Victory Chronicles-DAY 678

In a massive missile strike targeting Kyiv and the surrounding areas, 5 fatalities have been reported, with one individual confirmed dead and 43 others injured in Kyiv alone. Among the injured, 37 individuals have been admitted to hospitals for treatment following the attack.

The attack damaged various buildings and vehicles, including residential high-rise buildings, a supermarket, a market, a car service station, private houses, and windows of nearby buildings. “Rescue workers have freed 17 people trapped in a house in the Solomianskyi district. A total of 117 residents were taken out of the building. So far, 20 people have been injured, and 19 of them have been hospitalized,” stated Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv. 

The attack also extended to the Bortnytsia district, where private houses and a church building were damaged, but fortunately, no injuries were reported. Additionally, a 2-year-old boy was injured in the attack and is currently receiving medical care in the hospital.

On the night of January 1 to 2, 2024, Russia launched a missile attack on Ukraine, firing a total of 99 missiles. However, 72 of these missiles were successfully destroyed by the Ukrainian armed forces. The attack involved different types of missiles, including aeroballistic, cruise, and anti-aircraft missiles. The Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, reported that 10 out of 10 X-47M2 Kinzhal missiles, 59 out of 70 cruise missiles, and 3 out of 3 Kalibr cruise missiles were shot down. The attack targeted various sites, including civilian infrastructure, industrial facilities, and military installations, with the main goal being to hit the capital. The Russians utilized attack drones and bombers to carry out the assault, launching missiles from different directions and deploying aircraft from the sea and the north. Despite the severity of the attack, the Ukrainian forces successfully defended against a significant number of missiles and minimize the overall damage caused.

On January 2nd, Russian troops launched a rocket attack on the city center of Kharkiv, injuring 45 people. According to the head of the Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, 38 of the injured are currently receiving treatment in hospitals, with one patient in a coma. The attack caused significant damage, with 33 houses, the main gas pipeline, and heating networks affected. Additionally, there is no electricity in the strike area, and six buildings are without heating. The Kharkiv City Council reported that approximately 170 windows in apartments and common areas were shattered, and two roofs were damaged. Tragically, a 91-year-old woman lost her life in the attack. The Russian strikes occurred at least six times throughout the morning of January 2nd, harming residential buildings, outbuildings, and civilian infrastructure.

“Another cynical missile attack on the center of Kharkiv. Once again, civilian homes and civilian infrastructure came under fire. Patrol policemen were among the first to arrive at the scene and immediately began to provide first aid, evacuate and transport the wounded to medical facilities”, the National Police of Ukraine said in a statement.

Ukrainian rescuers showed their liquidation of the consequences of Russian missile terror. The Kyiv City State Emergency Service released the video.

A Ukraine strong enough to deter and defeat any future Russian aggression with an economy strong enough to prosper without large amounts of foreign aid is the only outcome of Russia’s war that the United States and the West should accept. 

Trusting Russian promises of good behavior would be foolish. Leaving Ukraine’s economy badly damaged would create a long-term and large drain on Western finances. Discussions about pressing Ukraine to trade land the Russians now occupy for a ceasefire or armistice have garnered attention recently, based on rumors of Kremlin interest in negotiations of some sort.

These discussions have thus far largely focused on the supposed intransigence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who, it is argued, must be pressed to accept that Ukraine must cede some of its territory. That argument ignores the question that should be central to any such discussion: what are the concrete military, economic, and financial consequences that these territorial sacrifices would have for Ukraine’s long-term security and economic viability or for the future financial burden they would impose on the supporters of an independent Ukraine? 

The serious evaluation of this question shows that there are real military and economic reasons for Ukraine to try to liberate all of the territory Russia now occupies and that, in any event, the current lines cannot be the basis for any settlement remotely acceptable to Ukraine or the West.

Junior Sergeant Roman Pushkar, with the call sign Kok, died on July 5, 2023, while performing a combat mission near the village of Novodarivka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The day after, the defender would have turned 43 years old. Roman was born in the village of Nyzhniy Strutyn, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. He lived in the village of Novoselytsia in his native region. He received a secondary education. In civilian life, he worked at the Ivano-Frankivsk construction company Euro-House. He devoted his free time to his family.

During the full-scale war, the man joined the ranks of the Ukrainian Navy. He served in the 501st Separate Battalion of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade. He held the position of squad commander of a combat vehicle. He defended the Bakhmut direction of Donetsk Oblast with his unit, then went to Zaporizhzhia. “There is no one like him anymore. He was the universe, the support for me and my sons… Your soul is crying as rain from the sky… And mine is washing the earth with tears. Eternal and bright memory to you, my beloved,” wrote the wife of the deceased, Maria.

The marine was buried in the village of Novoselytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Roman is survived by his mother, wife, two sons, two sisters, and five nephews.

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

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