Victory Chronicles-DAY 587

Ukraine’s recent attacks on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet have led to the “functional defeat” of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, U.K. Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said at the Warsaw Security Conference on Oct. 3, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

Heappey said that the Russian Navy has now “it has been forced to disperse to ports from which it cannot have an effect on Ukraine,”” the Guardian’s Diplomatic Editor Patrick Wintour wrote on X, formally known as Twitter.

This naval victory is “every bit as important” as Ukraine’s surprise counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast in the autumn of 2022, Heappey said, according to Wintour. Based in occupied Crimea, the Russian Black Sea Fleet has suffered a series of major attacks over the past weeks, including strikes on a command post on Sept. 20 and its headquarters on Sept. 22.

The Russian occupying forces attacked Ukraine with 31 Shahed kamikaze UAVs and an Iskander-K cruise missile on the night of 2-3 October. Ukrainian air defense forces managed to shoot down 30 aerial targets. The Russians reportedly launched the Shaheds from Cape Chauda and the Iskander-K missile from the area of the city of Dzhankoi, both located in Russian-occupied Crimea. The Ukrainian Air Force shot down a cruise missile and 29 Russian drones.

On the occasion of the Day of Defenders of Ukraine, the NBU (National Bank of Ukraine) hosted a presentation of new commemorative coins, “Zakhysnytsi” [female defenders],  which honor the heroism of Ukraine’s defenders. The coins are dedicated to Ukrainian women who stood up to defend their homeland.

The Adam Tactical Group posted a video showing cluster munitions exploding in the area of Klishchiivka.

Ukrainian forces marginally advanced in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area amid continued counteroffensive operations in western Zaporizhia Oblast and near Bakhmut on October 2. 

Geolocated footage published on October 2 indicates that Ukrainian forces marginally advanced northwest of Novomayorske (18km southeast of Veylka Novosilka). The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces continued offensive operations in the Melitopol (western Zaporizhia Oblast) and Bakhmut directions.

ISW is updating its October 1 assessment that Ukrainian forces lost positions in a trench system southwest of Robotyne (13km south of Orikhiv) to Russian counterattacks between September 13 and 30. Geolocated footage published on October 2 and satellite imagery indicate that Ukrainian forces likely retook these positions sometime between September 12 and 17 and currently hold them.

Junior Sergeant Oleksii Naida, with the call sign Tykhyi [Quiet], died on 19 July 2023 in a fight during an assault on enemy positions near the village of Lyman Pershyi in the Kharkiv Oblast. On 1 August, the fighter would have turned 27 years old.

Oleksii was born in Kyiv. He studied and lived there and built his career. All his life, he was fond of sports and was constantly engaged in it, reaching a professional level. He was a boxer and a coach at the Kozak club, a master of sports of Ukraine in boxing. He was also a Ukrainian free-fight champion. Since 2021, he has been working as a Blockchain developer at the IT company 1000GEEKS.

From the first days of the full-scale invasion, the man volunteered to defend the Ukrainian capital from the invaders. As a member of an artillery unit, he led a group that provided security and protection during combat duties on the outskirts of Irpin. Later, he defended Ukraine in the ranks of the 67th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was a fighter of the company “Honor” of the 1st separate mechanized battalion “Da Vinci Wolves.” He fought in Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kharkiv Oblasts. He was awarded the Cross of the Brave for his participation in the liberation of Kharkiv Oblast.

“Tykhyi was a true warrior, friend, father, and an example for many. He did not miss a single operation in which he could take part as part of his unit. Few people will be able to do even half of what Tykhyi did in his 27 years,” said his friend Volodymyr Kovalenko. The warrior is survived by his parents, brother, wife, daughter, relatives, friends, and fighters-in-arms.

• Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces destroy 7 units of Russian equipment and their field ammunition storage point
• Ukrainian General Staff: Russia loses 360 more soldiers and 15 tanks in war against Ukraine
• Germany sends new military aid for Ukraine containing equipment for Leopard tanks
• NYT: Russia may plan nuclear-powered cruise missile testing
• Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence: Russia lacks sufficient air defense systems, so it is redeploying them from the Far East