Ukraine Drone Operators Erase 3 Russians Who Shot Lyman Area Civilian Bicyclist

A 63rd Mechanized Brigade drone captured the murder of a Ukrainian civilian in the village of Torske, in the Lyman sector. 

The civilian was in the wrong place at the wrong time, riding his bicycle past three Russian soldiers who decided to shoot him for no discernible reason other than their own amusement. Since Ukrainian soldiers filmed the incident, they knew where to look for the perpetrators and then dealt with them summarily. JL

Taras Safronov reports in Militarnyi:

In the village of Torske, in the Lyman salient, the Russian military shot a civilian riding a bicycle and then killed him at close range. A 63rd Mechanized Brigade drone recorded the crime. Ukrainian FPV drones and artillery tracked down and destroyed the war criminals. “There was no need for a trial – instant karma worked. Our drone pilots and artillerymen eliminated all three Russians.” Torske is a part of the “Lyman salient” – an area that prevents the enemy from advancing to Siversk, Lyman, and Sloviansk.

Ukrainian Engineers Disguise Antitank Mines With Birch Tree Bark

Stacks of birch logs are common in many of the areas where Ukrainian troops are fighting the Russians. 

Camoflaging an antitank mine with tree bark not only makes it harder to identify, but also disguises it from mine detectors and thermal imaging. JL

The Kyiv Post reports:

Ukrainian forces disguised a PTM‑3 anti‑tank mine as a lifelike tree stump. It was hidden among the numerous stacks of similar logs that are a common feature of the forested areas where much of the fighting in the Kursk and Kharkiv regions take place. The use of natural materials, such as tree barks, not only makes the PTM-3 difficult to identify visually but also provides another barrier to identifying it using conventional mine detectors, which is already difficult because of its limited metal content or thermal imaging.

Ukrainian Sniper Tanks Destroy Failed Russian Attack Towards Kupiansk

Russian forces have been attempting without success to advance on Vovchansk and Kupiansk for over a year. 

They have tried to do so again in recent weeks, but ran into Ukraine's increasingly effective - and lethal - 'sniper tank' tactic in which a lone highly mobile and accurate Ukrainian tank ambushes the attacking Russians and quickly wipes them out before disappearing as fast as it arrived. JL 

Euromaidan Press reports:

Russian forces around Vovchansk have been stuck in a stalemate for over a year, failing repeatedly to achieve significant breakthroughs. The Russian opened a new axis northwest of Kupiansk (but) the Ukrainian command acted decisively, sending in experienced tank units to smash the enemy and push him back over the border with a Ukrainian T-64BV tank and a BTR-4E Bucephalus engaging Russian infantry hidden within tree lines at point-blank range, effectively neutralizing the advancing enemy assault group.

Russia's Desperate "Short Death Rushes" Fail To Make Pokrovsk Breakthrough

Increasingly without armor or much artillery, Russian troops are being ordered to attack on foot in desperate 'short death rushes,' which may gain a few yards of ground but result in massive casualties. 

The effect in sectors like Pokrovsk, where the Kremlin has focused so much attention, is the appearance on maps of slivers or 'fingers' of gains, which some western journalists call advances, but which most experienced military experts consider so weak and narrow that they will inevitably be cut off or remain too ineffective to support further attacks. JL

Phillips O'Brien reports in his substack:

More and more, Russian advances take the shape of small finger like protrusions—many of which have popped up around Pokrovsk. The battlefield has become increasingly restricted to limited advances - a kilometer here, a kilometer there - that cannot result in breakthrough or  exploitation. What we have now is the short death rush—small advances on foot or motorcycle, as Russian forces rush forward in a narrow area, hope to grab a little bit of land and then hold on.

AI Success - Or Lack Of It - Begins To Differentiate Big Tech Stocks

The Magnificent Seven tech stocks are currently reduced to four as Nvidia, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft reap the benefits of their AI initiatives while Google, Apple and Tesla have failed to convince investors that their efforts will bear fruit. 

Google is hampered by perceptions that its wildly profitable search business will be cannibalized by AI chatbots. Apple has suffered because its AI work is considered substandard compared to its competitors and Tesla has been decimated by its luminary owner's bizarre and flighty political behavior, which has inadvertently hurt EV sales while at the same time undermining his claims that it is evolving into an AI company. There are some who believe Google and Apple will eventually figure this out and are strong enough to ride out the current difficulties. Tesla does not yet enjoy that sort of optimism. JL

Roshan Fernandez reports in the Wall Street Journal:

Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla have lorded over the stock market in recent years, linked by the outsize role they share in the economy’s future and the significant slice they comprise in the S&P 500 index. This year, though, shares of Nvidia, Meta and Microsoft have climbed 20% or more, while Apple and Alphabet are down 16% and 2%, respectively. Half of the tech-stock group has reaped the rewards of AI optimism. The chip giant Nvidia has been the clearest winner in the AI race thus far. (But) Apple, Tesla and Alphabet have suffered as Apple failed to woo investors with its AI efforts, Google faces mounting concern that AI chatbots will eat its search business and Tesla has flagged due to falling EV sales and Elon Musk's foray into politics. 

Russian Troops At Bakhmut Refuse Attack Order, Kill Commander, Surrender

In the third such incident in a month, Russian frontline troops refused an officer's order to launch an attack on Ukrainian positions without armor or artillery support, which the soldiers understandably regarded as a suicidal mission with little hope of achieving its supposed objective. 

When their commanding officer threatened to have them shot for refusing the order, they killed him and then surrendered. This incident reportedly occurred in the Bakhmut sector. The month's previous mutinies occurred on the Lyman and Kupiank fronts. The implication is that Russian army morale is worsening as units are being ordered to make unsupported attacks with little hope of survival. JL 

John Varga reports in the Daily Express:

Russian soldiers shot and killed another commander after refusing to take part in a suicidal attack. The latest incident took place on the Bakhmut front. Putin's commanders have shown scant regard for the lives of their soldiers, happy to sacrifice them in order to eke out any territorial gains. Troops have found themselves thrown at heavily defended Ukrainian positions with next to no support, sustaining horrific losses. (This is the third such incident in a month): a platoon from Russia's 20th Combined Arms Army recently refused orders to make an unsupported attack. Last month, a unit of Russian soldiers fighting on the Kupyansk front also shot and killed their senior officers, before making a run for it.

Ukrainian Special Forces Raids Along Border Disrupt Russian Offensive Plans

In a series of skirmishes along the border with Russia, Ukrainian special forces, often operating behind enemy lines, continue to attack Russian positions and logistics, disrupting the Kremlin's attempts to prolong their now disappointing summer offensive.

The point of the Ukrainian raids is to forestall any Russian efforts to salvage residual value from what is now universally recognized as another lost season of offense by Putin's forces. JL

Valentyna Romanenko reports in Ukraine Pravda:

Working beyond the line of contact, Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces detected and successfully raided Russian troops who were attempting to establish a new position near the Ukrainian border. The Special Operations Forces came under heavy artillery fire from Russian troops. The Russians attempt to gain a foothold failed.