The occupiers are attempting to encircle Avdiivka

Intense battles are ongoing on various fronts, as reported by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

On the Avdiivka and Maryinka directions, Russian forces are attempting to advance to establish complete control over the populated area of Maryinka and encircle the populated area of Avdiivka.

Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar reported this.

"Our defenders do not allow the enemy to implement their plans, but it is very difficult. Hot battles continue. The situation there is tense and difficult," she said in her post.

The situation in other directions

Maliar noted that the Ukrainian military prevented the enemy's advance after the activation of Russian troops in the Kupiansk and Lyman directions, significantly reducing its offensive potential.

"Currently, there is a certain decrease in the number of shellings and enemy munitions used in the eastern front. But this does not mean that the enemy has retreated from its plans. The enemy is currently regrouping and trying to restore lost capabilities. The battles are ongoing," she emphasized.

The situation in the Kupiansk and Lyman directions is difficult. The enemy is constantly attacking. Armed forces repel attacks, in particular:

- In the Kupyansk direction, the enemy is increasing the density of mine-explosive obstacles along the state border in the Belgorod region, searching for weak points in our defense.

- In the Lyman direction, the enemy continues assault operations aimed at displacing our forces in the area of the Serebryansky Forest in the Donetsk region, but their efforts have been unsuccessful.

- In the Bakhmut direction, heavy battles are ongoing. The Russians are attempting to stop the advance of Ukrainian forces and reclaim lost positions in areas west of Klishchiivka, west of Andriivka, and Kurdyumivka.

"Over the past week, the liberated territory in the Bakhmut direction has been increased by three sq. km, and the total liberated area in the Bakhmut direction is 40 sq. km," Maliar informed.

South

In the south, the Defense Forces of Ukraine continue their offensive operation in the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions. The battles are ongoing, as mentioned by the official.

According to her, in the direction of Urozhaine, south, and southeast of Staromayorske, Donetsk region, they succeeded and are now consolidating their positions at the achieved lines. During the offensive actions, the forces in the Tavria direction continue to liberate the settlement of Urozhaine.

Russia massively struck the Lviv region

15 people were injured.

The Russian army attacked the Lviv region and Lviv with cruise missiles during the air alert - from 05:20 to 05:30. The air defense forces successfully intercepted one missile. However, six missiles hit their targets.

The Head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration, Maxim Kozytsky, reported this.

"Fortunately, there were no casualties due to this missile attack. 15 people were injured. The youngest victim is 10 years old; the oldest is 72. Most of the victims have scratches, cuts and bruises due to broken windows. Five people were hospitalized," the head of the region said.

Overall, in the Lviv region, the occupiers damaged about 40 buildings. In Lviv, 20 buildings in the Zaliznychnyi district suffered destruction. The most damage occurred on Kakhovska and Patona streets. As a result of the impacts, fires broke out, and windows and roofs were also damaged.

Lviv Medical College "Monada" had its windows shattered. There was a fire in three buildings of an industrial enterprise. Additionally, one of the missiles hit the territory of a kindergarten, causing damage to the building of the educational institution.

In the Lviv region, in the village of Stavchany, 15 residential houses in the private sector were destroyed, six of them critically. Cars were also damaged.

In the village of Suhovolya, four residential buildings in the private sector were damaged by missile debris. There are no victims.

Missile attack on Lutsk

On the night of Tuesday, August 15, the army of the Russian Federation hit Lutsk with missiles during an air alert. As a result of the attack by the occupiers, there are killed.

The Head of the Volyn Regional Military Administration, Yuriy Pogulyajko, reported this.

"I am at the scene. Unfortunately, as a result of the impact, we have casualties. As of now (07:35), three people have been killed," said the Head of the Regional Military Administration.

By the way, during the night air alarm in Volyn, which lasted from 04:02 to 05:48, explosions occurred. The air defense forces worked. However, there were also hits by enemy missiles in the region.

Russia Attacked Swedish Factory in Ukraine: Three People Died

Russia attacked Swedish-owned bearings maker, SKF, in Lutsk, Ukraine on the early morning of August 15, killing three workers.

According to Reuters, SKF's spokesperson Carl Bjernstam stated that the SKF plant "has been hit" during the attack on Lutsk.

"We are very sad to confirm that three of our colleagues have been killed," he added.

Bjernstam said the company would look at the consequences of the attack and damage to the factory, but added that its primary focus was on its employees and their safety.

According to the company's latest financial report, the world's biggest maker of industrial bearings has around 1,100 employees in Ukraine, the majority of whom work at its Lutsk factory.

The report also stated the factory in Lutsk accounted for around 0.5% of SKF's total production volumes in 2022.

The Russians launched a large-scale missile attack on Ukraine in the early morning of 15 August. Their missiles hit an industrial facility in Lutsk (three people were killed), residential buildings in Lviv, and an industrial facility in Dnipro (a fire broke out, and two people were injured), and explosions were also heard in Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Smila, Cherkasy Oblast.

The Russian invaders attacked Ukraine with 28 air- and sea-based missiles at around 04:00 on 15 August 2023, and Ukrainian defenders destroyed 16 Kh-101/Kh-555 and Kalibr cruise missiles.

Lviv Oblast missile strike: number of casualties rises

The number of people who had sustained injuries in the Russian missile strike on Lviv Oblast on the night of 14-15 August has risen to 19.

Maksym Kozytskyi, Head of the Lviv Oblast Military Administration gave an update: "Six [of the people who sustained injuries] are aged 62 to 75. Most casualties have been diagnosed with bruises, cut wounds, and acute stress reactions. The 10-year-old child I mentioned earlier has a bruised foot."

Kozytskyi said that people with injuries are receiving treatment.

Russian Central Bank hikes interest rates to prop up falling ruble

Russia's Central Bank hiked its key interest rate by 350 basis points to 12% on Aug. 15 to halt the ruble's sharp decline.

The decision came after an emergency meeting called when the ruble briefly broke through 100 to the U.S. dollar on Aug. 14 for the first time since March 2022.

The currency exchange rate has since then slightly dropped below the 100 threshold only to rise to 99.08 by 4:02 p.m. Moscow time steadily. Bloomberg commented that the move failed to prop the currency up as it remains among the three worst performers in developing economies this year.

Despite a summer bump in oil revenues, the Russian economy continues to be battered by Western sanctions and the costs of waging war in Ukraine. More countries have divested from Russian oil and gas, slashing Russia's export income to half its prewar levels.

Moreover, Russia has doubled its 2023 military spending to over $100 billion, or a third of the state budget.

Maxim Oreshkin, economic adviser to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, blamed the ruble's fall on Moscow's central bank.