Victory Chronicles
-DAY 421

Above:  As we reported about Poland yesterday, today NATO’s newest member Finland is building a serious barrier on its border with the aggressor state.  Like Poland, Finland wants to prevent illegal migration from both fleeing Russians and “weaponized migration” – a Kremlin scheme to use vulnerable third-world migrants as tools to disrupt European society.  (RFERL)

Above: Zhytomyr Oblast received its first group of 29 refugees from Donetsk region – Bakhmut, Kostyantynivka, Slovyansk, Mariinka, Pokrovsk and other settlements under enemy fire.  They were met at the train station with love, food, financial support and offered prepared housing in Berdychiv, Zhytomyr. 

Video: Russian forces took Ukrainian students from a school in the Mykolayiv region that provided accommodation for children with special needs. They were sent to live at a sanatorium in Russia’s Krasnodar region. The school’s director, Natalia Lutsyk, fought to get the children out.

Above: UK Ministry of Defence

• The Russian Federal Security Service appears to be conducting a large-scale purge of domestic security organs. The KGB successor is investigating Moscow security apparatuses and police departments to identify and arrest traitors who may be leaking information to Ukraine. ISW assesses that the Kremlin is cleaning house to make sure that only loyalists remain in security.
• Russian officials continue to build an electronic draft database and prepare to send electronic test summons to Russian men. The Duma still needs to work out the legality of the hastily-passed scheme. A Russian lawmaker stated on April 19 that Russian officials must use the existing methods of draft notification but can run tests on the electronic approach. He clarified that electronic subpoenas will have no legal effect during the spring 2023 conscription cycle.

Video: As if Kyiv residents don’t have enough to worry about.  Last night, the Kyiv city administration reported that a NASA satellite broke up over the capital city, but NASA said, no it wasn’t.  The Ukrainian Air Force said it might have been a meteorite.  Social media is leaning towards alien invasion. 

Ще одне відео яскравого спалаху у Києві опублікували Telegram-канали pic.twitter.com/JqvP0aZqKm

— Українська правда ✌️ (@ukrpravda_news) April 19, 2023

General Staff’s Daily Video Digest with English subtitles

Above: Enemy T-90 tank hit with ani-tank shots topped with a couple of Molotov cocktails. (Charter97)

Ukrainian General Staff of the Armed Forces estimated enemy losses since February 24, 2022 (with daily additions)

• Liquidated personnel, 184,420 (+670)
• Tanks, 3,667 (+2)
• Armored personnel vehicles, 7,120 (+10)
• Artillery systems/MLRS, 2,825/539 (+6/1)
• Anti-aircraft systems, 285 (0)
• Aircraft/helicopters, 308/293 (0)
• Unmanned aerial vehicles, 2,386 (+10)
• Cruise missiles, 911 (0)
• Warships/boats, 18 (0)
• Vehicles and fuel tanks, 5,707 (+15)
• Special equipment 332 (+2)

Above: Power substation bombed by the invader in Kherson region. The Kremlin launched 15 massive missile attacks and 17 drone swarms on Ukraine’s power system to break the unbreakable will of the Ukrainian people.  For almost two months, the grid has been working without consumer restrictions although more than 10 gigawatts is still unavailable – including 6 gigawatts from the enemy occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.  (Ukraine.UA)

Glory to Ukraine!
The 421st day of the Russian large-scale invasion has begun.

