Victory Chronicles-DAY 999

Ten people were killed and 47 injured in a missile attack on Odesa, Ukraine, by Russia. The head of the Odesa regional military administration, Oleh Kiper, reported that the number of victims has since increased to 47. Efforts are underway to manage the consequences of the attack; healthcare personnel are working to save the lives and health of the injured. As a result, November 19 has been declared a day of mourning in Odesa and the surrounding region.

According to sources familiar with estimates made by some G20 countries, North Korea could potentially send up to 100,000 troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine if the alliance between Pyongyang and Moscow strengthens. 

However, it should be noted that this is only one analysis of the alliance between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and such a move is not certain to happen. If it does occur, the military support is expected to be provided by groups with rotating troops over time, rather than as a single deployment. 

A ballistic missile attack on a high-rise building in Sumy, Ukraine, has resulted in the deaths of 10 people, including 2 children, and left more than 50 others wounded. The missile hit the apartment building’s center, causing extensive damage, destroying windows, and affecting the surrounding houses as well. The State Emergency Service and police officers are currently evacuating those affected. Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the victims, emphasizing that the Russian aggressor must be punished for its actions. 

Ukrainian fighters – specifically those from the National Guard’s Typhoon unit and the 14th Brigade’s Chervona Kalyna Brigade – have successfully destroyed a Russian automated electronic suppression system known as “Borysoglebsk-2” in the Pokrovsk sector. The equipment that was destroyed is estimated to be worth $200 million. The primary function of the Borysoglebsk-2 complex is to detect and suppress various communication channels and systems that utilize radio signals. This includes tactical communication and control systems, as well as satellite systems. The Russians also use this complex to suppress radio navigation systems. 

Russian forces damaged Ukrainian energy infrastructure during the largest missile and drone strike since August 2024 on the night of November 16 to 17. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 90 Shahed and strike drones of an unspecified type (possibly referring to decoy drones) from Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Krai and Kursk and Oryol oblasts.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 120 missiles, including one Zirkon 3M22 hypersonic cruise missile, eight Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles, 101 Kh-101 and Kalibr cruise missiles, one Iskander-M ballistic missile, four Kh-22/Kh-31P cruise/anti-radiation missiles, and five Kh-59/69 cruise missiles. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces shot down 42 drones and one Zirkon, seven Kinzhal, 85 Kalibr and Kh-101, two Kh-22/31P, and five Kh-59/69 missiles. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukrainian F-16 pilots shot down roughly 10 aerial targets during the strike.[6] The Ukrainian Air Force reported that 41 drones were “lost” in Ukrainian airspace, likely due to Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) interference, and that two drones flew into Russian and Russian-occupied Ukrainian airspace. The Ukrainian Air Force noted that air defense was active in almost all Ukrainian oblasts. Ukrainian state electricity transmission operator Ukrenergo stated that Russian strikes damaged energy facilities in several oblasts and noted that energy recovery work is ongoing in Odesa, Volyn, and Rivne oblasts.

Ukrainian officials reported that a Russian missile strike caused a fire at an infrastructure facility in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, damaged critical infrastructure in Rivne Oblast, and targeted energy infrastructure in Odesa Oblast. 

Private Ukrainian energy enterprise DTEK stated that Russian strikes seriously damaged an unspecified DTEK thermal power plant (TPP) and noted that this was the eighth mass strike on a DTEK energy facility in 2024. Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko stated that the strikes caused power outages in many areas of Ukraine.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stated that Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities forced Ukrainian authorities to reduce the energy production levels of several nuclear power plants (NPPs). Grossi reported that Russian strikes damaged several electrical substations that are connected to the Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, and Pivdennoukrainsk NPPs, although the strikes did not damage the NPPs themselves. Grossi stated that six out of the nine reactors at the Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, and Pivdennoukrainsk NPPs are currently operating at reduced capacity. Ukrainian state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia reported that Russian forces struck a railway depot in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and that Russian strikes de-energized sections of several railway lines in southern, western, and northeastern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials reported that Russian strikes also damaged civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Rivne, and Odesa oblasts.

Chief Sergeant Ivan “Borman” Borovyk was killed on 4 June 2024 near the village of Karlivka, Donetsk region. While performing his official duties, he sustained a fatal explosive injury on the position. In May, the fighter turned 34 years old.

Ivan was born in the village of Chornukhy, Poltava region. He graduated from the local secondary school named after H.S. Skovoroda. He attended the Poltava State Agrarian Academy, where he interrupted his studies because he decided to serve in the Armed Forces. He loved fishing and taught his son Yehor to do it. He worked in security, was engaged in construction work, built houses and gazebos made of wood at recreation centers.

In March 2021, the man signed a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 59th Separate Motorised Infantry Brigade named after Yakiv Handziuk. He held the position of chief sergeant of a platoon of an anti-aircraft missile and artillery battalion. He received the Golden Cross award.

‘Ivan was a wonderful selfless friend who always came to the rescue, a loving son, brother and father. In every company, he was its soul, got on well with both older people and his peers, and children simply adored him. He stood up to defend the country even before the enemy’s full-scale invasion on 24 March 2021. He began his military career in the east, near Bakhmut, then he was trained in Desna, and just before the invasion he was sent to Oleshky, Kherson region, where he met the enemy invasion. The military did not have time to retreat to the right bank of the Dnipro and remained under occupation. However, Borovyk was in constant contact with the command, transmitting data on the location of enemy equipment and manpower, which was then accurately targeted by our artillery. Risking his life by passing through enemy posts, Ivan managed to get to the territory controlled by our troops. After a short rest, he returned to his unit. Then came Mykolaiv, Kherson, Chornobaivka, and then the east… Borovyk Ivan fought in the Avdiivka sector, then in the Pokrovsk sector. He served near Nevelske, Pervomaisk, Krasnohorivka, Karlivka… He had more than one successful military operation to his credit. Ivan was respected by his fellow fighters, among whom he had great authority. He always said: ‘The military is my business’. But during this time he got very tired… The memory of our Ivan will live forever in our hearts,’ said his mother Maria Tymofiivna.

The defender was buried in his native village. Ivan is survived by his parents Vitaliy Ivanovych and Mariia Tymofiivna, his brother Stanislav, his son from his first marriage Yehor, and his beloved girlfriend Olena.

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

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