Victory Chronicles-DAY 551

Three people were killed, two were wounded, and two more are considered missing as a result of a Russian missile attack on an industrial facility in Poltava Oblast on the night of 27-28 August. “Russians launched a missile attack on the village of Gogoleve, Myrhorod district, Poltava Oblast. The explosion caused a fire in an oil mill. Two people were killed and 5 injured. The people were working the night shift,” reported the head of the Presidential Office, Andrii Yermak.

Later, the head of the Poltava Oblast Military Administration, Dmytro Lunin, reported another victim of the shelling: “Rescuers continue to clear the rubble after the missile strike. We found the body of another person.” The head of the Oblast Military Administration added that the search for another person is ongoing.

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The Ukrainian Air Force destroyed four of the six missiles Russia launched at Ukraine on the night of 27-28 August. “As a result of combat operations, four aerial targets were destroyed: two Kalibr cruise missiles and two Kh-59 guided missiles,” reported the Ukrainian Air Force. In total, the Russians fired six sea- and air-launched missiles at Ukraine. The Russians fired four Kalibr cruise missiles from a frigate in the Black Sea near Feodosiia. Two Kh-59 guided missiles were also launched from two Su-34 aircraft, which the occupiers sent in the direction of Kryvyi Rih from the airspace of occupied Kherson Oblast.

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Ukrainian Special Operations Forces have revealed the specifics of a drone strike on the location of the 126th Coastal Defence Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in temporarily occupied Crimea. “Ukrainian Special Operations Forces, together with other units of the Defence Forces, attacked the facilities of the 126th Coastal Defence Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. During the attack, several attack UAVs were used to strike at the location of the enemy unit in Perevalne, Crimea. As a result of the strikes, the enemy suffered casualties, both killed and wounded,” reported by press Service of the Special Operations Forces.

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In the Luhansk sector, aerial reconnaissance of the 100th Brigade detected an enemy 240-mm 2s4 TULPAN self-propelled mortar; the coordinates were passed to the 45th Separate Artillery Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The mortar was destroyed. The Armed Forces StratCom officially reported this.

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Ukrainian forces reportedly advanced in the western Donetsk-eastern Zaporizhia Oblast border area and in western Zaporizhia Oblast amid Ukrainian counteroffensive operations in southern and eastern Ukraine.

Tavriisk Group of Forces Spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun reported that Ukrainian forces are advancing in the directions of Novoprokopivka (13km south of Orikhiv), Mala Tokmachka (9km southeast of Orikhiv), and Ocheretuvate (25km southeast of Orikhiv) in western Zaporizhia Oblast.

Shtupun also stated that Ukrainian forces advanced near Urozhaine (9km south of Velyka Novosilka) and Robotyne (10km south of Orikhiv) and achieved unspecified successes near Staromayorske (9km south of Velyka Novosilka) in the Berdyansk direction (western Donetsk-eastern Zaporizhia Oblast border area) and in an unspecified location in the Melitopol direction (western Zaporizhia Oblast). Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces Spokesperson Ilya Yevlash stated that Ukrainian forces continued offensive operations in the Bakhmut direction.

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On August 25, 2023, a plane crash occurred in the skies of Zhytomyr Oblast. While performing a combat mission, the crews of two L-39 combat trainer aircraft collided in the sky, reported the Vasylkiv Tactical Aviation Brigade. One of the deceased pilots (Andrii Pilshchykov, with the callsign “Juice”) was the “voice of Ukrainian military aviation” and actively advocated for providing the F-16s aircraft to Ukraine. 

Three combat pilots of the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the “Center” Air Command of the Air Force of Ukraine were killed. During the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation, each of them was involved in air operations to defend Ukraine, including tactical missions on the Eastern and Zaporizhzhia fronts.

Major Vyacheslav MINKA (photo #1 in helmet). He lived in Kyiv Oblast. He returned to aviation in 2015 when the Russian aggressor attacked Ukraine. By the time the full-scale invasion began, he had over 200 hours of flight time. He was an experienced and technically trained pilot of the brigade. He was familiar with different aircraft types and devoted much of his service to teaching younger pilots.

Major Serhiy Prokazin (Photo #2 – in his dress uniform). He lived in Poltava Oblast. He devoted 24 years of his life to aviation, from pilot to deputy brigade commander. Since 2022, he had more than 100 hours of combat flight time. His fighters-in-arms remember his extraordinary smile, sincerity, and ability to help in difficult situations.

Captain Andrii Pilshchykov (photo #3 – with chevron). Originally from Kharkiv, with the callsign “JUICE”. He devoted 8 years of his life to aviation. He had more than 500 hours of flight time at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. In particular, during combat missions under challenging conditions. He received many state and departmental awards. He was courageous, principled, uncompromising, always defended his own opinion to the end, and actively spoke in the Western media, particularly on providing Ukraine with modern F-16 aircraft.

“He was a great communicator, a driver of reforms in the Air Force aviation, and a participant in many projects. I often supported his crazy ideas, which yielded incredible results! Major Andrii Pilshchykov devoted his short but very bright life to combat aviation, he dreamed of F-16s in the Ukrainian sky! And he did a great job on this issue,” said Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force.

“We express our sincere condolences to the families of the victims. The bright memory of the defenders of Ukraine’s skies will forever remain in the hearts of their loved ones, comrades-in-arms, and the grateful Ukrainian people,” the Vasylkiv Tactical Aviation Brigade said in a statement.

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• Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar: AFU advancing south-east of Robotyne, south of Mala Tokmachka
• UK Defense Ministry: Russia likely cancels Zapad-2023 exercise due to lack of troops, equipment
• General Staff: Russia has lost 261,310 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022
• Kupiansk direction: Russians create mine obstacles along border in Belgorod region
• WP: US May Send Longer-Range Cluster Munitions to Ukraine
• Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence: Russia begins assembling Shahed attack UAVs domestically and increases missile production