Victory Chronicles-DAY 1154

A Russian airstrike on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia on April 22 killed a 69-year-old woman and injured at least 23 civilians, including four children, according to local authorities and emergency services.

Officials said two guided aerial bombs (KABs) struck a residential district and an infrastructure facility in the Dnipro riverside city. One of the bombs hit a densely populated area, damaging several nine-story apartment buildings and a local school.

Fires broke out following the blast, igniting parked cars near the impact zone. Firefighters promptly extinguished the flames and carried out rescue operations. Four boys aged 16, 14, four, and three were hospitalized. Doctors assessed their condition as moderate.

The Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration said the woman who died had sustained severe injuries and could not be revived despite medical efforts. Nineteen adults and four children were injured, authorities confirmed. Rescue teams continue to evacuate residents from damaged buildings and search for anyone who may still be trapped.

Russian troops violated ’Easter ceasefire’ nearly 3,000 times – Zelenskyy. Russian forces violated their own declared Easter ceasefire 2,935 times on Easter Sunday – April 20 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, citing a report from Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi.

“According to the Commander-in-Chief’s report at midnight after Easter, the Russian army broke its own promise of a ceasefire 2,935 times in a single day,” Zelenskyy wrote on Facebook. “The most intense shelling and assault activity occurred in the Pokrovsk area. The so-called ‘full silence’ also did not apply to the Kursk front.”

Russian drones strike hospital in Kherson, injuring six. Russian forces targeted a hospital in the city of Kherson with drones on April 22, injuring six people and damaging medical and civilian vehicles, according to regional authorities.

The Kherson Regional Military Administration reported that the strike wounded four funeral service employees and two medical workers. Most of the victims sustained blast and shrapnel injuries. Two men, aged 65 and 44, were hospitalized, while others received outpatient care. The attack damaged a local medical facility as well as several ambulances and civilian cars.

As of December 2024, Russian military actions have damaged more than 2,000 Ukrainian medical facilities, according to the Health Ministry.

Ukrainian National Guard captures Russian infantry group on Kupiansk front. Ukrainian troops from the National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 15th Operational Assignment Kara Dah Brigade, have captured a group of Russian infantry attempting to entrench themselves in the eastern part of Kharkiv region, according to the National Guard Commander, Oleksandr Pivnenko.

Their capture followed aerial surveillance that identified the Russian presence in advance. Faced with exposure and risk, the Russian soldiers surrendered voluntarily without resistance.

Key Takeaways:

• Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s April 20 proposal for a temporary moratorium on long-range strikes against civilian infrastructure, declined Zelenskyy’s offer to extend Putin’s own 30-hour Easter truce, and attempted to justify recent Russian strikes against civilian targets in Ukraine.
• Putin reiterated his rejection of the full ceasefire that Zelensky and the US have offered.
• Russian state media amplified Kherson Oblast occupation head Vladimir Saldo’s calls for additional territorial concessions from Ukraine in areas to which Russia has not yet laid formal claim.
• Saldo’s call for additional Russian territorial claims along the Dnipro River is consistent with other Kremlin official statements, as Russia continues to make extensive territorial demands of Ukraine while offering no concessions of its own.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Lyman and Toretsk.

In Memoriam: Ukrainian soldier Pavlo Borsuk, a hero of Ukraine’s defense forces. Pavlo Borsuk, 35, a soldier with the 141st Separate Infantry Brigade, was killed in action on May 29, 2024, while on a combat mission near the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. He served as a drone operator in the brigade’s 454th Battalion and was known by the call sign “Kontrabas.”

Borsuk was born and raised in Stebnyk, Lviv Oblast. He studied customs administration and worked in the Ukrainian customs service before pivoting to the IT sector. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion, he actively supported the military as a volunteer before joining the armed forces in July 2023.

He was awarded the Cross of Honor and Glory during his service and posthumously received the badge “For the Defense of Zaporizhzhia.”

“Pavlo was sincere, fearless and determined,” said his widowed wife, Maria. “He had great inner strength and a kind heart. He was a loving husband, devoted father and an example to our sons.”

Borsuk was laid to rest at the Field of Honor at Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv. He is survived by his parents, wife, two sons, sister, brother and extended family.

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

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