Victory Chronicles-DAY 575

The morning wave of Russian attacks on Sept. 21 marked the first mass strike on energy infrastructure in six months, Ukraine’s state energy operator Ukrenergo reported.

Energy facilities in western and central Ukraine have been damaged and there were partial blackouts in Rivne, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv oblasts, according to Ukrenergo.”Emergency recovery work began immediately after the alarm was sounded,” Ukrenergo said.

Russians launched 43 missiles toward Ukraine in the attack, 36 of which were destroyed by Ukrainian defenses, the Air Force reported. Across Ukraine, two people were killed and over two dozen were injured as a result of the strikes and falling debris. Ukrenergo added that due to the ongoing Russian invasion, 398 settlements are currently cut off from the power network, many in front-line areas of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Sumy Oblasts.

In July, the head of Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, said that the operator is preparing for the worst-case scenario this winter but was “certain that our main network will be ready to function without restrictions.”

On September 21, Ukraine’s Defense Forces shot down 36 Russian cruise missiles out of 43 launched by 10 Tu-95MS strategic aircraft from west of Engels airfield. “On the night of 21 September 2023, at about 03:40, the Russian invaders attacked Ukraine with X-101 / X-555 / X-55 air-launched cruise missiles. A total of 43 cruise missiles were launched from 10 Tu-95MS strategic aircraft from the area west of Engels airfield,” reported the Air Force of Ukraine.

The Russians reportedly launched the missiles in several waves. They entered Ukrainian airspace from different fronts, constantly changing their course along the route. “As a result of combat operations, the Air Force, jointly with the Defense Forces’ air defense, destroyed 36 cruise missiles,” the statement said.

Special operation in Crimea: Ukrainian Security Service and Navy deal powerful blow to Saky airfield. The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the Ukrainian Navy conducted a special operation in temporarily occupied Crimea on the night of 21 September, inflicting a powerful drone strike on Saky airfield. The sources said that the special services used drones to overload Russian air defenses and then launched Neptune missiles.

At least 12 combat aircraft, including Su-24s and Su-30s, as well as a Pantsir anti-air missile system, were at the airport. There was also a training base for Mohajer UAV operators. The Russians use these drones to coordinate their own air attacks and sometimes deploy them as strike drones. The sources said the strikes by the SSU and the Navy hit their targets and caused serious damage to the Russian equipment.

At night, Russia fired 43 missiles at peaceful cities in Ukraine. “This terrorist attack damaged about 40 buildings and injured two dozen people. Our rescuers have been clearing the rubble since early morning, getting out the injured and providing all the necessary assistance. I thank them for their service. I also thank our air defense forces who shot down most of the missiles, saving many lives. We will survive and win,” said Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

Russian servicemen and milbloggers revealed that the Russian military command orders Russian troops to carry out “ill-conceived and unsupported” counterattacks on Bakhmut’s southern flank to urgently regain lost ground. Elements of Altai Krai’s 1st Battalion of the 1442nd Regiment (a mobilized unit) published a video appeal in which the soldiers claim that they abandoned their military equipment in the Klishchiivka (7km southwest of Bakhmut) area after receiving an order from the Russian military command to form an assault group and attack in the Bakhmut direction.

The servicemen noted that the Russian military command began deploying different types of personnel to the frontlines — including soldiers who are currently resting in the rear — without providing them with enough functional artillery shells. The servicemen noted that their shells do not explode when fired, which is likely a symptom of Russia’s defense industrial base’s (DIB) efforts to speed up the production of shells and skipping quality assurance measures to do so.

The servicemen added that the unit is suffering from low morale after hearing reports that Ukrainian forces destroyed most of an unspecified Russian regiment and almost an entire retreating assault group in the area. The servicemen also claimed that they do not have prepared defensive positions and have to rely on small arms whereas the Ukrainians have artillery. Relatives of the personnel in the 1442nd Regiment had previously appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin after the Russian military command beat the troops for refusing to carry out an assault on September 14.

A Russian milblogger also accused the Russian military command of ordering Russian troops to recapture Andriivka (10km southwest of Bakhmut) and the surrounding area without setting proper conditions for such counterattacks. The milblogger claimed that the Russian military command was planning “weak” counterattacks and failed to provide accurate intelligence to Russian assault units. The milblogger observed that Russian forces also lack artillery support, while “hysterical” counterattacks are depleting Russian resources and reserves. The milblogger also claimed that Russian defenses on the adjacent heights in the Andriivka area had collapsed, and it is likely that the Russian military command’s efforts to regain lost positions are preventing Russian forces from preparing new defensive positions on Bakhmut’s southern flank.

A 32-year-old service member and warehouse worker, Petro Burban, was killed in the Russian attack on Lviv on September 19. Three children are left without a father, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said.

In April 2022, Petro Burban volunteered for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served for a year and a half and returned home to Lviv to his family in August 2023. After returning from the front, Petro spent two weeks looking for a job. Finally, he got a job in a warehouse, where a Russian Shahed killed him on his first day at work. Petro Burban was born in the village of Davydiv, Lviv Oblast. As his fellow village resident Ivanna Horyn told UP. Zhyttia, “He fought in the war. He came from a good family. A loving father, son and brother,” she said. The woman said that Petro had two brothers, he was the middle one. “The brothers were a mountain for each other,” Ivanna says.

The brothers lost their father at a very young age – he died of an illness. After a while, their mother and younger brother moved to Germany. Petro got married and moved to Lviv. “He used to come to the village. The last time we saw him was after Easter. I can’t say anything bad about him. He was very kind,” the woman said.

On the night of September 19, Russian troops hit an industrial enterprise in Lviv, where a humanitarian aid warehouse was located, which burned to the ground. Two other warehouses were also destroyed in the city. These were warehouses with windows and household chemicals. The total area of the fire was about 10,000 square meters.

• Belgium considers whether it can supply F-16s to Ukraine
• UK intelligence: Russian army faces difficulties after year of mobilization due to absence of rotation
• General Staff report: Russians fail to retake lost positions near Andriivka
• Zelensky urges U.N. Security Council to broaden membership, eliminate Russian veto
• Reuters: New US military aid package to Ukraine will not include ATACMS