Victory Chronicles-DAY 964

According to Bruno Kahl, Head of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Russia has the capability to attack NATO territory within the next six years. Kahl expressed his concern during a hearing at the Bundestag’s parliamentary oversight committee, stating that the Kremlin views Germany as an enemy due to its support for Ukraine, which Russia has invaded. He emphasized that Germany is in direct conflict with Russia and that Russian intelligence services are using all means at their disposal to achieve their objectives. 

Kahl also mentioned that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is not only interested in Ukraine but also aims to establish a new world order. Despite stating that an escalation of the situation is unlikely, Kahl urged politicians to provide the necessary resources and authority to German security services to counter these threats.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed that Russia used around 900 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine within just seven days. This is in addition to 40 missiles and 400 attack drones of various types. Zelenskyy urged the international community to support Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. He called upon Ukraine’s partners to provide the necessary quantity and quality of air defense systems and make decisions to strengthen Ukraine’s long-range capability. The timely delivery of defense assistance to Ukrainian fighters was emphasized as crucial. Zelenskyy expressed the urgency in sending a signal of determination and stated that Ukraine is working tirelessly to enable the country to fully respond to the threat posed by Russian actions.

In the Kherson region, Russian troops have carried out a military strike on a civilian car, resulting in the deaths of two women. The attack was conducted using an FPV drone, which targeted a VAZ-2109 car traveling near Havrylivka. A total of four passengers were in the car, aside from the 46-year-old driver, including three women and a man. The two victims who lost their lives were aged 72 and 56, while a 63-year-old woman and a 72-year-old man sustained head injuries. Medical personnel immediately transported the injured individuals to the hospital for treatment. Fortunately, the driver did not require any medical attention. 

The official channel of the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine has shared a video showcasing the achievements of the Chervona Kalyna brigade in the Pokrovsk sector. The brigade successfully destroyed a Russian Grad multiple rocket launcher system that was fully loaded with ammunition. In addition to this accomplishment, the brigade also took down several other enemy targets. These include 11 tanks, 38 armored vehicles, 88 artillery systems, 67 vehicles, 189 dugouts and enemy infantry concentration areas, 8 electronic warfare systems, and 13 ammunition depots. 

Russian forces recently executed nine Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in Kursk Oblast amid a theater-wide increase in Russian executions of Ukrainian POWs. A Ukrainian open-source intelligence (OSINT) project reported on October 13 that Russian forces executed nine Ukrainian POWs near the village of Zeleny Shlyakh, Kursk Oblast on October 10.

Ukrainian drone operators reportedly unexpectedly encountered Russian forces in what they likely perceived to be a near rear area and came under Russian fire. The Ukrainian drone operators, facing limited ammunition, were compelled to surrender and Russian forces took them as POWs. An image of the aftermath of the execution suggests that Russian forces disarmed, lined, stripped, and shot the Ukrainian POWs — a clear indication of the premeditated nature of the executions.

Ukrainian Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets condemned the executions on October 13 as a serious violation of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of POWs and stated that he sent letters to the United Nations (UN) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) regarding the case. The Geneva Convention on POWs prohibits the execution of POWs or persons who are clearly rendered hors de combat. The Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office also announced on October 13 that it launched an investigation into the reports of the execution of the nine Ukrainian POWs in Kursk Oblast.

ISW has recently observed an increase in Russian forces executing Ukrainian POWs throughout the theater, and Russian commanders are likely writ large condoning, encouraging, or directly ordering the execution of Ukrainian POWs. Head of the Ukrainian Department for Combating Crimes in Conditions of Armed Conflict Yuri Bilousov stated on October 4 that Ukrainian sources documented evidence indicating that Russian forces have executed 93 Ukrainian POWs on the battlefield since the start of the full-scale invasion and that 80 percent of the recorded cases occurred in 2024. The largest single-instance of execution of Ukrainian POWs occurred on October 1 when Russian forces executed 16 Ukrainian POWs in the Pokrovsk direction.

ISW continues to track footage and reports of Russian servicemembers executing Ukrainian POWs and has observed a wider trend of Russian abuses against Ukrainian POWs across various sectors of the front that appear to be enabled, if not explicitly endorsed, by individual Russian commanders. The Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor’s Office recently noted that Russian commanders directly ordered the execution of four Ukrainian POWs at the Vovchansk aggregate plant in Summer 2024.

Junior Sergeant Oleksandr Onyshchenko, with the call sign Django, died on March 8, 2024 near the village of Serhiivka, Donetsk region. The defender sustained injuries incompatible with life. The fighter was 21 years old.

Oleksandr was born in the city of Kherson. He graduated from school №26 there and later – vocational school №6, where he received the profession of a welder-tractor driver. He loved fishing, and every weekend he and his girlfriend Maryna would go to the countryside. Oleksandr said that he rested his body and soul there and always imagined going fishing with his son in the future. Most recently, he lived in the village of Komyshany, Kherson region.

Oleksandr was called up for military service at the age of 18. After the full-scale invasion, as a conscript, he signed a contract and joined the 138th Air Defense Missile Brigade as a launcher commander of the launching platoon of the launching battery of the 8th Air Defense Missile Division. He realized that he wanted to develop in this field, so he took training in Germany and Spain according to NATO standards for air defense system engineers. He also studied under the basic noncommissioned officer program. On November 21, 2023, he was promoted to the rank of junior sergeant.

The defender was awarded the “Defender of the Fatherland” and “Honor. Glory. State” medals.

“We met 2 years ago when I left my besieged Mariupol. It was a completely spontaneous and unexpected meeting, my first love. We immediately realized that we wanted to build our family, Oleksandr bought us a dog and the three of us were always together, even when he was very far away from us. He treated me in such a way that every day I felt “in seventh heaven” with happiness. It was impossible to even be offended by him, because he was the kindest and closest person to me. He was always caring, he was the one who would give his last but would help. As funny as it may seem, he turned over every bug on the way. I was always waiting for him at home, just like after that day, which divided my life into “before” and “after”. We had a lot of plans for our family life, and we didn’t have time to do the most important thing – to get married and build our best family. Sasha was a reliable pillar of support for his family and his beloved. He dreamed of a big house on the river bank, family comfort with the best wife in the world, children and a dog. And all this in a peaceful, prosperous country. But, unfortunately, the war broke all dreams,” said Maryna, Oleksandr’s beloved girlfriend. 

The defender was buried in his native Kherson on the Alley of Heroes at the Geologists Cemetery. Oleksandr is survived by his mother, two sisters, grandparents and girlfriend.

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

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