[Korrespondent] 22:23 Negotiations on a possible conversation between Zelensky and Xi Jinping are ongoing - it is too early to say whether it will take place, Podolyak said.
21:34 Ukraine has been asking its Western allies for fighter jets for a long time. After his tour of European countries in February, Zelensky said that there was good news on fighter jets, but he didn’t want to “prepare the Russian Federation” yet. Only now no one has handed over the planes to us. However, it seems that Ukraine is already very close to this moment. More details - in the material Aircraft will be .
20:56 During 2022, several Chinese companies, including one associated with the Chinese authorities, sent a thousand assault rifles and other equipment that can be used for military purposes to Russian enterprises. In particular, we are talking about parts of drones and body armor, writes Politico with reference to customs data. Thus, in June 2022, one of the largest state defense contractors in China, China North Industries Group, sent CQ-A rifles to the Russian company Techkrim, which cooperates with the Russian Armed Forces.
19:41 The Russians fired on Konstantinovka, Donetsk region, six people were injured, among them a foreign volunteer, said the head of the OVA Pavel Kirilenko. The enemy hit the city twice this afternoon with Hurricanes with cluster munitions. At least 19 houses, a school and an enterprise were damaged to varying degrees.
19:28 Austria has joined the coalition of countries working on the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine, Kuleba said. It became the 33rd country to join the group.
19:11 The United States plans to announce a new military aid package for Ukraine in the coming days, said John Kirby, coordinator of strategic communications at the White House National Security Council.
18:35 Sweden will give Ukraine eight wheeled 155-mm Archer howitzers, Defense Minister Paul Johnson said.
17:59 Zelensky reported on a "good conversation" with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak: "Informed about the situation at the front, the defense of Bakhmut. We exchanged views on recent international events. As always, there are concrete results in strengthening defense and economic support for Ukraine."
17:37 The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry into violations in Ukraine published a report on war crimes of the Russian military in Ukraine. Among the war crimes of the Russians are deliberate killings, torture, rape, deportation, attacks on energy infrastructure.
At the same time, the head of the commission, Eric Mjose, said that experts did not find evidence of genocide: "We did not find that there was a genocide in Ukraine ... There are some aspects that may raise questions about a possible genocide."
17:19 Russia is trying to find the wreckage of an American UAV. And in the USA they say that they removed the software and there is nothing of value in them anymore. For more details, see the article Why the Russian Federation is looking for a US drone .
17:08 Israel is limited in providing assistance to Ukraine due to agreements with Russia on Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "I must say quite frankly that we have a difficult situation in Israel." He recalled that a few years ago, Israel entered into an agreement with Russia to resist Iran's attempts to "open a third front" against the country from Syria.
At the same time, Netanyahu confirmed that Israel will help Ukraine create a high-tech civilian air threat warning system.
16:46 Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas announced the provision of a new package of military assistance to Ukraine. It will include, inter alia, 155 mm ammunition, vehicles and military rations. The total cost of military support will soon reach 450 million euros.
16:43 Russia is trying to negotiate military assistance with the countries of the Middle East and Africa, said the representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Vadym Skibitsky: "Russia has begun to experience a shortage of ammunition, and we know for sure that they are actively working with Iran. Yes, indeed, negotiations are underway with Myanmar, the countries of the African continent, the Middle East. They have now sent their delegations to the Ministry of Defense, the Foreign Intelligence Service, other departments and ministries in order to get as much ammunition and other weapons for themselves as possible."
According to him, Iran remains the main military partner of the Russian Federation, which supplies it with ammunition and drones. The matter has not yet reached the delivery of ballistic missiles. In response, Iran expects new weapons, nuclear energy technologies and missile programs from Russia.
16:38 Kuleba said that he had a telephone conversation with State Counselor and Foreign Minister of China Qin Gan, "discussed the meaning of the principle of territorial integrity" and the Ukrainian formula for peace.
16:24 In the Mariupol region, in the village. Maloyanisol is on fire and detonates the composition of the occupiers, which they formed over the past weeks, Piotr Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, said.
16:02 AMX 10-RC wheeled tanks "just" arrived from France to Ukraine, Defense Minister Sebastian Lecornu said and added that "some have already left for the front line."
15:51 Germany handed over to Ukraine another package of military assistance, which included, in particular, 5,000 155 mm artillery shells, MARS II multiple rocket launchers, 155 mm precision-guided munitions, etc., the German government said.
