Victory Chronicles-DAY 630

The Russians have kept trying to surround Avdiivka, and Ukraine’s Defense Forces repelled 17 attacks on the Avdiivka front. They also repelled 12 Russian attacks on the Bakhmut front, and 20 Russian assaults on the Marinka front.

The military said over 60 combat clashes took place during the past 24 hours. In total, Russian forces launched 8 missile strikes and 59 air strikes and carried out 49 attacks from multiple-launch rocket systems on the positions of our troops and populated areas. Russian forces launched airstrikes on Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson Oblasts. Over 140 settlements in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Mykolaiv oblasts came under artillery fire.

The Ukrainian Air Force launched 10 attacks on the areas where Russian manpower, weapons and military equipment were concentrated. In addition, Ukrainian air defense destroyed a Su-25 attack aircraft, 2 Shahed-136/131 attack drones, 17 reconnaissance UAVs, and one Kh-59 guided air missile. Ukraine’s Rocket Forces and Artillery struck 6 clusters of Russian military personnel, weapons and equipment, a command post, 17 artillery systems on firing positions, 3 air defense systems, and an oil and lubricant storage point belonging to the Russians.

Russia has persisted in suffering losses in its war of aggression against Ukraine as the Ukrainian Defense Forces have killed 820 Russian soldiers and destroyed 58 artillery systems, 15 tanks and 1 aircraft over the past 24 hours.

Russian invaders fired on a residential building in the town of Selydove in Donetsk Oblast at night, resulting in the collapse of the entrance, killing one woman and injuring several residents, and at least one more person is being searched for under the rubble. Ihor Klymenko, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, reported this. 

Another anti-ship mine was discovered in the Odesa Oblast. The military was immediately informed about the dangerous discovery. A demining group of the Ukrainian Navy promptly neutralized the explosive object.

Russian forces are likely trying to regain the theater-level initiative in Ukraine by conducting several simultaneous offensive operations in eastern Ukraine, although it remains unclear if Russian forces will be able to fully regain the initiative as Ukrainian forces maintain pressure on critical areas of the front.

Several Ukrainian officials noted that the situation along the frontline is complex but that Ukrainian forces maintain control of the battlespace. Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi stated on November 13 during a conversation with US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Brown that the Avdiivka, Kupyansk, and Marinka directions are the most intense but noted that Ukrainian forces are continuing offensive actions in unspecified sectors of the front. 

Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi emphasized that Russian forces are pursuing simultaneous offensive actions in several directions and trying particularly to regain the initiative north and south of Bakhmut. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukrainian forces are reporting an increase of Russian assaults in the Kupyansk, Avdiivka, and Donetsk directions.

Ukrainian officials’ statements about the current tempo of Russian operations along the frontline are consistent with ISW’s assessment about ongoing Russian offensive operations, particularly in the Kupyansk, Bakhmut, and Avdiivka directions. Russian forces will likely struggle to fully regain the initiative across the theater, however, and Ukrainian forces are continuing their own offensive operations and making tactical-level gains along the front, particularly in western Zaporizhia Oblast and on the east (left) bank of Kherson Oblast.

The Russian military command will likely have to decide whether to keep certain Russian elements on certain sectors of the front to defend against ongoing Ukrainian offensive operations or to redeploy them to support offensive operations elsewhere that will likely culminate without reinforcements. These choices will likely hinder Russia’s ability to fully regain the initiative in the coming weeks.

A 21-year-old senior fighter, Maksym Yarmoliuk, with the codename Ninja Turtle, died on November 3, 2023, in the village of Zarichne, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. On the morning of that day, the fighters of the 128th separate mountain assault brigade were lined up to celebrate the Day of Troops and Artillery and were to be congratulated by the command. The enemy fired a missile at them, which ended the lives of dozens of defenders.

Maksym was born in the city of Ostroh, Rivne Oblast. There, he graduated from school #3. He studied to be a cook at the Ostroh Higher Vocational School. He was a creative and engaging person with a cheerful and kind disposition. He loved music and beatboxing. In 2020, when he was still an 18-year-old boy, he dedicated his life to service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He joined the 128th separate mountain assault brigade. He studied hard and mastered military disciplines and specialties. 

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he was a Grad MLRS gunner in a rocket artillery division. From the first days of the Great War, he and his brothers in arms repelled the Russian invaders in the hottest spots of the front. In particular, he defended the Kyiv oblast. For the defense of Irpin and Bucha in March 2022, the fighter was awarded the Order of Bravery, III class. After that, Maksym and his unit moved to other regions, where no less fierce battles were fought. In the fall of 2023, his brigade defended the Zaporizhzhia sector. 

“Max is my brother, not by blood, but he is very dear to me! When the war came to my city, he was the first to say: “You’re coming to my house, and it’s not negotiable.” He is the one who always came to the rescue in word and deed. He was always smiling and loving this life. He used to read me beatboxing, even though he was so shy… You will always be in my heart, soul and memory. Why does war take the best? I hope you are drinking your favorite coffee in Valhalla and smiling at us. Your memory will live on as long as my heart beats,” wrote a close friend of the fallen fighter with the call sign Hayechka.

On November 9, 2023, Maksym was buried in his hometown. He is survived by his mother, brother, sister, two nephews, other relatives, friends, and brothers in arms who are struggling to come to terms with this loss.

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