Victory Chronicles
-DAY 483

Russia fears AFU offensive: British intelligence shows photos of defensive lines in Crimea

The UK Ministry of Defense believes that such Russians’ actions indicate that they accept the fact that the plans of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been successfully implemented. Russians are building defensive lines on the outskirts of the temporarily occupied peninsula. British intelligence noted that the enemy had made a large defense strip of 9 km in length on the territory of Crimea. “This includes a large 9 km long defense strip 3.5 km north of the city of Armyansk, on a narrow land isthmus connecting Crimea to the Kherson region,” intelligence experts said.

Carefully thought-out defense means indicate that the Russian command believes that the Armed Forces of Ukraine can directly attack the temporarily occupied Crimea. British intelligence analysts expressed this opinion. “Russia still considers maintaining control over the peninsula its top political priority,” the British intelligence agency emphasized.

Latest news

• • Weapon production: The Pentagon has ordered the production of AMRAAM missiles, including for Ukraine
  • Russian threats: Russia threatens Ukraine’s ‘decision-making centers’ if Kyiv uses Western arms in Crimea
  • General Staff report: 40 combat engagements take place on 4 fronts as heavy fighting with Russians continues
  • Weapons for the counteroffensive: Portugal will send Ukraine M113 APC and artillery
  • NATO-UKRAINE: Ukraine is a key element of Europe’s defense; it waits for NATO to find the courage to recognize this – Zelenskyy

Symbolic number of the Day - 222,000

From February 24, 2022, to June 21, 2023, the Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminated about 222,000 Russian military personnel, including 540 soldiers, over the past day, stated the report by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Moreover, the Ukrainian troops destroyed 4,006 (+9 over the past day) enemy tanks, 7,771 (+21) armored combat vehicles, 3,920 (+32) artillery systems, 615 (+1) MLRS, 375 (+3) air defense systems, 314 aircraft, 306 helicopters, 3,428 (+35) operational-tactical UAVs, 1,214 cruise missiles, 18 ships/boats, 6,667 (+22) vehicles and fuel tanks, 539 (+8) special equipment units.

War in Pictures

New satellite imagery confirms that, in effect, the Kakhovka Reservoir no longer exists. Only the Dnipro River itself, a few tributaries, and some small lakes in the area remain.

Video of the Day

The anti-tank missile systems company fighters of the 128th separate mountain assault Zakarpattia Brigade destroyed a Russian tank. The video shows the tank trying to maneuver and preparing to fire at our positions. However, a missile from the “Stugna-P” ended its efforts – the tank ignited like a dry twig, and a few seconds later, its ammunition detonated. The entire crew was eliminated.

ISW report

Ukrainian forces conducted counteroffensive operations in at least two front sectors on June 20. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces continued offensive operations on the administrative border between Zaporizhia and Donetsk Oblasts and in western Zaporizhia Oblast. The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed that Eastern Grouping of Forces units repelled four Ukrainian assaults near Orikhiv, Zaporizhia Oblast, and in western Donetsk Oblast. 

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported on June 19 that Russian forces had committed significant forces to stop Ukrainian offensives, making Ukrainian advances difficult. Maliar added that ongoing Ukrainian operations have several tasks that were not solely focused on liberating territory and that Ukrainian forces have yet to start the main phase of counteroffensive operations.

War Heroes

Ukraine’s spymaster has got under the Kremlin’s skin. Kyrylo Budanov is much hunted but is not prone to hide. The Economist

It takes a certain amount of fear to paralyze seasoned military intelligence officers. Yet, a Russian attack on the officers’ Rybalsky island headquarters in Kyiv in March 2022 crossed that threshold. The officers recall “terror” as missiles landed, windows popped, and dilapidated buildings crumbled at the edges. The men, waiting in a reception area for a meeting with their boss, fell to the floor. Moments later, a door beside them opened, and Major-General Kyrylo Budanov stepped out. “Everything is fine,” one recalls him grunting before he ordered them to get back to work. “He dusted himself off, put his cap on, and went outside to inspect the damage.”

The 37-year-old General Budanov, a former commando, is the architect of increasingly brazen operations within Russia, making him a big irritant for the Kremlin. Aides to the spymaster say there have been “at least ten” attempts on his life. In the latest, on May 29th, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones targeted his Rybalsky office. They narrowly missed the building and an adjacent road bridge, although drones scraped another nearby building. A day later, Vladimir Putin bragged about a “precision” attack destroying the complex. Pro-Kremlin media reported that General Budanov had been evacuated to Germany and put into a coma. The Economist confirmed that neither claim was true.

The spymaster’s office, his undisguised address for 16 months, exudes chaotic, crepuscular energy. Sandbags block windows. Machine guns and armor cover the floor. A turntable sits in the corner, though the audible Vivaldi comes from a YouTube playlist. Memorabilia line the wall. On an adjacent corridor hangs a photo of a March cross-border raid into Bryansk in Russia, supposedly the work of independent Russian partisans. A large screen, the room’s only light source, displays a map of Moscow—the target of a drone strike in May. Read more