Victory Chronicles
-DAY 477

Ukraine defends against Russian air attacks and destroys Russian troops at the front

Ukraine’s Air Forces destroyed 20 out of 20 Shahed drones, 1 out of 4 cruise missiles, and an Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone during a Russian air attack on the night of 14-15 June.

Four Tu-95MS strategic aviation aircraft launched four Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea. One of the missiles was destroyed, and the rest hit industrial facilities in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Russian forces launched the Iranian-made Shahed drones from the northern and southern fronts. All 20 attack drones were destroyed by the assets and personnel of the Air Force in the areas of responsibility of the Air Commands Pivden (South) and Skhid (East).

Russia continues to suffer losses in its war against Ukraine. The defenders of Ukraine killed 580 invaders and destroyed a Russian helicopter, 14 armored combat vehicles, 12 tanks, and 10 artillery systems.

Latest news

• The Russian invaders launched a missile attack on Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on the night of 14-15 June. Two industrial businesses were destroyed, and a 38-year-old man was wounded in the attack.
• Russians killed 2 civilians in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts in one day.
• We have not yet seen a real counteroffensive by Ukraine; everything is yet to come – Czech President.
• Sweden sends 250 minesweepers to Ukraine after the Kakhovka dam detonation. 
• Russian FSB plans to fabricate “Russian citizenship” for the leaders of Ukrainian defense forces.
• Russia held a for-show trial against 22 “Azov” members who defended Mariupol and “Azovstal,” including eight women. They face between 15 years of imprisonment to life sentences.

Symbolic number of the Day - 200

About 200 Ukrainians are expected to finish U.S.-led training on Abrams tanks by the end of summer, defense officials said Wednesday.

War in Pictures

The photo shows a Ukrainian “Bradley” after a direct hit from a “Grad.” Other images are of the “Bradley” crew, who successfully evacuated after the hit and continues to carry out tasks on other equipment. The damaged “Bradley” is already being repaired.

The 47th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shared the details: on a combat mission, the “Bradley” received a direct rocket hit to the turret and caught fire. The crew safely evacuated, and the driver took the armored vehicle to safe positions and extinguished the fire. As a result, one of the fighters had a slight concussion. 

Video of the Day

Ukrainian artillery hit a Russian self-propelled installation of the “Tor-M2” anti-aircraft missile system in the Kherson Oblast. The video of the strike was published on social media. The self-propelled launch installation 9K332M of the “Tor-M2” anti-aircraft missile system was spotted by Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance on the left bank of the Kherson Oblast.

An artillery strike was carried out on the detected installation, which took it out of operation. The aerial detonation of a munition over the structure, and the characteristic fragmentation damage over a large area suggests that the GMLRS M30A1 guided missiles of the HIMARS rocket system were used against this target.

ISW report

Ukrainian forces continue their counteroffensive on three fronts. Ukrainian troops continue counteroffensive operations on at least three fronts, and on 14 June, they achieved certain successes, according to the daily report of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). 

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar stated on June 14 that Ukrainian troops have advanced between 200 to 500 meters in unspecified sectors of the Bakhmut front and 300 to 350 meters in unspecified parts of the Zaporizhia direction. Russian milbloggers reported that Ukrainian forces are continuing counterattacks on the northwestern, northeastern, and southwestern outskirts of Bakhmut. Ukrainian and Russian sources additionally reported that fighting continued in western Donetsk Oblast, particularly around Makarivka (directly south of Velyka Novosilka), and in western Zaporizhia Oblast south of Orikhiv.

War report

Prigozhyn challenges Putin and Russian authorities. According to UK Defense Intelligence, the owner of the Russian “Wagner group” Yevgeny Prigozhyn, who has previously sharply criticized the Russian Ministry of Defence, has now challenged the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin. UK Defence Intelligence recalled that on 10 June, the Russian Ministry of Defence stated that all “volunteer formations”, such as the Wagner Group, should sign contracts directly with the Russian Ministry of Defence. Speaking on television on 13 June, Putin directly supported this move. The UK MoD noted that Prigozhyn has sharply criticized the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defence but relied on Putin’s authority. 

However, despite Putin’s comments, Prigozhin said on 14 June that “none of Wagner’s fighters is ready to go down the path of shame again. That’s why they will not sign the contracts.” “Prigozhyn’s rhetoric is evolving into defiance of broader sections of the Russian establishment. 01 July 2023, the deadline for the volunteers to sign contracts, is likely to be a key way-point in the feud,” the report said.

Stories from the War

“So much fury, so many tears, so much pain.” Kryvyi Rih honors those killed during the missile strike. June 14 was declared a Day of Mourning in Kryvyi Rih for missile strike victims. People brought flowers to the destroyed five-story building, and priests held a memorial service.

Yulia lived with her husband and nine-year-old son for 12 years in an apartment that an RF missile destroyed. Their apartment was at the first entrance, on the second floor. The woman says: her family miraculously survived, as half of the apartment completely burnt out. “The explosive wave completely covered us with glass from the balcony. The bed was opposite the window. I tried to cover the child with a blanket so the fragments would not injure his face. I immediately took the child behind at least two walls. There was already smoke and fire in the corridor. We wrapped the child in curtains and brought him down,” she said.

The four deceased people, Oksana, Davyd, Lydia, and Alexander, were Yulia’s neighbors. They all lived in her entrance. “The young couple – amazing people, open. They helped. She is a teacher; both are educators. These are just golden people. She is an only daughter. In the eighth apartment, my neighbor is just an incredible person. Helped make a fence,” the woman says.

Irina, a resident of Kryvyi Rih, also came to commemorate the victims. She says she couldn’t not come. “This is horror, it’s just something terrible. So much anger, so many tears, so much pain… If it were possible to bring all the flowers of the world here and if it would change something, I would personally do it,” she said.

At the scene of the tragedy, utility workers are still present. They are cleaning up garbage and debris and sawing off damaged and burned trees. Volunteers provide psychological assistance to anyone in need. “We were here at the scene of the tragedy at six in the morning. We saw people crying; they needed psychological support. People were distraught and shocked. We coordinated with the city headquarters to provide help, we brought construction sets immediately,” said Tetyana Starovoitova, coordinator of the “Prolisky” humanitarian center.

Due to the RF missile attack on Kryvyi Rih on June 13, 12 people were killed, 36 were injured, and more than seventymulti-storyy buildings were damaged.