Victory Chronicles-DAY 601

Early reports indicate that two people are trapped under the rubble of a student accommodation building which was partially destroyed in a night attack on the center of the city of Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast.

“A five-story student accommodation building was destroyed due to the attack. Early reports indicate that two people remain under the rubble,” reported the press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. Donetsk Oblast rescue workers and a joint unit of the State Emergency Service are working at the scene. Search and rescue operations are ongoing.

Ukrainian troops have attacked helicopters and equipment belonging to the Russian occupying forces at air bases near the occupied cities of Berdiansk and Luhansk on the night of 16-17 October. Two helicopters have been hit, reported the Center for Strategic Communications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The authority reported that the strikes were successful but did not reveal any specific results. Notably, a video of explosions reportedly in Berdiansk emerged in local online groups on the night of 16-17 October.

The head of the Poltava Oblast Military Administration has posted photos of the aftermath of the missile attack on Myrhorod on 16 October and reported on another object of social infrastructure being damaged. “So far, the commissions have inspected 40 buildings and 36 apartments. The work is ongoing. It also became known that as a result of the nighttime enemy attack, another object of social infrastructure was damaged by a blast wave. The building’s windows were basically blown out. Fortunately, there were no casualties,” said Filip Pronin, Head of the Poltava Oblast Military Administration.

A video filmed by drones shows a clear example of the liberation of territory by assault tanks of the 128th separate mountain assault brigade in the Zaporizhzhia sector. A Ukrainian tank, moving at full speed toward a Russian-occupied landing zone, is firing on enemy positions with a cannon and machine gun on the move.

The Russians are so overwhelmed by the fire that they cannot even make a shot in response. A minute later, the tank is followed by an armored personnel carrier with assault riflemen in the armor. As they approach the landing, the infantrymen, under the cover of the tank and the BMP, begin to clear the enemy trenches. They encountered no resistance; the Russians ran away after the first shots of the tank. A drone also recorded their panicked flight. The video demonstrates the importance of fire support from heavy armored vehicles during an assault.

Kremlin-appointed Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova reiterated statements admitting that Russia deported millions of Ukrainians — including 700,000 children — to Russia since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as a Qatari-mediated deal returned four children from Russia to Ukraine. 

Lvova-Belova claimed in a report published on October 15 that Russia has “accepted” about 4.8 million Ukrainians, including 700,000 children, since February 2022 and that Russian authorities have placed 380 Ukrainian orphans into foster care in Russia between April and October 2022.[10] Lvova-Belova also attempted to discredit information about Russia’s deportation of Ukrainian children and claimed instead that Ukrainian authorities act “against the interests of children.”

The Washington Post reported on October 16 that four children ranging from two to seventeen years old have returned or will return to Ukraine from Russia after Ukraine asked Qatar to mediate negotiations on the matter.

An official source told The Washington Post that more Ukrainian children may be returned in the future as part of the Qatari-mediated negotiations but that the process has been complicated by Russia providing a list of only hundreds of Ukrainian children currently in Russia while Ukraine has identified thousands of deported children. International humanitarian law defines the forced transfer of civilians to the territory of an occupying power as “deportation,” and ISW continues to assess that Russian authorities are conducting a large-scale campaign to deport Ukrainians to Russia.

Defender Artem Koliadiuk, with the call sign Bubin, was killed during a combat mission near the village of Pyatikhatky, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The warrior will forever be 30.

Artem was born and lived in the city of Kamen-Kashyrskyi, Volyn Oblast. He received a degree in painting and plastering at a local school. All his life, he worked at construction companies. For some time, he was working abroad. He loved to have fun, and before the Great War, he worked for a year at weddings, corporate events, birthdays and was responsible for the music. He built a house, which he did not have time to live in, as he immediately went to defend his country during the full-scale invasion. 

On February 25, 2022, the man volunteered for the war. At first, he was part of the 50th separate rifle battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After a while, he served in the Zhytomyr Oblast as part of the 115th Separate Mechanized Brigade. In January 2023, he joined the ranks of the newly created 118th Separate Mechanized Brigade. He underwent training with the participation of NATO countries in Romania, where he mastered the profession of aerial reconnaissance.

“We were together for more than three years, one and a half of which we spent at a distance, because Artem went to defend his country on February 25. Artem is my love. He has always supported me, never regretted joining the army, and always believed that he was obliged to defend his country. His colleagues said that people like him are called the “golden elite of the army”. His skills helped the infantrymen and artillerymen identify the enemy target, but Artem, unfortunately, did not survive. He was a true patriot, a man of his word, a model of steadfastness and loyalty to his country,” said his beloved Yuliia Pryimak.

The defender was buried in his hometown. He is survived by his mother, girlfriend, other relatives and friends. 

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