Victory Chronicles-DAY 562

Russian troops launched missile attacks against the cities of Kryvyi Rih, Zaporizhzhia, and Sumy on the morning of Sept. 8, killing one person and wounding at least 56 people. Russia hit a police station in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast’s Kryvyi Rih, damaging nearby residential buildings as well, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported. One police officer has been confirmed killed, and six more employees injured, as of 10 a.m. local time, according to Klymenko. 52 people were reported injured in the Kryvyi Rih missile strike as of 12: 30 p.m. local time, reported Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. First responders continue clearing the rubble.

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak said the attack had damaged 14 administrative buildings, a religious facility, 17 apartment buildings, and four private households. In northeastern Sumy, a Russian missile hit a two-story apartment building, causing a large-scale fire and damaging over 20 houses and eight vehicles, the State Emergency Service’s regional department reported. Three people have been injured in the attack, including an elderly couple rescued from the rubble, according to the Sumy Oblast police. According to preliminary information published by the city’s acting mayor, Anatolii Kurtiev, the morning attack injured another man in Zaporizhzhia, southern Ukraine.

Ombudsman: 9 more Ukrainian children illegally held by Russia return home. Ukraine has managed to return nine more children deported or illegally held by Russia, including in the occupied territories, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Sept. 8. Among the returned children is a boy who was accused of blowing up a bridge and spent a month in prison being interrogated by Russian forces, according to Lubinets. “He went through all the circles of hell, including filtration. But now he is with his mother in Ukraine,” added the official. For security reasons, Lubinets couldn’t disclose further details of the operation.

The United States of America will send 190 MRAP armored vehicles with enhanced anti-mine protection to Ukraine. “The US will give 190 MRAPs to enable Ukraine’s brave law enforcement officers to protect civilians — especially those near the frontlines,” said US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink. The US ambassador noted that the MRAP armored vehicles will be delivered to Ukrainian border guards and police. Brink also posted a joint photo with Victoria Nuland, Acting Deputy State Secretary, and colleagues from the State Department.

Ukrainian defenders destroyed Russian T-80BV tanks using a grenade dropped from a UAV near the village of Robotyno, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. 

Ukrainian forces continued offensive operations near Bakhmut and in western Zaporizhia Oblast on September 7 and made further gains on both sectors of the front. Geolocated footage published on September 7 indicates that Ukrainian forces have made further advances northwest of Verbove (18km southwest of Orikhiv) in western Zaporizhia Oblast.

A prominent Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces made further advances in the area and other milbloggers claimed that Ukrainian forces temporarily advanced to the northwestern outskirts of Verbove on September 6, likely indicating further recent Ukrainian advances northwest of the settlement. Satellite imagery collected on September 6 shows burning foliage in a tree line roughly a kilometer northwest of Verbove, suggesting that Russian forces are firing on advancing Ukrainian forces in the area. Geolocated footage published on September 7 indicates that Ukrainian forces have made marginal gains northwest of Klishchiivka (7km southwest of Bakhmut). The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces achieved unspecified successes south of Bakhmut and near Robotyne (10km south of Orikhiv) and Verbove in western Zaporizhia Oblast.

Borys Chubin, the Odesa inventor and creator of the social movement for visually impaired people, died near Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, while performing a combat mission as part of the 59th Separate Infantry Brigade named after Yakov Handziuk. Ukrainian People Magazine reported this on its Facebook page. “He is a multiple champion of social innovation. He could have glorified Ukraine and improved any industry he chose. But he went to defend his homeland’s very right to life,” the statement reads.

Borys invented the iHelp device for people with visual disabilities, which helps them move around the city without hindrance. He also created the Garden Club smartphone app, which tells gardeners when to plant certain plants. In addition, Borys Chubin is the author of a social network for visually impaired people, which has enabled communication between people of different generations. His project, titled “Creating Equal Opportunities for the Blind and Visually Impaired,” received the highest rating from an international jury.

Before the war, the man studied in Kyiv and graduated from the Institute of International Relations of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in 2021. The defender fought as part of the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade named after Yakiv Handziuk and died on August 30, performing a combat mission near Avdiivka.

• Pentagon: Ukrainians’ actions on battlefield “extremely effective”
• Armed Forces of Ukraine: Ukrainian defenders have success near Bakhmut and Robotyne
• Reuters: Ukraine prepares Western air defense for winter attacks on energy system
• General Staff: Russia loses over 267,000 soldiers in total
• US Department of Defense press service: The US$600 million package is being provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI)