Victory Chronicles-DAY 971

On 21 October, Russia launched a missile attack on the center of Zaporizhzhia, resulting in seven people being injured and significant damage to civilian infrastructure, including a kindergarten. 

The Head of Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, confirmed the attack and stated that numerous civilian objects, such as residential buildings and dormitories, were damaged. 

Currently, five victims have been identified and are receiving treatment at medical institutions. The blast wave also caused damage to nearby cars. The SES reported that a two-story kindergarten building was partially destroyed, and debris from the attack caused further damage. 

Two individuals were rescued from the rubble. Among the injured, a 49-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman are in serious condition, while three others are in moderate condition. 

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Facebook that 3,767 Ukrainians have been returned from Russian captivity. He highlighted the torture, humiliation, and hunger experienced by Ukrainians in Russian prisons and camps. Zelenskyy stressed the need for long-term treatment and rehabilitation for these individuals. He also pointed out that Russia continues to unlawfully detain thousands more Ukrainians and forcibly transfer children. Zelenskyy called for the support of the Vatican and all partners who value human life to help in the release of those held by Russia. Additionally, on 19 October, Ukraine successfully released 95 service members from Russian captivity, including 20 who had been sentenced to life imprisonment in Russia for defending their own land.

A fire broke out in the Odesa region after a missile attack on the port infrastructure by Russia. There were no casualties as a result of the attack. The head of the Odesa Regional State Administration, Oleh Kiper, stated that the enemy attacked the region with missiles and kamikaze drones. In addition to the fire at the port, dry grass and an abandoned building also caught fire after rocket fragments fell to the ground. Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fires. Following the missile strike, the Russians launched drones, which were intercepted by Ukrainian air defense forces. 

The Ukrainian paratroopers from the 95th separate airborne assault brigade displayed their superiority by killing around 30 marines and destroying three enemy armored personnel carriers (APC). The first APC was damaged by an attack drone, followed by a precise tank shot that disintegrated the remaining equipment. The second APC fell victim to a Javelin anti-tank missile fired by a paratrooper, and the third APC was blown up by a mine laid by the 95th Engineers. 

Ukrainian forces conducted drone strikes against the Lipetsk-2 Air Base near Lipetsk City and Russian state-owned defense enterprise Sverdlov in Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast on the night of October 19 to 20. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that forces from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR), and Special Operations Forces (SSO) struck the Lipetsk-2 Air Base and caused a fire and secondary explosions. 

The Ukrainian General Staff stated that Ukrainian forces targeted ammunition depots, fuel storage, and aircraft and noted that the Russian military bases Su-34 fighter-bomber, Su-35 fighter, and MiG-31 interceptor/fighter fixed-wing aircraft at the base. Lipetsk Oblast Governor Igor Artamonov claimed that Russian forces intercepted drones over Lipetsk City and Oblast and that a crashed drone caused a fire in an unspecified area. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that forces from Ukraine’s SBU, GUR, and SSO also struck the Sverdlov Plant, causing secondary explosions.

The Sverdlov plant produces chemicals for artillery ammunition and stores and produces glide bombs, and sources in Ukrainian intelligence told Western and Ukrainian news outlets that the plant is one of Russia’s largest explosives factories. Geolocated footage published on October 20 shows an explosion near the Sverdlov Plant.

The US imposed sanctions on the Sverdlov Plant in July 2023 for its support of Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Governor Gleb Nikitin claimed that Russian forces repelled a Ukrainian drone strike on the Dzerzhinsk industrial zone and that several plant employees received minor injuries.

Military pilot Oleksii Mes, with the call sign Moonfish, died on 26 August 2024 in an F-16 plane crash while repelling a massive Russian combined missile and air strike. He managed to destroy three cruise missiles and one attack drone.

Oleksii was 30 years old. He was born in the town of Shepetivka in the Khmelnytskyi region. He studied at a local school. Later he graduated with honors from the Kharkiv National Air Force University, named after Ivan Kozhedub.

He took part in the aerial refueling of an F-15D Eagle fighter jet with the 144th Fighter Wing of the US Air National Guard as an observer and was the first pilot of the Ukrainian Air Force to observe air-to-air refueling in the back of an Eagle. In June 2022, he traveled to the United States with military pilot Andriy Pilshchikov, called sign Juice, to meet with government officials and lobby for the provision of F-16s to Ukraine.

As of June 2022, he was the commander of a squadron of Ukrainian MiG-29 fighters. In the UK, he was trained on the F-16. He was awarded the medal ‘For Military Service to Ukraine’. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of colonel.

‘Moonfish told his friends that he was living the best life of a pilot. He loved his family and went home or took them with him on business trips whenever possible. Oleksii was serious, focused and caring. He was an elder brother, a leader in his family and in the unit. The only thing he regretted was that the service took away his ability to be with his family more, that he didn’t see his wife and daughter enough,’ his family said.

The pilot was buried in his native Shepetivka. Oleksii is survived by his wife, daughter, parents, two brothers and a sister.

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

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