15:27 In the Shirokovskaya community of the Bashtansky district of the Nikolaev region in recent days, a milk truck and a GAZ truck were blown up on mines, reported in the State Emergency Service. Three people received minor injuries.
15:03 Kuleba said that he had discussed with Blinken the Ukrainian formula for peace and ways to speed up the delivery of artillery ammunition.
14:56 Estonia will give Ukraine another package of military assistance in the amount of 494 thousand euros, the country's Ministry of Defense announced. It will be aimed at equipping special forces and snipers. The package will include, inter alia, semi-automatic rifles, sniper rifles, optical sights, binoculars, ammunition, personal and special equipment, patrol boats and thermal imagers, as well as medical equipment.
14:21 Poland will hand over four MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine in the coming days , President Andrzej Duda said.
14:19 Estonia offers the European Union to develop a new package of anti-Russian sanctions, in which one of the main places is to reduce revenues through energy supplies, said Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu. In particular, according to him, Estonia proposes to significantly lower the price ceiling for crude oil and reduce Russia's ability to export its oil by sea. Estonia also intends to propose to the EU to ban the transit of sanctioned goods altogether in order to avoid sanctions evasion.
13:58 Speaker of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuriy Ignat told what missiles can and cannot be shot down by Ukrainian air defense. Can crash:
- Caliber (3M14) - sea-based cruise missile (which the enemy attacks from the Black Sea),
- X-101 / X-555 / X-55 - air-launched cruise missiles,
- R-500 (9M728) - ground-based cruise missile from the Iskander-K complex (similar to Caliber),
- X-59 - air-to-ground guided missile,
- Kh-35 - air, sea or coastal anti-ship missile.
Missiles that Ukrainian air defense cannot shoot down:
- 9M723 - ballistic missile Iskander-M,
- 9M79M - Tochki-U missile,
- MLRS missiles,
- X-22 - supersonic long-range air-launched cruise anti-ship missile,
- R-800 - coastal-based cruise missile Oniks,
- Kh-47 - hypersonic aeroballistic missile Kinzhal,
- Kh-31P - aviation anti-radar missile.
13:35 In Russian Rostov-on-Don, a large-scale fire broke out in the building of the border service of the FSB. The authorities of the Rostov region said that the cause of the fire in the "utility premises" of the FSB border guard was allegedly a wiring short circuit. However, local residents claim that an explosion was heard before the fire . Nearby residents were evacuated. One person died and two were injured in the fire, emergency services said.
13:19 Scholz said that he expects further steps from the EU summit next week on the supply of ammunition to Ukraine. According to him, Germany is ready "to open its procurement projects to other member states." The Chancellor also assured that Germany would continue to support Ukraine "politically, financially, humanitarianly and with weapons ... as long as necessary."
12:44 In the occupied Genichesk and the region, the Russian military are conducting round-ups and searches of local residents. People are being intimidated into getting Russian passports. Employees of the "migration services" take fingerprints, check phones and take pictures of local residents in full face, profile and full growth, said Vladislav Nazarov, a representative of OK Pivden.
In turn, Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said that the Russian occupiers continue to massively steal property from state institutions and enterprises and housing of the civilian population in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. So, last week in the settlements of Razdolnoye, Kalanchak, Novaya Zburyevka and Golaya Pristan of the Kherson region, under the pretext of allegedly carrying out anti-terrorist measures, the occupiers searched the houses of local residents, including those abandoned by the owners.
After such measures, Russian servicemen usually tried to purchase food and alcohol in local stores, offering sellers to pay with stolen small household appliances, dishes, laptops and smartphones. And more dimensional things - refrigerators, washing machines, TVs, etc. the occupiers were taken out by military trucks, which delivered ammunition.
12:39 The Pentagon gave reporters a video of an attack by a Russian Su-27 fighter on an MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance drone. It shows how the plane dumps fuel on the drone, after which the Reaper begins to have communication problems.
12:30 The Russian army has lost at least 15 T-90M main battle tanks in Ukraine, Andrei Rudyk, a representative of the Center for Research on Captured and Advanced Weapons and Military Equipment of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said. According to him, the "invincibility" and "perfection" of the T-90M turned out to be a myth.
12:21 The energy system of Ukraine is working stably, in sync with Europe, Ukrenergo reported. The power plants produce enough electricity to cover consumption, however, due to significant damage to networks by Russian shelling, restrictions are applied in the Zhytomyr, Kyiv regions and Kyiv.
