Victory Chronicles-DAY 572

Ukraine’s military reported late on Sept. 17 that it had liberated the village of Klishchiivka in Donetsk Oblast, marking the latest success in a more than three-month counteroffensive on the Bakhmut axis.

General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who commands Ukraine’s Ground Forces, said on Telegram that Ukraine’s 5th Separate Assault Brigade, the 80th Air Assault Brigade, and the Liut (“Anger”) National Police Assault Brigade took part in the operation to liberate Klishchiivka. In a video shared by Liut on Facebook, a Ukrainian fighter said, “We stand strong, firm and confident, because this is our land. The enemy does not stop attempts to capture it again.” For months, there has been heavy fighting around Klishchiivka – which fell to Russia in late January – as Ukraine attempted to retake the village.

Ukrainian fighters with the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, also deployed in the area, told the Kyiv Independent over July and August that advancing toward Klishchiivka is extremely difficult due to heavily mined fields and Russia’s incessant artillery fire. Before the liberation was publicly announced on Sept. 17, Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak published a photo of Ukrainian fighters in front of the town’s church with the caption, “Ukraine always takes back its own.”

Ukraine’s defense forces have already liberated 51 square kilometers near Bakhmut, including 2 sq. km in the past week. That’s according to Former Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar. “During the stage of liberation, already near Bakhmut, we have 51 square kilometers of Ukrainian land purged of invaders. Over the past week, 2 square kilometers have been added to that,” said Maliar.

The Command of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine published a beautiful photo of a drone operator at night. “Defending our land is a difficult but worthy task. Because Ukraine is above all!” the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement.

Ukrainian defenders in the temporarily occupied Svitlodarsk have successfully “demilitarized” two Buk-M3 anti-aircraft missile systems. Both SAMs were attempting to defend the nearby headquarters of a brigade and airborne division of the occupying Russian troops.

Prolonged concern about Chechen Republic Head Ramzan Kadyrov’s health in the Russian information space highlights Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dependence on Kadyrov for continued stability in Chechnya. 

The Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reportedly confirmed that Kadyrov was in a coma on September 15, prompting rumors about Kadyrov’s poor health among Russian milbloggers and insider sources. Kadyrov denied the rumors about his health in a video posted on September 17.

The destabilization of Kadyrov’s rule in Chechnya would be a major blow to Putin’s regime, partly because of how central the establishment of stability in Chechnya through a brutal and bloody war was to Putin’s early popularity in Russia. Kadyrov and other Russian officials may be concerned that continued rumors about his health will affect the long-term stability of his, and by extension, Putin’s, control of Chechnya.

A glorious son of the Ukrainian people, Ruslan Krasovskyi, nicknamed “Kobzar,” died defending his native land. The Krasovskyi family, the Zdovbytska community, the Volyn Oblast and the whole of Ukraine suffered an indescribable loss, for it has lost not only a friend and a brother, but also someone who was the backbone, the salt of our nation, someone who deeply identified with Ukraine, our history and tradition. A hero who fought the Moscow enemy not since 24 February 2022 or 2014, but since the moment when we could only dream of an independent Ukraine is gone. 

Since the early 1990s, Ruslan Krasovskyi has been actively involved in the creation of the first military units of the Ukrainian Cossacks, the Volyn Sich. He has been active in the Zdovbytska Hundred, as he understands the threat posed by Moscow to the formation of the young state. The whole Krasovskyi family is involved in defending and developing the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Zdovbytsia. Ruslan was involved in local history work to restore the national memory of the fighters for the freedom of Ukraine in the ranks of the UPA and, in recent years, personally participated in the installation of a monument in the village of Khodosy, and just before the invasion, as a member of the executive committee of the Zdovbytsia village council, he initiated the allocation of a land plot near the village council for the installation of a memorial OUN cross (the project was implemented this year on the occasion of the Heroes’ Day).

He was an active participant in the Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity as part of the 35th Maidan self-defense unit, was there on the morning of the shootings on Instytutska Street, and a month later helped to ensure the security of the capital. “Kobzar”, he lived as a Ukrainian patriot and managed to do everything a true Ukrainian should do.

From the first days of the full-scale invasion, he was in the army, first in the 104th and later in the 112th TRO Brigade, in a unit with many Plast members.  A fighter in a mortar crew, he took part in heavy battles in Bilohorivka and Bakhmut. He was killed as part of an assault battalion in the Kherson direction as a result of counter-battery fire from the occupiers.  

• Head of Ukraine’s defense intelligence: Ukraine can sever Russia’s land corridor to Crimea before winter sets in
• Military: Liberation of Klishchiivka creates foundation for further offensives
• CBS: Each side fires 40,000 shells a day on front line
• National Resistance Center: Russia plans to bring North Korean workers to occupied Ukraine. 
• General Staff: Ukrainian forces hit 11 enemy artillery pieces