements of several other brigades, have halted Russia's advance on Pokrovsk and are even launching counterattacks to regain lost ground. 

The Russians have not made any headway in Pokrovsk direction for over a week now. JL

Andrew Kramer reports in the New York Times:

Reinforced Ukrainian defenders in Pokrovsk have halted what had been relentless Russian advances in eastern Ukraine. The Russian offensive toward Pokrovsk, which has become a focal point of the war in recent months, has stalled for more than a week. Russian forces had moved swiftly toward the city through August, pushing over open fields and small villages in a westward direction. That advance stalled a week ago near the town of Selydove. Ukrainian soldiers are now staging counterattacks in the area. 

Attacking Ukrainian Forces Raise Flag In Center of Niu York

Momentum appears to be shifting in the Donbas, 

and on the Pokrovsk front in particular. 

This gives further credence to reports that the 

Ukrainian reinforcements have stymied the 

Russian advances in this area. JL

New Voice of Ukraine reports:

Ukrainian troops from the 2nd Mechanized Battalion of the 53rd Separate Mechanized Brigade have raised the blue and yellow flag atop a grain elevator in the center of the village of Niu York. On Sept. 6, the Azov Brigade announced successful counterattacks in Niu York. The troops also broke the encirclement of Ukrainian forces soldiers trapped by the enemy. Azov forces expelled Russians from the Phenol Factory in Niu York and blocked the Russians from advancing toward the neighboring village of Nelipivka.