Victory Chronicles-DAY 1288

Ukrainian troops have pushed Russian forces out of positions near the village of Tovste in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, according to Ukrainian military analysts from the Deep State monitoring group.

.The analysts reported that Ukrainian defenders destroyed Russian positions along the Piddubne-Iskra road, forcing the enemy to retreat.

While small Russian groups of are still attempting to infiltrate between the villages of Zelenyi Hai and Tovste, most are being killed or captured. 

The advance is significant because Tovste sits on a key approach route to Donetsk city, where Russia has concentrated its forces for months. Ukrainian control of the village bolsters defenses west of Donetsk and complicates Russian efforts to push forward toward larger Ukrainian-held towns.

Russian troops are currently regrouping near Filiia and along the Yanvarske-Ternove line, but the analysts noted that their losses in Tovste reflect a wider pattern of attrition across the Donetsk front..

The area has seen clashes since this summer. Ukraine’s 5th Heavy Mechanized Brigade announced on Aug. 21 that it had regained control of most of the population center, underscoring Ukraine’s ability to resist Russian assaults but to reclaim and hold contested ground. 

Ukrainian ‘Wild Hornets’ drones credited with nearly $2 billion in Russian losses. A Ukrainian drone development group called the “Wild Hornets” says its unmanned aerial systems have destroyed Russian tanks, air defenses and other equipment worth almost $2 billion.

In a statement accompanied by an infographic, the team reported that their drones have taken out 153 tanks, 231 armored vehicles, 124 artillery pieces and rocket launchers, and 664 supply trucks. They also claim to have downed 370 suicide attack drones, Iranian-designed weapons that are widely used by Russia, and more than 1,200 other drones. Four air defense systems and more than 1,000 Russian troops were also listed among the losses.

Russian rockets hit apartments in Donetsk regional town of Druzhkivka, injuring seven including 16-year-old girl

Russian forces fired Smerch multiple-launch rockets at the eastern Ukrainian town of Druzhkivka overnight on Sept. 2–3, striking apartment buildings while injuring seven civilians, including a teenage girl, local prosecutors said.

The attack, which came around 12:30 a.m., injured four civilian men aged 42, 49, 51 and 76, as well as two women aged 65 and 71 and a 16-year-old girl. Officials said the victims suffered blast injuries, shrapnel wounds and concussions. A married couple, the husband’s sister and a nephew were among the injured.

Five homes were also damaged in the strike. Photos released by the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office showed shattered windows and debris littering courtyards.

Ukrainian soldier pulls off deadly ‘hide-and-seek with two Russian troops. A Ukrainian soldier from the 425th Assault Regiment, known as “Skelia” (Cliff)  killed two Russian troops after convincing them he was one of their own, a unit video shows on Sept. 3.

The footage captures the shows the soldier walking down a road with two Russians trailing behind. Believing he was a comrade, they drew close and began moving alongside him. At the right moment, the Ukrainian turned and opened fire, killing them both.

The regiment said it had briefly lost contact with the soldier before he resurfaced with the daring maneuver captured on camera.

Such close-range encounters are rare in a war dominated by drones, artillery and long-range strikes — but they highlight the unpredictable and deadly moments that still unfold on Ukraine’s front lines.

Key Takeaways:

• Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin leveraged a meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to pretend to offer marginal concessions to US demands while continuing to refuse to meet actual US demands and while blaming Europe and the United States for provoking Russian aggression.
• Kremlin officials continue to deny White House statements about the prospect of a bilateral Ukrainian-Russian or trilateral U.S.-Ukrainian-Russian meeting in the near future.
• Russia continues to feel the economic impacts of secondary sanctions against Russian oil-and-gas importers and of recent Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil refineries.
• North Korea is reportedly planning to send about 6,000 more troops to Russia, likely to serve in supporting roles in the Russian rear.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced in northern Kharkiv Oblast and near Lyman and Pokrovsk. Russian forces recently advanced near Kupyansk and in the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka tactical area.

• Germany’s Merz: Putin has no reason to end the war or make a peace deal with Ukraine
• UK intelligence analyzes Russian abduction of Ukrainian children
• Russian propaganda revives fake story about biolabs in Ukraine
• UK sanctions Russians involved in abduction of Ukrainian children
• Trump: “I’m very disappointed with Putin”
• Germany has no plans to send its troops to Ukraine