Victory Chronicles-DAY 862

The US government has announced a new security assistance package for Ukraine to support its defense against Russian invasion. 

The package includes ammunition for HIMARS systems, air defense interceptors, artillery shells, and other weapons. The total value of the package was not disclosed, but it is the seventh security assistance package authorized by President Biden since April, totaling over $60 billion. 

The package includes missiles for air defense systems, ammunition for HIMARS systems, artillery shells, and other critical items. The US Department of Defense will also use funding to purchase interceptors for the Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems. The goal is to help Ukraine protect its troops and cities from air attacks.

According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian occupiers have injured approximately 1,429 children. A total of 1,984 children have been injured, with 555 deaths, as a result of Russia’s armed aggression in Ukraine. The majority of injuries occurred in the Donetsk region, followed by Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovs’k, Kyiv, and Zaporizhzhia.

On the night of July 3 to 4, Russians launched Shahid drones over the Zhytomyr region in Ukraine. Three of these drones were shot down by the Ukrainian air defense forces during an air attack. The wreckage of one of the downed drones fell on a residential building, causing a fire. Fortunately, the State Emergency Service quickly extinguished the fire. However, a woman was injured in the incident and had to be taken to the hospital. This attack was part of a larger assault, as the Russians launched a total of 22 Shahid-131/136 attack drones. The Ukrainian defenders were able to shoot down 21 of them.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine has published a video of fires extinguishing as a result of Russian shelling in Zerson Oblast. Eight residential buildings, 10 outbuildings, 13 deadwood fires with a total area of 22.68 hectares and a wheat field with an area of 1 hectare were on fire. 

Ukraine conducted a naval drone strike against Russian naval infrastructure in Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai on the night of July 3 and reportedly damaged energy infrastructure during an aerial drone strike on Belgorod Oblast on the night of July 1. The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed that Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF) forces destroyed three Ukrainian naval drones en route to Novorossiysk, and the Russian MoD and Russian milbloggers later amplified footage reportedly showing BSF elements repelling naval drones that were reportedly targeting the Russian naval base in Novorossiysk.

Novorossiysk Mayor Andrey Kravchenko confirmed the attack and announced the closure of beaches. Ukrainian Naval Spokesperson Captain Third Rank Dmytro Pletenchuk noted on July 3 that the Ukrainian Navy is not yet ready to confirm details of the attack, however. ISW has not yet observed visual evidence of the attack damaging Russian naval targets.

Ukrainian outlet Suspilne, citing sources within the Ukrainian special forces, reported on June 3 that a June 1 Ukrainian drone strike “seriously damaged” the Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant (OEMK) in Belgorod Oblast.

Suspilne stated that Ukrainian loitering munitions targeted two OEMK electrical substations—the Stary Oskol Substation near Neznamovo and the Metalurgiyna Substation near Volokonovka— causing the entire OMEK to lose power. Suspilne noted that the OMEK is the only full-cycle metallurgical enterprise in Russia, so an outage could severely impact metallurgical outputs.[21] Russian sources noted electricity outages near Stary Oskol on July 1, apparently as a result of the Ukrainian strike.

Fighter Yaroslav Barbutsa, with the call sign Komiedia, died on January 14, 2024 near Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast. While performing a combat mission, he was fatally wounded as a result of mortar and artillery fire and fire damage from enemy fpv drones. In three months, the warrior would have turned 30 years old.

Yaroslav Hryhorovych was born in the village of Romanivka, Zhytomyr Oblast. He graduated from the Zhytomyr Medical Institute. In civilian life, he was engaged in business activities. In his leisure time, he was fond of hunting.

During the full-scale Russian invasion, the man became a fighter of the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Marko Bezruchko. He fought as a gunner of a security platoon of a security company.

“Yaroslav was the best son one could dream of, he was always attentive and sincere. He loved life, was the life of the party and always gathered people around him. He was a true friend you could count on, selfless and put the needs of others above his own. He had many godchildren, was a friend to them and knew how to cheer them up,” said his mother Svitlana.

The Hero was buried in his native village. Yaroslav is survived by his parents.

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

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