Victory Chronicles-DAY 658

As a result of the Russian missile attack on Kyiv, 53 people were injured, including 6 children. 18 people were hospitalized. Two children were hospitalized, while the remaining victims received medical assistance on the spot. The age range of those injured ranges from 5 to 80 years old. All 10 missiles aimed at the capital were successfully shot down. 

Reports indicate that around 10 instances of missile fragments falling as a result of air defense operations were recorded. The information comes from the Kyiv City Military Administration, the State Emergency Service, and the National Police of Ukraine in Kyiv. 

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko provided an update on the number of injured, expressing concern for those affected by the attack. He inspected a high-rise building in the capital’s Dniprovskyi district that was hit by Russian missiles on the night of December 13, and reported damage to a hospital and morgue in the same area.

During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, US President Joe Biden announced that he had signed a decree to provide $200 million in military aid to Ukraine. The details of what this aid package would include were not specified. Biden also emphasized the importance of the US Congress approving additional funding for Ukraine, as failing to do so would be a “Christmas present” for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Furthermore, Biden assured Zelenskyy that the United States would support Ukraine even if Republican opposition were to block the aid package. 

During an attack on the Odesa Oblast in Ukraine, Russian forces used Shahid kamikaze drones to target civilian infrastructure. Although all nine drones were shot down, the falling debris caused damage and injured two people. One drone fell on a municipal car service center in Odesa, resulting in a fire that was quickly extinguished. Two civilian workers were injured and hospitalized, but their condition is reported as satisfactory. The warehouse at the car service center was destroyed, and 11 civilian vehicles were damaged, with three of them completely burnt. Another drone wreckage damaged a building in the port infrastructure of Odesa district, but fortunately, no injuries were reported. 

The Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine published a drone video showing the Ukrainian assault aircraft of the 108th Brigade entering the positions of the Russian occupiers.

US intelligence reportedly assessed that Russian offensive operations in eastern Ukraine in fall 2023 and through the upcoming winter aim to weaken Western support for Ukraine instead of achieving any immediate operational objectives. 

The US intelligence community reportedly shared a declassified intelligence assessment with Congress on December 12 wherein US intelligence assessed that Russian offensive operations in eastern Ukraine aim to weaken Western support for Ukraine but have only resulted in heavy Russian losses and no operationally significant Russian battlefield gains.

This assessment of high Russian losses and lack of operationally significant Russian gains is consistent with ISW’s assessment. US National Security Council Spokesperson Andrienne Watson reportedly stated that Russian forces have suffered more than 13,000 casualties and lost 220 combat vehicles along the Avdiivka-Novopavlivka axis (Avdiivka direction through western Donetsk Oblast) since launching offensive operations in October 2023.

Watson added that Russia appears to believe that a military “deadlock” through the winter will drain Western support for Ukraine and give Russian forces the advantage despite high Russian losses and persistent Russian shortages of trained personnel, munitions, and equipment.

ISW has assessed that Russian forces have been trying to regain the theater-level initiative in Ukraine since at least mid-November 2023 and have now likely committed to offensive operations in multiple sectors of the front during a period of the most challenging weather of the fall-winter season in an effort to seize and retain the initiative.

Staff Sergeant Roman Borovyk, with the call sign Bor, was killed during a combat mission near the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast. The defender was 43 years old in February. Roman was born in Vinnytsia. He studied at the city lyceum №1. Then he was drafted for military service in Lviv. Later he stayed there. He graduated from the Ukrainian Printing Academy. For 11 years he worked as a programmer at SoftServe. He loved outdoor activities, hiking, mountain climbing, biking, river rafting and scuba diving.

On February 24, 2022, Roman volunteered to defend his country. He served in the 80th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade. He was a senior combat medic in a sniper company. He fought in the hottest spots on the front lines. In 2022, the paratrooper was awarded the Order “For Courage” of the III degree, and posthumously – the Order “For Courage” of the II degree.

“Roman was a wonderful father, a sensitive and responsible man. He was a professional in his work, which he carried out with special responsibility. He was a patriot. He was a volunteer since 2014. From the first day of the full-scale invasion, he first volunteered and later joined the 80th Air Assault Brigade. “They were the first to enter Izyum when it was liberated,” said Yulia, the deceased’s wife.

“My first day at SoftServe began with a meeting where I watched with open mouth as Roman confidently told the project manager about the situation. At the time, I thought: “What am I doing among such professionals?” and “I want to be like him one day. With his always sincere warm smile and interesting stories, Roman encouraged my life in Lviv. I learned a lot from him, and I was especially impressed by his ability to quickly understand new technologies. After I returned to Rivne, we talked a lot on the phone and he helped me with advice as a senior specialist. And when we met during my visits to Lviv, we could talk for hours about work, life and family,” wrote his colleague Yaroslav Buniak.

The fighter was buried in the Mars Field of the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv. Roman is survived by his mother, wife, three children, relatives, friends, and fighters-in-arms.

*Roman’s story on the Heroes Memorial – a platform for stories about the fallen defenders of Ukraine.

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