Victory Chronicles-DAY 1017

According to the head of the Dnipropetrovs’k Regional Military Administration, Serhiy Lysak, Russian occupation troops attacked the city of Kryvyi Rih. 

Preliminary data suggests that two people, including a six-year-old child, were killed in the attack. Additionally, eight people were reported to be injured, with half of them in moderate condition and hospitalized. There is one person who is currently out of contact. The attack caused damage to an administrative building in the city. Rescuers are currently on the scene and assessing the extent of the damage. 

This attack comes after earlier warnings from the Air Force about a threat of ballistic missiles originating from the temporarily occupied Crimea.

According to Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 17 Russian drones were spotted near the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) during the week. Some of these drones flew close to the plant, with a distance of about three kilometers. Meanwhile, at the Khmelnytsky NPP, the IAEA team had to take refuge on the plant’s premises briefly, but this did not impact the facility. It is important to note that Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhya NPP, has not generated electricity for over two years. All six of its power units are in a cold shutdown and require an external power supply to cool the reactors and perform critical nuclear safety functions. The situation remains precarious as the operating power lines are susceptible to frequent outages.

In the Dnipropetrovs’k region, specifically in the city of Nikopol, Russian troops have shelled the town multiple times. Their recent attack caused a residential building to catch fire. As the fire and rescue team worked to extinguish the flames, the enemy unexpectedly attacked them. One of their fire and rescue vehicles was damaged. However, the rescuers could take cover, and fortunately, no injuries were reported. 

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has handed over the first batch of the latest Peklo drone missiles to the Ukrainian defense Forces. These drone missiles have a range of up to 700 km. The president expressed his satisfaction with the combat use of these Ukrainian weapons and emphasized the need to increase production and usage. Additionally, President Zelenskyy thanked everyone involved in defense production. The Peklo drone missile was introduced in December 2024 and is a Ukrainian-made weapon with a range of over 700 kilometers. 

The Kremlin is continuing to suffer significant manpower losses to make tactical advances in western Donetsk Oblast at the expense of Russia’s ongoing war effort and the medium-term viability of the Russian economy. 

The United Kingdom Ministry of Defense (UK MoD), citing data from the Ukrainian General Staff, reported on December 5 that the average daily Russian personnel casualties reached a new all-time high of 1,523 casualties per day in November 2024. 

The UK MoD noted that Russian forces suffered just over 2,000 casualties in a single day for the first time on November 28, 2024. Russian forces suffered an estimated 45,690 total casualties throughout November 2024, and the UK MoD noted that November 2024 was the fifth consecutive month that Russian casualties increased. ISW has observed geolocated evidence to assess that Russian forces advanced at a rate of roughly 27.96 square kilometers per day and seized a total of 839 square kilometers in Ukraine and Kursk Oblast in November 2024. ISW previously reported that Russian forces suffered increased casualties in September and October 2024 as well and that Russian casualties totaled an estimated 80,110 troops in exchange for roughly 1,517 square kilometers of gains in Ukraine and Kursk Oblast in those two months. 

Russian forces have thus suffered an estimated 125,800 casualties during a period of intensified offensive operations in September, October, and November 2024 in exchange for 2,356 square kilometers of gains. (Or approximately 53 Russian casualties per square kilometer of Ukrainian territory seized.)

40-year-old Serhiy “Rudyi” Pyvovarchuk, nicknamed Rudyi, was killed during a combat mission near the village of Nevske, Luhansk region. The fighter sustained a mine-blast injury incompatible with life. The defender fought his last battle on 11 August 2024. The day before, he had sustained a severe concussion as a result of an enemy UAV dropping, but he did not leave his position.

Serhiy is originally from Kyiv. He worked for the pharmaceutical company Optima Pharm.

In July 2024, Serhii performed combat missions as part of the 120th Battalion of the 112th Separate Territorial Defence Brigade near the village of Nevske in the Luhansk region. Despite constant enemy shelling from various types of weapons, the soldier and his comrades steadfastly held the defense at the position of the U2 unit. With his confident actions, he systematically ensured the fulfillment of tasks related to the enemy’s fire destruction. During military service duties and combat missions, he was a courageous, confident serviceman. He was awarded certificates of merit while studying at the training center.

‘Serhiy was limitedly fit for service; he could not have served. But he volunteered, and no one could stop him. In the last conversation with my mother, my brother said: ‘Mum, I have finally found myself – Iam a fighter.’ He was very fond of his godchildren; he was a caring and sensitive son,’ said sister Tetiana.

The defender was buried at the Bortnyk Cemetery in his native Kyiv. Serhiy is survived by his mother, sister, brother, nephew and two godchildren.

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

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