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Suggested Itinerary: Three to Six Days in the East of England

East Anglia was one of the ancient Anglo Saxon kingdoms. It fills the lobe-shaped protuberance of England northeast of London and shown (very roughly) in the illustration above. Today it it covers the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk along with parts of Cambridgeshire and Essex.

Originally the home of the Iceni tribe, whose Queen Boadiccea (or sometimes Boudicca) held off the Romans for a while, it was the kingdom of the East Angles and the Danes before the Saxons moved in and gave it its traditional name.

A Lucky Accident of Nature

Throughout the Middle Ages, East Anglia was an important region; its largest city, Norwich , was second only to London, its trade links to Europe, through the Hanseatic League, made its merchants rich and powerful.

But then nature dealt it an unlucky hand (or a lucky hand, depending upon your point of view). The region has no coal or iron, tin or china clay, nor rushing rivers to turn the wheels of giant mills - all the resources that fueled the Industrial Revolution. So the Industrial Revolution went elsewhere, leaving East Anglia a mainly undeveloped, rural corner of Britain, dotted with traditional villages, market towns and small cities with pristine medieval quarters.

All this makes East Anglia perfect for touring. It has:

• huge, gorgeous beaches - the last scene of Shakespeare in Love was filmed on Holkham Sands),
• a subtle landscape - some people say East Anglia is flat but its gently rolling farm country hides many surprises
• several spectacular ancient cathedrals
• two important university towns - one ancient and one modern
• original medieval halls and Elizabethan farmhouses wherever you turn
• excellent seafood - from world class oysters in the south to wonderful crabs in the north
• the home of thoroughbred racing
• and no gigantic motorways screaming with huge semis - what the British call articulated lorries.

And just to remind you that you haven't stepped through a time machine, every now and then super-modern, delta-winged military jets scream overhead. Norfolk and Suffolk are also home to RAF Lakenheath and Mildenhall - both USAF bases.

This Itinerary

This three-day itinerary, expandable to six, focuses on the northern part of East Anglia, mostly in Norfolk (the "North Folk" if the ancient Kingdom of East Angles), with brief incursions into Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. It can be extended by several days with the Extra Day Options suggested on several pages. Since the furthest point, Norwich, is about two and a half hours (in perfect traffic conditions) from Central London, you could also turn these suggestions into several separate day trips. But don't try to pack too much into one day; if you are used to driving in North America, France or Germany, you'll find that it takes about twice as long to cover the same distance in the UK.

Distances and times are judged for automobile touring, which is the most practical way to get around this part of the country. But most destinations can also be reached by train or bus, plus the occasional taxi.

• Consult National Rail Enquiries for train times and prices.
• Visit Traveline to plan other public transportation options

Suggested Itinerary: Day 1 - Cambridge and Ely

Morning: Get an early start after your hotel or B&B breakfast because you want to miss the London and Cambridge rush hour traffic. Cambridge , home of England's second oldest university, is just over 60 miles from central London - but if you get caught up in traffic, you could spend hours just breaking free of the city.

Summer daybreak in England is much earlier than you may be used to - by 5a.m. the sun is shining brightly (if it's a sunny day, of course). That will give you a chance to walk around some of the city's open areas, beside the River Cam, to look around and simply enjoy the beauty of the place before the hustle and bustle begins.

Aim for a morning stroll along The Backs , so called because many of the University colleges back up on the riverside walks and landscaped gardens.

As the river meanders through Cambridge, it passes between some of the most beautiful college buildings. A walk along the Backs between Magdalene Street and Silver Street, crossing the many small footbridges and watching the punters on the river is a traditional highlight of a visit. It may seem like a tourist cliché, but so what? Give in to being a tourist and enjoy yourself.

Elevenses: After such an early start, you'll want to boost your energy with coffee and, perhaps, a little cake. Try a Chelsea bun with your coffee at longtime favorite Fitzbillies on Trumpington Street, or Hot Numbers in the Dales Brewery on Gwydir Street. Then take a tour to learn a little something about this fascinating place - the town had already been a thriving market town for 400 years when students fleeting a rebellion at Oxford, arrived to found the first colleges in 1209. The Tourist Information Office provides a range of walking and punting tours. Find out about the options. Alternatively, you could visit one of Cambridge's most interesting churches. Anglo Saxon St. Bene't's Church, has a tower and nave dating from 1040 A.D.making it the oldest building in Cambridgeshire. Years ago I was able to take a rubbing from the church's monumental brasses. That's no longer allowed, but you can visit the church to admire them.

Lunch: As a university town, with a student population of more than 100,000, it's no surprise that Cambridge has plenty of places for a quick, cheap lunch. There are a lot of chain cafes. For a bigger selection of independent restaurants and cafes, aim for Norfolk Street, which has a run of interesting places. Try to squeeze into the tiny Zhongua Traditional Snacks at No.13 Norfolk Street for recommended dim sim and noodle dishes.

Afternoon: Spend some time in the town's museums. There are several worth a visit, the main one being the Fitzwilliam , an enormous collection of art and antiquities behind a neoclassical facade. Or check out scientific instruments going back to the 14th century at the Whipple Museum of the History of Science.

Travel: Cambridge is 63 miles northeast of London via the M11 motorway. Leave your car in the Trumpington Park and Ride , a 15 minute bus ride from the city center.

Nighty Night Head for Ely, 17 miles north of Cambridge on the Great Ouse River and tomorrow morning's destination. The town has a good selection B&Bs and recommended restaurants. The Riverside Inn is a small B&B overlooking the town marina and right next door to one of the better restaurants for dinner, The Boat House .

Extra Day Options

Get back to nature on Wicken Fen , the National Trust's oldest nature reserve. It's a place of superlatives - England's most famous fen, Europe's most important wetland. But hey, what's great is that you might spot more than 8,000 species - birds, plants, dragonflies, otters - as you walk through lush grass or on raised boardwalks. You can hire a bike from the visitor center and cycle along miles of trails with nary a hill in sight. Or take a boat tour in the reserve's traditional, but electric powered, fen lighter.

Travel: The Wicken Fen Visitor Center on Lode Lane in Ely is about 17 miles from Cambridge on the A10 and the A1123.

Suggested Itinerary: Day 2 - Ely to Kings Lynn

Morning: Visit Ely Cathedral , one of the tallest and most beautiful cathedrals in England. Sometimes called The Ship of the Fens , it earned its nickname because the towers of the Norman Church soared over the once watery landscape of the Fens. The Norman cathedral, built between the 11th and the 14 centuries, occupies a the site of earlier Christian establishments, including a monastery founded by the daughter of an Anglo Saxon King, St. Etheldreda around 630. The tall stained glass windows that flood the pale interior and the thistle arched ceiling with dappled light are worth the visit but climb at least one of the towers for the magnificent full effect (both if you have the stamina) At 215 feet, the West Tower is the tallest, with wide views across the countryside. But The Octagon, pictured here, with its "lantern" of stained glass, lead and wood, is considered the jewel of the Cathedral. Guided tours of both towers (children must be at least 10 years old) are given several times a day. There is an admission charge. Free tours of the Cathedral are also available and are a good way to learn about this beautiful building's history. There's also a stained glass museum in the South Triforium of the Cathedral (okay, don't know what that means either, but just ask, as I did, when you get there.)

From the high church of the cathedral, head for a low church experience at Oliver Cromwell's House . Cromwell, the Lord Protector after the English Civil War, lived in Ely for ten years. To some he was a great Protestant hero while to others he was a rigid dictator - the man banned Christmas, after all. You can make up your own mind in his Ely House, the only surviving Cromwell residence (besides Hampton Court Palace), on St Mary's Street.

Lunch: If the weather is good, pick up the fixings for a picnic from a local grocers and enjoy the view of Ely Cathedral from one of the riverside parks or the Cathedral's landscaped grounds. Rather be indoors? Head for the riverside where there are several good pubs and inns.

Afternoon: Head for Kings Lynn for the afternoon. In the Middle Ages, it was one of England's most important ports. As a member of the Hanseatic League , a Medieval association of guilds across northern Europe, it was the base of merchants shipping goods from the Midlands, like coal and wool, all along the Baltic and North Sea coasts as far east as Novgorod in Russia. The League is sometimes compared to a Medieval Common Market. The town has a rich heritage of early and later Medieval buildings including one of the few Hansa warehouses still standing. While there, stop at the tourist office , in the lovely 17th century Customs House on a cobbled street by the waterfront. Pick up a leaflet for a self-guided walk around ancient landmark buildings that date from the 12th century and earlier or book a guided tour.

Travel: Kings Lynn is about 30 miles north of Ely on the A10. Along the way, pass through the market town of Downham Market to stock up on supplies.

Nighty Night After a long day sightseeing and marching around historic attractions, have an early night in Kings Lynn so that you can have an early start for the regional capital of Norwich in the morning.

Visit the Medieval Shrines to the Virgin Mary at Walsingham . The village, about 25 miles north of Kings Lynn on the A148, has been a place of pilgrimage since before Norman times. According to the story, an Anglo Saxon noblewoman had a vision of the house where Mary was born and a replica of the house was built in honor of the Annunciation.Whatever you believe about the story, the fact remains that the site has been important to religious pilgrims for 1,000 years and most important Christian denominations have shrines or pilgrimage centers there. If you aren't religious, you will probably find the place puzzling, but a stroll around the village and the shrines offers a glimpse of a millennium of devotion.

Drop in to see the Queen at Sandringham - The Royal Family's Norfolk estate, Sandringham , where they usually spend Christmas and Easter, is just 6 miles northeast of Kings Lynn and signposted from the Fakenham or the Hunstanton roads. Sandringham is the Queen's private farm estate but the house, garden and museum are open to the public from Easter to November, with a few weeks time out for the Queen's private vacations. The schedule changes from year to year but is published on the website. There is also a visitor center with shops and restaurants, open every day (except Good Friday) all year round.

Suggested Itinerary: Day 3 - Norwich

The Cathedral City of Norwich is one of England's best kept secrets. Left out of the highway building boom of the 1950s and 1960s, the city has a relaxed charm and a low key air. But don't be fooled. This is no low-key backwater, but a sophisticated university city with strong connections to the contemporary worlds of literature and the performing arts.

Travel: 46 miles east from Kings Lynn on the A47 should take you just over an hour - unless you get behind a slow moving farm vehicle.

Morning: Tackle the shops while you've got the energy - there are lots of them. All the high street brands are well represented in Norwich but the real joy is in wandering the pedestrian "Lanes" for independent shops, interesting boutiques and unusual attractions like the Colman's Mustard Shop and Museum , a replica of the Victorian shop where this popular English condiment was first made and sold. If you tire of shops, Norwich's extensive open air market , with its stalls under striped awnings, is open every day.It's a place where you can buy almost anything - from knitting yarn to claw hammers to hog roasts - food, hardware, crafts, produce. Or just walk around to absorb the market banter.

Lunch: As you've probably worked out by now, I am not a big fan of wasting valuable sightseeing time over long, leisurely lunches. Save the big feed for dinner time and build your lunchtime refreshment into your touring itinerary. You might graze the market stalls - I'm a fan of Norfolk pork buns with apple sauce from Henry's Hog Roast at stall No.81, or buy a picnic lunch from a good deli in the Lanes - Clark & Ravenscroft comes to mind - and then eat it by the River Wensum or in The Plantation Garden on Earlham Road (click on the profile highlighted above for more details). If you're into micro breweries, I'm told that the Plough on St. Benedict's Street doesn't mind if you bring your own food - so another good lunch spot.

Afternoon: Shopping done, it's time for museums, cathedrals and culture. Ease yourself into it with a different kind of retail therapy, walking up Elm Hill (antique shops and boutiques) toward the 1,000 year old Norwich Cathedral . It has the largest cloister in England and a soaring vaulted interior. It's surrounded by a Cathedral Quarter of more than 45 acres with many houses that are about 500 years old. Those are the "new" houses - the older houses were destroyed by fire about, you guessed it, about 500 years ago. If you haven't seen enough, pick up a guide to the Norwich 12 at the tourist information office (in the Forum on Millennium Plain, Norwich, NR2 1TF) - a list of the city's most architecturally interesting buildings, old and new. Or you can hike up the hill to visit Norwich Castle . The Norman bastion houses an art gallery and museum of Norwich history.

Nighty Night: Because of its university and art school, Norwich has more sophisticated tastes than you might expect in such a small city. You can dine out on all sorts of British, European and Asian cuisines, have a pub meal or a pretty good pizza. Because restaurants change so often, your best bet is to check out the current copy of Hardens or the Good Food Guide , both now available as Apps, and see what you fancy.

There are a number of chain hotels in Norwich and some decent country house type accommodations in the surrounding countryside. But if you want to experience Norwich, aim for a guest house or B&B. Some of the best are within walking distance of the University of East Anglia and in the Cathedral Quarter. The tiny www.arthouseb&b.com , an eco-friendly, organic guest house with a website for a name on Grange Road regularly gets rave reviews.

