Victory Chronicles-DAY 741

According to Dmytro Lykhoviy, spokesman for the Tavria operational and strategic group of troops, the Russian advance in the Avdiivka sector near several settlements has been halted by the Defense Forces. In the area of Novoselivka, Berdychi, Tonenke, Pervomayske, and Nevelske, 21 enemy attacks have been successfully repelled. Though the enemy, the Defense, partially controls the villages of Berdychi and Tonenke 

Forces have managed to stabilize the situation and stop the enemy’s advance. Despite some enemy presence, the Defense Forces inflicted significant losses on the enemy and maintained control of the frontline. 

This update suggests that the Defense Forces have successfully neutralized the Russian advance in the Avdiivka sector, addressing the threat in this highly contested area.

Ukraine has a growing capability to produce drones, with the capacity to produce 150,000 drones per month and a goal of reaching two million drones by the end of the year, according to Deputy Minister for Strategic Industries Hanna Hvozdev. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also stated that the country is increasing domestic drone production and aims to produce one million drones in 2024. Hvozdev highlighted that Ukraine has already surpassed the one million mark in production. The Ukrainian government has provided orders to nearly 60 out of over 200 Ukrainian companies involved in drone development. Additionally, the government plans to develop domestic production of drone components, which have mostly been imported.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is constructing a platoon stronghold on the front line in one of the operational and strategic groups’ areas of responsibility, according to Army Inform. These strongholds are being built by engineering units, as they are located too close to the contact line and require the expertise of military personnel. In order to accommodate the realities of modern warfare, the trenches are being made wider and deeper to allow for more maneuvering space between equipment and easier transportation of the wounded on stretchers. Previously, trenches were standardized at 1.5 meters by 80 centimeters, but now they are being constructed at a depth of 2 meters and a width of around 1 meter, with a half-meter parapet added on top. However, there is a limit to how much the scale can be increased, as larger trenches would become more vulnerable to shelling. Construction materials include geotextiles, mesh, boards, and timbers.

Ukrainian intelligence releases video from the drones that sank the Russian patrol ship Sergei Kotov. The video shows that several drones were involved in the operation. Intercepted conversations reveal that the Russian patrol ship “Sergei Kotov” was attacked and destroyed by five unmanned boats. The ship’s combat helicopter was also reportedly destroyed.

The Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported that unknown actors detonated explosives and severely damaged a Russian railway bridge over the Chapaevka River near Chapaevsk, Samara Oblast on March 4. 

The GUR reported that Russia uses the railway to transport military cargo, particularly ammunition produced at a joint-stock company in Chapaevsk.Kremlin newswire TASS reported that the explosion delayed five trains and that Russian authorities suspended traffic across the bridge, but later opened one railway track.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that it opened a criminal investigation into the explosion but did not speculate on the actor responsible for the explosion.Some Russian milbloggers blamed Ukrainian forces for the explosion on the railway bridge.

Sergeant Viktor Budish died on August 5, 2023, at the Mechnikov Oblast Hospital in Dnipro. On July 2, while performing a combat mission, he received a gunshot shrapnel wound near the village of Preobrazhenka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The defender was 33 years old.

Viktor was a native of the village of Mynkivtsi, Ternopil Oblast. He received a secondary education. For some time, he worked abroad. However, he later decided to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine and found himself in the military.

Since 2020, the man has served under contract in the 44th Separate Artillery Brigade named after Hetman Danylo Apostol. He was trained and later promoted. During his service, he proved to be a responsible and disciplined fighter. He had two rotations to the territory of the Joint Forces Operation in Donetsk Oblast. With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he and his fighters-in-arms defended the Kyiv-Zhytomyr highway, where they successfully repelled the invaders’ attack and forced them to retreat a long distance. Later, he went to defend the Zaporizhzhia direction.

“A very responsible and disciplined person. Everyone who knew him will never forget his smile. For his fighters-in-arms, Viktor was not only a commander from God, but also a role model, a man who could solve any problems. As they said after his death: “Thanks to Vitia, we had everything, and for that we had nothing,” said the deceased’s sister, Yulia Tymofiieva.

The defender was posthumously awarded the Order “For Courage” of the III degree. Viktor was buried in his native village. In October 2023, a memorial plaque to the deceased was unveiled in the Mynkovetskyi starosta district of the Dunayevetska territorial community. The defender is survived by his parents, sister and son.

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

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