Victory Chronicles-DAY 827

Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky stated that Russia is building up forces near the Kharkiv Oblast, but they are insufficient to penetrate Ukrainian defenses.

The Russian offensive in that sector had been halted, and Ukrainian forces were launching counterattacks. Russian troops have been gathering near certain locations, but their numbers are not enough for a new offensive. The transfer of Ukrainian reserve units to critical areas of the front has complicated the actions of the Russian military. 

Additionally, the accumulation of ammunition stocks and the deterioration of Russian troops have diminished their offensive capabilities. As a result, the enemy has resorted to artillery fire and air strikes against Ukrainian positions. Given these circumstances, it is crucial for the Ukrainian military to destroy enemy aircraft, as well as utilize effective camouflage, electronic defense, and decoys. The Ukrainian military leadership is currently prioritizing these measures.

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According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there have been 102 combat engagements at the front since the beginning of yesterday, with ongoing fighting in four areas. The Russian occupiers have launched four missile strikes and 43 air strikes, using 364 kamikaze drones and firing at Ukrainian military positions and populated areas 2683 times. The most tense situation is in the Kupyansk and Pokrovsk sectors. Ukrainian troops are successfully depleting the enemy’s offensive potential along the entire front line and in the rear, with airstrikes and artillery strikes targeting areas where the occupiers are concentrated. Ukrainian troops have inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy and have destroyed an artillery system, 12 UAVs, and 10 vehicles.

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Toretsk was attacked by Russians using guided aerial bombs, resulting in at least two deaths and three injuries. Rescuers were able to transport a wounded woman to the hospital and recover the bodies of two individuals from under the debris of a collapsed residential building. In a partially destroyed apartment on the 7th floor of a 9-storey building, body fragments were found and handed over to the National Police for identification. Firefighters managed to extinguish fires in a 9-story residential building and other structures, covering a total area of over 400 square meters. However, the rescue efforts were frequently interrupted due to the continued threat of shelling, making it challenging for the firefighters and causing the fire to spread further.

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The National Guard unit “Luty” released a video of the fighting in the city of Vovchansk, in the north of Kharkiv Oblast. “The occupiers want to take control of Vovchansk, but they are facing a powerful rebuff. Our fighters are pushing the Russians back and clearing the invaders meter by meter. The video shows the work of the Fighters of the Tsunami Assault Regiment of the Luty Brigade of the Offensive Guard,” the National Guard said in a statement.

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Advisor to the Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office Mykhaylo Podolyak stated that US-provided military aid has started arriving on the frontline but that it will take “weeks” for the gradual increase in US-provided military aid to reach “critical volumes.”

Podolyak told Bloomberg in an article published on May 29 that Russian forces currently have the “absolute advantage” in shells and missiles and that Russian forces will continue to try to advance along the frontline presumably to take advantage of the time before US military assistance arrives in sufficient quantities at the front. Podolyak warned that Russia may be trying to force Ukraine and its allies to freeze the current frontline — a situation that ISW has long assessed would be advantageous to Russia by giving the Russian military time to reconstitute and prepare for renewed aggression against Ukraine.

Additional Western military assistance will also likely take time to reach the frontlines and to be properly integrated into Ukrainian frontline troop formations. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala stated on May 28 that the first “tens of thousands” of 155mm artillery ammunition sourced through the Czech-led initiative for Ukraine will arrive in Ukraine within “days.”

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Fighter Nazar Korol died on December 11, 2023, while repelling an enemy assault near the village of Spirne, Bakhmut district, Donetsk Oblast. The fighter was 24 years old.

Nazar Romanovych was a native of the village of Bila, Ternopil Oblast. After school, he studied at the Buchach Vocational School and earned an electric and gas welding degree. Then he worked at the Chortkiv Bakery. He loved sports, in particular, playing football.

Nazar joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine in June 2023. He became a fighter with the 10th separate mountain assault brigade “Edelweiss”. He served as an anti-aircraft gunner of the anti-aircraft missile squad of the anti-aircraft missile platoon of the 8th Battalion. Together with his fighters, he defended the Bakhmut direction.

“Nazar did not leave his position and bravely took the fight. Until his last breath he was loyal to his country, his comrades and the Ukrainian people. Everyone knows Nazar as a man with an infinitely kind heart. I am proud of my son, he gave the most valuable thing – his life – for a free Ukraine,” wrote his mother Oksana Korol.

“Nazar was an incredibly kind, sensitive and fair person, a loyal friend, a brother-in-arms, always coming to the rescue. He dreamed of living in a free Ukraine,” added Nadiya Valash, the deceased’s girlfriend.

The defender was buried in the Alley of Heroes at the cemetery in his native village. Nazar is survived by his parents, grandparents, older brother, girlfriend, niece and goddaughter.

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

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• Berlin tiptoes toward allowing Ukraine to hit Russia with German weapons
• Russia to increase taxes on companies and wealthy individuals to further fund war against Ukraine
• Argentina joins coalition for return of Ukrainian children from Russia
• US concerned about Ukrainian strikes on early-warning radars on Russian soil, official says
• Reuters: France prepares to send military instructors to Ukraine
• Denmark to allow Ukraine to strike targets in Russia with Danish-supplied F-16s