Victory Chronicles-DAY 1021

Russian troops launched an attack on the city of Zaporizhzhia, resulting in three deaths and 14 people injured, including two doctors. 

The head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, announced the increase in the number of wounded from the initial report of 11 to 14. The attack included a missile strike on a private clinic, which caused three deaths and five injuries. 

The situation remains critical as there are fears that people may still be trapped under the rubble, and the search and rescue operation is ongoing. 

According to a recent poll conducted by the New Europe Center, over 30% of Ukrainians believe that possessing nuclear weapons would be the best guarantee of security for their country. Additionally, nearly 30% believe that Ukraine’s gradually joining NATO would provide the best security guarantees. Other options, such as a defense alliance with the United States or relying on UN peacekeepers, have much less support. The poll revealed that more than 70% of respondents supported Ukraine joining NATO, following the model of West Germany, without guarantees for the temporarily occupied territories.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has officially codified and approved the Droid TW 12.7, a robotic combat system equipped with a Browning 12.7 machine gun on a tracked platform. This system, which has demonstrated its reliability during combat tests, is intended to provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with a technological advantage on the battlefield. The Droid TW 12.7 features a 12.7 mm machine gun and a tracked platform designed to operate in challenging conditions. It can be remotely controlled using a tablet and operates on digital communication. Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Dmytro Klymenkov, highlighted the significance of introducing innovations into the Ukrainian military and emphasized the role of high-tech equipment in addressing modern challenges.

Toretsk, a city located on the right bank of the Kryvyi Torets River, has suffered severe destruction caused by russian KABs and artillery.  In 2014, the city had a population of 710,000 people. However, as of December 2024, only 1,500 locals remain in Toretsk, refusing to leave the once-prosperous city. The arrival of the so-called “liberators” has left almost nothing of the city. The devastating impact of the attacks has led to a severe decline in the population and the destruction of many structures within Toretsk.

Russia continues to face staggering costs required to maintain its war effort against Ukraine, with mounting economic strain, labor shortages, and systemic corruption threatening the sustainability of the Russian defense industrial base (DIB). US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reported on December 7 that Russia has spent over $200 billion on its war in Ukraine and suffered at least 700,000 casualties since February 2022, with recent losses averaging 1,000 soldiers per day. The Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation reported on December 9 that Russia’s liquid assets in its National Welfare Fund dropped from $140 billion in February 2022 to $53.8 billion by December 1, 2024. 

The Center noted that Russia increasingly relies on Chinese yuan reserves and gold sales to cover its budget deficit and is committing a third of its national budget for 2025-2027 to defense spending, indicating an unsustainable prioritization of the war at the expense of economic stability. Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov claimed on December 9 that corruption crimes, including bribery, increased by nearly 30 percent in 2024 over 2023, with Russian authorities having disciplined over 30,000 Russian officials for corruption violations in 2024.

Russia’s mounting economic pressures stemming from the war, paired with widespread corruption, labor shortages, and inefficiencies in Russia’s DIB, will likely compound the cost of Russia’s war and further undermine its ability to effectively sustain DIB operations while maintaining economic stability. ISW has previously observed reports of similar trends and statistics in the Russian economy, indicating that Russia’s economic trajectory is unsustainable in the mid- to long-term and will increasingly strain its capacity to wage war against Ukraine.

On 28 April 2024, 36-year-old fighter Leonid “Elem” Melnyk died in a battle with the occupiers near the village of Stelmakhivka, Luhansk region. He received fatal shrapnel wounds during an enemy mortar attack.

Leonid was from Zhytomyr. He graduated from secondary school No. 7. Then he entered Zhytomyr Vocational School No. 1, where he received a working profession. In civilian life, he worked in private business. He was very fond of sports, since childhood he was engaged in judo and football. He was a sincere and open-minded person, had many friends.

During the full-scale Russian invasion, the man conscripted with the 140th Battalion of the 115th Separate Territorial Defence Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in reconnaissance.

‘My dad was always cheerful and supportive in difficult moments. He was a good man and never lost heart,’ said his son Oleksandr.

Leonid was buried at the military cemetery in Zhytomyr. He is survived by his mother, stepfather and son.

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

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