Victory Chronicles-DAY 611

Fighting has been ongoing near the cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, which the Russians are trying to encircle. The Russian forces have launched unsuccessful assault operations on the Kupiansk and Marinka fronts, and Ukrainian defenders have been engaged in counter-battery combat on the Kherson front – that is the summary of the past 24 hours.

“Almost 70 combat engagements occurred over the past 24 hours. The enemy launched 1 missile strike and 18 airstrikes, and attacked positions of the Ukrainian forces and populated areas 35 times, using multiple-launch rocket systems. Regrettably, there have been casualties among the civilian population. Private residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure were affected,” – reported the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Russian army kills 510 children in Ukraine. Ukraine, as of the morning of October 27, 510 children were killed, and 1,139 others were injured as a result of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation. The Office of the Prosecutor General reported this.

These numbers are not final. Work is underway to establish them in the areas of hostilities, on the temporarily occupied and liberated territories. Most children were injured in the Donetsk Oblast – 492, Kharkiv – 304, Kherson – 132, Kyiv – 129, Zaporizhzhia – 99, Mykolaiv – 97, Dnipro – 96, Chernihiv – 72, Luhansk – 67.

With the support of the NATO Representation to Ukraine, psychological training for the Territorial Defense Forces continues. In October of this year, another 10 trainings were held, during which 300 participants mastered practical knowledge and skills in providing first aid in combat situations and restoring psychological stability and combat capability.

Participants included platoon commanders, chief sergeants, squad leaders, combat medics and sanitary instructors, combat training instructors, and freelance psychological support instructors. Positive feedback from the commanders of the military units where the training was conducted also indicates a steady trend towards improving the moral and psychological state of the personnel of the respective units that have recently participated in active combat operations.

“Last night, around midnight, the enemy launched a missile attack on the town of Izyum – preliminarily, from the S-300 air defense system. The building of the fire and rescue unit of the State Emergency Service was damaged. Eight personnel on duty were injured, 4 of them were hospitalized in moderate condition. The rest did not need hospitalization,” said Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Oblast State Administration.

Heavy Russian equipment losses around Avdiivka will likely undermine Russian offensive capabilities over the long term. Ukrainian Tavriisk Group of Forces Spokesperson Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun stated on October 26 that Russian forces have suffered 5,000 personnel killed and wounded and 400 armored vehicles losses near Avdiivka and Marinka (southwest of Donetsk City) since October 10. Satellite imagery has confirmed that the Russian military has lost at least 109 military vehicles, primarily armored fighting vehicles and tanks, near Avdiivika between October 10 and 20.

 A Ukrainian reserve officer stated that Russian forces appear to be using fewer armored vehicles near Avdiivka, although Russian forces may be regrouping for renewed large mechanized assaults as they did between the initial mechanized assaults on October 10 and a second series of large mechanized assaults on October 19 and 20. The Russian command has funneled additional forces to the Avdiivka front to offset heavy manpower losses and maintain the Russian military’s ability to sustain its ongoing offensive effort.

The Russian command will likely struggle to offset Russian equipment losses, particularly in armored vehicles, however. Widespread Russian equipment losses and shortages in the first year of the full-scale invasion heavily restricted Russia’s ability to conduct effective mechanized maneuver warfare during the Russian military’s winter-spring 2023 offensive, contributing to further losses in disorderly mechanized assaults near Vuhledar, Donetsk Oblast in January and February 2023.

Heavy losses around Vuhledar likely prevented the Russian command from committing to sustained mechanized assaults elsewhere in Ukraine later in the winter-spring 2023 offensive. Recent Russian equipment losses around Avdiivka appear to be much larger than earlier equipment losses around Vuhledar. It remains unclear if the prospect of further heavy equipment losses will deter the Russian command from launching another series of large, mechanized assaults near Avdiivka. Russia has gradually mobilized elements of its defense industrial base (DIB) to address equipment shortages but has not done so at a scale remotely sufficient to offset the cumulative Russian equipment losses in Ukraine.

Recent Russian equipment losses around Avdiivka will likely lead to even more pronounced Russian equipment shortages and setbacks for any progress that the Russian military has made in addressing degraded mechanized maneuver warfare capabilities.

Senior fighter Oleksandr Zub, with the call sign Zubchyk, was killed while performing a combat mission near the village of Nevelske in Donetsk Oblast. The defender was 20 years old.

Oleksandr was born in the city of Bershad, Vinnytsia Oblast. He studied at the Kryzhopil Professional Construction Lyceum. He always had many friends and loved spending his free time with them. He was fond of sports, in particular, wrestling and volleyball. He loved to draw.  

From the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion, the warrior bravely fought for his country, defending it from the invaders. Oleksandr served in the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade named after Yakiv Handziuk; he was a senior mortar gunner. He took part in the battles for Kherson Oblast, then went to Donetsk Oblast to defend Bakhmut.

“My brother was kind, sensitive, brave, a true patriot. Most of all, he wanted peace and the return of the occupied territories. He always went to the end. He was devoted to his country, a good brother and a dear son. This is a very heavy loss for our family. Oleksandr gave the most valuable thing – his life – for peace in Ukraine, for every Ukrainian. He was only 20 years old, but he fought for our freedom, always saying: “If I don’t go, someone else will go to defend our country.” 

He never asked for anything for himself; he always thought about his fellow fighters. He dreamed of a free Ukraine, our independence, and the liberation of Crimea. Of course, like all young guys, Oleksandr made plans for his life, but this damn war took him away from us. His youngest sister still asks her mother to write messages to her brother and records his voicemails. This is an incredible pain, a very heavy loss for our family. Our life has been divided into “before” and “after”. We can only live and carry this pain in ourselves,” said Victoriia, the victim’s sister.

“A sincere, kind, responsible, decent, reliable, caring, sensible, always ready to help – this is how the defender will always be remembered by his family, friends, colleagues, relatives and comrades-in-arms,” the Bershad community added. The young defender was buried in his hometown. Oleksandr is survived by his mother, sisters and brother.

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