Extra Day Option:

From your base in Norwich, head west toward Swaffham, the market town where Stephen Fry's television show "Kingdom" was set and partly filmed. If you go on Saturday, you can enjoy a lively market in the town's Georgian market square. While there, you can explore the Green Britain Centre and climb 300 steps to a viewing platform on one of two giant wind turbines. Then step back at least a millenia by visiting Castle Acre - just under six miles north on the A1065 then follow signs. Here you can explore the ruins of an early Norman castle (free) and a beautifully atmospheric Cluniac priory (admission charged). The village of Castle Acre has a good pub, and is on the Peddar's Way for walking enthusiasts. Read more about Swaffham and Castle Acre.

Travel: Travel west from Norwich on the A47. Swaffham is about 25 miles away and usually reachable in half an hour. For Castle Acre, drive just under 6 miles north of Swaffham and then follow signs. Find out more about getting to Norwich.

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Top 10 places to visit in the East of England (+ East Anglia)

By: Author Tracy Collins

Posted on Last updated: June 17, 2022

Historic cities, beautiful countryside, a stunning coastline, and abundant wildlife are just some of the attractions waiting to be discovered by visitors to the East of England and East Anglia region of England. In this introductory guide, we explore some of the must-visit places in the region.

The East of England (and East Anglia) are composed of the counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Bedfordshire, and Hertfordshire. Famous for being rather flat the area traditionally called East Anglia (Suffolk/Norfolk) is famous for waterways, fens, fishing and farming.

Are you planning to explore the East of England? In this article you will discover ten of the best places to visit in this beautiful part of the UK.

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY

• NORFOLK'S ROYAL COAST

THE BROADS NATIONAL PARK

Bury – st – edmunds, suffolk coast (area of outstanding natural beauty), norfolk seaside towns – great yarmouth & cromer, audley end house and gardens, ipswich and constable country, plan your visit to the east of england.

TOP 10 PLACES TO VISIT IN THE EAST OF ENGLAND

If you are planning to visit East England, a stop in Cambridge would most certainly be in order.

Only a 45-minute train ride from London, Cambridge is the ultimate college town, as it’s home to the world-renowned University of Cambridge.

Founded in 1209 and formally incorporated several hundred years later, Cambridge sits on the River Cam and is divided into several university colleges, including King’s College with its lovely Gothic chapel and St. John’s College, with its 16th century Great Gate.

Visitors who appreciate architecture will be in heaven. Examples of medieval, renaissance, baroque and neoclassical styles can be found throughout the campus.

If the weather is cooperative, there’s nothing like taking a punting trip on the River Cam. A punt is a small, flat-bottomed boat steered by an operator using a pole. Punting is a local tradition as well as a marvellous way to enjoy the sights of the town.

Read more – Cambridge Travel Guide

Explore more – Discover 21 of the best castles to visit in England

If you’re looking for places to visit in East Anglia, you must make time for Norwich, as it is truly a destination that has something for everyone.

For those who love the bustle of city life, Norwich offers a vibrant cultural scene that includes art galleries, restaurants, pubs, shops and an exciting nightlife. It is also home to Europe’s largest covered market.

For those seeking something more peaceful, Norwich is the only city that can be found inside of a national park, so it is ideal for outdoor enthusiasts looking for a nature escape.

Norwich also has a rich history — during the Middle Ages, it was England’s second-largest city after London. Today’s visitors can follow the city’s cobbled streets and visit Norwich Castle, a motte-and-bailey fortification built by William the Conqueror. The spire of Norwich’s Norman Cathedral tops 315 feet and is an iconic feature of the Norwich skyline.

NORFOLK’S ROYAL COAST

Norfolk’s Royal Coast is 90 miles of breathtaking coastline known for unspoiled beaches, abundant wildlife, wetlands and historic seaside villages.

For those interested in the Royal Family, Sandringham House is a must-do while visiting the Royal Coast. It is the private country retreat of Queen Elizabeth II that sits on 20,000 acres.

It houses an amazing selection of art and family portraits but Sandringham’s astonishing grounds are what visitors tend to love the most. You could easily spend hours enjoying the formal gardens, sprawling lawns and neatly maintained lakes.

For nature in a more pristine setting, visit The Wash, England’s largest bay that runs from Skegness to Hunstanton. Its wetlands, salt marshes and mudflats are home to an abundant array of wildlife that feeds there throughout the autumn and winter.

For a little maritime history, travel to Kings Lynn, a charming seaport and market town on the River Ouse. Soak in the Georgian architecture and seek out the medieval merchant houses, Minister Church, Town Hall and Guildhall.

For nature lovers, one of the best places to visit in Norfolk is The Broads National Park . It is a man-made, nationally protected wetland that was created in medieval times as the result of the local demand for peat.

Starting in the 12th century, residents of the Norfolk countryside harvested the peat for fuel. They dug holes and eventually channels that would one day flood, thus creating an interconnecting system of waterways.

Today, you can explore its 125 miles of waterways by foot, bicycle or by boat. There are any number of migrating and native birds to see, as well as butterflies, dragonflies and even otters.

To rent a boat or hop on a nature cruise, consider going the twin villages of Wroxham and Hoveton. Located on either side of River Bure, these charming little villages offer a variety of activities for every level of nature enthusiast.

Some of the best places to go in East Anglia are the Wool Towns of Suffolk, including Bury St Edmunds, Clare, Long Melford, Sudbury and Lavenham.

In medieval times, the English wool trade was booming and a handful of towns grew extremely wealthy as a result. When the industry waned, the towns eventually fell into hard times but remnants of their prosperity still exist today, like the timber-framed houses and grand churches.

One of the largest wool towns is Bury St. Edmunds. Alongside its historical buildings are modern art galleries, restaurants and shops, perfect for a day spent browsing. You can also visit the ruins of the Abbey of St. Edmund, a Benedictine monastery from medieval times.

The town of Lavenham, once home to Lavenham Blue broadcloth, is another well-preserved medieval town. Exploring its narrow streets and old buildings is a must for any historically-minded visitor.

Looking to get away from the complications of urban life? The Suffolk Coast and Heaths, a 40-mile stretch of coastline, is one of the loveliest places to visit in the East of England.

It’s an officially designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that has largely been left undeveloped. Consequently, it is an ideal location for bird watching, beach combing, peaceful bike rides by the shore or long walks admiring the scenery.

The wildlife is abundant, so bring your camera! There are also many historic and scenic villages tucked throughout the area worth exploring.

One of the best places to visit in Suffolk is Southwold, a seaside village with a charming Victorian pier, esoteric little shops and beach amusements.

A little way away is the village of Thropeness. In the early 1900s, Thropeness was created to resemble something from out of a fairy tale, complete with a Peter Pan-like lake, mock Tudor homes and a House in the Clouds.

Exploring the seaside towns of Norfolk is an excellent way to spend your East of England getaway. For family fun, visiting Great Yarmouth is a necessity. It’s a resort town known for its long, sandy beach and the Golden Mile, home to many family-friendly attractions and activities both inside and outside.

Museum lovers will have their choice of the Time and Tide Museum , which details the local history from the ice age on and the Nelson Museum , centred around the life and career of Admiral Horatio Nelson.

In the early 19th century, Cromer was a seaside getaway for affluent families. Along with its sandy beaches, today’s visitors can find elaborate Victorian houses and hotels, many with painstakingly manicured gardens.

Its pier is home to one of the county’s most fabled lifeboat stations that boasts a crew long reputed to have unmatched bravery. Also, don’t forget to sample some of that legendary Cromer crab!

Travel back to the 17th century and visit Audley End House. Set in the countryside in the county of Essex, outside Saffron Walden, Audley End was built by King James I’s Lord Treasurer, the first Earl of Suffolk.

During its day, it was one of the finest and most opulent buildings in England. Later, in the 18th century, renown landscape architect Capability Brown added formal gardens featuring a parterre, manicured hedges and a wide variety of flowering plants.

Audley End eventually became a Victorian country house, and today’s visitors can learn about the home’s lively upstairs and downstairs life with exhibits regarding how its staff and residents worked and lived.

The formal gardens are lovely as are the organic kitchen garden and Elysian Garden. Make sure to trot on over to the Victorian stables and yard to take a look at the horses.

Audley End belongs to English Heritage and entry is free to members. Click here to join English Heritage. If you are visiting from overseas we recommend buying an English Heritage Overseas Pass.

Ely is one of the smallest cities in England. It sits in the heart of Fen country in Cambridgeshire, about 80 miles from London, making it a perfect location for a day trip .

Its centre is dominated by a magnificent Romanesque and Gothic cathedral , some of which was built by the Normans nearly 1,000 years ago. It took 300 years to complete and the result is a stunning masterpiece of architecture and intricate stonework.

Ely is small enough to explore on foot and besides seeing the cathedral, visitors can learn about the town’s history — Oliver Cromwell was a native son and his former house is open to the public.

A charming walk along the river, a visit to the Jubilee Gardens or exploring some of Ely’s many tearooms and antique shops makes for a lovely day. If you plan to venture out further, Ely would be a great base for exploring the entire Suffolk and North Norfolk coast.

If you’ve ever wished you could walk right into a Romantic-era painting of the English countryside, you simply must plan a trip to Constable Country.

Only two hours from London, it’s an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Suffolk named for the early 1800s painter, John Constable. His famous works feature quaint cottages, rolling green farmland and babbling streams, all in a most idyllic setting.

Walk around and you’ll recognise the scenery from many of his famous paintings including The Mill Stream , The Hay Wain and his Dedham Vale series.

In nearby Ipswich, make time to visit The Old Custom House , as well as the town’s pubs and charming restaurants. While you’re there, you can stop in the Christchurch Mansion, holder of the largest collection of Constable’s works outside of London.

Now you have lots of ideas for your visit to the East of England why not take a look at what the other 8 regions of England have to offer including the North East , North West , South East , South West , East Midlands , West Midlands , London and Yorkshire .

Need more help with the logistics of planning your England trip? My England Travel Guide is the best place to start.

Visiting Scotland , Northern Ireland or Wales ? Check out my top 19 places to visit in Scotland or my top 10 choices for Wales .

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East Anglia Travel Guide

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Strictly speaking, East Anglia is made up of just three counties – Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, which were settled in the fifth century by Angles from today’s Schleswig-Holstein – but it has come to be loosely applied to parts of Essex too. As a region it’s renowned for its wide skies and flat landscapes – if you’re looking for mountains, you’ve come to the wrong place. East Anglia can surprise, nonetheless: parts of Suffolk and Norfolk are decidedly hilly, with steep coastal cliffs; broad rivers cut through the fenlands; and Norfolk also boasts some wonderful sandy beaches. Fine medieval churches abound, built in the days when this was England’s most progressive and prosperous region.

King’s Lynn

The north norfolk coast, the stour valley, the suffolk coast.

Heading into East Anglia from the south takes you through Essex, whose proximity to London has turned much of the county into an unappetizing commuter strip. Amid the suburban gloom, there are, however, several worthwhile destinations, most notably Colchester , once a major Roman town and now a likeable place with an imposing castle, and the handsome hamlets of the bucolic Stour River Valley on the Essex–Suffolk border. Essex’s Dedham is one of the prettiest of these villages, but the prime attraction hereabouts is Suffolk’s Flatford Mill , famous for its associations with the painter John Constable.

Suffolk boasts a string of pretty little towns – Lavenham is the prime example – that enjoyed immense prosperity from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century, the heyday of the wool trade. The county town of Ipswich has more to offer than it’s given credit for, but really it’s the north Suffolk coast that holds the main appeal, especially the delightful seaside resort of Southwold and neighbouring Aldeburgh with its prestigious music festival.

Norfolk, as everyone knows thanks to Noël Coward, is very flat. It’s also one of the most sparsely populated and tranquil counties in England, a remarkable turnaround from the days when it was an economic and political powerhouse – until, that is, the Industrial Revolution simply passed it by. Its capital, Norwich , is East Anglia’s largest city, renowned for its Norman cathedral and castle; nearby are the Broads , a unique landscape of reed-ridden waterways that have been intensively exploited by boat-rental companies. Similarly popular, the Norfolk coast holds a string of busy, very English seaside resorts – Cromer and Sheringham to name but two – but for the most part it’s charmingly unspoilt, its marshes, creeks and tidal fats studded with tiny flintstone villages, most enjoyably Blakeney and Cley .

Cambridge is much visited, principally because of its world-renowned university, whose ancient colleges boast some of the finest medieval and early-modern architecture in the country. The rest of Cambridgeshire is pancake-flat fenland, for centuries an inhospitable marshland, but now rich alluvial farming land. The cathedral town of Ely , settled on one of the few areas of raised ground in the fens, is an easy and popular day-trip from Cambridge.

Given the prevailing flatness of the terrain, hiking in East Anglia is less strenuous than in most other English regions, and there are several long-distance footpaths. The main one is the Peddars Way, which runs north from Knettishall Heath, near Thetford, to the coast at Holme-next-the-Sea, near Hunstanton, where it continues east as the Norfolk Coast Path to Cromer – 93 miles in total.

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A walking holiday on the Jurassic Coast

Walking the Jurassic Coast is one of the best ways to truly appreciate the spectacular scenery. Walks range from easy to challenging. 6 days walking are included in this itinerary, as is an extensive pre-program in London and a last night back in the capital.