11:49 In the Russian Khabarovsk, a military court sentenced the corporal of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Danil Frolkin, who previously confessed to the murder of a civilian in Ukraine and looting. He was sentenced to five and a half years in a penal colony on probation under an article about spreading "fakes" about the Russian army.
11:26 On the night of March 11, Ukrainian defenders shot down a modernized Chinese Mugin-5 drone in the Donetsk region from AK-47 assault rifles, CNN reports. Some tech bloggers are calling Mugin-5 the "Alibaba drone" because they can be bought for $15,000 on Chinese sites including Alibaba and Taobao. Mugin Limited confirmed to CNN that it was their drone, calling the incident "very sad". Experts believe that the drone has been upgraded - this is evidenced by a bomb trigger made from 3D printed components.
11:08 In the Czech Republic, the courts have already convicted nine people for approving Russian aggression against Ukraine, the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office said. Of the nine convictions, all but one ended with suspended sentences or fines. And one Czech activist convicted of posting hate speech against Ukrainians on social media received a nine-month prison sentence.
In addition, 58 individuals were charged with endorsing Russia's aggression, and criminal investigations were launched in 90 cases.
11:05 Russian media write about the mass distribution of subpoenas. According to Astra, residents of 33 regions of the Russian Federation have already received the summons.
11:02 Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Karins arrived in Kyiv on a visit. He stated that "Ukrainian victory is of decisive importance for a free Europe."
| Many of the nations of the Former Soviet Union have built up three quarters of century worth of resentment for tyranny and misrule. Now Putin’s Russia is reaping the result, exacerbated by recent talk of reconquering former territories. All Russia had to do was not say it aloud, or make a few diplomatic gestures, and the countries of Russia’s European periphery would have stayed neutral. |
He also stressed that the enemy was not successful in the Luhansk region, an attempt to break through in Belogorovka and in the Kremensk direction ended in losses for the Russians. Gaidai said that the Buryats, who had not been seen for a long time, had reappeared on the Lugansk front.
10:48 The speaker of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yuri Ignat, said in an interview with Channel 24 that government buildings could become priority targets for future Russian missile attacks: “They can fire at anything. Their priority targets are government buildings, buildings of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense. there are, as they call them there, "decision centers".
At the same time, he clarified that government buildings are located not only in Kyiv, and recalled the attacks on the Kharkiv and Nikolaev Regional State Administrations. In addition, according to Ignat, the goals of the Russian Federation remain energy and transport infrastructure, hydraulic structures, and treatment facilities. “Therefore, you can expect anything from them. You just need to be ready and destroy everything that flies at us. And people should adhere to safety recommendations,” Ignat emphasized.
10:36 France was accused of slowing down the EU plan to replenish ammunition stocks for Ukraine, writes The Telegraph. In particular, Paris requires that shells be produced within the European Union. Critics of the French demands warn that it could slow support for Ukraine, as manufacturing capacity could be readily available outside the EU. The final agreement should be signed in March at the summit in Brussels.
10:15 During the cleansing of positions in the Bakhmut region of the Donetsk region, where there were Russian soldiers, the fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine found a captured brother-in-law in the basement of one of the houses. It turned out to be a serviceman Alexei Gordeev. Alexei was wounded, and was in the basement with the bodies of his dead colleagues. The incredible story of the salvation of the Ukrainian defender - in the material 42 days without food .
09:54 British intelligence reports that over the past week, Russian attempts to storm Ugledar have almost certainly slowed down, and the only notable tactical success of the Russian Federation in recent times has been achieved in the Bakhmut sector. The RF slowdown in Ugledar comes after repeated, extremely costly failed attacks over the previous three months, according to analysts.
One of the factors that contributed to the heavy losses of the Russian Federation in this sector was the successful introduction by Ukraine of remote anti-tank mines RAAM - a special artillery projectile that scatters anti-tank mines at a distance of up to 17 km from a combat unit. Intelligence notes that in some cases, Ukraine has planted mines behind advancing Russian units, causing confusion as they attempted to retreat.
Analysts speculate that the RF Ministry of Defense was aggressively seeking to seize Vugledar in part because of competition with the achievements of PMC Wagner in the Bakhmut area.
09:48 In the Black Sea, atypical activity of Russians is recorded - the enemy has withdrawn 20 ships and many units of the auxiliary fleet, Natalya Gumenyuk, speaker of OK Pivden, said. Presumably, the ships are there to collect the remains of a downed American drone.
