Victory Chronicles-DAY 909

In a special operation called “Operation Reed”, a 24-year-old Russian soldier defected to Ukraine and joined the Legion of Freedom of Russia ranks. This information was released by the Legion and the state project “I Want to Live”, which focuses on the voluntary surrender of Russian servicemen. The soldier, known by the code name “Silver”, had served in the Russian Armed Forces and decided to cross the front line and join the Ukrainian side. He had previously been a member of one of the “Sturm” suicide squads, where he witnessed the harsh realities of the Russian army, including lawlessness, disregard for human life, lack of training and supplies, sadistic commanders, and punishments for minor offenses. The soldier had been in contact with the Russian Freedom Legion since winter 2024 and provided them with important operational information about equipment and personnel and future plans and tasks in the combat zone. In May 2024, he chose the right moment and set fire to the headquarters together with the occupiers: he threw a grenade through a ventilation pipe into the basement of the headquarters, where the battalion commander was spending the night.

The Ukrainian government has allocated UAH 24 billion ($580 mln) to purchase drones for the Armed Forces, as announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Contracts for 1 million drones have already been signed, and 500 Ukrainian companies are producing UAVs. Prime Minister Shmyhal emphasized the importance of a strong drone army in modern warfare that effectively interacts with other military branches. The government has also approved a draft law to legally establish the Unmanned Systems Troops as a separate Armed Forces branch, making Ukraine the first country in the world to complete its staffing. This new structure is a response to the current requirements of the battlefield based on modern military experience. 

Chlorine levels in the air in Ternopil Oblast have surpassed safe limits by 4 to 10 times due to a fire at an industrial facility caused by a Russian attack. Oksana Chaichuk, Director General of the Ternopil Oblast Center for Disease Control and Prevention, issued a warning advising residents to limit their time outdoors and restrict access to atmospheric air in closed rooms. Suggestions included using a recuperator if available, covering windows and doors with wet sheets to bind the chlorine to water and prevent it from entering rooms, and avoiding swimming in water and staying near water bodies. 

The official public channel of the Airborne Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine published a video showing the firing of Marder infantry fighting vehicles during the assault on the village of Mala Loknya, Suzhansky district, Kursk region. 

A combat episode of one of the units of the 95th separate airborne assault brigade of the Airborne Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The well-equipped firing points and combat positions of the Russians came under a powerful attack by the Polissya paratroopers. The enemy suffered significant losses in manpower, equipment and other material resources.

The Kremlin’s response to Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk Oblast has emphasized how the Kremlin’s internal priorities have increasingly oriented towards regime stability, especially over the past year. 

Russian opposition outlet Vazhnye Istorii reported on August 19 that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reaction to the “Kursk situation” has exposed certain shifts within the Kremlin’s power vertical, many of which have been underway over the last several months. Putin appointed Presidential Aide Alexei Dyumin to supervise the ongoing “counterterrorism” operation against Ukrainian activities in Kursk Oblast, which Vazhnye Istorii noted means that Putin distrusts the Russian General Staff and the Russian Ministry of Defense (which would be the bodies theoretically in charge of defensive military activities) and relies on individuals that he personally trusts. An insider source reportedly told Vazhnye Istorii that Dyumin is now in conflict with representatives of the Russian Presidential Administration, further suggesting that Putin continues to align himself with those who have his personal favor at the expense of officials better technically suited for certain positions. Vazhnye Istorii also cited sources familiar with the Russian security services as claiming that Federal Security Service (FSB) Head Alexander Bortnikov will “leave his post this year” and theorizing that his potential replacement may be Vladislav Menshchikov, head of the FSB’s counterintelligence service, or Sergei Korolev, Bortnikov’s first deputy. Russian investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov noted that the FSB has generally shifted its mandate away from controlling Russian oligarchs and towards controlling Russia’s military and Russia’s military-industrial complex as well as countering “saboteurs and terrorists,” and Vazhnye Istorii reported that several long-time Russian economic oligarchs are also gradually losing their influence within the Kremlin’s wider power vertical.

Vazhnye Istorii’s reporting strongly suggests that the Kremlin has increasingly oriented its main priorities towards regime stability. ISW has reported at length on Putin’s efforts to maintain a core cadre of loyal siloviki (Russian strongmen with political influence) within the Russian power vertical, particularly since the risks to Putin’s regime first introduced by the Wagner Group’s armed rebellion in June 2023.

The Kremlin’s general shift towards siloviki such as Dyumin, whom Putin personally trusts, and security officials with strong and well-documented reputations in counterterrorism and counterintelligence, suggests that the Kremlin is increasingly looking towards such individuals as regime safeguards. Ukraine’s operation into Kursk Oblast has particularly exposed this dynamic, and the Kremlin’s continued response to the incursion further emphasizes the ever-increasing reliance on security officials and structures over more politically or economically focused internal structures.

Defender Mykhailo Hryshchenko, with the call sign Bortnyk, died on February 19, 2024, in the village of Novomykhailivka, Donetsk Oblast. While performing a combat mission, he sustained life-threatening injuries as a result of enemy artillery fire. The fighter was 33 years old.

Mykhailo was born in the village of Meleni, Zhytomyr Oblast. In 2007, he graduated from the 10th grade at a local school. Then, he studied at the Kyiv Higher Vocational School of Railway Transport. He majored in railroad car inspection and repair. Subsequently, at the same educational institution, he received the profession of a passenger car conductor. At the Vinnytsia Transport College, he graduated with an equipment operation and repair degree. He worked at Ukrzaliznytsia. He was a conductor.

During the full-scale invasion on March 18, 2022, Mykhailo stood up to defend his homeland. He fought as part of the 197th Battalion of the 124th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade. He held the position of anti-aircraft gunner of the anti-aircraft missile squad of the anti-aircraft missile artillery platoon of the fire support company. He defended Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Donetsk Oblasts. He had the call sign Bortnyk, the name of his grandfather, a beekeeper.

“The best man in the whole world. He was sensitive and loving. He was a jack of all trades. He was very fond of repairing computers. Mishka was always supportive and joking, so I called him my universe. He could get along with anyone, give effective advice, never left anyone in trouble, always came to the rescue, and did not hide behind others. From the first days of the full-scale war, he stood up to defend Ukraine and his family. Mishka will forever remain in my memory, heart and soul as a beloved, sensitive and loving husband,” wrote his wife Victoria.

Mykhailo was buried in his native village. The defender is survived by his mother Natalia, brother Oleksandr and wife Viktoria.

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

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