On the whole, CAMBRIDGE is a much quieter and more secluded place than Oxford, though for the visitor what really sets it apart from its scholarly rival is “ The Backs ” – the green sward of land that straddles the languid River Cam, providing exquisite views over the backs of the old colleges. At the front, the handsome facades of these same colleges dominate the layout of the town centre, lining up along the main streets. Most of the older colleges date back to the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries and are designed to a similar plan , with the main gate leading through to a series of “courts,” typically a carefully manicured slab of lawn surrounded on all four sides by college residences or offices. Many of the buildings are extraordinarily beautiful, but the most famous is King’s College , whose magnificent King’s College Chapel is one of the great statements of late Gothic architecture. There are 31 university colleges in total, each an independent, self-governing body, proud of its achievements and attracting – for the most part at least – a close loyalty from its students.

Note that most colleges have restricted opening times and some impose admission charges; during the exam period (late April to early June) most of them close their doors to the public at least some of the time.

Cambridge: taking a punt

Punting is the quintessential Cambridge activity, though it is, in fact, a good deal harder than it looks. First-timers find themselves zigzagging across the water and “punt jams” are very common on the stretch of the River Cam beside The Backs in summer. Punt rental is available at several points, including the boatyard at Mill Lane (beside the Silver Street bridge), at Magdalene Bridge, and at the Garret Hostel Lane bridge at the back of Trinity College. It costs around £16/hr per person (and most places charge a deposit), with up to six people in each punt. Alternatively, you can hire a chauffeured punt from any of the rental places for about £12/hr per person.

If you visit anywhere in Essex, it should be COLCHESTER , a busy sort of place with a castle , a university and an army base, fifty miles or so northeast of London. Colchester prides itself on being England’s oldest town, and there is indeed documentary evidence of a settlement here as early as the fifth century BC. Today, Colchester makes a potential base for explorations of the surrounding countryside – particularly the Stour valley towns of Constable country, within easy reach a few miles to the north.

Brief history

By the first century AD, the town was the region’s capital under King Cunobelin – better known as Shakespeare’s Cymbeline – and when the Romans invaded Britain in 43 AD they chose Colchester (Camulodunum) as their new capital, though it was soon eclipsed by London. Later, the conquering Normans built one of their mightiest strongholds in Colchester, but the conflict that most marked the town was the Civil War . In 1648, Colchester was subjected to a gruelling siege by the Parliamentarian army; after three months, during which the population ate every living creature within the walls, the town finally surrendered and the Royalist leaders were promptly executed for their pains.

At the heart of Colchester are the remains of its castle , a ruggedly imposing, honey-coloured keep, set in attractive parkland stretching down to the River Colne. Begun less than ten years after the Battle of Hastings, the keep was the largest in Europe at the time, built on the site of the Temple of Claudius. Inside the keep, a museum holds an excellent collection of Romano-British archeological finds, notably a miscellany of coins and tombstones. The museum also runs regular guided tours , giving access to the Roman vaults, the Norman chapel and the castle roof, which are otherwise out of bounds. Outside, down towards the river in Castle Park, is a section of the old Roman walls , whose battered remains are still visible around much of the town centre. They were erected after Boudicca had sacked the city and, as such, are a case of too little too late.

Perched on a mound of clay above the River Great Ouse about thirty miles south of King’s Lynn, the attractive little town of ELY – literally “eel island” – was to all intents and purposes a true island until the draining of the fens in the seventeenth century. Until then, the town was encircled by treacherous marshland, which could only be crossed with the help of the local “fen-slodgers” who knew the firm tussock paths. In 1070, Hereward the Wake turned this inaccessibility to military advantage, holding out against the Normans and forcing William the Conqueror to undertake a prolonged siege – and finally to build an improvised road floated on bundles of sticks. Centuries later, the Victorian writer Charles Kingsley resurrected this obscure conflict in his novel Hereward the Wake . He presented the protagonist as the Last of the English who “never really bent their necks to the Norman yoke and … kept alive those free institutions which were the germs of our British liberty” – a heady mixture of nationalism and historical poppycock that went down a storm.

Since then, Ely has been associated with Hereward, which is a little ridiculous as Ely is, above all else, a Norman town. The Normans built the cathedral , a towering structure visible for miles across the flat fenland landscape and Ely’s main sight. The rest of Ely is pretty enough: to the immediate north of the church is the High Street , a slender thoroughfare lined with old-fashioned shops, and the river is a relaxing spot with a riverside footpath, a tearoom or two, a small art gallery and an entertainment complex.

IPSWICH , situated at the head of the Orwell estuary, was a rich trading port in the Middle Ages, but its appearance today is mainly the result of a revival of fortunes in the Victorian era – give or take some clumsy postwar development. The two surviving reminders of old Ipswich – Christchurch Mansion and the splendid Ancient House – plus the recently renovated quayside are all reason enough to spend at least an afternoon here, and there’s also the Cornhill , the ancient Saxon marketplace and still the town’s focal point, an agreeable urban space flanked by a bevy of imposing Victorian edifices – the Italianate town hall, the old Neoclassical Post Office and the grandiose pseudo-Jacobean Lloyds building.

Straddling the canalized mouth of the River Great Ouse a mile or so before it slides into The Wash, King’s Lynn is an ancient port whose merchants grew rich importing fish from Scandinavia, timber from the Baltic and wine from France, while exporting wool, salt and corn. The good times came to an end when the focus of maritime trade moved to the Atlantic seaboard, but its port struggled on until it was reinvigorated in the 1970s by the burgeoning trade between the UK and the EU. Much of the old centre was demolished during the 1960s and as a result most of Lynn – as it’s known locally – is not especially enticing, but it does have a cluster of handsome old riverside buildings , and its lively, open-air markets attract large fenland crowds.

The first place of any note on the north Norfolk coast is Cromer , a seaside town whose steep and blustery cliffs have drawn tourists for over a century. A few miles to the west is another well-established resort, Sheringham , but thereafter the shoreline becomes a ragged patchwork of salt marshes, dunes and shingle spits which form a series of nature reserves, supporting a fascinating range of flora and fauna. It’s a lovely stretch of coast and the villages bordering it, principally Cley , Blakeney and Wells-next-the-Sea , are prime targets for an overnight stay.

A mile or so west of Cley, delightful BLAKENEY was once a bustling port exporting fish, corn and salt, and is now a lovely little place of pebble-covered cottages sloping up from a narrow harbour. Crab sandwiches are sold from stalls at the quayside, the meandering high street is flanked by family-run shops, and footpaths stretch out along the sea wall to east and west, allowing long, lingering looks over the salt marshes.

Blakeney harbour is linked to the sea by a narrow channel that wriggles its way through the salt marshes and is only navigable for a few hours at high tide. At low tide the harbour is no more than a muddy creek (ideal for a bit of quayside crabbing and mud sliding).

Blakeney boat trips

Depending on the tides, there are boat trips from either Blakeney or Morston quay , a mile or so to the west, to both Blakeney Point – where passengers have a couple of hours at the point before being ferried back – and to the seal colony just off the point. The main operators advertise departure times on blackboards by the quayside; you can reserve in advance with Beans Boats or Bishop’s Boats.

CLEY (more formally Cley-next-the-Sea ), once a busy wool port, is now little more than a row of flint cottages and Georgian mansions set beside a narrow, marshy inlet that (just) gives access to the sea. The sea once dipped further inland, which explains why Cley’s fine medieval church of St Margaret is located half a mile to the south, at the very edge of the current village, overlooking the green. You’re near a couple of splendid nature reserves here, both excellent destinations for birdwatchers – and don’t miss the Cley Smoke House for superb locally smoked fish.

Dramatically poised on a high bluff, CROMER should be the most memorable of the Norfolk coastal resorts, but its fine aspect has long been undermined by a certain shabbiness in its narrow streets and alleys. Things are at last on the mend, with new businesses arriving to add a touch of flair, while the town council keeps a string of cliff-top mini-parks and gardens in immaculate condition.

It’s no more than the place deserves: Cromer has a long history, first as a prosperous medieval port – witness the tower of St Peter and St Paul , at 160ft the tallest in Norfolk – and then as a fashionable watering hole after the advent of the railway in the 1880s. There are three things you must do here: take a walk on the beach, stroll out onto the pier , and, of course, grab a crab: Cromer crabs are famous right across England and several places sell them, reliably fresh, and cooked and stuffed every which way.

The Norfolk Broads

Three rivers – the Yare, Waveney and Bure – meander across the flatlands to the east of Norwich, converging on Breydon Water before flowing into the sea at Great Yarmouth. In places these rivers swell into wide expanses of water known as “ broads ”, which for years were thought to be natural lakes. In fact they’re the result of extensive peat cutting, several centuries of accumulated diggings made in a region where wood was scarce and peat a valuable source of energy. The pits flooded when sea levels rose in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries to create these Norfolk Broads , now one of the most important wetlands in Europe – a haven for many birds such as kingfishers, grebes and warblers – and one of the county’s major tourist attractions. Looking after the Broads, the Broads Authority maintains a series of information centres throughout the region.

The Norfolk Broads are crisscrossed by roads and rail lines, but the best – really the only – way to see them is by boat , and you could happily spend a week or so exploring the 125 miles of lock-free navigable waterways, visiting the various churches, pubs and windmills en route. Of the many boat rental companies, Blakes and Norfolk Broads Boating Holidays, are both well established and have rental outlets at Wroxham , seven miles northeast of Norwich – and easy to reach by train, bus and car. Prices for cruisers start at around £700 a week for four people in peak season, but less expensive, short-term rentals are widely available too. Houseboats are much cheaper than cruisers, but they are, of course, static.

Trying to explore the Broads by car is pretty much a waste of time, but cyclists and walkers can take advantage of the region’s network of footpaths and cycle trails. There are Broads Authority bike rental points dotted around the region and walkers might consider the 56-mile Weavers’ Way, a long-distance footpath that winds through the best parts of the Broads on its way from Cromer to Great Yarmouth. There are many shorter options too. As for specific sights for landlubbers and boaters alike, one prime target is Toad Hole Cottage , an old eel-catcher’s cottage holding a small exhibit on the history of the trade, which was common in the area until the 1940s. The cottage is at How Hill, close to the hamlet of Ludham , six miles east of Wroxham on the A1062. Behind the cottage is the narrow River Ant, where there are hour-long, wildlife-viewing boat trips in the Electric Eel .

Holkham Bay

The footpaths latticing Holkham Hall estate stretch as far as the A149, from where a half-mile byroad – Lady Anne’s Drive – leads north across the marshes from opposite the Victoria Hotel to Holkham Bay , which boasts one of the finest beaches on this stretch of coast, with golden sand and pine-studded sand dunes. Warblers, flycatchers and redstarts inhabit the drier coastal reaches, while waders paddle about the mud and salt flats.

One of the five largest cities in Norman England, NORWICH once served a vast hinterland of East Anglian cloth producers , whose work was brought here by river and then exported elsewhere. Its isolated position beyond the Fens meant that it enjoyed closer links with the Low Countries than with the rest of England and, by 1700, Norwich was the second richest city in the country after London. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, however, Norwich lost ground to the northern manufacturing towns – the city’s famous mustard company, Colman’s, is one of its few industrial success stories – and this has helped preserve much of the ancient street plan and many of the city’s older buildings. Pride of place goes to the beautiful cathedral and the sterling castle , but the city’s hallmark is its medieval churches , thirty or so squat flintstone structures with sturdy towers and sinuous stone tracery round the windows. Many are no longer in regular use and are now in the care of the Norwich Historic Churches Trust , whose website describes each church in precise detail.

Norwich’s relative isolation has also meant that the population has never swelled to any great extent and today, with just 140,000 inhabitants, it remains an easy and enjoyable city. Yet Norwich is no provincial backwater. In the 1960s, the foundation of the University of East Anglia (UEA) made it more cosmopolitan and bolstered its arts scene, while in the 1980s it attracted new high-tech companies, who created something of a mini-boom, making the city one of England’s wealthiest. As East Anglia’s unofficial capital, Norwich also lies at the hub of the region’s transport network, serving as a useful base for visiting the Broads and as a springboard for the north Norfolk coast.

The Cathedral

Of all the medieval buildings in Norwich , it’s the Cathedral that fires the imagination: a mighty, sand-coloured structure finessed by its prickly octagonal spire, it rises to a height of 315ft, second only to Salisbury Cathedral in Wiltshire. Entered via the Hostry, a glassy, well-proportioned visitor centre, the interior is pleasantly light thanks to a creamy tint in the stone and the clear glass windows of much of the nave , where the thick pillars are a powerful legacy of the Norman builders who began the cathedral in 1096. The nave’s architectural highlight is the ceiling, a finely crafted affair whose delicate and geometrically precise fan vaulting is adorned by several dozen roof bosses . Pushing on down the south (right) side of the ambulatory, you soon reach St Luke’s Chapel and the cathedral’s finest work of art, the Despenser Reredos , a superb painted panel commissioned to celebrate the crushing of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. Accessible from the south aisle of the nave are the cathedral’s unique cloisters . Built between 1297 and 1450, and the only two-storey cloisters left standing in England, they contain a remarkable set of sculpted bosses , similar to the ones in the main nave, but here they are close enough to be scrutinized without binoculars. The dominant theme of the fabulously intricate carving is the Apocalypse , but look out also for the bosses depicting green men, originally pagan fertility symbols.

