Victory Chronicles-DAY 614

Russian troops made unsuccessful attempts to regain lost positions near Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Donetsk Oblast’s Andriivka, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Oct. 30.

Ukraine liberated Robotyne in August and Andriivka in September. In both regions, Ukrainian forces continue offensive operations south of Bakhmut and toward the key city of Melitopol as part of their five-month-long counteroffensive, the General Staff wrote.

Over the past day, the Ukrainian military reportedly repelled Russian attacks around Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast and multiple settlements near Lyman, Avdiivka, Marinka, and Shakhtarske in Donetsk Oblast. Russia has been intensifying its attacks against Avdiivka, a front-line town a few kilometers north of occupied Donetsk, for several weeks.

Moscow has reportedly thrown in extensive force to encircle the town, suffering heavy losses in manpower and equipment in the process. Russia has likely committed parts of at least eight brigades in the fight to capture Avdiivka, and the forces operating there have probably suffered some of Russia’s worst casualty rates in 2023, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Oct. 28.

Nine civilians have been shot dead in Russian-occupied Volnovakha, Donetsk Oblast, including a family with two children. The bodies were found in a private house.

“There is no doubt that the bloody hands of Russians are involved. Just as traces of Russian torture were found in Bucha, Irpen, Izyum, and other Ukrainian cities where the ‘liberators’ were present,” said Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets. Russian “law enforcement agencies” reported that bodies of civilians with gunshot wounds had been found in a private house.

Citing local residents, neighbors, and relatives of those killed, reports that a Russian soldier committed the murder. “The murder was committed by a soldier from the Russian Armed Forces. He had some kind of argument with Natasha’s husband. Some high-ranking officers arrived immediately and started trying to cover everything up. The neighbors were told to keep it quiet,” said an acquaintance of the family. 

The Marines of the 37th Separate Marine Brigade are honing their tactical medicine skills, including first aid and evacuation of a wounded brother from the battlefield. Marines are a brotherhood where everyone can count on the shoulder of a loyal brother.

Ukrainian Armed Forces release video of Ukrainian artillery repelling Russian heavy equipment attack on Avdiivka.

Ongoing antisemitic demonstrations in the Republic of Dagestan and elsewhere in the North Caucasus are highlighting heightened interethnic and interreligious tensions in Russia. 

Hundreds of demonstrators in Dagestan broke into Makhachkala airport, blocked the runway, and attempted to board a plane arriving from Israel on the evening of October 29 following the circulation of rumors that Russian authorities were planning to resettle “Israeli refugees” in Dagestan and elsewhere in the North Caucasus.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at a hotel in Khasavyurt, Dagestan on the evening of October 28 to look for suspected “Israeli refugees” based on similar rumors. Unknown actors reportedly set fire to a Jewish cultural center under construction in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic on the night of October 28 to 29.

The rumors appear to have originated with a local Dagestani Telegram channel, which claimed that “Israeli refugees” were staying at the hotel in Khasavyurt, Dagestan on October 28 and proceeded to announce plans for demonstrations that took place several hours later in the center of Makhachkala.[4] The Telegram channel called on Makhachkala residents to demonstrate at the airport on the night of October 28 and on October 29 and posted flight tracker data for the plane from Israel ahead of its arrival on the night of October 29.

Demonstrations are currently ongoing at the Makhachkala airport, where demonstrators temporarily blocked all individuals at the airport from leaving. Demonstrators also checked identification documents in search of Israeli citizens, although there are no reports of demonstrators finding any Israeli citizens.[6] Demonstrators have chanted “death to Jews” and have also occasionally gotten physical with security personnel at the airport.

Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia) elements have removed demonstrators from the premises of the airport, but crowds are still present outside of the airport. The Telegram channel that spread the rumors is currently down, which may be the first indicator that Russian authorities are actively trying to suppress the continuation of the antisemitic demonstrations.

Defender Maksym Spivak, with the call sign Rescuer, died on June 30, 2023, near the village of Urozhayne, Donetsk Oblast. While performing a combat mission, the fighter was mortally wounded by enemy artillery fire. On July 18, he would have turned 42.

Maksym was born in the city of Smila, Cherkasy Oblast. In 2002, he graduated from the Cherkasy Institute of Fire Safety named after the Heroes of Chornobyl. He was assigned to the city of Dnipro, where he spent the rest of his life. He was an employee of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine; during his service, he was promoted to the rank of captain and held the position of chief engineer in the Department for the organization of fire prevention work at closed facilities.

During the full-scale invasion, on March 21, 2022, the man volunteered to defend Ukraine. He was an assistant grenade launcher of the 2nd grenade launcher section of the fire support platoon of the 128th separate territorial defense brigade. During his service, he was awarded a certificate of honor and a medal “For Faithful Service” of the first degree.

“My father was strong both physically and mentally. During the war, he took a course and mastered drones professionally. He was offered to stay in the city and teach other fighters how to work with UAVs, but he refused and went on to defend his country. Our meeting was the last one, but it showed what a brave man he was and will remain forever,” said Yelyzaveta Spivak.

The defender was buried on the Walk of Fame at the Zagreblianskyi Cemetery in his native Smila. Maksym is survived by his mother, brother, wife, and daughter.

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