Victory Chronicles-DAY 553

Ukrainian defenders destroyed 43 air targets out of 44 launched by Russian forces on the night of 29-30 August, including 28 cruise missiles and 15 attack drones, reported the Ukrainian Air Force. Russian forces attacked Ukraine with air-launched cruise missiles and attack drones on the night of 29-30 August. A total of 44 Russian air targets were recorded: 28 Kh-101/Kh-555/Kh-55 air-launched missiles from 11 Tu-95ms strategic aircraft from the Caspian Sea and Engels area; 16 Shahed-136/131 attack drones from the south and north (Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Kursk).

Air defense systems responded in several Ukrainian oblasts, following the route of the missiles and drones. Anti-aircraft missile troops, fighter aircraft, mobile air defense fire teams and other weapons were involved in repelling the air strike. “Air Force assets and personnel in cooperation with Ukraine’s Defense Forces’ air defense systems have destroyed 43 air targets within Kyiv, Cherkasy, Odesa and Mykolaiv oblasts, including 28 Kh-101/Kh-555/Kh-55 cruise missiles and 15 Shahed-136/131 attack drones,” the Ukrainian Air Force said.

Russian troops hit Kherson Oblast 77 times in past day. Three people killed. Over the past day, August 29, the Russian army launched 77 strikes on Kherson Oblast. “Over the past day, the enemy launched 77 strikes, firing 452 shells from mortars, artillery, tanks, Grad MLRS, UAVs, and aviation. The enemy fired 24 shells at the city of Kherson,” said the Head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration, Oleksandr Prokudin. According to him, the Russian military shelled the residential neighborhoods of populated settlements, a church in the Kherson district.

Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s capital with drones and missiles overnight, killing two people and injuring three, the Kyiv city military administration reported on Aug. 30. Two security guards, aged 26 and 36 years old, died, according to the administration. They were killed when debris caused a fire in a commercial building in the Shevchenkivskyi district. An air alert was announced in Kyiv around 02:30 local time. The State Emergency Service reported that 97 emergency service workers were deployed to put out the fires caused by debris falling on both the Darnytskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts.

Outside the city, 35 emergency service workers were deployed to Kyiv Oblast’s Fastiv and Bucha districts due to fires caused by falling debris. A 69-year-old woman, a 43-year-old man, and a 49-year-old man were injured.

The 93rd separate mechanized brigade “Kholodny Yar” showed a motivational video about the work of Ukrainian defenders. “The work we are doing is a conscious choice of each of us. We have defined our priorities and what the future of our country will look like. Everyone wants to win, but we need to understand that everyone must join this crucial cause. The war will affect everyone. Exceptionally hard work, changing life priorities and training will lead us to a brighter future for our children in a free country,” the 93rd separate mechanized brigade “Kholodny Yar” said.

Ukrainian forces advanced near Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast and Robotyne in western Zaporizhia Oblast on August 29. Geolocated footage published on August 29 indicates that Ukrainian forces advanced south of Bakhmut and about five kilometers southeast of Robotyne. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces conducted offensive operations in the Bakhmut and Melitopol (western Zaporizhia Oblast) directions.

Ukrainian Tavriisk Group of Forces Spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun reported on August 28 that Ukrainian forces continued to secure positions in Robotyne and are demining the area. Shtupun reported that Ukrainian forces could bring more troops to the Robotyne area and would have greater opportunities for maneuver. Shtupun noted that Robotyne is near the highway to Tokmak, an important Russian ground line of communication (GLOC).

A Russian milblogger suggested that Russian forces are continuing to commit a significant number of reserves, Airborne (VDV) elements, and TOS-1 thermobaric artillery systems to the area – likely indicating that Russian forces are worried about the vulnerability of their positions in Robotyne. Another Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces intend to deplete Ukrainian offensive potential by fixing Ukrainian forces in engagements in the settlement of Robotyne.

The boys in yellow T-shirts are Oleksandr and Vladyslav Pyasetskyi. They are planting a tree in memory of their father, Dmytro Pyasetskyi, who died at the front a year ago. Their mother, Olha, and their father’s friends are nearby. In total, they planted 16 oaks in Kyiv’s Pryberezhnyi Park. Under each tree is a part of Dmytro’s ashes. 

“Today is a significant moment because we are talking about the transformation of our lives and the fact that they are cyclical. Dmytro died a year ago, and today, we will start the life of a new oak grove named after Dmytro Pyasetskyi. What was once a body will grow in the cells of these oaks. We will come here with our children and grandchildren, great-grandchildren,” said Olha Pyasetska.

Dmytro Pyasetskyi was a martial arts coach from Luhansk. After the occupation of his hometown, he moved to Kyiv, where he continued to do what he loved: he founded his own club, Valhalla Fight Club, and became part of the Dynamo football hooligans team. He got married and became the father of two boys. With the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, he went to defend his homeland. The fighter with the call sign “‘Tiazh” fought in a unit of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. He was not afraid of dying, but once he confessed to his wife, his only fear was that he would not see his children grow up.

Dmytro Pyasetskyi died on August 29, 2022, during the liberation of the village of Nesterianka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. “He was posthumously awarded the medals “For Courage” and “Combat Merit”. He is forever 31 years old.

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