Victory Chronicles-DAY 845

Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has stated that Russia is intensifying its hostilities and expanding their scope. 

Syrskyi acknowledges that the supply of weapons and military equipment from Ukraine’s partners will strengthen the capabilities of Ukraine’s defense forces. He emphasizes that with the arrival of significant weapons and military equipment, such as the first F-16s, time will play in Ukraine’s favor and decrease the chances of success for the enemy. 

Consequently, the Russian military command is putting great effort into increasing the intensity and scale of hostilities. Their goal is to deplete Ukrainian troops, disrupt reserve training, and prevent active offensive actions. Syrskyi also notes that Russian troops are conducting intensive offensive actions on various directions, including Kupyansk, Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, and Prymorske, in an attempt to break through Ukrainian defenses and capture important areas that impact the stability of Ukraine’s defense forces.

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The Peace Summit in Switzerland included a discussion panel on the humanitarian dimension of the war in Ukraine. The moderator, Daria Zarivna, highlighted the mass abductions of Ukrainian children and the brutal torture of prisoners as examples of Russian imperialism and genocide. Russian forces killed more than 12,000 civilians, including 551 children. Three Ukrainians shared their experiences as victims of Russian aggression, including Vladyslav Buriak, who had been abducted and subjected to horrific torture for 90 days. Despite the abuse, Buriak remained resilient and provided support to other prisoners. Another victim, Maxim Kolesnikov, spent nearly a year in Russian captivity and spoke about the 321 days of captivity he endured. The panel stressed the importance of establishing a just peace and bringing the aggressor to justice as the only means to stop Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine. The discussion focused on releasing prisoners and deportees as part of the humanitarian efforts.

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In the Kharkiv Oblast, another ambulance crew came under fire from terrorists while responding to a call to a 17-year-old girl during the shelling of a village. Fortunately, the medics were safe in the house conducting the examination. However, there were civilian casualties, including a pregnant woman, a child, and a man who were injured. Even though the ambulance was heavily damaged, the medics were able to evacuate the victims, and they are now receiving the necessary assistance. 

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Commander of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk published a video of the work of the Air Force pilots who continue to perform dangerous missions and tasks, particularly to destroy enemy targets in the air and strike at enemy ground targets.

“The video shows the combat work of the pilots of the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the ‘Center’ Air Command. I am convinced that with the arrival of Western aircraft to all tactical aviation brigades of the Air Force, this work will be much more effective. At the moment, our pilots are doing their best with the Soviet-made equipment they have in service. The ground staff is keeping these aircraft in a combat-ready condition and doing everything to protect them from enemy eyes,” Mykola Oleshchuk said in a statement.

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The vast majority of the countries and international organizations that participated in the Ukraine-initiated Global Peace Summit in Switzerland on June 15-16 signed a joint communique on June 16 reaffirming support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The communique also reaffirmed support for Ukrainian operation and control over the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) to ensure the safety of nuclear energy and installations, “free full, and safe” commercial navigation in the Black Sea to ensure global food security, the exchange of all prisoners of war (POWs), and the return of all “deported and unlawfully displaced Ukrainian children” and other unlawfully detained Ukrainian civilians. Over 80 countries and international organizations signed the communique, although Saudi Arabia, India, South Africa, Armenia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Brazil (which attended the summit as an “observer”) were among the countries that did not endorse the communique.

The Ukrainian President’s Office emphasized that the purpose of the summit was to facilitate “fair peace … based on the United Nations (UN) Charter and international law,” highlighting Ukraine’s effort to garner support from the international community in ending the war on terms that do not violate international law by compromising Ukraine’s territory integrity or sovereignty. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte stated on June 16 at the summit that “Russia should not be at the [negotiating] table now” and that there will only be peace in Ukraine “when Russia agrees to international principles and the UN Charter.” ISW continues to assess that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not interested in good-faith negotiations and only feigns interest in negotiations in specific instances as part of a wider informational effort to seduce the West to preemptively make concessions that would violate Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Putin is unlikely to be interested in good faith negotiations for the foreseeable future given that he recently outlined a theory of Russian victory in Ukraine based on the assumption that Russian forces are capable of indefinite creeping advances on the battlefield to outlast Western support for Ukraine.

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Sergeant Bohdan Holubenko, with the call sign Boston, died on September 14, 2023, while performing a combat mission near the village of Andriivka, near Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast. The defender will be 27 forever.

Bohdan Ihorovych was born in the village of Pashkivka, Kyiv Oblast. He lived in the village of Makariv. Since childhood, he dreamed of becoming a soldier. He was involved in various hockey, taekwondo, and boxing activities. He loved to ride a motorcycle. After completing his secondary education, in May 2016, he was called up for military service in the A2777 military unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He took part in the military parade dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence and received a decoration.

In September 2016, the guy signed a contract to serve with the 36th Separate Marine Brigade of the Ukrainian Navy. Since then, he fought in the ATO/JFO until 2019. 

On February 24, 2022, Bohdan took up arms again. He defended Makariv and Kyiv Oblast. After the enemy retreated from the capital, he continued his service in a military registration and enlistment office security company. On June 1, 2023, he was transferred to the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade. There, he was promoted to the position of vehicle commander and went to the front lines.

For his service, Bohdan received the awards “For the Defense of the Motherland. Makariv”, ‘Golden Cross’, ‘Cross of the Brave’ and the Order ‘For Courage’  III degree (posthumously).

“He was my only weakness. Something I could not give up, I loved him so much. He was the only one I wanted to keep, to take away from the whole world, the only one I wanted to go to, leaving the whole world behind… He fulfilled his duty with honor and dignity, and was faithful to his comrades and his homeland until his last breath. And even in the last moments of his life, realizing that he would never return home, he thought and worried about his comrades. My beloved is forever in my heart…” – Maryna, the beloved of the fallen defender, said. 

The Hero was buried in his native village. Bohdan is survived by his loving family, girlfriend, friends and fighters-in-arms.

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

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• EU extends sanctions against Russia for another year over Crimea annexation
• Russia’s war in Ukraine began in Crimea: It could end there, too, defense experts say.
• Ukrainian intelligence drones attack military facilities in three Russian regions on 17 June
• NATO in talks to deploy more nuclear weapons
• UK intelligence: Russia increases taxes for further war efforts
• Zelenskyy: Danish F-16 to arrive in Ukraine in near future