Victory Chronicles-DAY 695

A large-scale fire has broken out at an oil depot in Klintsy in Russia. According to the governor of the Bryansk Oblast, the fire reportedly started after a Ukrainian drone was downed. 

Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, has stated that the fire was a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He believes that this incident is a consequence of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. 

Yusov also mentioned that events like these often occur at military facilities of the aggressor state. The fire at the oil depot disrupts the logistics of the occupiers and provides more space for maneuvering for Ukraine’s defenders. 

Yesterday, there were 127 combat engagements between Russian and Ukrainian troops along the frontlines. The majority of these engagements occurred in the Avdiivka sector. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russians carried out 2 missile strikes, 81 air strikes, and fired 45 times from multiple launch rocket systems against Ukrainian positions and populated areas. During the past day, Ukraine’s Air Force struck five areas where Russian military manpower, weapons and equipment were concentrated.

According to Defense Express, Russia has launched a 4-ton, 10-meter-long R-35 anti-ship missile from the 1960s at Ukraine. The missile, adopted in 1962, was most likely fired either from the Redut coastal defense system or the Object-100 anti-ship missile division. The missile’s wreckage has been found, and photos have been posted online. This is the first known instance of the R-35 missile being used. The missile is of considerable size, as seen in the blurry images published by Defense Express. Although it is an older missile, the R-35 is still in service in Russia, with an estimated eight launchers as of 2021. The missile was likely targeting targets in the southern regions of Ukraine, and there are reports that it was shot down. 

A video of the destruction of a Russian T-90 “Breakthrough” by the crew of the Bradley of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade has appeared on the Internet.

The battlespace in Ukraine continues to be the center of the technological offense-defense race between Russian and Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Deputy Chief Major General Vadym Skibitskyi stated on January 18 that Russian forces “learn quickly enough” and have completely adapted the Kh-101 air-launched cruise missile compared to the model that Russia used in 2022.

Skibitsky stated that new Kh-101s are equipped with an active electronic warfare (EW) system and “thermal traps” to prevent the missiles from emitting trackable heat signatures. Skibitsky noted that Ukrainian forces need to innovate and adapt in response to Russian adaptations to “prevent the loss of territories.”

The GUR assessment of Russian technological innovation in the air domain is consistent with ISW’s previous observations that Russian forces are adapting their methods and means for conducting strikes on Ukraine, and that Ukraine in turn must adapt and innovate with Western support to respond to such strikes. Moscow Duma Deputy Andrei Medvedev identified similar adaptation-response dynamics in a January 18 post where he discussed the use of drones by both Russian and Ukrainian forces.

Medvedev stated that Russia has opted for the mass production of drones, leading to the production of large numbers of drones that lack the technological adaptations needed to compete with Ukrainian drones based on battlefield experience. Medvedev noted that Ukrainian forces are constantly improving their drones and warned that constant Ukrainian innovation may eventually make Russian mass-produced drones ineffective. Medvedev’s discussion of the importance of constant technological adaptation and innovation on the battlefield emphasizes ISW’s assessment that Russian and Ukrainian forces are engaged in a technological and tactical offense-defense race.

Ukraine’s Navy fighter Liubomyr Sokhan died on June 23, 2023, near the village of Staromayorske, Donetsk Oblast. While performing a combat mission, he received fatal shrapnel wounds and explosive injuries. The defender is forever 35.

Liubomyr was born and lived in the village of Zhyrova, Lviv Oblast. He received a secondary education. He worked as a construction worker. He was married and had two sons, whom he loved and was very proud of. He tried to devote his free time to his family. He always tried to provide for and protect his family.

For the sake of a free country and the peaceful future of his children, the man stood up to defend Ukraine during the full-scale Russian invasion. Liubomyr became a fighter in the Ukrainian Navy. He served in the grenade launcher unit of the 18th separate battalion of the 35th separate marine brigade.

“Liubomyr and his fighters-in-arms defended the integrity of our state and drove the enemy out of the settlements of Donetsk Oblast. He died protecting all of us with his body, covering his comrades. Liubomyr fulfilled his duty as a citizen of Ukraine, a patriot, to protect his country with honor and dignity. He remained faithful to his comrades, his people and his homeland until his last breath,” the family of the deceased wrote.

The marine was buried in his native village. At home, Liubomyr is survived by his mother Iryna, wife Maria, sons Rostyslav and Mykhailo.

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

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