Victory Chronicles-DAY 944

Russian airstrikes have targeted multiple high-rise buildings in Kharkiv, Ukraine, leading to fatalities and injuries. Kharkiv’s Mayor, Ihor Terekhov, reported that the strikes hit four administrative districts, including residential areas. Preliminary reports indicate at least three deaths and 15 injuries, with ongoing assessments to determine the full extent of the damage. According to Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, several people are trapped under the debris. The airstrikes, which utilized guided aerial bombs, were conducted by Russian forces. Rescue operations are underway at the affected sites, though the risk of additional strikes persists, prompting officials to urge residents to stay alert.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, an advisor in Ukraine, has identified China as a significant challenge for Ukraine, noting that about 60% of the components in Russian weaponry used in the war are sourced from China. Despite discussions with some manufacturers, China remains a major concern. Vlasiuk highlighted that Russia incorporates Chinese components across various weapon systems, including drones, surveillance systems, and missiles. He also pointed out that, notwithstanding sanctions, Russia still receives certain components from the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland, and other Western nations. Vlasiuk advocates for the European Union to intensify measures to block the transfer of Western products to Russia, especially by targeting Russian logistics networks and financial institutions involved in weapon sales. He also praised the effectiveness of the recent US IT sanctions package.

In the Donetsk region, the Kurakhove fire station has been targeted by enemy troops for the second time within a month. The attack occurred in the morning, causing damage to the building. Fortunately, there were no injuries among the personnel, as rescuers had been preemptively relocated to a safer location the previous day due to security concerns.

 The situation around the town of Vuhledar is critical and continues to deteriorate. “The Russian occupiers are trying to surround the town, and at the same time, they are razing it to the ground with artillery, KABs”. This was reported by the official channel of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army.

The Kremlin continues to publicly signal its disinterest in any peace settlement short of total capitulation of the Ukrainian government and destruction of the Ukrainian state. Zelensky stated in an interview with the New Yorker about Ukraine’s “Victory Plan” published on September 22 that Russia is not interested in ending the war on any reasonable terms and is feigning interest in negotiations.

Zelensky highlighted that Ukraine invited Russia to attend Ukraine’s second peace summit but that the Kremlin had not demonstrated any interest in participating. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov notably stated on September 22 that there is “no alternative” to Russian victory in Ukraine, reiterating Russia’s unwillingness to negotiate on terms other than Ukrainian capitulation. Peskov also identified NATO and the West as a “collective enemy.” Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Spokesperson Maria Zakharova recently announced that Russia will not participate in the second Ukrainian peace summit or any “such summits.” ISW continues to assess that the Kremlin is not interested in good faith peace negotiations with Ukraine and that the Kremlin will only invoke the concept of “peace plans” and “negotiations” to prompt the West to pressure Ukraine into preemptive concessions on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Senior fighter Andriy Shevchuk, with the call sign Sheva, died on April 26, 2024 near the village of Semenivka, Donetsk region. During a combat mission, he sustained a fatal mine-blast injury. The defender was 50 years old.

Andriy was born in the village of Kidry, Rivne region. He lived in the village of Berezhnytsia. He received a degree in radio mechanics at a vocational school. In civilian life, he was engaged in his own business, growing cucumbers and building a small family business.

With the outbreak of a full-scale war, on March 1, 2022, he volunteered to be mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served as a rifleman driver, and later as a grenade launcher driver of the 68th Separate Ranger Brigade named after Oleksa Dovbush. He performed combat missions in the hottest spots of the east: Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Kupiansk, Sloviansk, etc. He chose the call sign in honor of his son, whom his friends called Dovbush as a shortened dialectal form of his surname.

“He saw the meaning of life in children. He raised his son, a National Police officer, and his daughter, a cardiologist, and he was extremely proud of them. He was sociable, responsive and hardworking. He had big plans for a peaceful future for his family. He valued and protected his mother. A man with a capital M, a loyal fighter,” said the fellow defenders of the deceased.

Andriy was buried in the village of Berezhnytsia, Rivne region. The hero is survived by his mother, wife, daughter, son, brothers and sisters.

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

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