The cathedral precincts

Outside, in front of the main entrance, stands the medieval Canary Chapel . This is the original building of Norwich School, whose blue-blazered pupils are often visible during term time – the rambling school buildings are adjacent. A statue of the school’s most famous boy, Horatio Nelson , faces the chapel, standing on the green of the Upper Close , which is guarded by two ornate and imposing medieval gates, Erpingham and, a few yards to the south, Ethelbert . Beside the Erpingham gate is a memorial to Edith Cavell , a local woman who was a nurse in occupied Brussels during World War I. She was shot by the Germans in 1915 for helping allied prisoners to escape, a fate that made her an instant folk hero; her grave is outside the cathedral ambulatory. Both gates lead onto the old Saxon marketplace, Tombland , a wide and busy thoroughfare whose name derives from the Saxon word for an open space.

The Market Place

From Blackfriars Hall , it’s a short walk through to the city’s Market Place , site of one of the country’s largest open-air markets (closed Sun), with stalls selling everything from bargain-basement clothes to local mussels and whelks. Four very different but equally distinctive buildings oversee the market’s stripy awnings, the oldest of them being the fifteenth-century Guildhall , a capacious flint and stone structure begun in 1407. Opposite, commanding the heights of the marketplace, are the austere City Hall , a lumbering brick pile with a landmark clocktower that was built in the 1930s in a Scandinavian style, and The Forum , a large and flashy, glassy structure completed in 2001. The latter is home to the city’s main library and the tourist office. On the south side of Market Place is the finest of the four buildings, St Peter Mancroft , whose long and graceful nave leads to a mighty stone tower, an intricately carved affair surmounted by a spiky little spire.

Back outside and just below the church is Gentlemen’s Walk , the town’s main promenade, which runs along the bottom of the marketplace and abuts the Royal Arcade , an Art Nouveau extravagance from 1899. The arcade has been beautifully restored to reveal the swirling tiling, ironwork and stained glass.

For more inspiration and practical information read our 15 reasons to visit Norfolk .

Six miles or so north of Colchester, the Stour River Valley forms the border between Essex and Suffolk, and signals the beginning of East Anglia proper. The valley is dotted with lovely little villages, where rickety, half-timbered Tudor houses and elegant Georgian dwellings cluster around medieval churches, proud buildings with square, self-confident towers. The Stour’s prettiest villages are concentrated along its lower reaches – to the east of the A134 – in Dedham Vale, with Dedham the most appealing of them all. The vale is also known as “ Constable Country ”, as it was the home of John Constable, one of England’s greatest artists, and the subject of his most famous paintings. Inevitably, there’s a Constable shrine – the much-visited complex of old buildings down by the river at Flatford Mill . Elsewhere, the best-preserved of the old south Suffolk wool towns is Lavenham ; nearby Sudbury has a fine museum, devoted to the work of another talented English artist, Thomas Gainsborough.

The villages along the River Stour and its tributaries were once busy little places at the heart of East Anglia’s medieval weaving trade. By the 1490s, the region produced more cloth than any other part of the country, but in Tudor times production shifted to Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich and, although most of the smaller settlements continued spinning cloth for the next three hundred years or so, their importance slowly dwindled. Bypassed by the Industrial Revolution, south Suffolk had, by the late nineteenth century, become a remote rural backwater, an impoverished area whose decline had one unforeseen consequence: with few exceptions, the towns and villages were never prosperous enough to modernize, and the architectural legacy of medieval and Tudor times survived.

Constable went to school in DEDHAM , just upriver from Flatford Mill and one of the region’s prettiest villages, its wide and lazy main street graced by a handsome medley of old timber-framed houses and Georgian villas. Day-trippers arrive here by the coach load throughout the summer.

Flatford Mill

“I associate my careless boyhood with all that lies on the banks of the Stour,” wrote John Constable , who was born in East Bergholt , nine miles northeast of Colchester in 1776. The house in which he was born has long since disappeared, so it has been left to FLATFORD MILL , a mile or so to the south, to take up the painter’s cause. The mill was owned by his father and was where Constable painted his most celebrated canvas, The Hay Wain (now in London’s National Gallery), which created a sensation when it was exhibited in Paris in 1824. To the chagrin of many of his contemporaries, Constable turned away from the landscape painting conventions of the day, rendering his scenery with a realistic directness that harked back to the Dutch landscape painters of the seventeenth century.

The mill itself – not the one he painted, but a Victorian replacement – is not open to the public and neither is neighbouring Willy Lott’s Cottage , which does actually feature in The Hay Wain , but the National Trust has colonized several local buildings, principally Bridge Cottage .

LAVENHAM , eight miles northeast of Sudbury, was once a centre of the region’s wool trade and is now one of the most visited villages in Suffolk, thanks to its unrivalled ensemble of perfectly preserved half-timbered houses. In outward appearance at least, the whole place has changed little since the demise of the wool industry, owing in part to a zealous local preservation society, which has carefully maintained the village’s antique appearance. Lavenham is at its most beguiling in the triangular Market Place , an airy spot flanked by pastel-painted, medieval dwellings whose beams have been warped into all sorts of wonky angles by the passing of the years.

The Suffolk coast feels detached from the rest of the county: the road and rail lines from Ipswich to the seaport of Lowestoft funnel traffic a few miles inland for most of the way, and patches of marsh and woodland make the separation still more complete. The coast has long been plagued by erosion and this has contributed to the virtual extinction of the local fishing industry, and, in the case of Dunwich , almost destroyed the whole town. What is left, however, is undoubtedly one of the most unspoilt shorelines in the country – if, that is, you set aside the Sizewell nuclear power station. Highlights include the sleepy isolation of minuscule Orford and several genteel resorts, most notably Southwold and Aldeburgh, which have both evaded the lurid fate of so many English seaside towns. There are scores of delightful walks around here too, easy routes along the coast that are best followed with either the appropriate OS Explorer Map or the simplified footpath maps available at most tourist offices. The Suffolk coast is also host to East Anglia’s most compelling cultural gathering, the three-week-long Aldeburgh Festival , which takes place every June.

Well-heeled ALDEBURGH , just along the coast from Orford, is best known for its annual arts festival , the brainchild of composer Benjamin Britten (1913–76), who is buried in the village churchyard alongside the tenor Peter Pears, his lover and musical collaborator. They lived by the seafront in Crag House on Crabbe Street – named after the poet, George Crabbe, who provided Britten with his greatest inspiration – before moving to a large house a few miles away.

Outside of June, Aldeburgh is a relaxed and low-key coastal resort, with a small fishing fleet selling its daily catch from wooden shacks along the pebbled shore. Aldeburgh’s slightly old-fashioned/local shop appearance is fiercely defended by its citizens, who caused an almighty rumpus – Barbours at dawn – when Maggi Hambling’s 13ft-high Scallop sculpture appeared on the beach in 2003. Hambling described the sculpture as a conversation with the sea and a suitable memorial to Britten; many disgruntled locals compared it to a mantelpiece ornament gone wrong.

Aldeburgh’s wide High Street and its narrow side streets run close to the beach, but this was not always the case – hence their quixotic appearance. The sea swallowed much of what was once an extensive medieval town long ago and today Aldeburgh’s oldest remaining building, the sixteenth-century, red-brick, flint and timber Moot Hall , which began its days in the centre of town, now finds itself on the seashore. Several footpaths radiate out from Aldeburgh, with the most obvious trail leading north along the coast to Thorpeness, and others going southwest to the winding estuary of the River Alde .

Benjamin Britten and the Aldeburgh Festival

Born in Lowestoft in 1913, Benjamin Britten was closely associated with Suffolk for most of his life. The main break was during World War II when, as a conscientious objector, Britten exiled himself to the USA. Ironically enough, it was here that Britten first read the work of the nineteenth-century Suffolk poet, George Crabbe, whose The Borough , a grisly portrait of the life of the fishermen of Aldeburgh, was the basis of the libretto of Britten’s best-known opera, Peter Grimes , which was premiered in London in 1945 to great acclaim. In 1948, Britten launched the Aldeburgh Festival as a showpiece for his own works and those of his contemporaries. He lived in the village for the next ten years, during which time he completed much of his finest work as a conductor and pianist. For the rest of his life he composed many works specifically for the festival, including his masterpiece for children, Noye’s Fludde , and the last of his fifteen operas, Death in Venice .

By the mid-1960s, the festival had outgrown the parish churches in which it began, and moved into a collection of disused malthouses, five miles west of Aldeburgh on the River Alde, just south of the small village of Snape . The complex, the Snape Maltings were subsequently converted into one of the finest concert venues in the country and, in addition to the concert hall, there are now recording studios, galleries, a tearoom, and a pub, the Plough & Sail .

The Aldeburgh Festival takes place every June for two and a half weeks. Core performances are still held at the Maltings, but a string of other local venues are pressed into service as well. Throughout the rest of the year, the Maltings hosts a wide-ranging programme of musical and theatrical events, including the three-day Britten Festival in October. For more information, contact Aldeburgh Music , which operates two box offices, one at Snape Maltings, the other on Aldeburgh High Street in premises it shares with the tourist office. Tickets for the Aldeburgh Festival usually go on sale to the public towards the end of March, and sell out fast for the big-name recitals.

Some twenty miles from Ipswich, on the far side of Tunstall Forest, two medieval buildings dominate the tiny, eminently appealing village of ORFORD . The more impressive is the twelfth-century castle , built on high ground by Henry II, and under siege within months of its completion from Henry’s rebellious sons. Most of the castle disappeared centuries ago, but the lofty keep remains, its striking stature hinting at the scale of the original fortifications. Orford’s other medieval edifice is St Bartholomew’s church , where Benjamin Britten premiered his most successful children’s work, Noye’s Fludde , as part of the 1958 Aldeburgh Festival.

Perched on robust cliffs just to the north of the River Blyth, SOUTHWOLD had become, by the sixteenth century, Suffolk’s busiest fishing port. Eventually, however, it lost most of its fishery to neighbouring Lowestoft and today, although a small fleet still brings in herring, sprats and cod, the town is primarily a seaside resort, a genteel and eminently appealing little place with none of the crassness of many of its competitors. There are fine Georgian buildings, a long sandy beach, open heathland, a dinky harbour and even a little industry – in the shape of the Adnams brewery – but no burger bars and certainly no amusement arcades. This gentility was not to the liking of George Orwell , who lived for a time at his parents’ house at 36 High St (a plaque marks the spot); who knows what he might have made of Southwold’s major music festival, Latitude , which spreads over four days in the middle of July with happy campers grubbing down in Henham Park beside the A12 about five miles west of town.

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The Friendly Invasion, Masters of the Air, The Mighty Eighth 4 day Tour

Explore "The Friendly Invasion" of US Airmen to East Anglia in England during World War II

INCLUDES DUXFORD AIRSHOW TICKETS

4 days from London

Soon to be featured in a new Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks produced HBO series "The Mighty Eighth" (follow up to "Band of Brothers" and "Pacific") based on the book "Masters of the Air" by Donald L. Miller.

East Anglia , just a stone's throw from the capital of London, yet an area largely undiscovered by visitors. Here you can walk in the footsteps of the pilgrims fathers, Romans, Viking, Queen Boudicca, Anglo Saxons and Normans. It was here in the ancient corner, amid this history, that the US Air Force servicemen, those who fought and died defending our freedom and democracy, settled and fought the Nazis during WW II. Discover a rich, green land so indicative of England, a rural paradise of 'higgledy-piggledy' villages and market towns largely unchanged since Gainsbourough painted them or since the brave of the Mighty Eighth flew over them.

"The U.S. military presence in the United Kingdom during World War II was immense. Between 1941 and 1945, three million U.S. servicemen and women flowed through Great Britain (with the Yanks taking 50,000 British war brides and a few war grooms in passing). By itself, the U.S. Army Air Forces contributed 500,000 personnel to this “friendly invasion,” with 350,000 of those in the Eighth Air Force alone. Compared with U.S. service personnel in other regions of England, the Eighth Air Force arrived earlier, stayed later, and settled more heavily in East Anglia. In 1944, one in seven residents of Suffolk County was American." - by John Fleischman, AIR & SPACE MAGAZINE

This tour begins and ends in London.

TENTATIVE ITINERARY

This tour begins and ends in London, where there is a wealth of WWII heritage to visit independantly either before or after our Friendly Invasion tour.

There is the wonderful Imperial War Museum in Lambeth, offering unique temporary displays and permanent exhibitions featuring excellent displays on the war, particularly its vivid recreation of a blitz bomb shelter. The Churchill War Cabinet Rooms is a top choice, a secret bunker now a museum celebrating the life and legacy of Winston Churchill. Westminster Abbey features the beautiful stained glass window dedicated to the pilots of Fighter Command. Another iconic option is St Paul's Cathedral, learn about the touching story of the Home Guard protecting the Cathedral from the blitz bombs making St Pauls one of the symbols of courage for Londoners. On a Naval interest, there is the HMS Belfast ship to visit near the great Tower of London. Spoilt for choice in the capital!

