Running Newsticker for the War in Ukraine

Al Jazeera
Ukraine receives Leopard, Challenger battle tanks

 

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  Surreal moment in Ukraine: The voice of Luke Skywalker

 

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 28, 2023

Click here to read the full report.
Key Takeaways

• Wagner Group forces have likely taken the AZOM industrial complex in northern Bakhmut and continue to make gains within the city.
• Russian and Ukrainian sources speculated that Lieutenant General Andrei Kuzmenko will replace Colonel General Rustam Muradov as Eastern Military District (EMD) commander.
• Wagner Group Financier Yevgeny Prigozhin may be using his influence in Russia’s mainstream media landscape to present himself as a potential contender in Russia’s 2024 presidential elections.
• High-ranking Russian officials continue to set domestic conditions for a protracted war.
• The cost of Russia’s war in Ukraine is likely continuing to consume a substantial portion of the Russian Federal Budget.
• Russian forces continued ground attacks along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line.
• Russian forces continued offensive operations in and around Bakhmut and along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City frontline.
• Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces conducted localized ground attacks in Zaporizhia Oblast.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree removing the upper age limit for Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia) servicemen serving in occupied Ukraine until January 1, 2026.
• Russian occupation officials continue efforts to expand Russia’s bureaucratic and administrative control of occupied areas of Ukraine.
• The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on March 28 Belarus’ intent to host Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on March 25. . . .

The Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported that a convoy of five Russian Z-STS armored vehicles belonging to the 34th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 49th Combined Arms Army crashed due to speeding on the Kerch Strait Bridge.[66] The incident resulted in significant damage to four of five vehicles. . . . .

 

What Biden sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine reveals about Russia’s war

 

Ukraine hits Russian-held city deep behind front as talk of ...

Reuters
https://www.reuters.com › world › europe › russian-forc...


1 hour ago — Ukraine struck a railway depot and knocked out power in the Russian-occupied ... against Russian forces worn out by a failed winter offensive.

 

Ukraine’s military success has depleted Russian armored vehicle reserves,

 

Star Tribune
Cargill to stop handling Russian grains for export as war in Ukraine continues


USA Today
Russia halts nuclear weapons communication with US; Spain sending tanks soon: Live Ukraine war live updates

 

The Hill
Zelensky invites China’s Xi to visit Ukraine

 

That's 4D chess to force China to back up their impartial/neutral claim. While also forcing a cease fire for the duration of his visit by Russia.

He won't go. But it's a neat move regardless.

 

U.S. reporter detained in Russia on espionage charges

A U.S. journalist with The Wall Street Journal has been detained in Russia on suspicion of espionage, a Russian news agency reported on Thursday.

Russia’s federal security service accused Evan Gershkovich of collecting “information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex,” according to the Interfax news agency.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/...03KZ5wBUuXtmVgT2C20Ij6oTwdmG7vvoHdbfMozcBAAA=

 

Not as valuable a pawn peace for prisoner exchange as a gay black basketball woman.

 

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 29, 2023

Click here to read the full report.
Key Takeaways

• Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on March 29 to review strategic and long-term cooperation agreements that will likely intensify Russia and Iran’s bilateral security relationship.
• Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin seized on the recent story of the sentencing of a Tula Oblast father for his 12-year-old daughter’s antiwar drawing to promote the Wagner Group’s reputation and ameliorate his own personal image.
• Chechen Republic Head Ramzan Kadyrov’s demonstrative response to an attack on a police station in Chechnya suggests that he may be concerned about the stability of his authoritarian rule.
• Russian authorities arrested Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia) naval department head Colonel Sergey Volkov for corruption-related charges.
• Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov stated on March 27 that Ukrainian forces may be planning to launch a counteroffensive in April or May depending on weather conditions.
• Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line.
• Russian forces continued offensive operations in and around Bakhmut and along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City front.
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi visited the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) for the second time.
• Russian occupation authorities continue to implement measures to integrate occupied territories into the Russian administrative and legal system.
• The Belarusian Ministry of Defense (MoD) reported that planned activities are ongoing to call up those liable for military service for military training and to retrain reserve servicemen in military registration specialties. . . .
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• The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces maintain their presence in the Kursk and Belgorod Oblast border areas.[28] Russian forces likely maintain their presence in Kursk and Belgorod oblasts in an attempt to keep Ukrainian forces from deploying to other parts of the frontline. . . . .

