Victory Chronicles-DAY 729

Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, has announced that her country will provide security support for Ukraine over the next decade. 

The bilateral agreement between the two nations will cover military and civilian assistance, as Denmark recognizes the seriousness of the security situation in Ukraine and the need for it to acquire the necessary military capabilities. 

The agreement aims to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses against Russia and deter future attacks. In return, Ukraine has committed to implementing reforms focused on democracy and anti-corruption measures to join the European Union and NATO eventually. 

Frederiksen expressed confidence that other countries will also support Ukraine, emphasizing that these commitments send a clear message to the international community that Ukraine is fully backed in the long term.

Ukraine is poised to receive a $900 million tranche of a $15.6 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), providing a financial boost to the country’s war-torn budget. Talks with IMF representatives have been underway, and a deal is expected to be reached soon. The agreement will need to be approved by the IMF’s executive board, which is typically a smooth process. The loan comes as Ukraine considers alternative ways to finance its operations if US funding, contingent on congressional approval, falls through. 

These contingency plans involve expanding the sale of domestic bonds, raising taxes, and cutting spending. If the US Congress fails to approve over $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, IMF funds will become the country’s second-largest financial lifeline after EU grants and loans. The disbursement of funds is the first of four Ukraine expects to receive this year, totaling $5.4 billion. The government must meet IMF conditions to receive the money, including potentially abandoning a recent request to the central bank to allow foreign currency sales to private Ukrainian firms.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has reported evidence that Russia has been using North Korean ballistic missiles to carry out deadly air attacks on Ukraine. The SSU has documented instances of Russian aviation targeting Ukrainian civilian infrastructure with long-range weapons from North Korea. The specific type of ballistic missile used were identified as Hwasong-11 (KN 23/24), manufactured in North Korea. The investigation has revealed that Russian troops fired over 20 North Korean munitions at Ukraine, resulting in at least 24 deaths and over 100 serious injuries to civilians. 

SpaceX’s Starlink, Elon Musk’s low-orbit satellite service, has been essential to Ukraine’s operations in the war against Russia. But officials in Kyiv say that Moscow’s forces have been buying satellite internet terminals and using them on the front line in its war against Ukraine, raising questions about what Musk and SpaceX can do, if anything, to shut down the effort. WSJ explains what we know about how the satellite system works.

A Ukrainian official denied a recent New York Times (NYT) report that Russian forces may have captured “hundreds” of Ukrainian fighters during Ukraine’s withdrawal from Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast.

Ukrainian Tavriisk Group of Forces Spokesperson Dmytro Lykhovyi acknowledged on February 21 that Russian forces did capture some Ukrainian fighters during Ukrainian forces’ withdrawal from Avdiivka, but stated that reports about “hundreds” of Ukrainian fighters being taken prisoner or otherwise being unaccounted for are false. Lykhovyi suggested that the NYT’s February 20 report is an extension of Russian information operations aimed at demoralizing the Ukrainian military and noted that Russian propagandists would have shared footage of large numbers of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) if Russia had actually captured that many Ukrainian fighters. Lykhovyi noted that Russian media widely shared footage of large numbers of Ukrainian POWs after Russian forces seized Azovstal in Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast in 2022.

ISW recently noted that “unaccounted for” personnel include those killed, wounded, and missing in action as well as captured, and ISW has still not observed any open-source evidence of Russian forces taking large numbers of Ukrainian forces prisoner. ISW will continue to monitor the information space for evidence and will adjust its assessment as more evidence becomes available.

Sergeant Vladyslav Radchuk, with the call sign Raja, died on May 25, 2023, near the village of Ozaryanivka, Donetsk Oblast. While performing his official duties, he was fatally wounded by enemy artillery fire. The fighter was 29 years old.

Vladyslav was from the city of Bila Tserkva, Kyiv Oblast. He graduated from the local gymnasium №1. In civilian life, he helped his parents. He spent most of his free time with his daughter Emilia. He was fond of weapons.

Since 2017, he served in the military unit 2260 of the National Guard of Ukraine. During the full-scale Russian invasion, he continued to fight for his homeland. In 2022, he was transferred to the 4th Operational Brigade – the Rubizh Rapid Response Brigade. He held the position of senior machine gunner of a platoon section of an operational company of an armored personnel carrier company. With his fighters-in-arms, he liberated the Kyiv Oblast, then defended the Bakhmut direction of Donetsk Oblast. 

“Vladyslav was kind and sympathetic, always helped his friends and never passed by someone else’s grief,” said Inna, the deceased’s sister. The National Guard was buried on the Alley of Glory at the cemetery in his hometown. Vladyslav is survived by his brother, sister and daughter.

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

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