Victory Chronicles-DAY 537

Fires broke out at two facilities in Odesa on the night of 13-14 August, one of which was a supermarket, caused by the fall of debris from downed missiles, and three people were injured. “Several fires broke out in Odesa as a result of the enemy attack as pieces of missiles fell. The blast wave smashed windows in buildings,” said Oleh Kiper, Head of Odesa Oblast Military Administration. Kiper said that three people were injured in the attack by the occupiers, and are being treated. A missile hit destroyed the FOZZY Cash&Carry hypermarket in Odesa, destroying everything in the store, with no casualties. The damage amount is estimated at hundreds of millions of hryvnias.

France has helped the Ukrainian government train 6,000 warriors, which was part of the plan for 2023. “By August, we had achieved the goal we had set ourselves for the year, with the training of 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers, split up between France and Poland,” said Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces of France.

During the night attack in Odesa, 7 educational institutions were damaged – 6 in Prymorsky district and 1 in Khadzhibey district. Windows and doors were damaged in kindergartens, schools and development centers. The damage is being repaired.

The Third Assault Brigade is knocking out the occupiers with tanks. The attack aircraft cleared the Russians’ front dugouts; for further advancement, the tankers of the Third Assault Brigade worked on occupiers’ positions. The enemy fired back at the tank guns with small arms, but they were successfully eliminated, and the advance continued. The video shows the work of the brigade’s tank battalion during the offensive on the outskirts of Bakhmut.

Ukrainian forces conducted counteroffensive operations on at least two sectors of the front on August 13 and reportedly advanced in the western Donetsk-eastern Zaporizhia Oblast area and in western Zaporizhia Oblast. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces conducted offensive operations in the Berdyansk (western Donetsk-eastern Zaporizhia Oblast area) and Melitopol (western Zaporizhia Oblast) directions and achieved partial success near Robotyne (western Zaporizhia Oblast, 13km south of Orikhiv).

Several Russian sources claimed on August 12 that Russian forces withdrew from Urozhaine (in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast area), although many Russian sources refuted those claims on August 13 and claimed instead that Russian forces still occupy the southern part of Urozhaine, that fighting is ongoing, and that areas of Urozhaine are contested.

ISW has not observed confirmation that Russian forces have completely withdrawn from Urozhaine and Russian forces likely currently maintain positions in at least the southern part of the settlement.

Andrii Babinskyi, the creator, inspirer, and permanent director of the “Vyshyvanka Megamarch,” a public figure, a biochemist by profession, a senior warrior, and combat medic of the 80th separate airborne assault brigade, was killed in action against the Russian invaders. 

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Andrii has been defending Ukraine as part of the 97th Battalion of the 107th Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces, where he received his combat medic training. He fought in the Kharkiv Oblast and near Bakhmut. In the summer of 2023, he was transferred to the 80th Airmobile Brigade and participated in the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Zaporizhzhia sector. He dreamed of liberating Crimea. 

On August 8, 2023, in the battle for Ukraine, defending its freedom and independence at the cost of his own life, senior fighter Andrii Babinskyi heroically died near the village of Chervona Krynytsia, Orikhiv district, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, from Russian artillery shelling with cluster munitions. 

Andrii was an outstanding, talented person. He was a reliable friend, always witty, sincere, clever, easy-going, and purposeful. After all, from a march for a few people in 2008, the “Vyshyvanka Megamarch” became a large-scale and significant international event. Andrii was very fond of and knowledgeable about audiovisual art, especially music. He sang very well, played musical instruments, and took pictures on film. He was also an excellent cook and a great storyteller.

• UK intelligence: Russia looking for opportunities to hold positions on left bank of Dnipro near Kherson
• Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine: Ukraine’s forces have success in Urozhaine and liberate 3 sq. km on Bakhmut front
• General Staff: Ukrainian defenders kill 530 Russian occupiers and destroy 27 artillery systems in one day
• The Guardian: Ukraine ‘most heavily mined country in the world,’ Defense Minister says
• Air Force: Ukraine downs 15 Shahed drones, 8 Kalibr missiles overnight