Ukrainian forces recently advanced in northern Kharkiv Oblast and thwarted a Russian flag-raising mission near Vovchansk, while Russian forces reportedly made limited advances near Kupyansk, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Wednesday, Aug. 19.Geolocated footage published on Tuesday, indicates that Ukrainian forces recently advanced north of Bilyi Kolodyaz, north of Kharkiv City, according to the ISW assessment.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.On Wednesday, Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces advanced east of and in northwestern Kozacha Lopan and east of Vysoka Yaruha. However, ISW could not independently confirm the reported gains.Flag-raising attempts and bombsUkrainian forces also stopped a Russian attempt to raise a flag in the Vovchansk direction, according to Ukraine’s State Border Service.ISW said such missions are part of the Kremlin’s cognitive warfare effort to create a false impression of Russian territorial gains.Ukrainian forces are also facing continued Russian glide-bomb attacks against military assets in areas near the frontline.Geolocated footage published on Wednesday shows Russian forces striking a Ukrainian artillery system in northern Slatyne with four FAB-500 glide bombs.According to the assessment, Russian forces are increasingly relying on glide bombs to strike Ukrainian military assets in the rear and support infantry advances along the frontline as bombs are less vulnerable to Ukrainian drone strikes than artillery systems.