• Over the past 24 hours, the enemy launched 3x missile and 57x air strikes, including 26x Shahed-136 type UAV 21x of them were destroyed by our defenders. Also, the russian aggressors fired 69x rounds from MLRS at the positions of our troops and populated areas. There are dead and wounded among the civilian population, destroyed and damaged private residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure.
• The threat of launching missile and air strikes on the entire territory of Ukraine remains high.
• The enemy, at the cost of heavy losses, continues to wage a war of aggression. The main efforts are focused on conducting offensive operations in the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Mar’yinka, and Shakhtars’ke axes. Over the past 24 hours, units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine repelled more than 55x enemy attacks on the specified areas of the front. The fiercest battles are fought for Bakhmut and Mar’yinka.
• Over the past day, the enemy shelled the settlements of Shalygine, Boyaro-Lezhachi, Iskryskivshchyna, Bilopylla, Volfyne, Katerynivka, and Kindrativka in the Sumy Oblast, as well as Strylecha, Ohirtseve, Vovchansk, Petropavlivka, Karaichne, Zemlianka, Ustinivka, and Odradne in the Kharkiv
• Kupyansk axis: Krasne Pershe, Novomlynsk, Dvorichna, Zapadne and Berestov of Kharkiv Oblast were hit by enemy shelling.
• Lyman axis: the enemy tried to improve the tactical position, conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the areas of the southern outskirts of the settlement of Kreminna and Serebryansk Forestry. Stelmakhivka, Nevske, Dibrova, Kuzmine and Bilogorivka in the Luhansk Oblast and Ivanivka, Torske, Verkhnokamianske and Spirne in the Donetsk Oblast were hit by artillery fire.
• Bakhmut axis: the enemy continues to conduct offensive actions.
• Heavy fighting continues for the city of Bakhmut. Also, during the past day, our defenders repelled enemy attacks in the area of the Khromov settlement. Fedorivka, Vasyukivka, Minkivka, Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Novomarkove, Hryhorivka, Bakhmut, Ivanivske, Chasiv Yar, Stupochki, Predtechine, Kostyantynivka, Druzhkivka, Oleksandro-Shultine, Bila Gora, Druzhba and Zalizne of the Donetsk Oblast were affected by enemy shelling.
• Avdiivka axis: the enemy carried out offensive actions in the Avdiivka, Vodyanny and Pervomaisky districts, without success. Shelled, in particular, Novokalynov, Avdiivka, Tonenka, Severna, Netaylov, Pervomayske and Nevelske of the Donetsk
• Mar’yinka axis: our defenders repelled numerous enemy attacks in the areas of Mar’yinka and Pobieda settlements last day. At the same time, Krasnohorivka, Georgiivka, Mar’yinka, and Novomykhailivka of the Donetsk Oblast got under enemy fire.
• Shakhtars’ke axis: the enemy conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the area of Vugledar. In addition to the latter, Novoukrainka, Prechistivka and Velika Novosilka of the Donetsk Oblast were shelled.
• Zaporizhzhia and Kherson axes: the enemy continues to conduct defensive operations. At the same time, during the day, more than 35x settlements were shelled. Among them are Olhivske, Malynivka, Orihiv, Novodanilivka and Novoandriivka of the Zaporizhia Oblast; Dudchany, Kachkarivka, Zmiivka, Ivanivka, Inzhenerne and Dniprovske of the Kherson Oblast and the city of Kherson.

Support the Armed Forces! United we will win! Glory to Ukraine!

Above:  Redpost shared a video of fountains returning to work in Kharkiv city’s central amusement park (still named after Gorky?).  

• Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks near Kreminna on April 19. Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive operations near Kreminna and Dibrova (5km southwest of Kreminna).

Above: “Despite the brutal combat between Ukrainian and Russian forces, Kyiv’s outnumbered and outgunned fighters are still holding onto the western part of Bakhmut..” (RFERL)

#StrongerTogether
🇸🇪 soldiers bidding farewell to 🇺🇦 before they go back to the frontlines
💙💛 pic.twitter.com/iYS4WTKIw5

— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) April 19, 2023

• Russian forces continued ground attacks in and around Bakhmut on April 19. Heavy fighting is ongoing within Bakhmut itself. Ukrainian forces repelled Russian ground attacks near Stupochky (12km southwest of Bakhmut along the T0504 Kostyantynivka-Chasiv Yar-Bakhmut highway). Russian and Ukrainian forces engaged in 34 combat clashes in Bakhmut over the past day. Russia forces in Bakhmut are attacking in squad-sized assault groups of five to six people.
• Russian forces continued ground attacks along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City frontline on April 19. Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the Avdiivka area towards Avdiivka itself; Stepove (7km northwest of Avdiivka), Berdychi (10km northwest of Avdiivka), and Sieverne (5km west of Avdiivka); on the northwestern outskirts of Donetsk City near Vodyane, Pervomaiske, and Nevelske; and on the southwestern outskirts of Donetsk City near Marinka and Pobieda.
• Russian forces conducted ground attacks in western Donetsk Oblast on April 19. Russian troops conducted unsuccessful offensive actions near Prechystivka (40km southwest of Donetsk City) and Vuhledar (30km southwest of Donetsk City).

Above: Enemy occupation cranes confiscating privately owned watercraft in Henishesk, Kherson, on the Sea of Azov. The occupation government announced retrospectively on April 19 that last week occupation authorities were ordered to seize civilian boats and transfer them to invader forces in occupied Kherson Oblast. (OSINT)

• The enemy invader is moving troops around in Crimea.  The General Staff announced that 400 conscripts in eastern Crimea are transferred to defend Crimea’s western coast near the Saky Air Force Base. War analysts are intrigued by Moscow’s build-up of defenses on the beaches of western Crimea, apparently in expectation of a sea-borne invasion by Ukraine that doesn’t have a navy.
• Russian forces launched 12 Shahed drones at southern Ukraine from the Sea of Azov on the night of April 18 to 19. Ukrainian air defense shot down ten of them.  The drone swarm was an attempt to find and destroy Ukrainian air defense systems. Ukrainian forces have shot down 750 of the total 850 missiles that Russian forces have launched at Ukrainian during this period.

Video:  Let’s hold the line…Soon!!! (View on Twitter)
https://twitter.com/Illya_Ayzin/status/1647876560962158593?s=20