Victory Chronicles-DAY 777

On April 9, the town of Kostyantynivka in Donetsk Oblast was shelled by Russian forces, resulting in the death of three people. 

Rescuers recovered the bodies of a woman and a child from the rubble on the morning of April 10. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine confirmed that search and rescue operations were completed after the discovery of the bodies. 

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine reported that a two-story house in Kostyantynivka was targeted and partially destroyed by a bomb explosion. 

The victims were identified as a 43-year-old mother and her 12-year-old son. Previously, it was reported that one civilian was killed and two others were injured in the Russian shelling on April 9.

According to British intelligence reports, Russia is planning to recruit approximately 400,000 contract soldiers in 2024 to support their forces in Ukraine, which have suffered significant losses. This recruitment is in line with Russia’s plans to increase the size of its armed forces to 1.32 million this year and 1.5 million after that. Additionally, Russia is continuing its biannual recruitment of soldiers, with plans to draft around 150,000 soldiers this spring between the ages of 18 and 30. 

These recruits will serve for 12 months in all branches of the Russian armed forces but are not currently involved in combat operations in Ukraine. Conscripts in Russia typically serve in garrisons across the country, separate from battalions manned by conscripts, and are likely to be stationed in regions adjacent to the Ukrainian border for border security purposes. 

However, there is pressure on conscripts to enlist under contracts which would involve service in Ukraine. The Russian authorities are hesitant to risk combat losses among conscripts, as they are less tolerated by society compared to volunteer soldiers.

Russian forces launched strikes on energy infrastructure facilities in the Odesa and Mykolaiv Oblasts of Ukraine, causing destruction and injuries. In Odesa, an energy facility was targeted, resulting in power outages and damage to a private house and several cars. Two public transport workers were injured in the attacks. The mayor of Odesa, Hennadiy Trukhanov, stated that the strikes took place on the Day of Liberation, which commemorates the city’s liberation from Nazi invaders. In the Mykolaiv Oblast, 12 Russian Shahid drones were shot down after targeting energy infrastructure. The head of the Odesa Oblast military administration, Oleh Kiper, reported that the Russians used attack drones and ballistic weapons in the strikes. 

The SBU destroyed a batch of Russian air defense systems at the front in a week. The press service of the Security Service of Ukraine reported this. The fighters managed to destroy: 2 BUK SAMs of various modifications and one BUK target detection station 2 TOR-M2 SAMs, Strela-10 SAMs, Tunguska SAMs.

The Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) is likely responsible for a drone strike against the Borisoglebsk Airbase in Voronezh Oblast overnight on April 8 to 9. 

GUR Spokesperson Andriy Yusov told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) that two unspecified drones struck the aviation center in Borisoglebsk, which reportedly trains Russian frontline bomber and attack aviation flight crews, and that preliminary information suggests that the strike damaged unspecified production facilities at the airbase.

Ukrainian outlet RBK-Ukraine cited its own source within GUR as confirming that the Borisoglebsk strike was a GUR operation. Geolocated footage published on April 9 shows one drone striking the airbase.

Russian sources reported that one Ukrainian drone struck the facade of the Chlakov aviation training center near the airbase and another drone struck the same spot an hour later, only damaging the outside of the building. ISW has not yet observed visual confirmation of the type and extent of damage from the drone strike.

Fighter Yevhen Kolchuzhnyi, with the call sign Cerberus, died on August 9, 2023, in the village of Staromayorske, Donetsk Oblast, as a result of enemy artillery shelling and a direct hit from a KAB. The defender was 22 years old.

Yevhen was born in the city of Dnipro. He was the only son of his parents. Since childhood, he played football. This sport was not just a hobby, but the meaning of his life. He studied at the National Metallurgical Academy of Ukraine, majoring in ecology, and worked at the Wines of the World store in Dnipro.

From the first days of the full-scale invasion, he wanted to defend Ukraine, so on March 16, 2022, he joined the military. He joined the 230th battalion of the 128th separate territorial defense brigade. He held the position of operator of the 2nd anti-tank unit of the anti-tank platoon of the fire support company of the military unit A7405. Together with his comrades-in-arms, he defended Ukraine in the Dnipropetrovs’k, Zaporizhzhia, Berdiansk and Donetsk directions. He received the “War Veteran” badge.

“Yevhen is the best person I have ever met. He is a fair, brave, kind and sincere guy. He was always the first to come to the aid of his family, always smiling, joking and cheering everyone up. He loved animals, especially his dog Teddy. He dreamed of starting a family and making plans for the future. He believed in victory until his last breath and was proud to be in the Armed Forces. Most of all, he loved and respected his parents,” said the bride Amina Shynkarenko. Yevhen was buried at the Krasnopilsk Cemetery in Dnipro. The fighter is survived by his father Ivan, mother Olha and fiancée Amina.

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

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