Ukrainian forces continued striking Russian positions and concentration areas in southern Ukraine on March 29. Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces conducted a HIMARS strike against an electrical substation at a railway depot in occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhia Oblast.[44] Geolocated footage posted on March 29 shows smoke rising near the railway depot in Melitopol following the strike.[45] Geolocated footage posted on March 28 additionally shows Ukrainian forces striking Russian positions near Oleshky, east (left) bank of Kherson Oblast.[46] Russian sources reported that Russian air defense shot down a Ukrainian drone over Simferopol, occupied Crimea on March 29.[47] . . . .

 

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 30, 2023

Click here to read the full report.
Key Takeaways

• Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on March 30 launching the semiannual spring conscription cycle, which will conscript 147,000 Russians between April 1 and July 15.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed a prominent milblogger and Russian proxy battalion commander as a regional Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia) official for Donetsk Oblast.
• Western officials reported that Wagner Group and conventional Russian forces have likely lost a substantial amount of manpower in the Bakhmut area.
• The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich in Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast on charges of espionage.
• Ukrainian National Security Defense Council Secretary Oleksii Danilov stated that Ukrainian authorities do not intend to expel the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP) from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra by force.
• Russian authorities arrested Bryansk Oblast Acting Deputy Head Elena Egorova and Second Deputy Governor Tatyana Kuleshova for reportedly receiving bribes.
• Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks north of Kupyansk and along the Svatove-Kreminna line.
• Russian forces continued offensive operations in and around Bakhmut as well as along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City front.
• International Atomic Energy Agency Director (IAEA) Rafael Grossi stated that plans to ensure the safety of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) have evolved.
• Pardoned Wagner Group convicts are continuing to commit crimes in Russia following the end of their contract service with Wagner.
• Russian occupation authorities continue efforts to set conditions for September 2023 elections by further integrating occupied territories into the Russian legal apparatus. . . . . .

A Ukrainian commander serving in Bakhmut reported that the tempo of Russian offensives in the Bakhmut area is declining. Ukrainian Colonel Yevhen Mezhevikin stated on March 30 that Russian assaults in the Bakhmut area have slowed and that Ukrainian forces have thwarted an imminent threat of encirclement.[50] Mezhevikin stated that Russian forces previously were able to launch simultaneous assaults in all directions in the Bakhmut area but that those capabilities are now declining.[51] Mezhevikin stated that Ukrainian forces stabilized their flanks to the north and south of Bakhmut and that Russian forces are now focusing on fighting through the city itself because the buildings and urban environment protect them from Ukrainian fire.[52] ISW previously assessed that Russian forces would face significant delays and losses if the Ukrainian defense of Bakhmut forced Russian forces to fight through the urban terrain of central Bakhmut.[53] . . . .

 

Perhaps a falling out?

Russia-Ukraine live: Moscow dismisses Lukashenko’s call for truce.

Russia says Ukraine ceasefire now would not achieve Moscow's goals

Belarus' Lukashenko calls for immediate ceasefire in Ukraine-Russia War

 

EconoTimes

Russia-Ukraine war: Kyiv destroys railway depot, power in Russian-occupied city -

 

Luka suddenly dies of a "heart attack"?....LOL.

