Victory Chronicles-DAY 1217

A Russian missile attack on the southeastern city of Dnipro, a city of nearly 1 million people,  on June 24 has killed at least eight civilians and injured 84 others. Local officials say the number of casualties continues to rise.

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak confirmed a series of explosions hit the city, with 62 victims hospitalized, including seven in critical condition. In the nearby city of Samar, 11 more people were injured, eight of whom are also receiving medical treatment.

The strikes damaged 19 schools, 10 kindergartens, a vocational college, a music school, three extracurricular education centers, the city’s social services department, and eight medical facilities, including a hospital and dental clinic.

Images online also showed a passenger train affected with visible damage inside, but no casualties were reported among the passengers. 

Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov said a train from Odesa to Zaporizhzhia was also damaged. Many lives were saved as people in the strike zone were in shelters at the time of the attack.

Nine confirmed dead in Kyiv following Russian missile strike. Nine people lost their lives in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district after a Russian missile strike on June 23 caused part of a residential building to collapse, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko confirmed the following day. 

Search and rescue operations at the site have concluded, and emergency crews are now working to dismantle hazardous structures. Kyiv is currently this month the most affected city by Russian aerial attacks this month, with barrages of drones and various projectiles targeting the city. 

Russian drone strike on Sumy Oblast: 3 killed, including child; 6 injured, 30 homes damaged. A Russian drone attack on a village in the Verkhnosyrovatka hromada of the northeastern region of Sumy overnight on June 24 killed three civilians, including an 8-year-old boy, and injured six others.

Local police reported that the boy’s body was recovered from the rubble of a destroyed home. A man and a woman from separate families also were killed in the strike.

Among the six injured are three children. All the wounded have been hospitalized with varying degrees of injuries.

The attack caused a large fire and damaged approximately 30 residential buildings and four civilian vehicles.

Ukrainian Navy destroys Russian landing craft in Kherson region

Ukrainian forces have destroyed a Russian Black Sea Fleet landing craft carrying enemy troops along the western coast of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region, the country’s Navy reported.

Vice Admiral Oleksii Neizhpapa, commander of the Ukrainian Navy, confirmed the strike on social media, thanking naval personnel for their precision. “Another Black Sea Fleet boat carrying a landing party has been destroyed,” he wrote. “Excellent work by our sailors.” The exact date of the operation was not disclosed. Footage released by the Navy shows the strike on the vessel as it attempted to maneuver along the occupied shoreline.

Key Takeaways:

• The Kremlin continues to only diplomatically support Iran, showcasing the limitations in the Russian-Iranian strategic relationship.
• Russian officials are attempting to influence conversations about increasing NATO defense spending by misrepresenting Russia’s ongoing efforts to restructure and expand Russia’s military capabilities as a defensive reaction to NATO.
• Putin also acknowledged his ongoing efforts to empower Russia’s internal security services in order to safeguard regime stability and internal security.
• Russian forces conducted a large-scale combined drone and missile strike against Ukraine on the night of June 22 to 23 that largely targeted Kyiv City and killed at least seven people and injured 28.
• Ukraine’s Western partners continue to allocate military aid to Ukraine and collaborate with the Ukrainian defense industrial base (DIB).
• Ukrainian forces advanced in northern Sumy Oblast. Russian forces advanced near Kupyansk, Borova, Pokrovsk, and Novopavlivka and in Sumy Oblast.

In Memoriam: Serhii Fedorenko, a hero of Ukraine’s defense forces

Pvt. Serhii Fedorenko, known by the call sign “Silver13,” was killed on March 5, 2024, during a combat mission near the village of Verbove in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. He was 37 years old.

Fedorenko was born in Ivano-Frankivsk, a city in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in western Ukraine. He attended School No. 17 and later graduated from Vocational School No. 21, where he trained as a general-purpose machine operator and CNC machine operator. He also earned a degree in accounting from Nadvirna Vocational College of the National Transport University. In civilian life, he worked as a thermal processing operator at Meat-IF LLC. He cherished time with his wife and two children and enjoyed cooking.

In July 2023, Fedorenko was conscripted into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After training, he joined the 141st Separate Mechanized Brigade and served as a rifleman on the front line.

“Serhii was the best — a loving husband, caring father, son, brother, and loyal friend. He was sincere, kind hearted, and always ready to help anyone in need. He loved life and stood firmly for justice. I remember his words with sorrow and pride: ‘If not me, then who will defend our land?’ He was only 37 — so much life ahead, so many dreams. The enemy stole that from him. We love and remember our dearest,” wrote his wife, Mariia.

Fedorenko was posthumously awarded the Order for Courage, 3rd Class.

He was buried at the Alley of Glory at Chukalivka Cemetery in Ivano-Frankivsk. On February 20, 2025, a memorial plaque honoring him was unveiled at Ivano-Frankivsk Lyceum No. 17.

He is survived by his mother, Liubov; sister, Tetiana; wife, Mariia; son, Oskar; daughter, Kamila; as well as extended family, friends, and fellow soldiers.

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

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• Russians hit Ground Forces training center in Chernihiv Oblast with Shahed drones
• Russian missile attack kills nine, damages passenger train in southeast Ukraine
• Netherlands announces new military aid package for Ukraine, including drone detection radars
• UK to produce Ukrainian drones on its own territory
• Hungary and Slovakia, as promised, block new EU sanctions against Russia ahead of summit