Victory Chronicles-DAY 708

The commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Mykola Oleshchuk, announced that the Belbek airfield in Russia-occupied Crimea had been hit. Videos showing explosions in Crimea were shared on social media. 

Oleshchuk expressed gratitude to those involved in clearing Crimea of Russian presence and stated that Ukrainian aviators would eventually return to their home airfield. The attack on the airbase was reportedly carried out using long-range cruise missiles. This follows previous successful strikes by the Ukrainian Air Force on the Saki air base and a Russian command post near Sevastopol, as well as ammunition depots near the village of Pervomaiske. 

The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to make military moves in response to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.

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European institutions and EU member states have committed to providing Ukraine with military assistance totaling at least €21 billion. José Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, confirmed this after a meeting of EU defense ministers. Borrell emphasized that this amount is the minimum, as some member states have not yet provided their figures for support. Scholz has reiterated the importance of financial and military aid from European partners, particularly due to concerns that US aid may decrease. 

Ukraine has returned 207 Ukrainians from Russian captivity. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced this: “Ours are at home. 207 guys. We are returning them no matter what. We remember everyone in captivity. Fighters and civilians. We must return everyone. We are working on it”.

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In the first month of 2024, the National Guard destroyed and disabled 112 Russian tanks worth more than $300 million, reported the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. 

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The Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported that it recently conducted a cyberattack on a Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) communications server. 

The GUR reported on January 30 that GUR hackers successfully hacked a Russian MoD server used to exchange information between Russian units. The GUR reported that Russia has installed the software on this server on various other strategic objects including military objects and that the GUR’s cyber operation is ongoing. ISW has recently observed an increase in reported Ukrainian cyberattacks against Russian targets.

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Defender Dmytro Aleksandrov, with the call sign Zloi, died on October 12, 2023, near the village of Nevelske in Donetsk Oblast, defending Ukrainian land from Russian invaders. He was mortally wounded during an enemy assault. The following month, on November 9, he would have turned 26.

Dmytro was born in the city of Kamianske, Dnipro Oblast. In 2016, he graduated from the West Dnipro Center for Vocational Education. In 2019, he was contracted with a firefighting unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was fond of sports and motorcycles. He loved spending time with his friends.

During the full-scale war, Dmytro fought for his country in the ranks of the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade named after Yakiv Handziuk. He was a flamethrower of the flamethrower platoon of the Radiation Chemical and Biological Defense Company.

“I have known Dmytro for a long time. We used to make a fuss, play sports together, ride motorcycles. I took him to my unit. He was positive, rarely in a bad mood. He always thought about the guys, was never afraid to go into battle. He was my best friend. You don’t have friends like that anymore, when you’re with him everywhere… And then he was killed by the enemy in battle – like a hero,” said fellow fighter and friend Bohdan.

“What I liked most about Dmytro was his sincerity and openness, he always said everything directly: both good and bad. He was a man who did not gossip behind his back. You could always rely on such a friend, he could help you with anything you could or could not do. His jokes could be written down in a notebook, he would always say something… In short, he was the best person,” added Ivan, a friend and fellow fighter.

His cousin Sofia Novoselets wrote about her brother: “Our warrior is forever 25… We prayed for you every night, but the cursed war took you away… You will always be a Ukrainian Hero! You would have been so good… But now you are looking at us from the sky… You set an example for others with your courage! Dmytro, you are our Hero forever, and no more words are needed…”

The fighter was buried on the Alley of Heroes in his hometown. Dmytro is survived by his father, sister, aunt, uncle, cousins, grandmother, other relatives, friends, and fighters-in-arms.

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

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• Department of State: US not against Ukraine’s membership in NATO, Biden supports it
• EU promises to train another 20,000 Ukrainian fighters by end of summer
• Bloomberg: Ukraine shares allies’ troops are outgunned 3-to-1 by Russia
• Commission to discuss new Russia sanctions proposal with EU countries
• Ukraine in OSCE: 626 chemical attacks from Russian side documented