09:17 A year ago, Russia dropped a super-powerful bomb on the Drama Theater in the center of Mariupol, where hundreds of people were hiding. Near the building was the inscription "Children", which was impossible not to notice.
09:14 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, one person was killed (in Bakhmut), 11 more people were injured. In the Kherson region, three people were injured per day, according to the OVA.
09:12 The Russian occupiers have officially admitted that they destroyed Popasnaya and do not plan to restore it, Luhansk OVA reports. In particular, the "LNR" put into effect "laws" "on the administrative-territorial structure" and "on the formation of urban and municipal districts on the territory of the "LNR". 11 urban and 17 municipal districts (districts) have been approved. Popasna is not on any of the lists.
08:50 The United States is rapidly preparing Ukraine for a spring counteroffensive, writes Politico. In particular, Defense Minister Lloyd Austin said after the Ramstein meeting that "Ukraine cannot waste time." The Americans expect the spring offensive to begin in May.
Kyiv has not yet decided on a strategy, officials say, but there are two options: move south through Kherson into Crimea, or move east from its northern position and then south, cutting off the Russian land corridor. According to US officials, the first option is not realistic, since Russia has dug in its defenses on the eastern bank of the Dnieper. The second option is more likely, officials say.
08:37 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of March 16.
- personnel - about 162,560 (+1040) people liquidated,
- tanks - 3504 (+12),
- armored combat vehicles - 6810 (+11),
- artillery systems - 2539 (+11),
- MLRS - 503 (+1),
- air defense systems - 265 (+3),
- aircraft - 305 (+1),
- helicopters - 289 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 2145 (+13),
- cruise missiles - 907 (+0),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 5394 (+17),
- special equipment - 257 (+0).
08:16 The Russians are concentrating their main efforts on the Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky, Maryinsky and Shakhtyorsky directions. Over the past day, the enemy launched more than 75 attacks in the indicated directions, the General Staff reported in the morning report .
06:24 The German concern Rheinmetall has already prepared the concept of a tank plant in Ukraine, it was submitted for consideration to the German government, said the general director of the concern Armin Papperger. He added that in order to start construction, the Ukrainian government also needs to make such a decision.
According to Papperger, the plant's capacity will not belong to Rheinmetall - the company will rent the premises. Also, the concern will not finance the construction - this should be done by Ukraine or another state that will provide assistance to Ukraine. Papperger added that construction could begin during the war or after it ends - the final word in this matter will be with Kiev.
05:22 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes that the pace of the Russian offensive has decreased compared to previous weeks, and now the Armed Forces of Ukraine have the opportunity to regain the initiative.
Analysts say the Russian offensive in the Luhansk region is approaching, if not already culminating, despite the fact that Moscow has deployed the majority of at least three divisions to the Svatovo-Kremennaya line. At the same time, over the past week, the Russians have achieved only minimal tactical success in the Lugansk region, while the Ukrainians managed to launch counterattacks and return some territories in the region.
ISW specialists also emphasize that in the past few days a noticeable decrease in the number of attacks in and around Bakhmut has been recorded. In their opinion, the Russian offensive on Bakhmut is approaching its culmination more and more.
02:30 Biden told Ursula von der Leyen that Washington does not want to further reduce the price ceiling for Russian oil - the G7 countries intend to maintain the upper price limit at $60 per barrel, writes The Wall Street Journal, citing sources. US Treasury officials said the price-cutting plan is achieving its goals: keeping Russian oil available on world markets and reducing the Kremlin's revenue from its sales.
02:07 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that Damascus recognizes the "new borders" of Russia with the annexed "LDNR", Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. According to him, "the clear and decisive position of Syria on this issue is based on historical facts."
01:46 Since May last year, in the battles for Bakhmut, the Russian regular army and PMC Wagner have lost from 20 to 30 thousand people killed and wounded, said Ian Stubbs, senior military adviser to the British delegation to the OSCE. "These are huge human losses with a total advance of about 25 km ... For every kilometer traveled, more than 800 Russian servicemen are killed or wounded, most of whom are Wagner militants," he stressed.
Stubbs added that Russia appears to be running out of missiles, and the issue of providing Russian troops with equipment is also acute. In addition, he noted that the Russian military command demonstrates a striking lack of competence and squanders strategic resources for the sake of small tactical victories.