Victory Chronicles-DAY 786

Nine people have been killed and 21 others injured in a series of rocket attacks in the Dnipro Oblast of Ukraine. The Synelnyky district was hit the hardest, with six people killed and two injured. In addition, two people were killed and 16 injured in Dnipro, while three others were wounded in Kryvyi Rih. 

Numerous private houses were damaged in the Synelnykivsky district, resulting in fires that were quickly extinguished by emergency services. Among the victims were two children aged six and eight. The head of the Dnipro Oblast Council, Mykola Lukashuk, expects the number of casualties to increase as the rubble is cleared. 

Lukashuk also mentioned that in the attack on Dnipro, two people were killed, 16 were wounded, and psychological support was provided to 30 individuals. 

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced that Germany is seeking six additional Patriot air defense systems from NATO countries to send to Ukraine. The Chancellor emphasized the importance of providing Ukraine with air defense equipment to protect its cities and critical infrastructure from missile attacks launched by Russia. He stated that Germany had already made a significant contribution by committing to send a third Patriot system to Ukraine, and he called on other NATO members to follow suit in order to enhance Ukraine’s defense against ongoing attacks. 

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Rescue operations continue in Dnipro after a Russian strike caused significant damage to a residential building and a railway station. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine published photos from the scene. Other settlements in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, such as Kryvyi Rih and Synelnykove, were also shelled.

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Fights of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine effectively burned a T-90S tank of the Russian occupiers using a drone.

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Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Head Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov specified that the Russian offensive effort that Ukrainian officials have been forecasting will likely begin in June 2024. Budanov stated in an April 17 article in the Washington Post that Russia will launch a “big” offensive in June 2024 with the aim of seizing all of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts.

Budanov also stated that Russian forces will try to make battlefield gains throughout 2024 as part of efforts to influence Western decision-making. Budanov had previously forecasted that a future major Russian offensive would begin in late May or early June 2024, and it is notable that Budanov has now narrowed his forecast to June and identified the likely aim of the Russian offensive. Previous major Russian offensive efforts have similarly aimed to seize the remainder of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Ukrainian officials, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, have recently warned about the threat of a potential future Russian ground offensive operation targeting Kharkiv City. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned that US security assistance is vital to Ukraine’s ability to defend against possible future Russian offensive operations in summer 2024.

 ISW continues to assess that current Ukrainian artillery and air defense shortages resulting from the lack of US security assistance are allowing Russian forces to make marginal tactical advances and that future Russian assaults may be able to achieve more significant gains should the US continue to withhold assistance to Ukraine. Ukrainian forces have, however, previously demonstrated their ability to repel Russian assaults and inflict significant personnel and equipment losses on Russian forces when adequately provisioned.

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Staff Sergeant Vladyslav Pokryshchuk, 26, died on December 26, 2023, near the village of Synkivka, Kupiansk district, Kharkiv Oblast. During a combat mission, he was fatally wounded by an enemy mine explosion.

Vladyslav was born in Bar, Vinnytsia Oblast. A year later, he moved with his family to the village of Ivano-Frankove, Lviv Oblast. In 2012, he graduated from the 9th grade of a local secondary school. Then, he entered the Bar Humanitarian and Pedagogical College, graduating in 2016 with a degree in publishing and editing and a qualification as an editor. He was very fond of animals, especially dogs. This was evidenced by his repeated donations to save sick animals. His favorite hobbies in childhood and youth were photography, mushroom picking, fishing, and coin collecting. He also loved to travel; most of all, the Carpathian Mountains fascinated him. He visited many European countries: Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, France, and Italy. He dreamed of visiting Argentina and the United States, but always wanted to live in Ukraine. In April 2016, at the age of 18, he became a blood donor, donating blood 25 times until 2022.

In 2016-2019, he served under contract at the Ukraine State Border Guard Service. In July 2019, he completed a training program for operators of unmanned aerial vehicles of the copter type at the Main Training Center of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and received a certificate. After his demobilization, he worked as a cash collector and driver at PrivatBank.

“He was distinguished by discipline, decency, willingness to teach and help newcomers, always smiling, polite, balanced, and non-conflict,” recalled former colleagues at the bank.

On February 24, 2022, Vladyslav went to war. At first, he was a mortar commander with the 80th separate airborne assault brigade. He fought in Mykolaiv, Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts. In July, he received an honorary badge of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “For Exemplary Military Service, Second Class”. From September 2022, he served in the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a senior operator of a Special Forces group.

“A loving only son, a beloved husband, an attentive and best grandson for his grandmothers, a good brother, a loyal comrade, a sworn brother, a patriot of his village and Ukraine. He was loved and respected by many people and had many friends. Vladyslav always had a friendly smile, was sincere, kind, sympathetic, courageous, strong, cultured, highly moral, a patriot of his country, a good organizer of good deeds, always ready to help others, and respected the elderly. Vladislav could always support any company with his sense of humor, won people’s sympathy with his ability to understand and establish long-lasting, strong relationships based on mutual trust and goodwill,” said the mother of the deceased Myroslav.

“A young man with a deep sense of patriotism, justice, and all-encompassing love for the Ukrainian land and his family, he was among those who first stood up to defend his native Ukraine. At the college, Vlad is remembered as a sincere and infinitely loyal person in business and friendship. He was kind and open to the world and people. Teachers and students respected Vladyslav for his reliability and life position,” the Bar College added.

The Special Forces officer was buried in the village of Ivano-Frankove, Lviv Oblast. Vladyslav is survived by his mother, wife, grandmothers, other relatives, friends and many fighters-in-arms.

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

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