Victory Chronicles
-DAY 119

COMBAT HIGHLIGHTS

Above: Enemy forces are inching closer to Lysychansk from the south. Lysychansk is being reduced to rubble by relentless enemy bombardment. Street fighting is taking place in Severodonetsk where the enemy once more controls most of the city. Map via ISW

• War analysts predict that the invader plans to take Severodonetsk then redeploy the bulk of troops to southern Ukraine to entrench occupied territory on the Azov and Black Seas.  Therefore, Ukraine may accelerate counter offensives in the southern theater to push the enemy out before reinforcements arrive. 
• Ukrainian forces are attacking enemy forces in the Black Sea and on Snake Island with apparent success according to videos and posts released by the Ukrainian Armed Services and other outlets.  Fresh satellite images show damage purported to be on an anti-aircraft missile system, a radar station and vehicles. 
• The fate of Ukraine hangs on the timely delivery and deployment of heavy weapons.  Ukraine is absorbing within weeks weapons and systems that normally take months of training before deployment. The challenge is exacerbated by the variety of complex weapons that different countries send which require different training, maintenance and spare parts.  

ALLIES

Above: Germany’s first heavy weapons delivery were self-propelled howitzers.  Photo via Oleksii Reznikov

• Policy advisor to Germany’s chancellor Jens Plotner admonished the media to pay more attention to Germany’s future with Russia than on supplying Ukraine with heavy weapons. Chair of the Budestag’s defense committee Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmerman retorted that these comments, “…reveal the way of thinking of the last few decades that brought us into this terrible situation…It’s not the time to think affectionately about Russia but to help Ukraine.”
• Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov reported that Ukraine had received Panzerhaubitze 2000 armored howitzers, the first receipt of German-supplied heavy weapons in the conflict.  Mr Reznikov pointed out that this is the sixth type of 155-mm howitzer in Ukraine’s arsenal. 
• In response to Kremlin threats, the US came out with full backing of Lithuania’s decision to close transit rail traffic of shipments of sanctioned Russian goods to Kaliningrad and reaffirmed its commitment to NATO member obligations to defend any alliance country under attack.  

BLACK SEA BLOCKADE

Above: Example of dual gauge rail line on left. Ukraine has for many years had the intention to construct dual gauge rail lines to Poland. When the Soviets occupied western Ukraine after WW2, they replaced European-standard rail lines with a different Soviet gauge to prevent easy rail communications with the West.  Photo via Rail Tech

• Romania and Poland are working to upgrade and  adapt their railroad facilities to enable more efficient export from Ukraine of millions of tons of grain.  German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock gave remarks from Brussels stating that Germany and other countries are supporting the modernization of rail facilities and acquisition of cargo wagons.   

RUSSIAN ALLIES

Above: Russia is now China’s top oil supplier.  Chinese imports of crude oil are up fifty-five percent year on year. While China turned down the chance to become a Russian arms supplier, they aren’t against financing its war on democracy and truth, paying USD 7.47 billion in the month of May. Due to sanctions, the price of Russian oil has fallen on world markets and Chinese refiners have been quick to bargain hunt. Photo via BBC

RUSSIAN WAR ON TRUTH

Above: The Russian flagship of the Black Sea Fleet was sunk by Ukrainian missile strikes in mid-April.  Photo via Euromaidan Press

• The parents of forty-nine Russian sailor-survivors of the sinking of the Moskva warship published an appeal on the Novaya Gazeta opposition news outlet asking Russian military authorities and human rights organizations to halt the deployment of the survivors to combat.  The Ukrainian military has reported that the enemy is threatening these families with criminal prosecution for speaking out.  

RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES

Above: US Attorney General Merrick Garland met with Ukrainian Attorney General Iryna Venediktova near the Polish border on Tuesday. Photo via VOA News

• US Attorney General Merrick Garland paid an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Tuesday. Mr Garland disclosed the formation of a US Justice Department team to investigate and prosecute Russian war crimes in Ukraine.  The team is headed by the US’s top “Nazi hunter” Eli Rosenbaum. Mr Garland stated, “Working alongside our domestic and international partners, the Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to hold accountable every person complicit in the commission of war crimes, torture, and other grave violations during the unprovoked conflict in Ukraine.”