The North London RAF Museum, set on the historic site of the Hendon Aerodrome, is a top option on the aviation theme; comprised of five major buildings and hangars dedicated to the history of aviation and the British Royal Air Force. There are several interactive exhibits, a Battle of Britain Hall, flight simulators and a 3D cinema in addition to the extensive aircraft collection. This museum houses over 100 aircraft including some very early designs, one of only two surviving Vickers Wellingtons, the Avro Lancaster S-Sugar, the only complete Hawker Typhoon and the only Boulton Paul Defiant remaining in the world.

There is also the possibility of a guided walking tour of London and the Blitz and even touching on James Bond and the 'birth' of British espionage. Ask us for details!

Perhaps 'link up' your Mighty 8th adventure with an airshow!

Duxford Flying Legends Airshow - Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow - Farnborough International Airshow (tentatively 25-26 July, 2020.)

Depart our London meeting point at 09:00 and head north. Our route will take us via two places of interest that will set the stage for our tour.

It was at Bletchley Park that the Germans ‘uncrackable’ Enigma Code was broken, allowing the allies to read Axis wireless traffic. The museum holds some fascinating exhibits. Seeing the Enigma machines will be an undoubted highlight. The site now boasts a Visitor Centre, restored buildings and refreshed exhibits to preserve and commemorate the tireless work of the Codebreakers. The landscape is being returned to its tranquil setting, with areas returned to lawn and the footprints of the long-gone Huts 2 and 9 marked out to remind visitors where they were. The tennis courts have also been restored to grass, as they were in late 1940 and early 1941.

Later today, explore the university city of Cambridge . In this sleepy, easily-walked medieval city, enjoy a brief walking tour with your guide followed by free time. See one of the colleges and possibly students punt on the backs of the River Cam. There’s the excellent Fitzwilliam Museum and great shopping available too, as time and interest will permit. Our time in Cambridge will include The Eagle Bar , another hangout for servicemen, including The Mighty Eighth, and we can view graffiti and signatures left by them on the walls and ceiling. Here we can raise a glass in their honour.

Overnight: Cambridge, BB

Imperial War Museum Duxford  deserves much of our time today. Set within the spacious grounds of the famous former First and Second World War airfield, IWM Duxford has been called one of the finest collections of tanks, military vehicles and naval exhibits in the country. Housed here is the 1940 Operations Room, which orchestrated the Battle of Britain, and The American Air Museum honouring US airmen who fought from UK shores. The AirSpace section tells the story of British and Commonwealth aviation, home to over 30 aircraft including an iconic Spitfire, a legendary Lancaster and the fastest-ever Concorde.

Also today, the American Cemetery , paying respect to the US soldiers and airmen who lost their lives in WWII, both those buried here and the memorial wall to over 5,000 MIAs including Joe Kennedy Jr and Big Band leader Glenn Miller. There is a mural in the chapel dedicated to “the final flight” of these brave airmen.

Our base in East Anglia these next two nights is a historic hotel in a very scenic local village. The hotel bar is The Airmen's Bar , frequented by The Mighty Eighth while they were stationed at the nearby airfields, and full of memontos and their signatures on the wall.

Overnight: Swan at Lavenham, DBB

Today we have a full day in East Anglia exploring the airfields and memorials to the RAF and the US Airmen who protected the skies during WWII.

RAF Thorpe Abbotts is home to the 100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum , in the original control tower and other out buildings. This place is dedicated to the US Eighth Air Force. The museum highlights documents, photographs, uniforms and service equipment, plus a recreation of the original teleprinter room. The collection includes a number of maps plus war-related artefacts from the war's effects on the soldiers and how the group eventually came to be called the "Bloody Hundredth". (Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays only May - Sept.)

Rougham Control Tower is a small, friendly Aviation Museum, dedicated to the American Airmen and women who served in the 322nd BG and the 94th BG of the USAAF Eighth Air Force during WWII. There is a traditional Sunday market held here as well, which includes farmers market with arts, crafts, home and garden items and a car boot sale. ( Sundays only May - Oct.)

The Red Feather Club, 95th Museum at Horham is also on the day's agenda. The 95th Bomb Group Heritage Association has faithfully restored the air base buildings to keep alive the memory of the 95th’s role in World War II. This is a living museum and monument to the only Eighth Air Force Bomb Group to receive the Distinguished Unit Citation three times. (last Sunday of the month April - Oct or by special appointment, subject to availabilty.)

Should we manage any additional time, there is much to discover in this pretty region. Today and tomorrow we can also explore some of the lovely ‘ Suffolk Wool Towns ,’  among the best-preserved historic towns and prettiest villages in Suffolk. Step back in time to the era of the Tudors and Puritans, when the wool trade was at its peak and these towns were among the richest places in the country. Sudbury, once home to painter Thomas Gainsborough and the birthplace of Thomas Davies, whose signal to Paul Revere set off that famous ride, is one destination. We will particularly spend some time in our base town of Lavenham, often called ‘England’s Best-Preserved Medieval Village.’

More explorations of East Anglia airfields and memorials today, as well as the Suffolk villages.

Still a working airfield, visit "Old Buck," Old Buckingham Airbase, the wartime base of Walter Mattau and Oscar winner Jimmy Stewart, who was the Operations Officer. Here see the 453rd Museum and Eighth Air Force Heritage Gallery. The 453rd, part of The Mighty Eighth, flew 259 missions in B-24 Liberators. They dropped 15,804 tonnes of bombs and in the process lost 58 aircraft. Most importantly 366 servicemen lost their lives serving from Old Buck. Part of the 70th Anniversary in 2013, the memorial to the 366 has been moved to a new memorial garden, with a figure 8 path to mark the Eighth Air Force.

Finally, something a bit different to conclude our celebrations, is a tour and tasting at the English Whisky Company . Here discover over 600 years of the Nelstrop family and enjoy sampling what was named "European Whisky of the Year" in 2015. A scenic spot, the distillery sits amongst a grove of cricket bat willows which run down to the gently flowing river Thet.

Return to London by this evening.

Please note: All attraction opening times are correct at time of printing this website. While we will do our utmost to include all of the properties mentioned as central visits, we reserve the right to change an attraction should it become impossible to deliver a planned visit due to changes in opening days or times beyond our control.

Oft imitated, never duplicated! This is an original SGT itinerary, property of Special Group Tours and to be used only with express permission/in conjunction with SGT.

What Your Tour Package Includes

Tour package includes: 4 touring days with vehicle & exclusive services of your driver/guide/companion, your accommodation for 3 nights while on the tour including full breakfasts, dinners, listed entrance fees whilst with your guide, all taxes and tips other than those you may wish to give your guide. Airshow tickets, subject to availability.

Airport transfers, accommodation pre and post tour in London, scheduled city day tours/attraction passes/transport passes or theatre/event tickets pre/post tour in London can be added to your package as you wish, subject to availability. SGT is at your service!

The Special Group Tours Advantage is our unique and intimate understanding of what you expect traveling in the UK and Europe. We have not only visited but have spent many years living in and loving the cultures you will experience down the ‘B’ Roads and off the beaten track. We have worked with local suppliers and our guide/companion team for over a decade, creating unique special interest itineraries. Special Group Tours offers our “insider” knowledge to you.

The SGT Small Group Touring Concept is traveling with just 4 - 14 guests per departure. It is our aim to introduce you to the 'real' country and its people, not just ticking the boxes of a standardized route and treating you as an individual and not a number. Our concept allows for a leisurely touring pace and flexibility to get off the beaten track to discover hidden gems. Of course you'll see the major sites but so much more too!

At Special Group Tours, it is our priority that you have the most enjoyable holiday possible. You deserve it!

Call us Toll Free on: US 866 725 5250; or London UK 0790 552 4717

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Friday, August 23, 2024

Russian offensive campaign assessment, august 23, 2024.

Angelica Evans, Christina Harward, Riley Bailey, Davit Gasparyan, Grace Mappes, George Barros

August 23, 2024, 7:05pm ET

Click  here  to see ISW’s interactive map of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This map is updated daily alongside the static maps present in this report.

Click  here  to see ISW's interactive map of Ukraine's offensive in Kursk Oblast.

Click  here  to see ISW’s 3D control of terrain topographic map of Ukraine. Use of a computer (not a mobile device) is strongly recommended for using this data-heavy tool.

Click  here  to access ISW’s archive of interactive time-lapse maps of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These maps complement the static control-of-terrain map that ISW produces daily by showing a dynamic frontline. ISW will update this time-lapse map archive monthly.

Note: The data cut-off for this product was 12:15pm ET on August 23. ISW will cover subsequent reports in the August 24 Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment.

Ukrainian forces continued to marginally advance near Sudzha amid continued Ukrainian operations in Kursk Oblast on August 23.  Geolocated footage published on August 22 indicates that Ukrainian forces recently advanced further in southern Russkaya Konopelka (east of Sudzha).[1] A Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces also advanced north of Martynovka (northeast of Sudzha) along the Sudzha-Sukhodolovka R-200 highway.[2] Russian sources claimed that there are conflicting reports about fighting east of Sudzha near Samoryadovo and Kozyrevka, but that Ukrainian mobile groups may be operating in the area.[3] Some Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces re-took Spalnoye and Krupets (both southeast of Sudzha), although the situation in the area remains unclear.[4] Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces repelled a platoon-sized Ukrainian mechanized assault near Aleksandrovka (northeast of Korenevo).[5] A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces re-took positions west of Korenevo on August 23, suggesting that Ukrainian forces were recently operating west of the settlement.[6] Russian sources claimed that fighting continued throughout the line of contact in Kursk Oblast on August 22 and 23.[7]

Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh stated on August 22 that the US is gaining "a better understanding" of Ukraine's goals in Kursk Oblast and noted that Ukraine wants to create a buffer zone in Kursk Oblast.[8] Singh stated that the US is still working to determine how the buffer zone fits into Ukraine's strategic objectives and that the US continues to provide materiel to support Ukraine's battlefield needs. Singh clarified that current US restrictions on Ukraine's ability to use US-provided weapons to strike military targets in Russian border areas allows Ukrainian forces to engage in counterfire while defending against Russian attacks across the international border, including in Kursk Oblast.

Ukrainian officials continue to highlight how Ukrainian forces can leverage tactical and technological advantages to offset Russian materiel advantages.  Ukrainian First Deputy Defense Minister Lieutenant General Ivan Havrylyuk stated in an interview with Ukrainian outlet  Ukrinform  published on August 23 that the Ukrainian military has been able to inflict heavy losses against significantly larger quantities of Russian armored vehicles, artillery, and other equipment due to Ukrainian tactics and Ukraine's effective use of available weapons.[9] Havrylyuk stated that Ukrainian forces have destroyed over 8,500 Russian tanks, 17,000 artillery systems, 1,000 air defense systems, about 370 aircraft, and 2,500 cruise missiles since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.[10] ISW cannot confirm these figures, however. Havrylyuk stated that Russian forces have fired roughly 300,000 artillery shells throughout the theater each month on average and aimed to overwhelm Ukrainian forces with Russia's large artillery advantage.[11] Havrylyuk stated that more precise (and effective) Western artillery systems can offset these advantages as long as Russian forces do not have an artillery advantage greater than three-to-one.[12] Ukrainian forces have leveraged GMLRS rocket artillery and NATO 155mm artillery systems and ammunition capable of striking targets at longer ranges than Russian / Soviet field artillery to conduct superior counterbattery fire throughout the war in Ukraine.[13] Havrylyuk added that Ukrainian artillery units also use tactics that provide greater mobility than Russian artillery units and therefore conduct more effective counterbattery fire.[14] Havrylyuk noted that Ukraine's rapidly growing use of unmanned systems is another example of how Ukrainian forces can reduce costs while inflicting high losses on Russian forces and that increased Ukrainian drone use in 2024 has led to higher Russian artillery and armored vehicle losses.[15] Havrylyuk stated that long-range precision strikes into Russia would allow Ukraine to prevent Russia from transferring larger quantities of ammunition and equipment to the frontline and that strikes against military bases, arsenals, and logistic routes within Russia would heavily degrade Russian artillery advantages.[16] Western self-imposed restrictions on military aid provisions to Ukraine and policies restricting Ukrainian long-range strikes against military targets within Russia are constraining Ukrainian capabilities to degrade Russian materiel advantages.[17]

US President Joe Biden announced a new military assistance package for Ukraine following a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on August 23.[18]  The package is valued at $125 million and includes: Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (c-UAS) equipment and munitions; ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition and additional ammunition for small arms and demolitions; Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) missiles; Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems; medical and mine-clearing equipment; and additional materiel and training services.

