Victory Chronicles-DAY 1030

Approximately 100 North Korean soldier have been killed and around 1,000 were wounded in the Kursk region during fighting, according to South Korean lawmaker Lee Sung-kyung, citing intelligence data.

 The high casualties were attributed to the lack of combat experience in “drone warfare” and the North Koreans’ unfamiliarity with the open terrain where they were deployed.

 Lee said that the discrepancy in the number of casualties, compared to the U.S. military’s estimate of sveral hundred, is due to the conservative analysis of the National Intelligence Service (NIS). Reports suggest that the number of wounded soldiers is closer to 1,000.

The UK announces new military aid package worth $286 million. The aid includes the equivalent of $116 million for strengthening Ukraine’s naval forces with equipment like small boats, reconnaissance drones, surface unmanned ships, munitions drones, and mine drones. 

Additionally, $85.5 million will be allocated for air defense equipment, including radars, ground decoys, and electronic warfare systems against unmanned aerial vehicles. London will also provide $32.7 million for support and spare parts for previous systems supplied to Ukraine. Another $49 million will be used to supply electronic warfare systems against drones, as well as jointly purchase respirators and equipment to enhance Ukraine’s defense capabilities. Britain has also mentioned offering more military exercises to Ukraine.

Engineers in Ukraine’s State Emergency Services (SES) defused an enemy drone with a warhead attached to it. The dangerous find was discovered in one of Kyiv’s city districts. The sappers of the state Mobile Rescue Center seized the dangerous find and neutralised it at a special site. 

General Staff confirms Novoshakhtyn Oil Refinery in the Rostov-on-Don region was destroyed by the Ukrainian Navy and the SBU. This refinery is the only one operating in the region and is crucial for meeting the needs of the Russian Armed Forces. According to a source in the Security Service (SBU), the Novoshakhtyn Oil Products Plant was targeted with Ukrainian-made missiles and drones. Its destruction carries significant implications for the fuel supply of the Russian military.

Ukraine’s European allies continue to provide monetary and defense industrial support to sustain Ukraine’s war effort. German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall on Dec. 17 announced that the company will supply Ukraine with 9 million euros ($9.34 million) worth of 155-millimeter propellant charge modules of various types in January 2025.

Rheinmetall will deliver tens of thousands of propellant charges as part of the contract and is also planning to produce unspecified artillery ammunition and produce and deliver an unspecified number of Lynx infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine in the future. Global propellant charge shortages may be limiting Ukraine’s ability to produce ammunition domestically, and the delivery of additional modules will likely support Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to expand its domestic ammunition production capabilities.

The European Commission reported on Dec. 18 that it disbursed nearly 4.1 billion euros ($4.25 billion) worth of grants and loans to Ukraine as part of the second payment of the European Union’s (EU) Ukraine Facility program. Reuters reported on December 17 that an unspecified source stated that NATO recently began overseeing coordination of Western military assistance to Ukraine.

Sr. Lt. Mykola Haba, call sign Kvadrat (cube), was killed on Feb. 8 2024 during a combat mission near the village of Klishchiyivka, Donetsk region. The enemy fired artillery at the company unit. The officer died from his shrapnel wounds.

Haba was born in the village of Ponykovytsia, Lviv region. In 2002, he graduated from the local school with top honors. During his studies, he was fascinated by the exact sciences and aspired to become a computer programmer. From 2002 to 2008, he studied at the Dnipro National University of Railway Transport, where he received a full university degree in Electrical Power Systems and qualified as an electrical engineer for railway transport. During his studies, he invented and patented a number of improvements in the railway transport system. In 2006, he completed military training at the university and was promoted to junior lieutenant.

Haba was well-respected in the community, an initiator of positive changes. That is why he was repeatedly elected as a deputy to the Ponikovytske village council. Since 2019, he has been a member of the Brody City Council (Lviv region). His doors were always open to constituents and defended their interests. Haba was an innovator in everything: at work and at home. He constantly generated ideas and had plans for the future.

In 2014-2015, he took part in the ATO (anti-terrorist operation). Having combat experience, from the first hours of the full-scale war, he came to the military enlistment office himself to defend his homeland again. He served and performed combat missions as part of the 80th air assault brigade. He was appointed commander of a rocket artillery platoon in a rocket artillery battalion of a brigade. He displayed professionalism as his war-time performance showed.

For his service, Gaba was awarded the following medals: Independence of Ukraine, III degree; Defender of the Fatherland; Participant in Combat Operations; For Participation in the Anti-Terrorist Operation; the Order For Courage, III degree; and the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, III degree (posthumously).

‘Mykola, my darling, my beloved, that’s how I called him. A loving, kind, sensitive, merciful, sensible, decent, hardworking, creative, and talented man… Mykola truly believed in victory, he did his best to bring it closer,’ said the wife of the fallen soldier.

‘A good son, a diligent student, an inquisitive student, a wonderful husband, a loving father, a caring owner, a responsible worker, a true Christian, a true patriot of his native land, a fearless warrior, a Hero… He always and everywhere smiled with a smile of love for the world, for the sun, he was like the sun, which bestows its rays on all living things…’ – this is how Mariana Korol, the former head teacher of the school, described Mykola. The Hero was buried in his native village.

Mykola is survived by his parents Olha and Ivan, his wife Mariana, and daughters Mariia and Marta.

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

• EU’s top diplomat: Stop pushing Zelenskyy into peace talks
• Putin acknowledges sanctions have impact on Russia’s economy
• Zelenskyy rejects Putin’s call to downsize Ukraine’s Armed Forces: Strong, large army is best
• Sweden ‘does not exclude’ more direct physical presence in Ukraine to bolster defense
• US reimposes sanctions on entities involved in Nord Stream 2 construction
• Zelenskyy asks EU to help protect Ukraine’s gas storage and nuclear energy facilities