Victory Chronicles-DAY 846

According to DeepState analysts, the Russians have amassed around 10,000 troops and 450 pieces of military equipment in the Luhansk Oblast, specifically from Rayhorodka to Novovodyane, which is about 20km from the village of Borova in the Kharkiv Oblast. 

DeepState describes this as the enemy creating a striking fist to attack Borova, similar to an offensive carried out last year. The Russians have deployed the 3rd and 144th divisions of the 20th Army and mercenaries from irregular army units such as Storm V, Black Mamba, Fixy, and Patriot PMCs. 

The Ukrainian forces, represented by the 3rd Assault Brigade, are at a disadvantage in numbers and face intense assault operations along the entire offensive line. The Russians’ goal is clear, and they are determined to repeat their success from the previous offensive.

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A rocket attack on Poltava, Ukraine, has resulted in 22 people being injured, including three children. The attack targeted civilian infrastructure and was carried out by the enemy using an X-59 cruise missile, according to the preliminary data from the Poltava Oblast prosecutor’s office. Six people, including one child, were taken to the hospital, and eight adults were also hospitalized. Residential buildings, a kindergarten, power lines, and garages were among the damaged structures. The head of the Poltava Oblast military administration confirmed that the Russians conducted the attack on the afternoon of June 17. The number of victims increased from 16 to 22, according to an update from the prosecutor’s office.

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A drone attack occurred in the Rostov Oblast of Russia, resulting in a fire at an oil facility in the city of Azov. Governor Vasily Golubev confirmed the incident, stating that the attack caused tanks containing oil products to catch fire. Videos and photos of the large fire have already circulated online, and witnesses have reported hearing five explosions before the fuel tank ignition. 

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The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine has released a video showing the fighters of the International Legion of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine repelling the Russians’ attempts to attack near Chasovyi Yar. “During the contact, the order is simple – do not allow the invaders to advance and destroy everyone,” the DIU said in a statement.

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A Russian state media outlet manipulated an interview with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi to blame Ukraine for strikes against the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in an attempt to legitimize Russia’s illegal occupation of Ukraine. Grossi stated on June 15 that he would not attend the June 16–17 Global Peace Summit in Switzerland so as to not “mix political considerations with [the IAEA’s] technical job,” but gave an interview to Kremlin outlet Izvestia which was published on June 17.

Grossi told Izvestia that unspecified actors have attacked IAEA inspectors and experts at the ZNPP and have violated or compromised the IAEA’s pillars for ensuring the plant’s safe operation. Grossi stated that there have been unattributed drone strikes against the ZNPP and that the IAEA is unable to identify the perpetrators as it is difficult to identify the drones’ departure points or deduce the origins of drones based on debris. Grossi spoke about strikes on the ZNPP on April 7 but notably did not specify if the IAEA assessed that these were Ukrainian or Russian strikes. Izvestia, however, inserted an editorial note claiming that Ukrainian forces conducted the “unprecedented” strikes on the ZNPP on April 7 to directly claim that Grossi was discussing Ukrainian strikes against the ZNPP. The IAEA notably refrained from attributing responsibility for the April 7 strikes at the time.

Izvestia’s exploitation of Grossi’s interview, throughout which Grossi explicitly highlighted that the IAEA cannot identify the origin of strikes on the ZNPP, is part of ongoing Russian efforts to use Russia’s physical control over the ZNPP to force the IAEA to meet with Russian officials to legitimize Russia’s occupation of the ZNPP, and by extension, Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territory.

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53-year-old fighter Serhii Slavinskyi died on January 22, 2024, in the Kupiansk direction of the Kharkiv Oblast. When he was returning from a combat mission, he and three other fighters came under artillery fire. Due to the heavy shelling and the risk of drone attacks, the fighter’s body could not be evacuated for three days.

Serhii Pavlovych was born in the city of Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro Oblast. As a teenager, he went in for boxing and was successful. Due to his athletic build and strong character, the army recruited him to become a paratrooper scout. After demobilization, he entered the Kryvyi Rih Economic Institute of the State Higher Educational Institution “Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University” and successfully graduated. For many years, he worked as an economist for a private company. However, it ceased to exist. At the end of 2014, he got a job at Nova Poshta LLC.

Serhii was a serene individual whose main priority was his family. However, his initial marriage concluded. In 2002, he encountered his future second wife. Their romance rekindled four years later when Maryna returned from working abroad. By a twist of fate, they reunited and seized the opportunity. They began cohabitating almost instantly, though it took eight years for Serhii and Maryna to tie the knot officially.

“I loved him very much… Serhii had no special interests or habits. He liked to walk with me in the parks of his hometown and go to the sea on vacation. You could never hear him in the house. He was very calm and kind. He helped me in the house: cleaning, washing clothes, shopping – it was his job. We wanted to buy a house after the war. He used to joke: ‘I’ll make some money, and we’ll go to Cyprus and buy a house in a warm place,'” says his wife Maryna.

At the end of March 2023, her husband was mobilized to the Armed Forces. He was trained in Ukraine and Poland. At the beginning of summer, he was sent to the Kupiansk direction of the Kharkiv Oblast. Serhii fought in the ranks of the 43rd separate artillery brigade named after Hetman Taras Tryasyl.

“He was never on leave, he came only briefly on his discharge. He told me how horrible it was there, showed me videos. There were no trees in the forest, only sticks – everything was burned by fire, and the bodies of the dead were everywhere. He was scared, like all people. But he tried to cope with it,” Maryna adds.

Serhii was buried in his hometown. A memorial plaque was installed on the facade of Kryvyi Rih Gymnasium No. 8, where he graduated. Posthumously, he was also awarded the “For Merit to the City” badge. Serhii is survived by his mother, sister and wife. 

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

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