Ukrainian forces reportedly conducted another drone strike against the oil depot in Proletarsk, Rostov Oblast on August 23.  Russian opposition media reported that Ukrainian forces conducted a drone strike against the oil depot at about 0500 on August 23, following a strike against the depot on August 18 that caused a fire that Russian authorities have been battling since August 18.[19] Satellite imagery captured on August 22 of the Marinovka airbase in Volgograd Oblast shows that the Ukrainian strike on August 22 may have destroyed at least one Russian Su-24 or Su-34 fighter aircraft parked at the base, and additional imagery shows that several Russian fighter jets parked in the hangars also sustained damage.[20] An aviation-focused Russian milblogger claimed on August 22 that the light hangars at the Marinovka base did not protect Russian aircraft and called for Russian authorities to build reinforced concrete hangars wherever possible and only build light hangars when they cannot build stronger structures.[21]

Islamic State (IS)-affiliated inmates took prison employees and other inmates hostage at a penal colony in Surovikino, Volgograd Oblast, Russia, on August 23.  Four inmates took eight employees and four other inmates of the IK-19 prison hostage.[22] The hostage-takers displayed an ISIS flag during the attack.[23] The attackers stated that they were taking revenge "for their Muslim brothers" whom Russian authorities detained in connection with the March 2024 terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall.[24] The attackers inflicted stab wounds upon four of the employees, three of whom died, and four other hostages were hospitalized, one of whom later died.[25] Rosgvardia snipers reportedly killed the four hostage-takers.[26] Two of the attackers were citizens of Uzbekistan and two were from Tajikistan.[27] Three of the attackers were imprisoned for drug trafficking and one was convicted for beating a man to death during a fight. Russian sources claimed that one of the attackers wore a suicide vest but disagreed on what happened, with some sources claiming that the vest malfunctioned and others claiming that Russian forces killed the attacker before he could activate the vest.[28] Russian opposition outlet  Vazhnye Istorii  stated that locals in the Kalmykia Republic and Volgograd and Rostov oblasts reported problems accessing Telegram, WhatsApp, and Viber shortly after the start of the attack and that Russian authorities likely blocked the messenger platforms.[29] Russian President Vladimir Putin convened a meeting of the permanent members of the Security Council on August 23 during the hostage situation and heard reports from Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Federal Security Service Head Alexander Bortnikov, and Rosgvardia Head Viktor Zolotov.[30] Mufti of the Volgograd Oblast Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims Bat Kifah stated that Russian authorities should not negotiate with the hostage-takers, but kill them and should punish those who allowed the "negligence" in penal colonies.[31] Acting Chairperson of the Russian Spiritual Directorate of Muslims Mufti Damir Mukhetdinov stated that the organization disagreed with the attackers' actions and that the hostage-takers may have been inspired from abroad in order to discredit Russia's strengthening relations with Muslim states.[32]

Russian milbloggers reacted to the hostage crisis with criticisms of the Russian prison system and migration policy.  Russian milbloggers claimed that the IK-19 prison is known for bribes, with some of the prison employees reportedly selling knives to inmates.[33] Russian sources complained that prisoners are becoming radicalized within Russian penal colonies and claimed that this problem has increased since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the mobilization of prisoners to fight in Ukraine, and alleged increased flows of previously convicted Central Asian migrants to Russia.[34] Russian milbloggers called for the Russian government to take action to resolve these issues, including by reforming Russia's prison system.[35] The Volgograd Oblast Prosecutor's Office stated that it organized inspections of the IK-19 prison to ensure its compliance with its personnel's safety, taking measures to prevent inmates from using prohibited items, and other laws and regulations.[36] Six reportedly IS-affiliated inmates at a pretrial detention center in Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast similarly took two employees of the pretrial detention center hostage in June 2024, evoking similar criticisms from Russian milbloggers about Russian authorities' failure to crack down on extremist groups and maintain security in penal colonies.[37] ISW continues to assess that the Kremlin has attempted to posture that it has been cracking down against domestic extremism since the Crocus City Hall attack, but the prison hostage crises undermine this Kremlin effort.[38]

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed India's support for peace in Ukraine on the basis of India's participation in Ukraine's July 2024 peace summit and signed several bilateral cooperation agreements during a visit to Ukraine.  Modi arrived in Kyiv on August 23 following his visit to Poland on August 21, marking the first time an Indian prime minister has visited Ukraine since the establishment of bilateral relations in 1992.[39] Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a joint statement emphasizing their commitment to ensuring a "just and lasting peace in Ukraine" based on principles of international law such as “respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states.”[40] This statement contrasts with Modi’s previous and more general calls for peace and diplomacy during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in July 2024.[41] The Ukrainian side emphasized that the Joint Communique on the Foundation of Peace established at the June 2024 peace summit can serve as a guiding framework for setting the terms of a peace deal, although India has not signed the document despite its participation in June 2024.[42] Modi and Zelensky also signed four bilateral cooperation agreements in agriculture, economics, development, and culture.[43] Modi and Zelensky agreed to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation, particularly in manufacturing, and to hold a second Joint Ukrainian-Indian Working Group meeting on military-technical cooperation in the near future.[44] Modi’s visit to Ukraine marks a significant political inflection in India’s foreign policy towards Ukraine and may indicate an Indian effort to take a stronger pro-Ukraine position than New Delhi has before, despite India’s historical close and longstanding relationship with Moscow.

Key Takeaways:

• Ukrainian forces continued to marginally advance near Sudzha amid continued Ukrainian operations in Kursk Oblast on August 23.
• Ukrainian officials continue to highlight how Ukrainian forces can leverage tactical and technological advantages to offset Russian materiel advantages.
• US President Joe Biden announced a new military assistance package for Ukraine following a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on August 23.
• Ukrainian forces reportedly conducted another drone strike against the oil depot in Proletarsk, Rostov Oblast on August 23.
• Islamic State (IS)-affiliated inmates took prison employees and other inmates hostage at a penal colony in Surovikino, Volgograd Oblast on August 23.
• Russian milbloggers reacted to the hostage crisis with criticisms of the Russian prison system and migration policy.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed India's support for peace in Ukraine on the basis of India's participation in Ukraine's July 2024 peace summit and signed several bilateral cooperation agreements during a visit to Ukraine.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Kreminna, Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Donetsk City.
• Russian authorities continue efforts to leverage conscripts to free up manpower elsewhere for combat operations in Ukraine.

We do not report in detail on Russian war crimes because these activities are well-covered in Western media and do not directly affect the military operations we are assessing and forecasting. We will continue to evaluate and report on the effects of these criminal activities on the Ukrainian military and the Ukrainian population and specifically on combat in Ukrainian urban areas. We utterly condemn Russian violations of the laws of armed conflict and the Geneva Conventions and crimes against humanity even though we do not describe them in these reports.

• Russian Main Effort – Eastern Ukraine (comprised of three subordinate main efforts)
•  Russian Subordinate Main Effort #1 – Push Ukrainian forces back from the international border with Belgorod Oblast and approach to within tube artillery range of Kharkiv City
• Russian Subordinate Main Effort #2 – Capture the remainder of Luhansk Oblast and push westward into eastern Kharkiv Oblast and encircle northern Donetsk Oblast
• Russian Subordinate Main Effort #3 – Capture the entirety of Donetsk Oblast
• Russian Supporting Effort – Southern Axis
• Russian Air, Missile, and Drone Campaign
• Russian Mobilization and Force Generation Efforts
• Russian Technological Adaptations
• Activities in Russian-occupied areas
• Ukrainian Defense Industrial Base Efforts

Russian Information Operations and Narratives

• Significant Activity in Belarus

Russian Main Effort – Eastern Ukraine

Russian Subordinate Main Effort #1 – Kharkiv Oblast   ( Russian objective: Push Ukrainian forces back from the international border with Belgorod Oblast and approach to within tube artillery range of Kharkiv City)

Fighting continued north and northeast of Kharkiv City on August 23, but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline. A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces recently advanced northeast of Vovchansk (northeast of Kharkiv City), although ISW has not observed confirmation of this claim.[45] Russian milbloggers posted footage of the aftermath of an allegedly unsuccessful Ukrainian mechanized assault near Hlyboke (north of Kharkiv City) and claimed that Russian forces destroyed up to three Ukrainian armored vehicles in the area.[46] A Russian milblogger claimed that small Ukrainian infantry groups are also routinely attacking near Ohirtseve and Hatyshche (both immediately west of Vovchansk) but are not advancing in the area.[47] Russian forces continued ground assaults north of Kharkiv City near Hlyboke and northeast of Kharkiv City near Starytsya, Vovchansk, and Tykhe on August 22 and 23.[48] Elements of the Russian 41st Motorized Rifle Regiment (72nd Motorized Rifle Division, 44th Army Corps [AC], Leningrad Military District [LMD]) and the 4th Volunteer Reconnaissance Assault Brigade are reportedly operating near Vovchansk.[49]

Ukrainian Kharkiv Group of Forces Spokesperson Colonel Vitaly Sarantsev stated on August 23 that Russian forces have transferred some unspecified units from the Kharkiv direction to Kursk Oblast but that Russian forces have enough manpower in the area to continue assaults.[50] Sarantsev added that there is data that suggests that Russian forces may be transferring additional reserves to the Kharkiv direction, but that Ukrainian forces need to clarify this information.[51] Sarantsev noted that Russian forces are less active in select unspecified areas of the Kharkiv direction.[52] ISW has observed significant redeployments of elements of the Northern Grouping of Forces (which is responsible for the Kharkiv direction) to Kursk Oblast, which suggests that the Russian military command has determined that disruption to the offensive operation in northern Kharkiv Oblast is a necessary sacrifice to appropriately respond to the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk Oblast.[53]

Kharkiv Oblast occupation administration head Vitaly Ganchev claimed on August 23 that Russian forces control roughly 50 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast, and 57 settlements throughout Kharkiv Oblast are fully within areas where ISW has observed Russian advances and claims of Russian advances.[54] Ganchev claimed that 13 to 14 settlements are a part of the current Russian "sanitary zone" in northern Kharkiv Oblast, and ISW currently assesses that 14 settlements in northern Kharkiv Oblast are fully under both observed and claimed Russian advances.[55]

Russian Subordinate Main Effort #2 – Luhansk Oblast  (Russian objective: Capture the remainder of Luhansk Oblast and push westward into eastern Kharkiv Oblast and northern Donetsk Oblast)

Russian forces recently advanced northwest of Kreminna amid continued offensive operations along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line on August 23. Geolocated footage published on August 23 indicates that Russian forces recently advanced further within eastern Makiivka (northwest of Kreminna).[56] Russian forces continued offensive operations northeast of Kupyansk near Synkivka; east of Kupyansk near Petropavlivka; northwest of Svatove near Hlushkivka, Stelmakhivka, and Andriivka; west of Svatove near Lozova; southwest of Svatove near Druzhelyubivka; northwest of Kreminna near Novosadove, Makiivka, and Nevske; and west of Kreminna near Torske and Terny on August 22 and 23.[57]

Russian Subordinate Main Effort #3 – Donetsk Oblast  (Russian objective: Capture the entirety of Donetsk Oblast, the claimed territory of Russia’s proxies in Donbas)

Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Siversk direction on August 23, but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces conducted offensive operations northeast of Siversk near Bilohorivka, east of Siversk near Verkhnokamyanske, and southeast of Siversk near Vyimka and Spirne on August 22 and 23.[58] A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces advanced one kilometer southeast of Vyimka, but ISW has not observed confirmation of this claim.[59] Elements of the Russian 11th Engineering Brigade (Southern Military District [SMD]) are reportedly operating near Verkhnokamyanske.[60]

Russian forces continued offensive operations near Chasiv Yar on August 23, but there were no confirmed changes the frontline. Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces advanced near Ivanivske (east of Chasiv Yar) and Klishchiivka (southeast of Chasiv Yar) and within Zhovtnevyi Microraion (eastern Chasiv Yar), but ISW has not observed confirmation of these claims.[61] Russian forces continued offensive operations northeast of Chasiv Yar near Kalynivka, east of Chasiv Yar near Ivanivske, and near Chasiv Yar itself on August 22 and 23.[62] Elements of the Russian 98th Airborne (VDV) Division are reportedly operating within Zhovtnevyi Microraion.[63]

Russian forces recently advanced near Toretsk amid continued Russian offensive operations in the area on August 23. Geolocated footage published on August 23 indicates that Russian forces recently advanced within southeastern Toretsk.[64] Russian sources claimed that Russian forces also advanced to the Central Hospital in eastern Toretsk, but ISW has not observed confirmation of this claim.[65] A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces advanced along a front 750 meters wide and 800 meters deep within Toretsk.[66] Russian forces conducted offensive operations near Toretsk, east of Toretsk near Pivnichne and Druzhba, and south of Toretsk near Nelipivka and Niu York on August 22 and 23.[67]

Russian forces recently advanced in the Pokrovsk direction amid continued Russian offensive operations in the area on August 23. Geolocated footage published on August 22 indicates that Russian forces advanced west of Orlivka (southeast of Pokrovsk).[68] Additional geolocated footage published on August 23 indicates that Russian forces advanced within eastern Novohrodivka (southeast of Pokrovsk).[69] Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces advanced up to 400 meters within eastern Novohrodivka, up to 500 meters within southern Novohrodivka, and within southeastern Novohrodivka.[70] Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces operating southeast of Pokrovsk seized Krutyi Yar and advanced further west of Orlivka, within southeastern Krasnyi Yar, south of Mykolaivka, west of Skuchne, towards Mykhailivka, and southwest and southeast of Ptyche.[71] A Russian source claimed that there are unconfirmed reports that Russian forces seized Kalynove (southeast of Pokrovsk).[72] ISW has not observed confirmation of these Russian claims, however. Russian forces continued offensive operations east of Pokrovsk near Vozdvyzhenka, Zelene Pole, and Hrodivka and southeast of Pokrovsk near Kalynove, Novohrodivka, Ptyche, Mykolaivka, Mykhailivka, Novohrodivka, and Karlivka on August 22 and 23.[73] The  Economist  reported on August 22 that Ukrainian security sources stated that the Russian military command has redeployed troops from unspecified sectors of the frontline in eastern Ukraine to Kursk Oblast but not from Pokrovsk and that Russian forces have recently committed unspecified reinforcements to the Pokrovsk direction.[74]

