Victory Chronicles-DAY 910

According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, as of August 20, the Ukrainian military controls over 1,260 square kilometers of territory and 93 settlements in the Kursk region of Russia. 

The purpose of their offensive defense in this direction is to create a security zone and prevent the shelling of civilian areas in the Sumy Oblast from Russian territory. During their offensive, the Ukrainian forces have advanced between 28 to 35 kilometers into the enemy’s defense, seizing the aforementioned territory and settlements. However, the enemy is employing maneuver defense, attempting to stop further advancement and reinforcing their troops from other directions. 

The future actions of the Ukrainian military in this area will depend on the evolving operational situation.

The Minister of Finance of Ukraine, Sergii Marchenko, met with the Minister of International Development of Canada, Ahmed Hussain. The meeting was attended by other high-ranking officials from both countries. Marchenko expressed gratitude to the Canadian government for their support since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Canada has been one of the largest contributors, providing around USD 5.1 billion in funding. This support includes financial, military, and humanitarian assistance, as well as sanctions against Russia. In 2022, Ukraine received USD 1.9 billion, and in 2023, they received over USD 1.75 billion in concessional funds. Additionally, more than USD 1.47 billion was attracted to the Ukrainian state budget. The Canadian delegation also supported the provision of USD 50 billion to Ukraine, which will be repaid from frozen Russian sovereign assets.

Six children, aged 11-17, are in the hospital after a Russian attack on a children’s cafe in the village of Malokaterinovka in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast on August 20. 

According to the chief physician of Zaporizhzhia Children’s Hospital, three of the children have moderate concussion without explosive injuries, while one girl underwent surgery for a mine-blast injury to her left shoulder and is now conscious and talking. Another child has undergone neurosurgery and is currently in the operating room. 

Two boys are in serious condition, with a suspicion of spinal cord damage. The shrapnel has been removed, but it is still uncertain whether there is any damage to the spinal cord and how it will function in the future.

Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk released a video showing a strike by guided aerial bombs on the concentration of occupants’ equipment and personnel in the Donetsk sector.

Ukrainian forces continued attacking throughout the Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast on August 20 and recently made additional advances. Ukrainian forces appear to be continuing efforts to strike Russian pontoon bridges and pontoon engineering equipment west of the current Kursk Oblast salient over the Seim River in Glushkovo Raion—geolocated footage published on August 20 shows Ukrainian drones striking Russian equipment bringing pontoons to a staging area near the Seim River about 3km north of Glushkovo. Satellite imagery indicates that Ukrainian forces have destroyed at least one pontoon bridge across the Seim as of August 19 that was visible on August 17.

Some Russian milbloggers claimed that Ukrainian forces seized Vishnevka (southwest of Koronevo and 14km from the international border), consistent with the Russian Ministry of Defense’s (MoD) reporting from August 19 that tacitly acknowledged Ukrainian advances in the Vishnevka area. Geolocated footage published on August 19 shows that Ukrainian forces have advanced westward along Sudzhanskiy Shlyakh Street (38K-030 highway) in eastern Korenevo as well as in fields northeast of Korenevo.

Russian milbloggers widely claimed on August 20 that Ukrainian forces continued mechanized assaults on the outskirts of Korenevo and that Russian forces were conducting artillery and airstrikes to contain Ukrainian advances. Russian milbloggers indicated that Russian forces regained some lost positions and advanced in fields south of Safonovka (northeast of Koreveno and 30km from the international border). Geolocated footage published on August 20 shows that Ukrainian forces have also advanced in forested areas north of Russkoye Porechnoye (northeast of Sudzha and 20km from the international border), consistent with Russian milblogger maps that depict Ukrainian advances over the entire administrative boundaries of Russkoye Porechnoye.

A prominent Kremlin-affiliated milblogger claimed on August 20 that Ukrainian forces have also advanced up the western outskirts of Russkaya Konopelka, just east of Sudzha. Geolocated footage published on August 20 showing Ukrainian forces towing a captured Russian T-90M tank along the Snagost-Liubimivka road (southeast of Koreveno and 8km from the international border) indicates that Ukrainian forces continue operating well within the maximalist claimed limit of Ukrainian advances in Kursk Oblast.

Paratrooper Yuriy Pavlivskyi, call sign Moroz, died on December 28, 2023, while performing combat missions near the village of Novomykhailivka, Donetsk Oblast. The warrior was 29 forever.

Yuriy was born in the village of Hrynivtsi, Zhytomyr Oblast. He graduated from the Zhytomyr Higher Vocational School, where he received a degree in carpentry, carpentry, and construction bricklaying. In his professional life, he was engaged in house repairs.

In April 2022, the man became a fighter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Yurii served in the 79th separate airborne assault brigade. He was a driver of the electronic support unit. He fought in the Maryinka direction of Donetsk Oblast.

“Yuriy was very kind and cheerful. It was always a holiday wherever he was. He was always ready to help. He was unfit for service in peacetime, but during the war he could not stand aside and joined the Armed Forces as a volunteer. Without our always smiling Yuriy, the family was orphaned, and sadness and grief settled in the house. Two children were left without a father forever,” said Anastasia, the sister of the deceased’s wife.

Posthumously, fighter Pavlivskyi Yuriy Leonidovych was awarded the Order “For Courage” of the III degree.The fighter was buried in the village of Stryzhivka, Zhytomyr Oblast. He is survived by his mother, wife, son, daughter, four brothers and a sister.

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

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