Victory Chronicles-DAY 632

One of the goals of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the left bank of the Dnipro River on the Kherson front is to push the Russians further away from the right bank to protect civilians. “The Ukrainian Defence Forces conducted a series of successful actions on the left bank of the Dnipro River on the Kherson front. Sabotage, raiding and reconnaissance operations are being carried out. The ways of logistical supply of ammunition and food to the occupiers are being identified. Reconnaissance is being carried out on the location of personnel and equipment of the Russian occupation forces, artillery positions, etc. with the goal of their further destruction by conventional means of destruction. Heavy fighting continues. 

One of the main goals of this work is to push the enemy as far away from the right bank as possible to protect the civilian population from constant Russian attacks. The further the Russian artillery is from Kherson, the better,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine added that the Ukrainian military inflicted significant losses on Russian forces, destroying equipment and personnel. Despite a fairly serious line of fortifications and the strong resistance of the Russians, the General Staff added that “several successful operations were carried out.” 

The Russians are trying to drive Ukrainian fighters out of their positions, which is why they are suffering heavy losses. In particular, the occupiers make four to ten such attempts almost every day. As a result of subsequent significant losses, the Russians are forced to redeploy units from other fronts.

Ukraine’s new Black Sea shipping corridor has been used by 151 ships since its launch in August, with 4.4 million tons of cargo, including 3.2 million tons of grain, being transported through it, according to a senior government official. The corridor was established after a UN-backed agreement for safe grain exports through the Black Sea collapsed in July when Russia withdrew from it. In response, Ukraine created a “humanitarian corridor” along its western Black Sea coast. Currently, 30 ships are loading in Ukrainian ports, including 22 carrying 700,000 tons of grain and eight preparing 500,000 tons of other cargo. Ukraine is a significant grain producer and exporter, and continued grain exports are crucial to its economy, which contracted by a third last year but is expected to grow by approximately 5% this year.

A 60-foot-long photograph of a car cemetery in Irpin, Ukraine, has been installed in Manhattan’s Little Ukraine neighborhood as a reminder that the war in Ukraine continues. The photograph, created by artist Thomas Bühler, is a compilation of 35 high-resolution photographs taken during his trip to Ukraine in October. The image depicts the remains of civilian vehicles destroyed by Russian troops, with details such as steering wheels, seats, and children’s toys juxtaposed with bullet holes and painted sunflowers. Bühler has deliberately not framed the image with a central object but instead presents viewers with a vast expanse of wrecked cars and asks them to choose what to focus on. The installation is on display near the Ukrainian Museum and St. George’s Ukrainian Church through the end of the month.

The Russian occupiers tried to hit the positions of the Ukrainian military using a vehicle loaded with explosives. One of the occupants sent the vehicle in the direction of the Ukrainian military, but it exploded on a mine before reaching the positions.

Russian milbloggers continued to criticize actors in the Russian information space for distorting the reality of the Russian war effort, highlighting an emerging cyclical dynamic in the Russian information space in which the majority of Russian sources coalesce around a particular predominant narrative and, in turn, a subset of different sources coalesces to criticize the majority’s prevailing opinion. 

A prominent Russian milblogger claimed on November 16 that Russian state media may have falsely convinced the Russian people that “everything is fine” in Russia’s war in Ukraine. The milblogger claimed that he does not understand why Russian state media devotes so much time to promoting narratives about the “imminent collapse of Ukraine” and portrays the Russian war effort so positively that Russian viewers think that signing a military service contract is unnecessary. Another Russian milblogger who previously served throughout the front in Ukraine and correctly assessed Russia’s foundational problems in Kharkiv Oblast in spring 2022 criticized several unnamed Russian milbloggers for their recent overly positive reporting about Russian counterattacks on the east (left) bank of Kherson Oblast.

The milblogger claimed that the other milbloggers preemptively claimed that Russian forces repelled Ukrainian attacks on the east bank and criticized them for setting unrealistic expectations for Russian forces. The milblogger noted that such overoptimistic claims are forcing Russian servicemen to “catch up” to these Russian politicians’ and commanders’ unrealistic expectations of Russian battlefield successes. The milblogger’s complaint suggests that the situation in Kherson Oblast remains very ambiguous and is dynamic. The milblogger’s complaint mirrors recent reports that the Russian General Staff uses battlefield maps that differ from tactical reality and that local Russian commanders order Russian forces to conduct routine assaults to make gains that align with the Russian General Staff’s inaccurate maps.

Disjointed Kremlin efforts to consolidate control over the Russian information space and report overly optimistic news are likely creating these cycles of coalescence and backlash among Russian sources. The Russian information space may grow increasingly volatile as the rift between the Kremlin optimists and their critics expands.

Valentyn Dobryi, a Fighter and Former Literature Distributor, Dies at Frontline: Reports Confirmed by Paramedic and Family Members. Valentyn Dobryi, known for his expertise and dedication, met his fate during an intense assault and artillery barrage, according to Kateryna Halushka, a paramedic serving with the Hospitaller battalion. His tragic demise was corroborated by Dobryi’s mother, Svitlana Dobra, and partner, Leda Kosmachevska, as reported on Halushka’s Facebook page.

“Valentyn was an exceptional specialist in his field, well-versed in tactical medicine. He experienced combat in Soledar while defending Bakhmut alongside his fellow soldiers. He always ventured where duty called, following his comrades. Unfortunately, this time, he remained there,” Halushka wrote. Originally from Bilozerka in Kherson Oblast, Valentyn Dobryi actively participated in the Revolution of Dignity.

 “Once I was bandaging someone in a yurt. A man came in with difficulty. He turned around and was covered with shrapnel from his heels to his lower back. A grenade filled with cut nails exploded near him. I counted 17 holes in him and took out the shrapnel. I taped him up, put some grease on him and said: “Don’t mess with it anymore.” Half an hour later he came back with a hole in his cheek. I helped him again, injected him with anti-inflammatories and painkillers. He disappeared again. He came running back – his nostril was pierced, hanging on the skin. I said: “Don’t tear it off, it will heal like a dog, you are young.” And he was happy: “I burned her!” – “Who?” – I asked. – “People?” – “No, water cannons.” “Well, you’re a good guy!” – I praise him. – “That’s right, I’m Valik Dobry from Kherson. That’s my family name. He really burned two water cannons with his cocktails and practically saved us,” Volodymyr Shovkoshytnyi, a writer and Maidan activist, told NovaKahovka.City.

 Valentyn Dobryi has visited more than 42 countries: he crossed the equator and traveled to Africa twice. The man worked as a literature distributor for the Ukrainian publishing house Priority. After beginning a new phase of the Russian-Ukrainian war, he volunteered for the army. “He knew how eyeglasses and medicine appeared in humanity and many other interesting facts. He found the world interesting and was constantly exploring it. Your father had a phenomenal memory, a mathematical mind and an incredible sense of humor. In 2014, he defended Ukraine’s independence on the Maidan in Kyiv. Not many people know about this because your father never bragged about what he thought he had to do. He did the same thing during the full-scale invasion. He became a warrior and a defender, although he could not do so for medical reasons. But honor, courage, law, justice, intelligence and perseverance were always his main values,” said Leda Kosmachevska.

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