Russian forces recently advanced west of Donetsk City amid continued Russian offensive operations in the area on August 23. Geolocated footage published on August 23 indicates that Russian forces advanced southwest of Krasnohorivka during a reinforced platoon-sized mechanized assault.[75] The Ukrainian brigade that repelled the Russian attack stated that Ukrainian forces destroyed one tank and five infantry fighting vehicles.[76] Russian forces conducted offensive operations near Heorhiivka and Krasnohorivka on August 22 and 23.[77]

Russian forces continued offensive operations southwest of Donetsk City on August 23, but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline. Russian forces continued offensive operations near Kostyantynivka, Vodyane, Volodymyrivka, and Vuhledar on August 22 and 23.[78] Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces advanced near Kostyantynivka and north of Paraskoviivka, but ISW has not observed confirmation of these claims.[79]

Positional engagements continued in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area northeast of Velyka Novosilka near Rozdolne and south of Velyka Novosilka near Urozhaine on August 23.[80]

Russian Supporting Effort – Southern Axis  (Russian objective: Maintain frontline positions and secure rear areas against Ukrainian strikes)

A Russian milblogger claimed on August 23 that positional fighting continued in western Zaporizhia Oblast, but Ukrainian sources did not report any Russian assaults in the area.[81]

The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed on August 23 that unspecified Russian Airborne (VDV) Forces disrupted a Ukrainian landing attempt on an unspecified island in the Dnipro River Delta in Kherson Oblast.[82]

Russian and Ukrainian sources stated that Ukraine disconnected the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) from an external power line on August 23.[83] Ukraine's nuclear operator Energoatom noted that Russian shelling damaged the external power line, however, which prompted Ukraine to disconnect the line from the ZNPP.[84]

Ukrainian Navy Spokesperson Captain Third Rank Dmytro Pletenchuk reported on August 23 that Ukrainian forces destroyed the Russian "Konro Trader" ferry in the port of Kavkaz on August 22.[85] Pletenchuk reported that the "Konro Trader" was the last functioning ferry at the port but noted that Russian forces are repairing one ferry and have another anchored in Azov. Pletenchuk noted that Russian forces may have to resort to transporting fuel across the Kerch Strait Brigade or on tankers through the strait following the loss of the ferries. Satellite imagery published on August 23 also shows the destroyed ferry and several small, damaged vessels nearby in the port of Kavkaz.[86] Russian milbloggers expressed concern on August 22 and 23 that the loss of the ferries will affect fuel supplies to occupied Crimea and complicate Russian logistics.[87]

Russian Air, Missile, and Drone Campaign  (Russian Objective: Target Ukrainian military and civilian infrastructure in the rear and on the frontline)

Ukrainian Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk reported on August 23 that Russian forces launched two Iskander-M/North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles from Voronezh Oblast and 16 Shahed-136/131 drones from Krasnodar Krai and Kursk Oblast on the night of August 22 to 23.[88] Oleshchuk reported that Ukrainian forces downed 14 Shahed drones over Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Poltava, and Sumy oblasts and that the other two drones did not reach their targets. Kharkiv Oblast Police Head Volodymyr Tymoshko stated that Russian forces conducted a glide bomb strike against Bohuslavka, Izyum Raion.[89]

Russian Mobilization and Force Generation Efforts  (Russian objective: Expand combat power without conducting general mobilization)

Russian authorities continue efforts to leverage conscripts to free up manpower elsewhere for combat operations in Ukraine. Ukraine’s National Resistance Center published internal Russian documents on August 23 purportedly showing surveys conducted among Russian conscripts asking whether the conscripts agreed to go on a “business trip” ( “komanidrovka” -  the Russian military’s term for tours of duty and deployments) to occupied Crimea.[90] The published documents purportedly indicate that Russian authorities forced conscripts who answered in the negative to write reports about their positions but then forged those reports to indicate that the conscripts had ”voluntarily agreed“ to go to Crimea to replace Russian soldiers who deployed to the frontline in Ukraine.[91]

Russian officials continue to recruit contract military personnel ( kontraktniki ) through the promise of large one-time payments. Russian opposition outlet  SOTA  published footage on August 23 purportedly showing a recruitment advertisement that promises to pay residents a one-time payment of 1.9 million rubles (about $21,000) and a yearly salary of 5.2 million rubles ($57,000) if they sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD). The advertisement purportedly offers to pay 50,000 rubles ($547) to those who bring other individuals to the Russian military registration and recruitment office with them.[92]

Russian Technological Adaptations  (Russian objective: Introduce technological innovations to optimize systems for use in Ukraine)

The head of the modernization project at the Russian Aviastroitel Design Bureau, Dmitry Motin, claimed on August 23 that it will upgrade the two-seater Yakovlev Yak-52 trainer aircraft into the Yak-52V2 capable of combating drones.[93] Motin claimed that the Russian Aviastroitel Design Bureau is working to upgrade the Yakovlev Yak-52 trainer aircraft to be able to combat attack and reconnaissance drones by installing new equipment on the aircraft, including a multifunctional display in the rear cockpit, and modernizing the aircraft's navigation and control facilities, electronic warfare (EW) system, and radar.[94]

Ukrainian Defense Industrial Efforts  (Ukrainian objective: Develop its defense industrial base to become more self-sufficient in cooperation with US, European, and international partners)

ISW is suspending publishing coverage of Ukrainian defense industrial efforts until further notice.

Activities in Russian-occupied areas  (Russian objective: Consolidate administrative control of annexed areas; forcibly integrate Ukrainian citizens into Russian sociocultural, economic, military, and governance systems)

ISW is not publishing coverage of activities in Russian-occupied areas today.

The Kremlin is attempting to distract from Ukraine's incursion into Kursk Oblast by amplifying several information operations intended to deter the West from providing further military assistance to Ukraine. Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov accused the US on August 22 of preparing to lift restrictions against the use of US-provided weapons to strike Russian territory and insinuated that this would escalate the war in Ukraine and "change [the world] tomorrow."[95] Antonov claimed on August 23 that the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk Oblast will not result in the desired "buffer zone" and said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to "severely punish" Ukraine.[96] The Russian Embassy in the US attempted to link the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast to the Battle of Kursk against Nazi Germany in 1943.[97] Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Spokesperson Maria Zakharova directly accused the United States of supporting Ukraine's so-called "terrorist" attack in Kursk Oblast and reiterated the ongoing information operation accusing Ukraine of targeting the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP).[98] Russian state and pro-Kremlin media continued to focus on foreign journalists reporting on Ukraine's incursion from within Kursk Oblast with a Ukrainian military escort.[99]

The Russian MFA marked the anniversary of the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (the Nazi-Soviet anti-aggression pact that Adolf Hiter and Joseph Stalin used to partition Poland in 1939) by accusing the West of forcing the Soviet Union to sign the nonaggression pact with Nazi Germany on August 23, 1939, deflecting blame for the Soviet Union's own imperialist ambitions during the Second World War.[100] The Russian MFA accused the UK and France of enabling Nazi Germany's desire for territorial expansion by pursuing policies of appeasement, somehow compelling the Soviet leadership to make a "difficult and forced decision" to sign the pact to avoid the "imminent war in Europe."[101] The Russian MFA's characterization conveniently ignores, however, the Soviet Union's subsequent invasions of many states whose territories were preemptively partitioned between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The Soviet Union joined Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland on September 17 – just weeks after signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact – and subsequently invaded Finland in November 1939 and annexed Moldova and the Baltics in 1940.[102]

Significant activity in Belarus  (Russian efforts to increase its military presence in Belarus and further integrate Belarus into Russian-favorable frameworks and Wagner Group activity in Belarus)

Nothing significant to report.

Note: ISW does not receive any classified material from any source, uses only publicly available information, and draws extensively on Russian, Ukrainian, and Western reporting and social media as well as commercially available satellite imagery and other geospatial data as the basis for these reports. References to all sources used are provided in the endnotes of each update.

[1] https://t.me/creamy_caprice/6495; https://t.me/rian_ru/258350

[2] https://t.me/RVvoenkor/75422

[3] https://x.com/GirkinGirkin/status/1826972786121703923; https://x.com/Daedalus_17_/status/1826974161438122125 ; https://t.me/rybar/63003 ; https://t.me/DnevnikDesantnika/14430

[4] https://t.me/rybar/63003 ; https://t.me/motopatriot/26586; https://t.me/DnevnikDesantnika/14429

[5] https://t.me/motopatriot/26557 ; https://t.me/motopatriot/26558 ; https://t.me/DnevnikDesantnika/14402

[6] https://t.me/motopatriot/26585

[7] https://t.me/mod_russia/42506 ; https://t.me/rybar/62990 ; https://t.me/rybar/62979 ; https://t.me/dva_majors/50469 ; https://t.me/motopatriot/26550 ; https://t.me/DnevnikDesantnika/14402 ; https://t.me/wargonzo/21702

[8] https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3882144/deputy-pentagon-press-secretary-sabrina-singh-holds-a-press-briefing/

[9] https://www.ukrinform dot ua/rubric-ato/3897923-udari-po-vijskovih-aerodromah-i-zavodah-rf-ce-ne-zagroza-eskalacii-vijni-a-slah-do-ii-zaversenna.html

[10] https://www.ukrinform dot ua/rubric-ato/3897923-udari-po-vijskovih-aerodromah-i-zavodah-rf-ce-ne-zagroza-eskalacii-vijni-a-slah-do-ii-zaversenna.html

[11] https://www.ukrinform dot ua/rubric-ato/3897923-udari-po-vijskovih-aerodromah-i-zavodah-rf-ce-ne-zagroza-eskalacii-vijni-a-slah-do-ii-zaversenna.html

[12] https://www.ukrinform dot ua/rubric-ato/3897923-udari-po-vijskovih-aerodromah-i-zavodah-rf-ce-ne-zagroza-eskalacii-vijni-a-slah-do-ii-zaversenna.html

[13] https://isw.pub/UkrWar021324 ; https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-april-19-2024

[14] https://www.ukrinform dot ua/rubric-ato/3897923-udari-po-vijskovih-aerodromah-i-zavodah-rf-ce-ne-zagroza-eskalacii-vijni-a-slah-do-ii-zaversenna.html

[15] https://www.ukrinform dot ua/rubric-ato/3897923-udari-po-vijskovih-aerodromah-i-zavodah-rf-ce-ne-zagroza-eskalacii-vijni-a-slah-do-ii-zaversenna.html

[16] https://www.ukrinform dot ua/rubric-ato/3897923-udari-po-vijskovih-aerodromah-i-zavodah-rf-ce-ne-zagroza-eskalacii-vijni-a-slah-do-ii-zaversenna.html

[17] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-june-19-2024 ; https://isw.pub/UkrWar062224

[18] https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/08/23/statement-from-president-joe-biden-ahead-of-ukraine-independence-day/ ; https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3883533/biden-administration-announces-additional-security-assistance-for-ukraine/

[19] https://t.me/astrapress/62519 ; https://t.me/bazabazon/30528; https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-august-18-2024

[20] https://x.com/MT_Anderson/status/1826643666934661462; https://x.com/MT_Anderson/status/1826657803408404865; https://mil dot in.ua/uk/news/na-aerodromi-marynovka-znyshhyly-ta-poshkodyly-bombarduvalnyky-su-34/; https://x.com/kromark/status/1826874796476416300

[21] https://t.me/fighter_bomber/17832

[22] https://meduza dot io/news/2024/08/23/pri-zahvate-zalozhnikov-v-kolonii-v-volgogradskoy-oblasti-pogibli-chetyre-sotrudnika-fsin ; https://t.me/fsinrussia/5253

[23] Warning: Graphic Content https://t.me/opersvodki/22393?single ; https://t.me/dva_majors/50496 ; https://x.com/AggregateOsint/status/1826976964172787777

[24] https://meduza dot io/news/2024/08/23/mash-nachalsya-shturm-ik-19-v-volgogradskoy-oblasti-gde-zaklyuchennye-vzyali-zalozhnikov

[25] https://t.me/fsinrussia/5253

[26] https://t.me/RosgvardOfficial/6831

[27] https://t.me/tass_agency/268043

[28] https://t.me/rybar/62998 ; https://t.me/dva_majors/50508; https://t.me/dva_majors/50509; https://t.me/RVvoenkor/75470; https://t.me/voenkorKotenok/58463; https://t.me/wargonzo/21716

