Victory Chronicles-DAY 1314

One of Ukraine’s newest military units, Unmanned Systems Forces, published a video and reported that they have destroyed a Russian Mi-8 attack helicopter near the village of Kotliarivka on Sept. 29 with a first-person-view (FPV) suicide drone. 

Major Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, posted a video of the strike on social media and credited operators from the 59th Separate Assault Brigade of Unmanned Systems. The brigade said the helicopter was downed as a result of coordinated work between intelligence services and unmanned aerial units.

The Mi-8 is a Russian two-seat attack helicopter that is frequently used to deliver guided munitions and support ground assaults. Its loss, worth about $16 million-$18 million, is a blow to forces that rely on such aircraft for strikes behind the front lines. 

A video released by Ukrainian units shows the FPV drone closing on the aircraft and the moment of impact, as well as the hard landing it had after the strike.

Media identify 13 Russian commanders tied to Bucha atrocities. The London-based newspaper The Sunday Times has named 13 Russian military commanders who are accused of overseeing war crimes during the month-long occupation of the northwestern Kyiv suburb of Bucha in early 2022 when the full-scale invasion transpired.

The names were compiled by independent investigators using open-source intelligence and confirmed by Ukrainian law enforcement. Eight of the commanders have already been served with official notices of suspicion by Ukraine’s prosecutor general, a step toward possible trials in Ukrainian courts and at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

At the top of the list is Col. Gen. Alexander Chaiko, then commander of Russia’s Eastern Military District. Chaiko previously had led Russian forces in Syria and has been sanctioned by the United Kingdom for ordering strikes on hospitals and schools in Idlib that killed more than 1,600 civilians. He and Maj. Gen. Sergei Chubarykin, who commanded Russia’s 76th Air Assault Division, have both been formally charged with war crimes in absentia.

Russia conducts nationwide drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, killing four in Kyiv. On Sept. 28, Russia carried out a coordinated aerial drone and projectile offensive across Ukraine by targeting multiple cities, including the capital, Kyiv, The latter experienced the most devastation and caused part of a five-story  apartment building to collapse in the Solomianskyi district. 

Falling debris from drones also hit several other districts, sparking fires and damaging cars and single-family homes, Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported. Authorities confirmed that four people, including a child, were killed, and 13 others were injured. Emergency Service provided assistance to 25 residents shaken by the strike. The massive response involved more than 300 emergency workers and 70 pieces of equipment. Firefighters extinguished blazes, searched the rubble and evacuated survivors.

Across the country, other urban areas also faced airborne attacks, including the Black Sea port city of Odesa that has a population of more than 1 million. 

It signaled Russia’s intensified effort to overwhelm Ukraine air defenses and inflict civilians and infrastructure damage far from the front line. Military analysts note that these strikes coincide with Russia’s continued reliance on Iranian-designed Shahed suicide drones to pressure both cities and morale countrywide. 

Ukraine’s Air Force said that 611 of the 643 of the various projectiles (including drones) were either intercepted or electronically jammed. 

Those actions prevented even higher casualties, but the attacks underscore a persistent danger to civilians across Ukraine and the strain of the country’s protective systems. Ukrainian officials have called on Western partners to accelerate the delivery of additional air defense systems to help defend cities nationwide. 

Ukrainian special forces ambush Russian patrol behind enemy lines, kill three and seize equipment. Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said recently that a joint unit from its 73rd Naval Center and the Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR) carried out a special reconnaissance-and-ambush mission inside Russian territory that ended with three Russian troops eliminated and their vehicle destroyed.

After the mission was completed on enemy territory, the assault team successfully exfiltrated and they returned to Ukraine with captured weapons and documents. They also seized a captured Federal Security Border Service border sensor. 

Key Takeaways

• U.S. Vice President JD Vance criticized Russia’s rejection of American invitations to engage in bilateral or trilateral negotiations as Kremlin officials continue to demonstrate their lack of interest in good-faith negotiations with Ukraine.
• Russian forces conducted the third largest combined missile and drone strike against Ukraine of the war to date on the night of September 27 to 28 with 643 total projectiles.
• European officials continue to report unidentified drones operating within NATO airspace.
• Kremlin-linked Moldovan politicians called for protests in Moldova following the September 28 parliamentary election.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov emphasized that Russia will use its upcoming United Nations Security Council (UNSC) presidency to “review” the 1995 Dayton Accords in a likely effort to destabilize the Balkans and divide and distract Europe.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Lyman and Novopavlivka.

• Envoy Kellogg: Trump authorizes long-range strikes on Russia
• Putin announces autumn draft campaign in Russia to call up over 130,000 people
• Russians damage Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s Assumption Cathedral in Kherson
• Ukrainian Navy confirms strike on Russian Electrodetal plant with Neptune missile
• Ukraine’s commander-in-chief: Russian troops encircled on Dobropillia front
• Vance: US is considering Ukraine’s request for Tomahawks – decision is up to Trump