Victory Chronicles-DAY 1134

Nearly 50 Russian guided bombs were dropped on Ukraine’s northeastern region of Sumy over the past day and struck energy sites in multiple regions, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on April 2.

“Just from yesterday to this morning, the Russians used nearly 50 guided bombs against Sumy Oblast alone,” Ukraine’s second wartime president said.

He added that drones hit Kharkiv, Odesa, and Sumy regions. An first-person view drone struck a power substation in Sumy, and artillery fire in Nikopol damaged a power line, cutting power for nearly 4,000 people.

Zelenskyy said the attacks show Moscow’s disregard for diplomacy. “Putin doesn’t even want a partial ceasefire. Action is needed now,” he said. “Ukraine is ready to work with partners to achieve a just and lasting peace.”

Russia drops over 10,000 guided bombs on Ukraine in three months. Russian forces have dropped 10,577 guided aerial bombs on Ukrainian territory since the beginning of the year, according to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.

An April 1 statement said that Russian tactical aircraft ramped up their use of guided bombs in March, releasing approximately 4,800 – a sharp rise from 3,370 recorded in February. Throughout 2024, Russia launched about 40,000 guided aerial bombs on Ukraine, the ministry added.

Russian drone attack on Kharkiv injures 8 civilians, including children. Russian forces launched an overnight drone attack on the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second most populous city, injuring at least eight civilians, including a 9-month-old baby and a 7-year-old boy, local officials said on April 2.

The attack began shortly after midnight on April 2, with more than a dozen explosions reported across the city. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Russian forces struck the city 15 times using Shahed-type drones, all targeting the Kholodnohirskyi District.

Kharkiv Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said the drones hit a single-family home and triggered fires at two industrial facilities. One blaze covered an area of approximately 10,700 square feet, while another spanned about 5,400 square feet. More than 10 single-family houses were damaged in the attack, the regional governor added.

Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade hits Russian armor and positions in Kharkiv sector. Ukrainian drone operators from the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade carried out a series of strikes on Russian forces in the Kharkiv sector, destroying military equipment and personnel positions, the brigade reported.

The unit’s unmanned systems battalion used first-person view (FPV) drones to destroy a Russian tank, a pickup truck, several mortars, a field gun, and a communications antenna. Footage released by the brigade shows shelters and buildings used by Russian troops catching fire, with enemy personnel reportedly inside.

The brigade referred to the strikes as a “hellish FPV greeting” from Ukrainian forces.

Key Takeaways:

• Russian forces are reportedly continuing to shell Ukrainian energy infrastructure amid ongoing negotiations over details of the ceasefire agreement on energy infrastructure strikes, indicating that Russia may be exploiting the ceasefire’s vague or unfinalized terms to strike Ukrainian energy infrastructure with shorter-range artillery but not longer-range cruise missiles or one-way strike drones.
• Senior Russian officials continue to reiterate the Russian demand for the elimination of the “root causes” of the war in Ukraine as a precondition for a peace agreement – a reference to Russia’s initial war demands that directly contradict U.S. President Donald Trump’s goal to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine.
• Russian forces are expanding their bridgehead northeast of Lyman as part of a mutually reinforcing effort to create conditions for the seizure of Borova and Lyman in the coming months.
• Russian forces may also leverage their bridgehead northeast of Lyman to seize the remaining one percent of Luhansk Oblast under Ukrainian control and complete Russia’s long-standing goal of seizing the entirety of Luhansk Oblast.
• Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin signed a decree on April 1 to raise salaries for Russian governors starting January 2026, aligning the pay with that of Russia’s deputy prime ministers.
• Russian forces recently advanced in the Kursk and Belgorod regions and in the Lyman, Pokrovsk, and Kurakhove directions.

Serhii Himadieiev, 33, killed in Russian airstrike near Chasiv Yar. Senior soldier Serhii Himadieiev was killed on July 24 during a combat mission near the city of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast. He was 33 years old.

Born and raised in Bilozerske, Donetsk Oblast, Himadieiev completed his secondary education and worked in a coal mine. In 2014, he signed a contract with the 54th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and served in the Anti-Terrorist Operation zone. After three years, he transferred to a position at a military enlistment office.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion, Himadieiev returned to the front and served in the 23rd Separate Mechanized Brigade as a driver in a reconnaissance platoon.

For his service, he received the Order for Courage, 3rd Class, by presidential decree. “He was a kind and generous person. He had many friends who respected him. He always helped others and never refused a request,” said his wife, Kateryna. “He loved life, but fate decided otherwise. He dreamed of peace and of returning home.”

He was buried in Bilozerske. He is survived by his parents, widowed wife, and 3-year-old son.

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

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