Victory Chronicles-DAY 615

A S-300 anti-aircraft missile system was damaged as a result of a missile attack on Russian-occupied Crimea on the morning of 30 October. Astra’s sources said the missile attack was conducted at 06:00 in the vicinity of the village of Molochne, Saky district. The anti-aircraft missile system belonging to the Russian Defence Ministry is deployed there.

Astra reported that the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system was damaged, and the diesel generator was destroyed as a result of the attack. Early reports indicate that there were no casualties.

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The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Oct. 31 that Russia had lost 300,810 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24 last year. This number includes 870 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

According to the report, Russia has also lost 5,211 tanks, 9,804 armored fighting vehicles, 9,590 vehicles and fuel tanks, 7,227 artillery systems, 844 multiple launch rocket systems, 562 air defense systems, 321 airplanes, 324 helicopters, 5,440 drones, and 20 boats.

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Russians continue to fight libraries: an entire floor burned down in Kherson. As a result of tank shelling on October 30, the fourth floor of the Oles Honchar Kherson Oblast Scientific Library almost completely burned down.

“The consequences of the terrorist attacks of the Russian army on one of the Kherson libraries. After Ukraine’s victory, we will rebuild everything, and you will remain as wild orcs… somewhere in your swamps,” said Yuriy Sobolevsky, First Deputy Chairman of the Kherson Oblast Council.

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The National Guard used UAVs to destroy three tanks of the Russian army in the south. One destroyed tank is the much-hyped T-90M “Proryv”(Breakthrough). It is the one on fire in the video. This was reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. In total, over the past week, the air reconnaissance units of the National Guard of Ukraine in the southern directions carried out 59 enemy fire strikes.

All of the following are destroyed:

– positions of Russian troops;

– 7 vehicles;

– 1 BMP-2 INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLE;

– 1 T-90 M “Breakthrough” tank;

– 2 tanks of the Russian army of previous generations;

– 1 observation post;

– 1 checkpoint;

– 4 UAV control points;

– 2 launch sites for FPV drones;

– 1 cannon;

– 1 enemy electronic warfare station;

– 1 BC warehouse;

– 1 radio communication tower;

– 1 antenna of an enemy electronic warfare system.

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Russian forces continue to use “Storm-Z” assault units predominantly made up of prisoner recruits in highly attritional infantry-led frontal assaults. Ukrainian Tavriisk Group of Forces Spokesperson Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun stated on October 30 that Russian forces are preparing to conduct “meat assaults” (colloquial jargon for infantry-led frontal assaults) near Avdiivka and are training “Storm-Z” assault units for future assaults without equipment.

A Russian milblogger reportedly serving in the Avdiivka direction claimed that “meat assaults” are when Russian infantry forces attack without artillery support to suppress Ukrainian firing positions. The milblogger claimed that when two Russian regiments conduct ”meat assaults” side by side, the seam between the areas of responsibility of both regiments remains unsecured and vulnerable to Ukrainian counterattacks. Another Russian milblogger claimed that “Storm-Z” assault detachments in the Avdiivka direction and on Bakhmut’s southern flank are often destroyed after a few days of active operations and on average lose between 40-70 percent of their personnel.

The milblogger criticized the Russian military’s poor training of “Storm-Z” units and the unwillingness of superior officers to consider the proposals of “Storm-Z” commanders when assigning them combat missions. The milblogger stated that “Storm-Z” units are often introduced into battle before conducting reconnaissance or establishing connections with neighboring units and typically struggle to evacuate their wounded without artillery cover, leading to higher losses. Both milbloggers noted the lack of proper artillery support for Russian attacks and counterattacks.

One milblogger stated that these factors contribute to “Storm-Z” units being turned into “trash” before achieving any significant results. ISW has frequently reported on the ineffectiveness of “Storm-Z” units.

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Senior Sergeant Yurii Sikyrynskyi, with the call sign Advocate, was killed while performing a combat mission near the village of Rozdolivka in Donetsk Oblast. The defender was 52 years old.

Yurii was born in Lviv. He lived in the village of Solonka, Lviv Oblast. He received two higher education degrees. At the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, he studied at the Faculty of History and Law. He worked as a lawyer in Lviv at the Dominanta Law Firm, then in his own law office. For the last 5 years, he worked for a transportation company in the Netherlands. He loved hiking in the mountains, especially in winter, skydiving, motorcycles, and cycling. He had a favorite dog, Gerda, who passed away a month after the death of his owner.

When the full-scale invasion began, the man was abroad, but he returned to Ukraine and volunteered to join the 125th separate territorial defense brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He always repeated: “Our generation ‘slept through’ Ukraine, why should our children have to fight now? We have to fight for our country…”. During his second rotation to the Bakhmut district, the man volunteered to serve as a reconnaissance platoon commander.

“My brother-in-law, Yurii Sikyrynskyi, a father of 5 children, a lawyer, a historian and just a really cool guy, was killed. And he was cool to the end. In the morning, on his wife Solomia’s birthday, a courier brought flowers from Yurko. A couple of hours later, Solomia received a funeral notice. His comrades respected and loved him like a father. Twice, their unit was on rotation near Bakhmut. He was very fond of archeology, loved the mountains, and hiked a lot in the Carpathians. He loved the winter Carpathians, so often his hikes were waist-deep in snow, overcoming the cold and blizzards. His employers highly appreciated him; he was reliable and very responsible,” wrote Khrystyna Komisar-Tsar.

“Relatives, friends and colleagues will remember Yurii as a sensitive person, a loving and caring husband, a good father of five children, a talented and responsible lawyer,” the website of LNU said. The defender was buried at the Mars Field of Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv. Yurii is survived by his mother Ulyana, wife Solomia, children Marta, Lev, Olha, Yaryna, Solomia, sister Yaryna, and her family.

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• Explosion rocks Russian explosives plant
• Russian attacks kill 1, injure 21 in Ukraine.
• White House accuses House Republicans of ‘politicizing national security’ after Israel, Ukraine aid separated. 
• Putin blames the West, Ukraine after mob storms Russian airport to ‘catch’ Jews
• UK Defence Ministry: The change of the commander of Russia’s Dnieper Grouping of Forces on the Kherson front indicates increased pressure on the Russian forces holding this territory