Victory Chronicles-DAY 561

The deaths of 16 people have been confirmed after an attack on the city of Kostiantynivka on 6 September. The police have ruled out the possibility that the Russians used artillery systems.

“The official data says that, as of now, there are 16 dead and 33 wounded. Initially, there was information about 17 people killed. When we conducted a thorough visual examination of the remains, we found 16 bodies. Almost all of them have now been identified, relatives have been found, and DNA samples have been taken from the victims and their relatives. As of the evening, four bodies had not been identified. As of the morning, there is one person (the body of a man) whose relatives have not come forward,” said Oleksandra Havrylko, head of the communications department of the Donetsk Oblast police.

The U.S. Department of Defense has announced an additional security assistance package for Ukraine, valued at up to $175 million. The relevant statement was published on the U.S. Department of Defense website. “Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced additional security assistance to meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs. This announcement is the Biden Administration’s forty-sixth tranche of equipment to be provided from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021,” the statement reads.

Number of injured in Russian attack on Odesa Oblast rises. The prosecutor’s office has released photographs of the aftermath of the Russians’ night attack on the southern part of Odesa Oblast. It also reported that the number of those injured in the attack has risen. Two truck drivers were injured in the attacks on port and civil infrastructure facilities, the prosecutor’s office said. A grain elevator and an administrative building were destroyed. Several houses were also damaged by the blast wave.

“Stalevyi Kordon” [Steel Border] fighters raise the Ukrainian flag in Stroyivka and Topoli. The settlements are located on the border with Russia in the so-called “gray zone.” After the de-occupation of the Kharkiv Oblast, no one entered this territory because of mines, but now the border guards have paved a safe path and raised the State Flag of Ukraine.

Ukrainian and Russian sources report the Russian defense industrial base (DIB) faces growing challenges in replacing basic supplies in addition to known challenges in rebuilding its stocks of precision weapons. 

Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence (GUR) Representative Andriy Yusov reported on September 6 that Russia can only produce “dozens” of Kalibr cruise missiles and smaller numbers of Iskander missiles per month, which will not enable Russia to the replenish its pre-2022 stocks. Yusov reported that Russia struggles to obtain modern optical equipment, electronics, chips, and circuits and that “gray imports” and smuggling cannot completely cover the Russian DIB’s needs. Russian sources additionally noted that the Russian DIB cannot produce enough rubber to replace worn tires for military equipment vital to frontline operations, and noted that increasing wear on tires will make it difficult for wheeled vehicles to move in muddy, rainy, and icy conditions.

The Russian sources claimed that Russian authorities claimed at an unspecified time that they would find solutions to worn tires by mid-August, but the situation has not changed as of September 5. Poor quality and insufficient tires will impose increasing constraints on Russian mobility in the muddy season and winter.

Fighter Mykola Kravchuk, with the call sign Kavun, died on August 6, 2023, in a battle with the occupiers near the village of Robotyno, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The defender received multiple fatal shrapnel wounds. He was 46 years old.

Mykola was born in the village of Romeyky, Varas district, Rivne Oblast. He graduated from Kuznetsovo Technical School №12, and received a degree in electric welding of the 3rd category. He worked as a construction worker. He often traveled to other cities to work. During the full-scale Russian invasion, the man joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine to defend his homeland from the invaders. He served as a senior mortar gunner.

“Mykola Yakovlevych was a loving husband, a good father to his adult son and daughter, a young loving grandfather. We express our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the fallen Hero, we share your pain and bow our heads in grief with you. May the All-Merciful Lord help you survive the bitter pain of irreparable loss,” the Polytska community wrote on its page. “The best husband and dad in the world,” said the deceased’s wife. “A man is a company,” added fellow villagers. The fighter was buried in his native village. Mykola is survived by his wife Valentyna, daughter Diana, son Vadym, family, and friends. 

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