[29] https://t.me/istories_media/7360

[30] http://kremlin dot ru/events/president/news/74926

[31] https://www.gazeta dot ru/social/news/2024/08/23/23758315.shtml

[32] https://tass dot ru/proisshestviya/21673517

[33] https://t.me/rustroyka1945/17817 ; https://t.me/notes_veterans/19070 https://t.me/RVvoenkor/75471

[34] https://t.me/MedvedevVesti/18374 ; https://t.me/dva_majors/50497; https://t.me/zhivoff/16483 ; https://t.me/dva_majors/50504 https://t.me/sashakots/48562

[35] https://t.me/vysokygovorit/17039; https://t.me/boris_rozhin/134688

[36] https://t.me/volgoproc_pravo/4808

[37] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-june-16-2024

[38] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-june-16-2024

[39] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/23/world/europe/ukraine-modi-india.html

[40] https://www.mea dot gov.in/outoging-visit-detail.htm?38220/Transcript+of+Special+Briefing+by+External+Affairs+Minister+on+Prime+Ministers+visit+to+Ukraine+August+23+2024; https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/modi-offers-to-bring-peace-to-ukraine-as-a-friend/ar-AA1pjUYw?ocid=BingNewsSerp;  https://www.president  dot gov.ua/news/spilna-zayava-ukrayini-ta-indiyi-za-pidsumkami-vizitu-premye-92781 ; https://suspilne dot media/820117-ukraina-ta-india-pogodili-nizku-dokumentiv-pro-spivpracu-u-akih-galuzah/  

[41] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/07/09/russia-india-putin-modi-moscow/; https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-july-9-2024

[42] https://www.mea dot gov.in/outoging-visit-detail.htm?38220/Transcript+of+Special+Briefing+by+External+Affairs+Minister+on+Prime+Ministers+visit+to+Ukraine+August+23+2024; https://timesofindia dot indiatimes.com/world/europe/pm-modi-comforts-zelenskyy-but-asks-him-to-have-peace-talks-with-russia/articleshow/112748003.cms

[43] https://www.president.gov.ua/news/spilna-zayava-ukrayini-ta-indiyi-za-pidsumkami-vizitu-premye-92781

[44] https://www.yahoo.com/news/ukraine-india-hold-joint-working-171531950.html; https://www.president dot gov.ua/news/spilna-zayava-ukrayini-ta-indiyi-za-pidsumkami-vizitu-premye-92781 ; https://suspilne dot media/820117-ukraina-ta-india-pogodili-nizku-dokumentiv-pro-spivpracu-u-akih-galuzah/

[45] https://t.me/motopatriot/26532

[46] https://t.me/motopatriot/26536 ; https://t.me/milinfolive/128996 ; https://t.me/DnevnikDesantnika/14436

[47] https://t.me/motopatriot/26532

[48] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02aMCK9zLYgX5RMrTCD6JTMdpJhMzAPDv6zk2MFE8oYecEMTYFvT11rtEBLcgt2NUrl ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02mTkgU8nPvQCeGQrm78vNGiaRrhpYAUzUEjBxda2q7cHoiLLdgsJ499A7qQBbyyP6l ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02dkKX7odkPZkgrX5Pg7Txu1ZLo15vmLtW6rZakBMg2nmtgEvXrwnUHpqSPe7Ht7GMl ; . https://armyinform dot com.ua/2024/08/23/vorog-namagayetsya-probytysya-do-richky-vovcha-shho-vidbuvayetsya-na-najaktyvnishij-dilyanczi-harkivskogo-napryamku/

[49] https://t.me/otukharkiv/880

[50] https://armyinform dot com.ua/2024/08/23/okupanty-perekydayut-dodatkovi-rezervy-na-harkivskyj-napryamok/

[51] https://armyinform dot com.ua/2024/08/23/okupanty-perekydayut-dodatkovi-rezervy-na-harkivskyj-napryamok/

[52] https://armyinform dot com.ua/2024/08/23/okupanty-perekydayut-dodatkovi-rezervy-na-harkivskyj-napryamok/

[53] https://isw.pub/UkrWar080924 ; https://isw.pub/UkrWar080924 ; https://isw.pub/UkrWar081024 ; https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-august-22-2024

[54] https://t.me/tass_agency/267906

[55] https://t.me/tass_agency/267911

[56] https://t.me/creamy_caprice/6501 ; https://t.me/ZSU_115OMBr/416

[57] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02aMCK9zLYgX5RMrTCD6JTMdpJhMzAPDv6zk2MFE8oYecEMTYFvT11rtEBLcgt2NUrl ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02mTkgU8nPvQCeGQrm78vNGiaRrhpYAUzUEjBxda2q7cHoiLLdgsJ499A7qQBbyyP6l ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02dkKX7odkPZkgrX5Pg7Txu1ZLo15vmLtW6rZakBMg2nmtgEvXrwnUHpqSPe7Ht7GMl

[58] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02aMCK9zLYgX5RMrTCD6JTMdpJhMzAPDv6zk2MFE8oYecEMTYFvT11rtEBLcgt2NUrl ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02mTkgU8nPvQCeGQrm78vNGiaRrhpYAUzUEjBxda2q7cHoiLLdgsJ499A7qQBbyyP6l ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02dkKX7odkPZkgrX5Pg7Txu1ZLo15vmLtW6rZakBMg2nmtgEvXrwnUHpqSPe7Ht7GMl

[59] https://t.me/motopatriot/26583

[60] https://t.me/frontline_pvt/1991 ; https://t.me/voin_dv/10412

[61] https://t.me/wargonzo/21703; https://t.me/motopatriot/26573; https://t.me/DnevnikDesantnika/14427

[62] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02aMCK9zLYgX5RMrTCD6JTMdpJhMzAPDv6zk2MFE8oYecEMTYFvT11rtEBLcgt2NUrl; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02mTkgU8nPvQCeGQrm78vNGiaRrhpYAUzUEjBxda2q7cHoiLLdgsJ499A7qQBbyyP6l ;https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02dkKX7odkPZkgrX5Pg7Txu1ZLo15vmLtW6rZakBMg2nmtgEvXrwnUHpqSPe7Ht7GMl ; https://t.me/wargonzo/21703

[63] https://t.me/motopatriot/26573

[64] https://t.me/creamy_caprice/6499; https://t.me/voron1OO/55

[65] https://t.me/RVvoenkor/75441 ; https://t.me/z_arhiv/27743; https://t.me/motopatriot/26559

[66] https://t.me/RVvoenkor/75441

[67] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02aMCK9zLYgX5RMrTCD6JTMdpJhMzAPDv6zk2MFE8oYecEMTYFvT11rtEBLcgt2NUrl; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02mTkgU8nPvQCeGQrm78vNGiaRrhpYAUzUEjBxda2q7cHoiLLdgsJ499A7qQBbyyP6l ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02dkKX7odkPZkgrX5Pg7Txu1ZLo15vmLtW6rZakBMg2nmtgEvXrwnUHpqSPe7HtGMl ; https://t.me/RVvoenkor/75441 ;

[68] https://t.me/ngu_war_for_peace/20110; https://x.com/blinzka/status/1826910590415073431; https://x.com/666_mancer/status/1826897007132172777

[69] https://t.me/creamy_caprice/6497; https://t.me/btr80/19749; https://x.com/franfran2424/status/1826913938958598335

[70] https://t.me/RVvoenkor/75441; https://t.me/voenkorKotenok/58455; https://t.me/motopatriot/26568

[71] https://t.me/motopatriot/26599 ; https://t.me/rybar/62983 ; https://t.me/motopatriot/26569; https://t.me/z_arhiv/27745; https://t.me/DnevnikDesantnika/14399; https://t.me/motopatriot/26598 ; https://t.me/motopatriot/26599

[72] https://t.me/rybar/62983

[73] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02aMCK9zLYgX5RMrTCD6JTMdpJhMzAPDv6zk2MFE8oYecEMTYFvT11rtEBLcgt2NUrl ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02mTkgU8nPvQCeGQrm78vNGiaRrhpYAUzUEjBxda2q7cHoiLLdgsJ499A7qQBbyyP6l ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02dkKX7odkPZkgrX5Pg7Txu1ZLo15vmLtW6rZakBMg2nmtgEvXrwnUHpqSPe7Ht7GMl; https://t.me/dva_majors/50469; https://t.me/wargonzo/21703

[74] https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/08/22/the-kremlin-is-close-to-crushing-pokrovsk-a-vital-ukrainian-town

[75] https://t.me/oaembr46/975; https://t.me/creamy_caprice/6504

[76] https://t.me/oaembr46/975

[77] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02aMCK9zLYgX5RMrTCD6JTMdpJhMzAPDv6zk2MFE8oYecEMTYFvT11rtEBLcgt2NUrl; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02mTkgU8nPvQCeGQrm78vNGiaRrhpYAUzUEjBxda2q7cHoiLLdgsJ499A7qQBbyyP6l ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02dkKX7odkPZkgrX5Pg7Txu1ZLo15vmLtW6rZakBMg2nmtgEvXrwnUHpqSPe7Ht7GMl

[78] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02aMCK9zLYgX5RMrTCD6JTMdpJhMzAPDv6zk2MFE8oYecEMTYFvT11rtEBLcgt2NUrl; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02mTkgU8nPvQCeGQrm78vNGiaRrhpYAUzUEjBxda2q7cHoiLLdgsJ499A7qQBbyyP6l ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02dkKX7odkPZkgrX5Pg7Txu1ZLo15vmLtW6rZakBMg2nmtgEvXrwnUHpqSPe7Ht7GMl; https://t.me/wargonzo/21703 ; https://t.me/dva_majors/50469

[79] https://t.me/belarusian_silovik/39646 ; https://t.me/dva_majors/50459; https://t.me/RVvoenkor/75441; https://t.me/z_arhiv/27753; https://t.me/wargonzo/21703

[80] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02mTkgU8nPvQCeGQrm78vNGiaRrhpYAUzUEjBxda2q7cHoiLLdgsJ499A7qQBbyyP6l

[81] https://t.me/wargonzo/21703 ; https://t.me/SJTF_Odes/11071

[82] https://t.me/mod_russia/42507

[83] https://t.me/tass_agency/267920; https://t.me/tass_agency/26792 ; https://t.me/tass_agency/267943; https://t.me/tass_agency/267944; https://t.me/energoatom_ua/18938

[84] https://t.me/energoatom_ua/18938

[85] https://armyinform dot com.ua/2024/08/23/vms-zsu-pidtverdyly-znyshhennya-poroma-u-rosijskomu-portu/ ; https://suspilne dot media/crimea/819747-u-vms-zsu-pidtverdili-udar-po-portu-kavkaz-22-serpna/ ; https://armyinform dot com.ua/2024/08/23/znyshhenyj-sylamy-oborony-porom-zachynyv-rosijskyj-port-u-chornomu-mori/

[86] https://t.me/cxemu/4136

[87] https://t.me/rybar/62978 ; https://t.me/dva_majors/50469

[88] https://t.me/ComAFUA/398 ; https://suspilne dot media/819711-ukrainska-ppo-vnoci-zbila-14-iz-16-sahediv-povitrani-sili/

[89] https://t.me/DSNS_Kharkiv/8812

[90] https://t.me/sprotyv_official/5061; https://sprotyv.mod dot gov.ua/tsns-otrymav-dokazy-tysku-rosijskogo-komanduvannya-na-strokovykiv-dlya-vidpravky-yih-v-zonu-svo/

[91] https://t.me/sprotyv_official/5061; https://sprotyv.mod dot gov.ua/tsns-otrymav-dokazy-tysku-rosijskogo-komanduvannya-na-strokovykiv-dlya-vidpravky-yih-v-zonu-svo/

[92] https://t.me/sotaproject/85819

[93] https://sputnikglobe dot com/20240821/modernized-russian-yak-52-aircraft-to-be-upgraded-to-fight-drones-1119853566.html; https://t.me/basurin_e/13632

[94] https://sputnikglobe dot com/20240821/modernized-russian-yak-52-aircraft-to-be-upgraded-to-fight-drones-1119853566.html; https://t.me/basurin_e/13632

[95] https://tass dot ru/politika/21668087

[96] https://t.me/tass_agency/267953; https://t.me/tass_agency/267924

[97] https://tass dot ru/politika/21668499

[98] https://t.me/tass_agency/268016; https://t.me/tass_agency/267941; https://t.me/tass_agency/267942

[99] https://iz dot ru/1747420/2024-08-23/v-kurskuiu-oblast-nezakonno-pronik-eshche-odin-zapadnyi-zhurnalist; https://www.vedomosti dot ru/politics/news/2024/08/23/1057561-korrespondent-deutsche-welle-posetil; https://ria dot ru/20240823/zapad-1967976175.html; https://tass dot ru/obschestvo/21670191

[100] https://t.me/MID_Russia/44372

[101] https://t.me/MID_Russia/44372

[102] https://enrs.eu/news/soviet-invasion-of-poland; https://europe.unc.edu/the-end-of-wwii-and-the-division-of-europe/#:~:text=The%20Soviet%20Union%20subsequently%20annexed,been%20annexed%20prior%20to%201939.; https://www.britannica.com/event/Russo-Finnish-War