Victory Chronicles-DAY 784

Early this morning, the city of Chernihiv in Ukraine suffered a devastating attack by Russian forces, resulting in 17 fatalities and injuring at least 61 individuals, including children. Among the casualties were two children, while three other children were reported injured. Efforts to rescue and provide aid are ongoing, with search teams actively working and police performing door-to-door checks in affected areas. Psychologists are also present to support those traumatized by the event.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs is coordinating blood donation drives to assist the wounded. A notable victim of the assault was a 25-year-old police lieutenant who lost his life in his residence while on sick leave. The attack caused significant structural damage, impacting several buildings, including a former hotel, residential high-rises, a local hospital, and an educational institution. Numerous vehicles and other properties were also damaged.

As the city continues to tally the extent of the destruction, efforts to restore critical infrastructure such as electricity and gas are underway. Authorities are also dealing with reports of several individuals missing following the incident.

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Denmark has announced that it will provide Ukraine with a new package of military assistance amounting to $313 million. The majority of the aid will be focused on strengthening Ukraine’s defense sector. Part of the funds will be used to enhance maritime capabilities, purchase ammunition, drones, and produce missile components. The Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, expressed his gratitude to Denmark for their ongoing support in building Ukraine’s defense capabilities. The Danish Minister of Defense, Troels Lund Poulsen, highlighted the potential for cooperation between the two countries in the defense sector. In March, he visited Ukrainian defense companies in Kyiv and recognized the possibility of supplying Ukraine with the necessary equipment to improve the situation on the battlefield.

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Members of the Australian and Finnish armies are providing leadership training to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) as part of Operation Interflex, a UK-led multinational mission to develop the skills of Ukrainian troops. Lieutenant General Greg Bilton, Head of the Joint Operational Command, emphasized that Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine is a significant violation of international law, and Australia is committed to supporting the international system. Australia’s training contingent has increased to 90 personnel, including instructors, medics, engineers and logisticians. Fighters are conducting three separate leadership courses in partnership with Finnish fighters. The training is focused on improving the survival and lethality of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with an emphasis on tactics such as drone warfare and trench warfare. 

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The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine has released a video of the aftermath of a missile attack on Chernihiv by Russian occupiers.  The attack killed 15 people and wounded 61, including 3 children. 3 people were rescued from the rubble. Search and rescue operations are ongoing.

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Zelensky signed a new mobilization law on April 16, codifying a difficult but critical decision in Ukraine’s efforts to stabilize its force generation apparatus and adequately prepare the Ukrainian fighting force both defensively and offensively.

The new mobilization law, which the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada adopted on April 11, lowers the Ukrainian draft age from 27 to 25 years of age, cancels the status of “limited suitability” for military service, and requires citizens living abroad to register for military service in Ukraine. Ukrainian military officials have emphasized the exigency of a new Ukrainian mobilization law to address Ukraine’s manpower shortages that, together with the shortages of Western aid, are making Ukrainian defense on critical areas of the front extremely difficult.

Ukraine’s ability to defend throughout the theater and eventually contest Russia’s battlefield initiative is contingent on Ukraine’s ability to restore existing units and create new units, as well as on the provision of US military assistance to existing and new units.

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Junior Sergeant Pavlo Petrychenko died on April 15, 2024, in Donetsk Oblast. The defender was fatally wounded while performing a combat mission. On April 16, he would have turned 32 years old.

Pavlo was born in Kyiv. After graduating from High School, he entered the Vadym Hetman National Economic University. He had an active civic position. He participated in the Revolution of Dignity, actively participated in the “Who Ordered Katia Handziuk” campaign, and organized rallies supporting activist Serhii Sternenko. He worked as a project manager. He collaborated with public and political activist Serhii Prytula.

When the full-scale invasion began, Pavlo volunteered at the Serhii Prytula Charitable Foundation, delivering ammunition and weapons to the military. In April 2022, he joined the ranks of the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade named after Yakov Handziuk. He was engaged in aerial reconnaissance. Later, he became the commander of a UAV unit. In 2023, he was awarded the Commander-in-Chief’s Golden Cross.

In March 2024, Pavlo created a petition to restrict the operation of online casinos. It gained the required number of votes in a few hours.

“Pash, you were a Warrior with a capital W! We are all on our knees before you! I don’t know how to comprehend it all, Pash… I love you, Brother! Thank you for everything you have taught me all these years! I promise that everything will be fulfilled! Pash, I love you!!! I don’t believe it…,” Prytula wrote.

“Ukraine has lost a person who was a moral authority and a guide for me. A man who changed this country and had to change it further, even more. There are very few people like him, he died like a warrior – on the battlefield,” added blogger and volunteer Igor Lachenkov.

“It was not supposed to be like this. It shouldn’t have happened in any fucking alternative reality. Pasha loved people and knew how to inspire them. Pasha never despaired. It was always “forward, forward” and not a step back. I never imagined that something like this could happen to you. Death was supposed to be a tenth road around you,” said Maksym Kostetskyi, legal advisor to the Serhii Prytula Foundation.

“It seemed that you managed to capture the waves of life, to control them, and therefore, even after the victory, you will continue to change the country. Your openness and straightforwardness were fascinating. Your activity and leadership were inspiring. Your name was to be remembered for the great changes in the country that you dreamed of. And now you will definitely be remembered as a hero and a defender,” added public activist Denys Baranets. Pavlo is survived by his family, friends and fighters-in-arms.

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

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• U.S. Intelligence Committee calls for immediate approval of Ukraine aid package
• Ukrainian intelligence: Mi-8 helicopter destroyed in Russia
• PM: Latvia preparing to send first batch of drones to Ukraine
• Russians lose up to 70% of hardware when storming Chasiv Yar
• British intelligence: Attack on Shahed factory in Tatarstan proves Ukraine’s ability to reach deep into Russia