- A Ukrainian drone smashed into a building in central Moscow after Russian air defences shot it down, disrupting air traffic at all of the four civilian airports in the Russian capital.
- The number of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers killed or wounded in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022 is nearing 500,000, the New York Times reports, citing unnamed United States officials. Russian casualties are approaching 300,000, including as many as 120,000 deaths and 170,000 to 180,000 injuries. Ukrainian deaths were close to 70,000, with 100,000 to 120,000 wounded, the Times reported.
- Ukrainian forces crossed to the Russian-occupied east bank of the Kherson region and have taken up positions. Russian-installed regional governor Vladimir Saldo said Ukrainian “sabotage groups” had managed to hide out on the outskirts of the Russian-controlled town of Kozachi Laheri, near the Dnipro river. They were later “cleared out” by Russian forces, he said.
- One person was killed and two injured as a result of Russian shelling of a village near the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. Four people were also injured after Russia shelled a residential area of Chasiv Yar city, located in the Donetsk region close to Bakhmut.
- Ukrainian forces are unlikely to reach and retake the Russian-occupied strategic southeastern city of Melitopol during their counteroffensive, a US official told the Reuters news agency. Melitopol has been under Russian control since March 2022 and has roads and railways used by Russian troops to transport supplies to areas they occupy.
- The Ukrainian military said it made gains on the southeastern front, pushing forward from a newly liberated village, Urozhaine, in an attempted drive towards the Sea of Azov.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/19/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-542
