Victory Chronicles-DAY 681

On January 4, there were powerful explosions in Yevpatoria and Sevastopol as a result of an air raid. The Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed that one of their missiles hit a command center in Sevastopol. The commander of the Ukrainian Air Force expressed gratitude to the pilots and planners involved in the operation. 

The head of the joint press center of the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine mentioned that the attack not only destroyed a command post but also caused significant damage to the defense system in Crimea. This damage has led to the need for the occupiers to reformat their defense system and relocate launch sites. The Defense Forces have been working to make the enemy feel less secure in these territories and to remind them that Crimea belongs to Ukraine, and they are fighting to reclaim it.

On the night of January 4-5, the Ukrainian Air Force successfully shot down 21 out of 29 Russian kamikaze drones that were launched over Ukraine. The attack, carried out using Shahed UAVs, occurred in two waves from the areas of Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia and Cape Chauda in Russian-occupied Crimea. A total of 29 Shahed-136/131 attack UAVs were launched, with the majority of them being destroyed by mobile fire groups in Mykolaiv, Kherson, Dnipro, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, and Khmelnytskyi Oblasts. 

The death toll in Kharkiv as a result of Russian shelling has increased: another woman dies in hospital. Russian Iskanders injured a total of 63 people on January 2: two women were killed, and 61 people were wounded. Among the injured are six children – four boys and two girls. The explosions damaged apartment buildings.

According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Special Operations Forces successfully destroyed a Russian-made “Strela-10” air defense system using the “Himars” missile system. While conducting reconnaissance in the southern direction, the Special Operations Forces discovered the “Strela-10” missile system the enemy used to observe and destroy low-altitude air targets. The Special Operations Forces then adjusted the fire of the “Himars” missile and artillery unit towards the enemy target, destroying the enemy’s air defense system. 

Ukrainian military officials reported that Ukrainian forces struck at least one Russian military target in occupied Crimea, while Russian officials and milbloggers claimed that the Ukrainian strike was unsuccessful. Ukrainian Armed Forces Center for Strategic Communications (StratCom) stated on January 4 that Ukrainian forces struck a Russian command post near Sevastopol in the afternoon.

Ukrainian Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk implied that Ukrainian strikes against Sevastopol and Yevpatoria may have targeted the locations of Russian military leaders. Oleshchuk also amplified footage of a smoke plume geolocated to the eastern outskirts of Uyutne and a report by a Crimean source, which stated that a projectile reportedly struck a Russian air defense unit near Uyutne (just west of Yevpatoria).

The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed that Russian forces shot down 10 Ukrainian missiles over Crimea. Russian sources, including the MoD and Sevastopol occupation governor Mikhail Razvozhaev, claimed that Russian air defenses repelled the Ukrainian strike.

On June 8, 2023, the Russian army shelled the city of Beryslav in the Kherson Oblast with guided missiles. The enemy attack killed 55-year-old Olena Stroyeva, a volunteer and economist. Her husband lived, but the woman died on the spot.

Olena Stroyeva was from the Kherson Oblast. She was born on June 25, 1967, in Beryslav. She worked as an economist all her life. In her free time, she paid attention to her family. She loved sports and had been involved in athletics since school. 

“My mother was very kind, polite, beautiful, and bright. She always knew how to find a way to approach a person and came to help. Everyone at work loved and respected her. During the occupation, she helped the elderly, fed them, brought them medicine. And after the city was liberated, my mother became a volunteer, making lists and delivering aid, including food packages. Together with her neighbors, she was happy to host our defenders,” said Vitalina Malyshenko, the daughter of the deceased. Olena Stroyeva is survived by her husband and two daughters with their families.

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

• US State Department: Ukraine will emerge from war as independent and strong state
• UK condemns Russia’s use of North Korean missiles against Ukraine
• General Staff report: Ukrainian troops expand foothold in Kherson Oblast
• The Biden administration has called strengthening Ukraine’s air defense a priority in future military aid
• Germany supplies Ukraine with missiles for IRIS-T SLM air defense systems, Marder infantry fighting vehicles in new aid package