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Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani dismissed the allegation of an Iranian military presence in Ukraine for training Russian forces as unfounded.

Kanaani reiterated the Islamic Republic of Iran’s consistent stance against war, advocating for an end to conflicts and the peaceful resolution of differences between Russia and Ukraine.

The spokesman stated that "Such baseless claims are made with specific political goals and motives, and such accusations on the stance of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the conflict in Ukraine are contradictory."

Last year in March, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia welcomed Iran's balanced position on the Ukrainian war, as well as the country's interest in a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry in late February expressed its support for titled "China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis", which emphasized Beijing’s respect for the sovereignty of all countries, calling for the cessation of hostilities and resuming negotiations between Moscow and Kiev.

At the time, Lavrov met with the late Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in the Russian capital, Moscow. The ministers discussed the bilateral cooperation between both parties, as well as the Ukraine war, among other things.

"We respect Iran's interest, which has just been confirmed in my colleague's statement, in a peaceful resolution of this situation [in Ukraine]," Lavrov said after his meeting his Iranian counterpart.

For as early as the wr began, the US has accused Iran of supplying Russia with drones for use in the war in Ukraine, an accusation Tehran consistently denies. In 2022, Amir-Abdollahian strongly denied Iran's sale of drones and weapons to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine, stressing that the Islamic Republic of Iran "supports the political solution to the crisis in Ukraine." 

Ukraine's defenses in Donbass are collapsing: The Economist

The Economist published an analysis on Friday detailing the current state of the conflict in Donbass, highlighting significant shifts on the battlefield and the mounting challenges faced by Ukrainian forces.

According to the report, Ukraine's defensive lines in Donbass are collapsing as the Russian military continues to make steady gains, particularly near the strategic town of Pokrovsk.

The analysis notes that weeks after Ukrainian forces began advancing towards the Russian region of Kursk, the dynamics of the war have changed.

The once constant roar of machine gun fire has been replaced by the ringing and pain of direct hits from more precise Russian artillery.

Serhiy, an armored vehicle driver in the 80th Brigade, one of the main units leading the offensive in Kursk, told The Economist, "The enemy has gotten wiser. The shooting was frantic in the first few days. Now we are facing professional artillery."

Despite some progress, the pace of Ukraine's advance is slowing, and a new front line, stretching hundreds of kilometers, is beginning to take shape.

The fog of war and Ukrainian operational secrecy mean that detailed information is scarce, but satellite images showing Russian fortifications provide clear evidence of a stabilizing front.

Russian engineering teams have been reinforcing positions around high-value targets, such as the nuclear power plant near Kurchatov, and extending fortifications closer to the new front lines, just 16 km from Ukrainian positions at their closest point.

The report also draws attention to the failure of the Ukrainian operation in Kursk to achieve its major goal of distracting Russian forces from advancing toward Pokrovsk, a vital logistical hub for Ukraine.

Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, acknowledged on August 27 that Russia has intensified its focus on this strategic location, causing Ukrainian defenses to falter as Russian forces make rapid gains along the main railway line from the east.

Oleksandr, a drone commander in the 110th Brigade, highlighted the effectiveness of Russian surprise tactics, stating, "They hide in the forests, gather forces, and then rush forward."

This swift advance has exposed weaknesses in Ukraine's fortifications, with Russian troops often repurposing Ukrainian trenches and outpacing the number of Ukrainian troops available to maintain defensive lines.

The analysis finds that Russia's superior resources have played a critical role in their success, with ten engineering regiments compared to Ukraine's one regiment and two brigades.

An officer in one of Ukraine's few engineering units noted that part of the problem is cultural, as "The General Staff simply doesn’t manage the operation, and there is no plan."