Victory Chronicles-DAY 996

The State Aviation Administration of Ukraine is considering the gradual and partial reopening of airspace for civil aviation, with the city of Lviv potentially becoming the first to have a functioning airport, according to Reuters. 

The Aviation Administration stated that the decision will be based on a risk assessment and the implementation of additional security measures, but no specific timeline was mentioned. Discussions regarding the resumption of air travel have been ongoing between Ukraine, European aviation authorities, and airlines for nearly a year. 

The insurance industry is prepared to support the restoration effort once deemed safe by regulators and a political decision is made, according to Crispin Ellison, a senior partner at Marsh McLennan Insurance Company. The Lviv region, being less exposed to attacks by Russian forces, has a relatively lower risk compared to other areas of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, has announced that the country will receive over $1 billion in soft loans from the World Bank and €150 million from the European Union. 

The funds have been accumulated through contributions from the governments of Japan and the United Kingdom. Additionally, a governmental decision will allow Ukraine to obtain an additional €150 million from the EU. The money will be utilized for the restoration of port infrastructure and rapid recovery projects in Ukraine. Out of the funds, €65 million will be allocated to finance a free meals program for primary school students in 2025. These financial resources aim to support Ukraine’s development and address pressing needs in the country.

At night, an enemy UAV attacked Poltava region, striking an industrial facility. Fortunately, there were no casualties. By morning, rescuers had extinguished the fire.

The 14 Separate Bpak Regiment in Ukraine successfully destroyed an enemy self-propelled artillery system using an advanced barrage munition with a homing system. This weapon, launched using a mortar method, is capable of following a designated patrol route. Once a target is identified, it automatically initiates an attack vector, captures the target during the final stage, and accurately strikes it.

Putin modified compensation promised for Russian servicemen wounded while fighting in Ukraine — a clear indicator that the Kremlin is trying to cut the mounting short- and long-term costs of the war and restore balance to the Russian economy. Putin controversially changed Russian policy guaranteeing a one-time payment of three million rubles ($30,124) to all Russian servicemen who have been wounded in combat in Ukraine since March 2022.

Putin signed a decree on November 13 that restricted the one-time payments of three million rubles only to servicemen who sustained serious injuries in combat, only offering one million rubles ($10,152) to lightly wounded servicemen, and 100,000 rubles ($1,015) to servicemen who sustained minor injuries on the battlefield. 

Putin’s decree generated significant backlash from the Russian ultranationalist milblogger community, and Putin attempted to placate this community on November 14 by increasing the one-time payments to four million rubles ($40,136), but still only for Russian servicemen who sustain severe battlefield injuries that result in a disability. A Russian milblogger noted that Putin’s authorization to increase compensation for disabled servicemen does not alter the fact that the Kremlin is reneging on promises to thousands of Russian servicemen who joined the Russian military solely due to large financial incentives. The milblogger added that Russian military medical commissions are also becoming increasingly — and often deliberately unfairly — selective in diagnosing Russian servicemen with severe injuries.

Putin originally introduced the policy offering all wounded Russian servicemen three million rubles to incentivize military recruitment after he had decided against declaring general mobilization in Spring 2022.[5] Financial incentives became the key pillar of the Russian military’s recruitment campaign and personnel retention efforts over the past nearly three years, and the reversal of such incentives indicates that the system is becoming economically unsustainable for the Kremlin. ISW notably assessed in Summer 2022 that the Kremlin’s reliance on high financial incentives for force generation was committing Russia to short- and long-term financial responsibilities to thousands of Russians, such as paying veterans pensions, compensations to families of deceased servicemen, and other state benefits.

A 38-year-old fighter Oleksandr Havlovskyi, nicknamed Play, died on May 20, 2024, near the village of Umanske in Donetsk region. In a battle with the enemy, he sustained fatal shrapnel wounds, shielding his comrades from a grenade.

Oleksandr was born in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro region. He studied at school №41. Then he graduated from the Mining College of Kryvyi Rih Technical University with a degree in Underground Mining. At the same time, he worked in the security department of the Central Mining and Processing Plant. He completed his on-the-job training at Kryvyi Rih Iron Ore Plant as an underground miner at section 12 of the Ternovska mine. Later, he was an apprentice tunneler and mining foreman at Ternovskaya Mine’s section No. 46. Since 2009, he held the position of an electric locomotive driver at section 16 of Kryvorizka mine. Then he was transferred to the position of a blaster at section 16. In his spare time, he worked as a taxi driver.

During the full-scale war, the man became a fighter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 25th separate airborne brigade. He held the position of a sniper.

“I loved and love my husband very much. He was truly a hero, he saved many comrades. I am very proud of him,” said Victoria Havlovska. Posthumously, the defender was awarded the Order “For Courage” of the III degree. The paratrooper was buried in the Alley of Heroes at the Central Cemetery in his hometown. Oleksandr is survived by his mother, wife, two sons, stepson, brother and goddaughter.

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

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