Victory Chronicles-DAY 653

One person was killed and at least eight were wounded, with two in serious condition, as a result of a missile attack carried out by Russian troops on the Pavlohrad district in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovs’k Oblast. 

“Missile attack on Pavlohrad district. Unfortunately, there is one dead. According to preliminary data, four people were injured. All of them have been taken to the hospital. All of them were operated on. Two people are in serious condition,” said Serhii Lysak, head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration.

The attack caused significant destruction, including damage to an industrial facility, residential buildings, summer cottages, and a church. One car was also damaged. The communities of Ternivka, Yurivka, and Mezhyrichka were affected in addition to Pavlohrad. 

Over 20 residential buildings, nine outbuildings, and a secondary school were damaged, along with power lines. The injured individuals, all men between the ages of 32 and 66, have received medical treatment, with two expected to recover at home and the rest hospitalized. Thirteen residents have also received psychological support.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has accused Russia of holding almost 500 Ukrainian medics in captivity, which violates the Geneva Conventions. 

The alleged violation comes amidst previous accusations of Moscow’s breach of international humanitarian conventions, namely the recent execution of two Ukrainian prisoners of war by a group said to be Russian soldiers. The Ukrainian authorities are currently investigating the execution video. 

According to Yevhen Tsymbaliuk, Ukraine’s representative to the OSCE Permanent Council, the medics can only be detained if they provide medical assistance to Ukrainian prisoners of war and should be released once their assistance is no longer needed. Furthermore, Russia has not allowed the International Red Cross to have unrestricted access to Ukrainian prisoners of war. 

Police showed the aftermath of Russia’s missile attack on Kyiv Oblast on the morning of December 8. “Air defense forces worked effectively. Unfortunately, the attack caused damage to houses, a vehicle, outbuildings and a gas pipe. There were no casualties,” the Kyiv Oblast police said. Police and explosives experts from Kyiv Oblast are working at the location. 

The official channel of the Azov Special Forces Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine published a video showing a company of Azov attack drones inflicting numerous losses on Russian occupiers’ cargo vehicles. 

Russian forces may be suffering losses along the entire front in Ukraine at a rate close to the rate at which Russia is currently generating new forces. Ukrainian Ground Forces Command Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Volodymyr Fitio stated on December 7 that Russian forces lost almost 11,000 personnel (presumably killed or rendered hors de combat by injury) in the Kupyansk, Lyman, and Bakhmut directions in November 2023.

The operational tempo in the Kupyansk, Lyman, and Bakhmut directions is currently lower than in the Avdiivka direction. These reported losses suggest that the Russian casualty rate in the Avdiivka area may be even higher given the higher operational tempo there.  Ukrainian officials previously reported that Russian forces lost 5,000 personnel killed and wounded near Avdiivka and Marinka (west of Donetsk City) between October 10 and 26, when Russian forces launched two waves of heavily mechanized assaults to capture Avdiivka.

Russian forces are currently conducting mass infantry-led assaults to capture Avdiivka in an apparent effort to conserve armored vehicles despite the risk of even greater manpower losses. Ukrainian officials have notably indicated that Russian defensive efforts are resulting in significant casualties as well, with Ukrainian forces reportedly killing over 1,200 Russian personnel and wounding over 2,200 on the east (left) bank of Kherson Oblast between October 17 and November 17.

Ukrainian forces continue counteroffensive operations in western Zaporizhia Oblast and are likely inflicting similar losses on defending Russian forces in this sector of the front. ISW cannot confirm Ukrainian-provided Russian casualty figures, and reliable figures for Russian casualties in Ukraine are not available. If the Ukrainian-provided figures are generally accurate they suggest that Russian operations in Ukraine are highly attritional overall and that high Russian losses are not just the result of the costliest Russian offensive operations near Avdiivka.

44-year-old defender Serhii Butenko, with the call sign Gut, died near the village of Berestove in Donetsk Oblast. While performing a combat mission, he was fatally wounded by an enemy mortar attack. 

Serhii was born in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro Oblast. He graduated from the Shlyakhiv school. Then he studied to become a veterinarian at a school in the village of Humenne, Vinnytsia Oblast. Later, he settled in Shumsk, Ternopil Oblast. In civilian life, he was a driver and worked both in Ukraine and abroad. He was a father of many children, and together with his beloved he raised four children, for whom he always tried to provide a comfortable and happy life.

On the second day of the full-scale war, February 25, 2022, Serhii stood up to defend his family and homeland from the enemy. He served in the 10th separate mountain assault brigade “Edelweiss” of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He held the position of a rifleman at various hot spots of the front.

“Serhii was a patriot of his homeland, he did not serve in the army, but on February 25, 2022, he was already in the unit and spent his days of service in the Armed Forces with dignity. The last words I managed to say to him before he died were: “Brother, I love you from earth to heaven”… Now they will forever remain in my heart and memory… Let everyone remember the price of our freedom…” said Inna, the deceased’s sister.

” Serhii was a loyal friend and comrade-in-arms, a friendly person, a loving son, husband and father. He was a patriot who loved Ukraine and stood up for it from the first days of the war. He clearly and selflessly fulfilled his combat missions so that his family and friends would be safe, so that we could all live under a peaceful sky in a free state!” the Kremenets District State Administration said. The fighter was buried in the town of Shumsk, Ternopil Oblast. He is survived by his mother, sister, wife, and four children. 

*Serhii Butenko’s story on the Heroes Memorial – a platform for stories about the fallen defenders of Ukraine

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