Victory Chronicles-DAY 589

The Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to defend in the east and the south of Ukraine, conduct the offensive on Melitopol’ axis, and offensive operations on Bakhmut axis. As they destroy the enemy, they liberate the temporarily occupied territories and consolidate new positions.

During October 4, there were 57x combat engagements. The enemy launched a total of 5x missile, 60x air strikes, 47x MLRS attacks at the positions of Ukrainian troops and civilian targets across Ukraine. Unfortunately, the russian terrorist attacks have killed and wounded civilians. Private residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure were destroyed or damaged.

In addition, last night, the occupants attacked Ukraine using 29x Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs. The Ukrainian air defense intercepted 24x enemy Shaheds.

UN records 6 cases of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has documented six extrajudicial executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and confirmed the authenticity of the videos showing the murder of a defender after the phrase “Glory to Ukraine” and the video of the beheading of a Ukrainian serviceman. This is stated in the UNHCR report on the human rights situation in Ukraine. 

The document covers the period from 1 February to 31 July 2023. In total, the UN documented six executions of Ukrainian POWs, which occurred before 1 February. No executions were recorded after this timeframe. 

Among those mentioned in the report are cases already known from videos posted online on 6 March and 11 April 2023. In the first video, the Russian soldiers shot a Ukrainian prisoner of war after he uttered “Glory to Ukraine.”

The second video shows a Russian soldier beheading a Ukrainian service member. The UN says it “has reasonable grounds” to believe both videos are authentic.

In addition, the report cites cases when, in September 2022, a Russian serviceman shot a Ukrainian prisoner of war with his leg that was wounded after stepping on a mine when the Russian soldiers forced him to perform dangerous work near the frontline positions.

The occupiers fired at the civilian population from the “Hurricane.” Sappers of the 53rd SMBr arrived at the scene and quickly removed the consequences of the shelling. “The Russian junk was neutralized, sawed up, and taken away so as not to endanger local residents,” reported Sappers of the 53rd SMBr.

Ukrainian special operation forces land in Crimea, battle with losses occurs. Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence has stated that units of the Special Operations Forces landed on the territory of the occupied Crimean peninsula and attacked the Russians, and after completing the mission, they retreated.

“The Stugna and Bratstvo special operations units, as part of the Ukrainian Defence Intelligence’s special unit headed by Tymur, landed on the territory of the Crimean peninsula and inflicted fire on the Moscow occupiers! Crimea will be Ukrainian! Glory to Ukraine!” said Ukrainian intelligence officer in the video released.

The Russian military recently transferred several Black Sea Fleet (BSF) vessels from the port in occupied Sevastopol, Crimea to the port in Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai, likely in an effort to protect them from continued Ukrainian strikes on Russian assets in occupied Crimea. Satellite imagery published on October 1 and 3 shows that Russian forces transferred at least 10 vessels from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk.

The satellite imagery reportedly shows that Russian forces recently moved the Admiral Makarov and Admiral Essen frigates, three diesel submarines, five landing ships, and several small missile ships. Satellite imagery taken on October 2 shows four Russian landing ships and one Kilo-class submarine remaining in Sevastopol.

Satellite imagery from October 2 shows a Project 22160 patrol ship reportedly for the first time in the port of Feodosia in eastern Crimea, suggesting that Russian forces may be moving BSF elements away from Sevastopol to bases further in the Russian rear. A Russian think tank, the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, claimed on October 3 that the BSF vessels’ movements from occupied Sevastopol to Novorossiysk were routine, however.

ussian forces may be temporarily moving some vessels to Novorossiysk following multiple strikes on BSF assets in and near Sevastopol but will likely continue to use Sevastopol’s port, which remains the BSF’s base. Former Norwegian Navy officer and independent OSINT analyst Thord Are Iversen observed on October 4 that Russian vessel deployments have usually intensified following Ukrainian strikes but ultimately returned to normal patterns. ISW will explore the implications of Ukrainian strikes on the BSF in a forthcoming special edition.

Andrii Chepil, with the call name “Chris,” was killed defending Ukraine. Andrii joined Plast in 2001 with his older brother Vitalii and younger brother Orest. He participated in many Plast events, training, trips, and actions. He was actively involved in Plast until about 2008, but after that, he always joined Plast events when invited.

Andrii was a musician – saxophonist and vocalist. He served in the presidential regiment’s military band of the honor guard. He was also a member of the cover bands Frisson Band and Smerichka. He plays trembita in the folk rock band KORALLI. In the autumn of 2021, Andrii married musician Bohdana Kinash. 

After the full-scale Russian invasion in March 2022, he was mobilized into the Ukrainian military. At first, he took part in hostilities in the Kharkiv Oblast, near Izyum, and Kupiansk, as a machine gunner in one of the Armed Forces units. Later, he was transferred to the 47th Separate Mechanised Brigade “Magura” on his own initiative. He participated in specialized military exercises in Germany, where he learned to work on the Bradley combat vehicle. He was the platoon sergeant major, the combat vehicle commander, and acted as a platoon commander.

He died on June 28, 2023, near the village of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, along with three other fighters-in-arms, during a combat mission to storm an enemy position.

• UK intelligence accuses Russia of intending to mine grain corridor
• At least 27 people killed by Russians who returned from war in Ukraine
• Air defense destroys 24 out of 29 Shahed drones over three Ukrainian Oblasts at night
• Bloomberg: Germany to provide Ukraine with extra air defense to protect grain cargo
• NGO Save Ukraine rescues 19 more children from Russian occupation