Victory Chronicles-DAY 937

Ukraine’s strategy in the Kursk region of Russia appears to involve encircling Russian troops. Ukrainian forces have made significant advances in the region, establishing control over 400 square miles of Russian territory. 

They have now turned their attention to the main Kursk Bulge, with a tactical group from the 95th Air Assault Brigade advancing towards the Russian town of Veseloye. If these Ukrainian forces can connect with the main salient, they will effectively cut off potentially thousands of Russian troops between them and the border. With the Seim River forming a natural border, the local geography is favorable for encirclement. 

Ukrainian forces have destroyed all permanent bridges across the river, forcing Russian troops south of the river to rely on temporary pontoon bridges or a narrow land bridge for their supplies. This has allowed the Ukrainians to shell the pontoons continuously and limit the mobility of the Russian forces.

According to Ukrzaliznytsia, the press service of Ukraine’s railway authority, Russia launched 46 attacks on Ukraine’s railway infrastructure in August. The attacks primarily targeted energy railway infrastructure, stations, and rolling stock. Most of the attacks took place in the frontline areas of Donetsk, Kharkiv, and the southern part of the country. Unfortunately, these attacks resulted in the death of one railway worker and injured three others who were on duty. The statement from Ukrzaliznytsia confirmed that the injured railroaders and the deceased employee’s family have been provided with all necessary assistance, including financial support. These attacks on Ukraine’s railway infrastructure pose a significant threat not only to the transportation system but also to the lives and safety of rail workers.

In the Kherson region, explosives killed a child, and four people were injured due to Russian shelling. The Russian troops launched attacks on the de-occupied right bank of the Kherson region using various weapons such as artillery, mortars, aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles. As a result of the attacks, seven private houses, five cars, a cultural institution, and a warehouse were damaged. The incident involving the child occurred in the town of Posad Pokrovsky, where a 14-year-old boy died after a munition detonation in a household building. The child was collecting metal products and bringing them home when the explosion occurred. The police are currently documenting the consequences of the attacks.

Ukraine’s airborne troops have successfully shot down a Russian BMD-4 modern combat vehicle in the Kursk region of Russia. According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces Command’s Facebook post, the enemy vehicle, carrying troops, entered a Ukrainian-controlled village and fired on a residential area. Ukrainian artillerymen and drones quickly responded and prevented further use of the enemy vehicles. The first round of artillery fire damaged one of the Russian combat vehicles. Although a Ukrainian UAV attempted to target the enemy armored vehicles, the electronic warfare system was triggered. However, the second and third UAV flights were successful in pushing the car away, causing the wounded and shell-shocked Russians to scatter across the village where Ukrainian fighters held them. 

Ukraine has taken steps to address its manpower shortages, but delays and insufficiencies in Western military aid to Ukraine continue to limit its ability to generate effective combat units that can defend critical areas and contest the theater-wide initiative. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in an interview with CNN on September 13 that Ukraine “needs 14 brigades to be ready” for an unspecified requirement and that Ukraine has not been able to equip “even four” of these brigades with slowly arriving Western aid. 

Zelensky noted that Ukraine has been increasing its domestic production of drones and transferring equipment from warehouses or reserve brigades to attempt to offset insufficient Western military assistance to Ukraine. Zelensky stated that these insufficient provisions, particularly of armored vehicles and artillery ammunition, have led to Ukrainian personnel losses. Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Defense Committee Chairperson Oleksandr Zavitnevych told the Financial Times on September 16 that Ukrainian mobilization is “on track” and that newly trained forces could “impact” the battlefield likely in three months.

Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavlyuk stated in May 2024 that Ukraine was working to stand up 10 new Ukrainian brigades but that equipment, not manpower, was the main bottleneck in Ukraine’s defensive operations. ISW has long assessed that Ukraine’s ability to defend against Russian offensive operations and challenge the theater-wide initiative heavily depends on both the Western provision of miliary aid and Ukraine’s efforts to reconstitute existing units and create new ones — the latter of which Ukraine has taken significant steps to resolve.

Ukrainian forces have partially mitigated the artillery ammunition shortages that resulted from delays in Western aid provisions by using first-person view (FPV) drones to blunt Russian infantry and armored vehicle assaults, but current FPV drones are unable to offset the tactical requirements of traditional field artillery.

Ukraine has taken steps to boost its domestic production of 155mm artillery ammunition, but Ukraine has had to build these industries largely from scratch during wartime. Ukraine has also been working to increase its production of armored vehicles, including armored personnel carriers (APCs), since 2022, but Ukraine cannot manufacture complete tanks.

The US and other foreign allies likely can greatly increase the effectiveness of Ukrainian force-generation and force-reconstitution efforts by providing Ukrainian forces with more mechanized equipment, such as M113 armored personnel carriers, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and main battle tanks. Ukraine’s 155th Infantry Brigade was recently upgraded to a mechanized infantry brigade after the brigade was equipped with Leopard tanks, for example. The generation of more Ukrainian infantry without a commensurate increase in mechanized equipment will not substantially increase Ukraine’s combat power or increase Ukraine’s warfighting capabilities.

Senior fighter Ruslan Ofitserenko, with the call sign Hellboy, died on March 14, 2024 near the village of Ivanivske, Bakhmut district, Donetsk region. On that day, the defender came under mortar fire and sustained injuries incompatible with life. The warrior was 25 years old. 

Ruslan was born in the city of Hadiach, Poltava region. Until age three, he lived with his family in the village of Brovarky. When his parents divorced, he moved to live with his mother and older brother in the village of Vlasivka. He finished school there. After the ninth grade, he entered the Zinkiv Regional Center for Vocational Education, where he mastered the electrician specialty. He loved sports, read a lot, and was interested in cooking. 

After graduation, he served in the army for two years. Returning to civilian life, he went to work abroad, where he worked for several years. He tried himself in different professions and in different countries: he was in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Denmark. But he eventually returned home to his native village of Vlasivka, where his beloved girlfriend Nadiya was waiting for him. He worked at Zinkiv forestry. 

From the first days of the full-scale invasion, Ruslan was in the local terrorist defense. On April 1, 2022, he was mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After three months of training, he began serving in the 1st Battalion of the 5th Separate Assault Brigade of the Kyiv Brigade as an operator of the control room of the mortar battery commander. He fought in the Bakhmut sector. 

“Ruslan was a very kind person, he never refused to help others. He was a very inquisitive and open-minded guy. My brother is a man of the soul. There are very few of them,” Natalia Shyshkina recalls her cousin. 

The day before his death, the young man received a military unit commander’s award – the “Loyalty and Honor” ring. He was also awarded other insignia, including the honorary badge of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “For Loyalty in Military Service, II Degree”. 

The family said goodbye to the defender on March 19, 2024, in his native village of Vlasivka. He was buried there. The defender’s memory was honored on the Walk of Fame in the town of Zinkiv, where his photo was posted. Ruslan is survived by his mother, older brother, girlfriend, and cousins.

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

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