Victory Chronicles-DAY 1275

A massive fire continues to burn at the American-owned electronics manufacturing company of Flex plant in Mukachevo in Ukraine’s westernmost region of Zakarpattia. Two Russian projectiles struck it overnight on Aug. 21, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported.

Formerly known as Flextronics, the Texas-based company is a prominent global electronics manufacturing services and original design manufacturer company. Earlier this year, Russia had also struck a Boeing research and development center in Kyiv during an airborne attack. The blaze engulfed about 7,000 square meters (75,000 square feet) of the facility. Firefighters said they managed to localize the fire, but it has not yet been fully extinguished.

Ninety-six rescuers and 20 pieces of equipment are involved in the operation, along with a specialized firefighting train from Ukrainian Railways. Earlier, local authorities confirmed that Russian forces struck a civilian enterprise in Mukachevo during the night attack. The U.S.-owned Boeing research and development center in Kyiv was also struck earlier this year. 

AP: Ukraine to ramp up Flamingo missile output to seven per day by October. Ukraine is preparing to dramatically scale up production of its new long-range Flamingo missile, according to an Associated Press report that was published Aug. 21. Currently, the missile is manufactured at a pace of about one per day, but by October the figure is expected to reach seven per day, said Iryna Terekh, head of production at FirePoint, the company that is behind the project.

The Flamingo has a range of up to 1,900 miles and has a payload of more than one ton. FirePoint also produces first-person view drones, which can fly up to 1,000 miles and deliver a 130-pound warhead.

Ukrainian special forces hit Russian fuel train in Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula. Ukrainian Special Operations Forces struck a Russian train carrying fuel near the Dzhankoi railway station in occupied Crimea overnight on Aug. 21, the military reported. The operation disrupted logistics for Russian forces in the south, as the damaged train had been transporting fuel and lubricants critical to the occupying army’s supply lines.

Special Operations Forces emphasized that the strike complicates the enemy’s ability to sustain its southern grouping. Russia illegally annexed the peninsula in 2014 when its initial invasion of Ukraine started. 

Russian shelling kills 1 civilian, injures 7 in southern Kherson city. Russian forces shelled the city of Kherson on the morning of Aug. 21, killing one person and injuring seven civilians, regional officials said.

Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration, reported that artillery fire hit a residential area in the city’s Dnipro district. A 61-year-old man on the street was killed instantly.

Among the injured are an 18-year-old woman and a 48-year-old woman with blast injuries and concussions, as well as a 54-year-old and a 77-year-old man who sustained leg wounds. All were hospitalized in moderate condition.

Key Takeaways:

• The Kremlin is demanding that Russia have a veto over any Western security guarantees for Ukraine in an effort to undermine ongoing U.S., European, and Ukrainian efforts to establish conditions for lasting peace in Ukraine.
• The Kremlin appears to be demanding that any security guarantees be based on those proposed in the Istanbul 2022 framework, which would grant Russia and its allies the right to veto Western military assistance to Ukraine and leave Ukraine helpless in the face of future Russian threats.
• The Kremlin is continuing to indicate that Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin is unwilling to have an immediate bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the timeline proposed by US President Donald Trump.
• The Russian economy continues to face budget deficits as a result of increased defense spending and detrimental effects of Western sanctions and secondary tariffs.
• Secondary tariffs are likely forcing Russia to sell oil below market price, which could be decreasing the incoming flow of foreign funds into the Russian economy and depleting Russia’s primary source of wealth.
• The Kremlin is reportedly considering replacing Russian Investigative Committee (Sledkom) Chairman Alexander Bastrykin, likely as part of the Kremlin’s efforts to form a new and younger elite.
• Ukrainian forces advanced near Pokrovsk. Russian forces advanced in northern Sumy Oblast and near Lyman, Toretsk, and Velykomykhailivka.

• French Foreign Ministry: Russian strikes on Ukraine show lack of will for peace talks
• Zelenskyy: Ukraine offered US a $50 billion drone deal
• Hungary’s president deletes word “Russian” from his post about Russian attack on Zakarpattia Oblast
• The Guardian: Trump wants Zelenskyy and Putin to meet without him first
• Ukraine’s General Staff confirms strike on Russian oil refinery
• Zelenskyy says he would be “happy” if Ukraine could hold elections soon
• Vance says Europe will have to take ‘lion’s share’ of burden for Ukrainian security
• NYT: Trump delegates State Secretary Rubio to negotiate with Europeans on Ukraine’s security guarantees
• Politico: Pentagon says US will play minimal role in Ukraine’s security guarantees