Victory Chronicles-DAY 867

Experts from the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise have identified more than 30 parts and fragments of the missile that was used to target the National Children’s Specialized Hospital “Okhmatdyt” in Ukraine. The analysis of these fragments and a video of the missile’s impact were used to determine the missile’s name. The experts from the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine worked on-site at the hospital to quickly identify the weapon used by the enemy. The identified parts and fragments include components of the missile’s wing console, tail section, aerodynamic rudders, engine, and outer skin. The experts could also find the serial and serial numbers of the engine from the fragments. 

“The specific engineering and design features of the found wreckage and the corresponding standard markings indicate that the Russian armed forces used a Kh-101 strategic air-launched cruise missile. Its length is 7.5 m, the warhead weighs about 400 kg, the maximum speed is 720 km/h, and the range is up to 5000 km,” said Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine Andriy Haichenko.

Russian grouping in Kharkiv Oblast suffers over 90% losses in two-month offensive. According to Colonel Viktor Solymchuk, Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the OTU “Kharkiv,” the Russian occupation army has engaged 10,350 people in offensive actions in the border areas of the Kharkiv Oblast over the past two weeks. 

As of the beginning of July, the enemy has suffered significant losses, with 2,939 killed, 6,509 wounded, and 45 occupants surrendering, amounting to approximately 91% of estimated enemy losses in the Oblast. The Russian army lost most of its 138th motorized rifle brigade in Vovchansk, and suffered losses in their 83rd and 157th tank regiments and 83rd Air Assault Brigade. 

Emergency and rescue operations at the site of the Russian missile attack have been completed in Kyiv. Rescuers from the State Emergency Service and numerous vehicles worked to clear the rubble and save lives. The Russian terrorist shelling on July 8 killed 34 people, including 5 children, and injured 121 people, including 10 children. Eleven people were rescued.

The 73rd Marine Center of the Special Forces in Ukraine’s Kherson sector has been successfully engaging and neutralizing enemy forces. During a reconnaissance mission, Ukrainian warriors discovered and targeted 15 Russian boats using drones equipped with a drop system. As a result, all of the enemy vessels have been rendered incapable of transporting Russian military personnel. This development serves as a significant blow to the opposing forces. The information regarding these successful operations has been officially released through the Special Operations Forces’ channel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Some unnamed US government officials appear to believe that Ukraine does not need to liberate its occupied lands and people to win the war, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent clear statements that Russia will not accept a negotiated ceasefire on any terms other than Ukrainian capitulation and will not abandon its goals of the total destruction of the entire Ukrainian state–not just the lands it currently occupies. 

The New York Times (NYT) reported on July 9 that anonymous US officials think that “even without formally winning back its land, Ukraine could still emerge a victor in the war by moving closer to NATO and Europe.” This US assessment is premised on several faulty assumptions—first and foremost on the assumption that Ukraine’s NATO or European Union (EU) membership is guaranteed. Ukraine’s NATO and EU membership should not be taken as a given in discussions of the future of Ukrainian security.

This assessment also rests on the assumption that losing the lands Russia currently occupies and its civilians under Russian occupation will not severely compromise Ukraine’s future economic viability and ability to defend itself against future Russian attacks, which, as ISW has frequently emphasized, is not the case. The lands Russia currently occupies are both economically and strategically necessary for Ukraine, and their continued occupation will deprive Ukraine of economic resources and strategically critical land. Putin himself has stated that Russia will not be content with ending the war on the lines it currently holds and has explicitly called for the Ukrainian withdrawal from the non-occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia oblasts as a prerequisite for any sort of “peace” negotiations with Ukraine.

The areas Putin is currently demanding include the large cities of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, among other things. Putin has, furthermore, continually framed the war as a struggle against NATO and repeated his insistence that Ukraine change its constitution to formally abandon any aspirations of joining the alliance. There is no basis for assessing that Putin would agree to a ceasefire that leaves Ukraine closer to NATO. Finally, this suggestion is contingent on the faulty assumption that Russian aggression will “end” with the conclusion of the war on Russia’s terms. ISW, on the contrary, has assessed that a negotiated ceasefire on Russian terms will afford the Russian military time to rest and reconstitute, likely before conducting a future attack on Ukraine from a much more advanced and fortified frontline. Putin has been firm and consistent in his ultimate goal of destroying the Ukrainian state and will not give up that goal until he feels that he has achieved it.

Senior Lieutenant Oleksandr Yatsiuk, with the call sign Petrovych, died on October 22, 2023, while performing a combat mission near the village of Verbove, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The officer was 29 years old.

Oleksandr was born in the village of Plishchyn, Khmelnytskyi Oblast. He graduated from the local school. Then, he studied at Kamianets-Podilskyi College and Podilskyi State University. He majored in agronomy. During his studies, he graduated from the military department and received the “junior lieutenant” rank. He got married and lived with his beloved in Khmelnytskyi since 2017. He spent most of his life working abroad in Poland and the Czech Republic. For the last two years he was engaged in construction work. He liked to play guitar and tinker with cars in his spare time.

With the beginning of the full-scale war, the man mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 135th separate battalion of the Airborne Assault Forces. He held the position of commander of an engineer platoon.

“My beloved was an extremely bright man. He was very kind, always happy, smiling, never offended anyone, no matter what happened. He loved me very much, it was love at first sight… Oleksandr was a rainbow man. In the 10 years we lived together, I never saw him gloomy, he looked for the positive in every situation, never dwelled on problems. He was a very gentle and sensitive husband, brother and son. He was very fond of the countryside, although we lived in the city, but his soul wanted peace without all the bustle of the city… He always did everything in his hands, no matter what he took on, even if something didn’t work out, he did it several times until he got it perfect. During his service, Oleksandr dreamed of the end of the war and wanted to go home to his family as soon as possible, but at the same time he could not leave his comrades, to whom he treated very loyally and well. He was a platoon commander, but he never put himself above his subordinates, always being on a par with them, listening to them and supporting them. As his comrades-in-arms say, he was the best commander of them all,” said the officer’s wife Diana.

Oleksandr Petrovych Yatsiuk was posthumously awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi III degree. The Hero was buried in his native village, which he loved so much. Oleksandr is survived by his beloved wife, parents, sister, other relatives, friends and fighters-in-arms.

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

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