Victory Chronicles-DAY 1015

According to Colonel Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesperson for the Southern Defence Forces, Russian troops are continuously launching assaults in the Kherson direction in an attempt to establish a foothold in the island area. These assaults aim to capture a bridgehead and draw Ukrainian forces and resources towards it. 

However, Voloshyn states that these attacks have been ineffective, with the enemy only suffering losses. Intelligence reports suggest that the Russians are currently training assault groups in the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, utilizing boats from the Dnipro Flotilla to practice crossing water obstacles and ferrying airborne groups. 

Voloshyn also revealed that Ukraine’s Armed Forces know the enemy’s amassment of 300 boats and are prepared to counter any developments.

Denmark has pledged to provide €6 million to help restore Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which Russian occupiers have damaged. Danish Minister for European Affairs, Maria Bjørre Holst, announced the aid package during a meeting with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna. The funds will be allocated to the Energy Support Fund for Ukraine. In addition to discussing the restoration of energy infrastructure, the meeting also touched upon other important matters, including the European Union’s enlargement process, Ukraine’s potential accession to the EU, and the necessary transformations that need to be undertaken for this to happen. This aid package reflects Denmark’s commitment to supporting Ukraine in rebuilding its energy sector and strengthening its ties with the European Union.

In the Donetsk region of Ukraine, Russian occupants launched an attack on the towns of Druzhkivka and Novoiverske in the Kramatorsk district. This attack resulted in fires breaking out in administrative and commercial buildings, causing damage to local businesses. The firefighters, faced with the threat of further shelling, worked for 10 hours to contain and extinguish the fires, which had spread over an area of more than 3,000 square meters. No casualties were reported as a result of the attack.

The unmanned systems battalion of the 47th Separate Mechanised Brigade is causing significant damage to the Russian occupiers daily in the Kursk region. They support the infantry, effectively targeting the enemy whenever they attempt to move. As a result, the area of responsibility has remained the same. The entire brigade is focused on destroying the enemy and maintaining control of the frontline.

Russia is evacuating naval assets from its base in Tartus, Syria, which may suggest that Russia does not intend to send significant reinforcements to support Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s regime in the near term. OSINT analyst MT Anderson reported on December 2 that satellite imagery from November 30 and December 1 showed that the Russian Admiral Gorshkov and Admiral Golovko Gorskhov-class frigates, the Admiral Grigorovich Grigorovich-class frigate, the Novorossiysk Kilo-class submarine, the Yelnya Altay-class oiler, and the Vyazma Kaliningradneft-class oiler were at the Russian base in Tartus. 

Anderson then reported that satellite imagery from December 3 showed that Russia removed the three frigates, the submarine, and two unnamed auxiliary vessels (likely the Yelnya and Vyazma) from the base — amounting to all of the vessels that Russia had stationed at Tartus. Russia cannot redeploy these vessels to its Black Sea ports because Turkey is enforcing the Montreux Convention, which prevents Russian warships from passing through the Turkish Straits. 

Russia will likely therefore redeploy the vessels to its bases in northwestern Russia and Kaliningrad Oblast. Ukraine’s Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported on December 3 that the Russian military command has likely deployed a force grouping of an unspecified size from its Africa Corps — the organization that the Russian Ministry of Defense’s (MoD) created to supplant the Wagner Group’s operations in Africa following Wagner financier Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death in August 2023 — to Syria.

ISW cannot independently confirm reports of Africa Corps elements deploying to Syria, but these reports, if true, would indicate that the Russian military command is avoiding redeploying regular Russian military forces from its priority theater in Ukraine to Syria. The Russian evacuation of Tartus and the reported deployment of Africa Corps forces to Syria suggest that Russia is worried that Syrian opposition forces may advance southward to Hama (roughly 80 kilometers northeast of Tartus) and threaten the Tartus base but that the Russian military command will not deploy significant reinforcements to Syria in the near term to prevent such advances. The Critical Threats Project’s (CTP) Africa File will cover Syria’s impact on Russian activity in Africa and the Mediterranean in its upcoming update.

29-year-old Lieutenant Oleh “Kavalar” Ustianovskyi died as a result of a direct enemy hit on 23 July 2024 in the village of Vodiane, Donetsk region.

Oleh was born in Stryi, Lviv region, and lived in Pukenychi village. He received his secondary specialized education at the Drohobych Oil and Gas Technical School. Then, he continued his studies at the Ivano-Frankivsk University of Oil and Gas, specialising in the operation of oil and gas wells. However, he did not work in his specialty. Over the years, he worked for Leon and Morshynska. He was fond of football.

He defended the country as a member of the 36th Separate Rifle Battalion. He served as the machine gun platoon commander of the 2nd rifle company of the military unit A405. 

Oleh Ustianovskyi was awarded the ‘For Defence of Ukraine’ decoration for his service.

‘He was the best brother, son, grandson and boyfriend. He has always been an example for us and will remain so in the future. His support, kindness, and inexhaustible sense of humor made our lives brighter and easier. My brother always found the right words to encourage me and understood without words, giving me a supportive shoulder. He gave me advice on how to act in a given situation. I am proud of my brother more than words can express. Unfortunately, war takes the best…’, said Andriana’s sister. 

The defender was buried in the village of Pukenychi, Lviv region. Oleh is survived by his parents, brother, sister, grandmother and girlfriend.

*Oleh’s story on the Heroes Memorial – a platform for stories about the fallen defenders of Ukraine.

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