Victory Chronicles-DAY 905

The Canadian Ministry of Defense stated that there are no geographic restrictions on the use of the equipment donated by Canada. This follows similar announcements from Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom, allowing Ukraine to use Western equipment in their invasion of Russia’s Kursk region.  The Canadian Ministry of Defense spokesperson expressed their commitment to supporting Ukraine’s defense capabilities. Canada has provided Ukraine with Leopard 2A4 tanks, armored combat support vehicles, armored patrol vehicles, and M-777 howitzers. CNN has also recorded a Canadian-made Roshel Senator patrol vehicle crossing the Ukrainian-Russian border and heading to Russia. 

The commander of the Ukrainian DIU’s particular unit, Group 13, known as Thirteen, revealed in an interview with Deutsche Welle that their combat work with the MAGURA V5 strike drone has led to the destruction of 18 Russian vessels in the past year and a half. Thirteen claimed that the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea has been essentially defeated, as Russia has withdrawn its modern equipment from Sevastopol, leaving the fleet paralyzed. The MAGURA V5 is a Ukrainian-made maritime drone that can travel over 800 kilometers at 80 km/h. Rather than increasing the warhead to destroy a ship in a single hit, Thirteen’s strategy has been to attack in groups, inflicting multiple hits on larger vessels, resulting in critical damage.

The press service of the 35th Separate Marine Brigade published a photo report of the fighters’ training in assaulting and clearing buildings. “The marines were training to storm buildings where the enemy was located. They practiced these combat elements in two small groups, supported by reconnaissance men using drones. The main purpose of the training was to practice tactical techniques and coordination among the personnel,” the press service said.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has released a video showing fifty captured Russians in the Kursk region, a destroyed border checkpoint, and a broken enemy defense line.

These are the results of the Ukrainian paratroopers after the first hours of the military operation in the Kursk region. Approaching the border checkpoint “Sudzha” 

Faced with heavy fire from Ukrainian artillery and seeing Ukrainian tanks on the territory of the border crossing point, the Russians made the right decision – to put up a white flag and surrender to Ukrainian fighters, heading towards the Ukrainian border with their wounded.

The Kremlin and the Russian military command are creating a complicated, overlapping, and so far, ineffective command and control (C2) structure for the Russian response to the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk Oblast. Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov announced on August 15 the creation of a “coordination council” within the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) for military and security issues in Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk oblasts.

Belousov stated that the coordination council aims to improve support for Russian forces covering the state border and will specifically oversee the adequate provision of materiel and equipment to forces in the area, coordination between forces responding to threats along the state border, engineering development in the area, and military medical support. Belousov added that the coordination council will assist civilian authorities with evacuations and take additional measures to protect civilians and infrastructure in Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk oblasts.

Belousov did not comment on how the coordination council will interact with the existing C2 structure that the Kremlin established when it tasked the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) with conducting a counterterrorism operation in Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk oblasts on August 9. The MoD’s coordination council and the FSB’s counterterrorism operation will likely generate continued confusion about what structures are responsible for what aspects of the Russian defensive operation in Kursk Oblast and will likely lead to friction between the FSB and the Russian military.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has provided overlapping tasks to the Russian MoD, FSB, and Rosgvardia in Kursk Oblast, and these entities have not yet taken visible steps to establish a clearer division of responsibilities. Russian forces have reportedly redeployed up to 11 battalions from areas of Kursk Oblast and elsewhere in the theater to respond to the Ukrainian incursion, and this hastily assembled force grouping will likely struggle to coordinate combat operations given the Kremlin’s confused approach to C2 so far.

Senior fighter Roman Litvin, with the call sign 24, died on March 1, 2024, in the village of Novomykhailivka, Donetsk Oblast. As a result of the explosion, he sustained a perforating chest wound from shrapnel.

Roman was 28 years old. He was born in the village of Borovychi, Volyn Oblast. He graduated from an eleventh-grade school and then joined the military. In civilian life, he worked as a manager for some time. Together with his family, he survived the occupation of Bucha. He came to defend his homeland in April 2022, joining the 79th separate airborne assault brigade. He held the position of gunner. He was awarded the medal “Combatant”.

“My husband was a patriot of our country; he always stood in its defense and lived as an army man. He was a very kind person, and he wanted to live and raise his son so much. He always went to the end,” Natalia Litvin said. The fighter was buried in the cemetery in his native village. Roman is survived by his mother, wife and son.

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

• Russians shooting fake videos about Kursk region with actors dressed in Ukraine Army uniform
• The Independent: Ukrainian forces may have captured up to 2,000 Russian soldiers in Kursk region
• White House confirms Russia redeployed part of its troops to Kursk region
• Russia’s Tu-22M bomber crashes in Irkutsk region
• Supreme Allied Commander Europe: Russian response to Ukraine’s operation in Kursk Oblast slow and scattered