Victory Chronicles-DAY 686

In the past day, there were 77 combat engagements, with the enemy launching 5 missiles and carrying out 52 air strikes using drones. They also fired from rocket systems and caused casualties among civilians, damaging residential and infrastructure buildings.

The airstrikes took place in various Oblasts, including Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Donetsk. Artillery fire targeted around 120 settlements in several regions. The enemy maintained a military presence near the border in different sectors, conducted sabotage activities, and increased minefield density. 

Ukrainian defenders successfully repelled multiple enemy attacks in different sectors, inflicting significant losses on the invaders. They also struck areas of enemy concentration using aviation and missile troops. Despite sustained losses, the enemy continues to try to drive Ukrainian units from their positions, but the Defense Forces are actively depleting the enemy along the front line.

Over 25 Ukrainian journalists are currently being held captive by Russia, according to Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech. Yurchyshyn emphasized the need to find mechanisms to release these journalists, as they were not combatants but were simply doing their jobs. He acknowledged Russia’s disregard for human rights and the civilized rules of warfare Russia ignores. 

On the night of January 9-10, the Russians launched an attack on Kharkiv in Ukraine, specifically targeting a children’s winter break camp on the outskirts of the city. According to Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, the attack consisted of two air strikes that damaged several buildings. Fortunately, the camp was empty at the time, so there were no casualties. Terekhov described the attack as an act of terrorism, emphasizing that the camp was a civilian facility. 

Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv Oblast military administration, provided further details, stating that the Russians launched two S-300 missiles from the neighboring Belgorod region. He noted that the camp’s medical building and dining room were destroyed, and the camp’s territory suffered damage as well.

A large-scale fire caused by Russian shelling has been extinguished in Sumy Oblast, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine has reported. The fire broke out the night before in the residential sector as a result of enemy strikes on one of the settlements in Sumy Oblast. The shockwave damaged private houses, including apartment buildings. A cultural center and civilian homes were on fire.

Ukrainian Air Force Spokesperson Colonel Yuriy Ihnat reported that Ukraine has a shortage of anti-aircraft guided missiles after several recent large Russian missile and drone strikes against Ukraine. 

Ihnat stated that Ukraine has rationed air defense equipment and ammunition and has used a considerable amount of Ukraine’s existing air defense missile stockpile in defending against the past three large series of Russian strikes.

US Administration officials reported on January 8 that they met with leaders from venture capital firms and technology and defense industries to discuss providing Ukraine with US systems and equipment. The meetings reportedly focused on providing Ukraine with drones, demining equipment, and means to counter Russian drones.

Defender Mykhailo Kolesnik, with the call sign Bear, died on August 12, 2023, in a battle with the occupiers of the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast. He was fatally wounded near the village of Klishchiivka. The warrior was 26 years old.

Mykhailo was born and lived in Zaporizhzhia. After graduating from High School, he entered the National University of Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic, but two years later, in 2018, he left his studies and went to Kyiv. There, he joined a youth subdivision of the Azov movement. He was involved in social activities. After the war, he dreamed of continuing his studies at the university. He was an athlete, and was involved in basketball and boxing. He was fond of football and supported FC Metallurg Zaporizhzhia.

From the first days of the full-scale war, Mykhailo volunteered for the front. He fought for his country in the ranks of the 3rd separate assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served as an anti-tank missile system unit operator of an anti-tank battalion.

“Mykhailo volunteered from the first days of the war. Not a minute to think about it. He defended the Kyiv Oblast, then the Donetsk sector near Bakhmut. He received a medal from the President of Ukraine. He was incredibly brave. His mottos were: “Everything will be Ukraine” and “We will win”. He is a true hero. He will always be in our memory,” said the victim’s mother.

“He was a strong, brave, determined, brave warrior on the battlefield and a kind, open, attentive, caring man in life. Bear is an exceptional person who will be greatly missed. He is the same huge and reliable friend with unlimited strength, while he has no less humanity and authenticity,” wrote his fellow fighter Yevhen Yeremenko.

The defender was buried at St. Nicholas Cemetery in his native Zaporizhzhia. Mykhailo is survived by his parents Yuriy Petrovych and Natalia Dmytrivna. 

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

• Foreign Ministers of 47 countries condemn DPRK’s ballistic missile deliveries to Russia
• University of Chicago poll: 63% of Russians support war in Ukraine
• Ukraine contracts ShaBlia innovative combat module for machine gunners
• US and Allies met secretly with Ukraine on Peace Plan
• UN: 40% of Ukraine’s population will need humanitarian aid this year