 

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 31, 2023

Click here to read the full report.
Key Takeaways

• Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a new Russian Foreign Policy Concept on March 31 that likely aims to support the Kremlin’s attempts to promote a potential anti-Western coalition.
• Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko continues to use high-profile public statements to portray Belarus as a sovereign state despite its current de-facto occupation by Russian forces.
• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov promptly rejected Lukashenko’s suggestion of a ceasefire and indicated that the Kremlin is not interested in serious negotiations.
• Russian Security Council deputy chairman Dmitry Medvedev leveraged comments about sending peacekeeping forces to Ukraine to continue information operations that portray the West as escalatory.
• Russian forces continued ground attacks along the Svatove-Kreminna line.
• Russian forces made gains within Bakhmut and Ukrainian forces regained positions in the Bakhmut area.
• Russian forces continued offensive operations along the Avdiivka-Donetsk frontline.
• Ukrainian strikes against Russian concentration areas in southern Ukraine are likely causing the Russian grouping in the area to change tactics to avoid the risk of strikes.
• Russian officials continue to state that Russian forces have no plans for a formal second wave of mobilization.
• Russian officials continue to send Ukrainian children to camps in Russia. . . .

Ukrainian troops regained positions around Bakhmut, and Ukrainian officials continue to emphasize the importance of Ukraine’s continued defense in this area on March 31. Geolocated footage posted on March 31 indicates that Ukrainian troops conducted a counterattack southwest of Bakhmut and regained lost positions south of Ivanivske (about 7km southwest of Bakhmut).[30] Deputy Ukrainian Defense Minister Hanna Malyar stated on March 31 that Ukraine’s committed defense of Bakhmut has made it ”the most expensive” Russian effort of the war and noted that ”the time, weapons, equipment, and huge number of casualties spent by the enemy on the capture of Bakhmut do not justify themselves from the point of view of military expediency.”[31] Malyar’s statement supports ISW assessment that the Ukrainian defense of Bakhmut remains strategically sound as long as Ukrainian troops force Russian troops to attrit manpower and equipment without Ukrainian troops suffering excessive losses.[32] Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi relatedly reported on March 31 that Russian forces in certain sectors of Bakhmut are noticeably nervous because time is against them, and they have fewer human resources with which to storm Ukrainian positions.[33] . . . .

Ukrainian strikes against Russian concentration areas in southern Ukraine are likely causing the Russian grouping in the area to change tactics to avoid the risk of strikes. Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command stated on March 31 that Russian forces in this area are spreading themselves out and dispersing troops and equipment to avoid presenting targets.[41] Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command also noted that Ukrainian aviation and missile and artillery units hit two Russian concentration areas over the last day.[42] Geolocated footage posted on March 30 shows a Ukrainian strike against a Russian electronic warfare (EW) system in Nova Kakhovka.[43] Russian sources claimed that Russian and Ukrainian forces engaged in mutual shelling across the Dnipro River and that Ukrainian forces shelled Russian positions on the east (left) bank of Kherson Oblast.[44] . . . .

 

Reuters
Munitions, anti-tank rockets in next $2.6 bln US pledge for Ukraine -sources

 

International Monetary Fund extends $15.6 billion loan to Ukraine as war with Russia rages

 

...saw that part of the US aid package includes fuel trucks...now that's a pretty good indicator that something is going to kick off soon as with the influx of large amounts of Mech forces recently logistics need to be beefed up....specially fuel and fuel supply!!

 

The Russian high command seems to think they know exactly what's coming for them. If they are right it will be a first.

“Over the past few weeks there have been a growing number of reports that Russia is recruiting workers and – according to some sources, using ***forced labour*** – to dig trenches and build fortifications in Crimea across areas they would be forced to defend were Ukraine to make the peninsula a major objective of its spring offensive.”

“Activity is mainly focused on the areas around the Isthmus of Perekop, a roughly 19-mile long stretch of land which connects Crimea to the Ukrainian mainland. Its strategic importance is obvious when you think there have been fortifications dug there on and off for 2,000 years.”
THE CONVERSATION, Ukraine recap: as spring arrives in Ukraine an offensive against Crimea could be on the cards, REUTERS/Toby Melville, Published: March 30, 2023 1.21pm EDT. (*** mine)
https://theconversation.com/ukraine...e-against-crimea-could-be-on-the-cards-203009

 

If past actions are a guide then the Ukrainians will head fake the Muscovites and strike somewhere else.

 

....I wonder what a Bradley Commander will do when he meets a trench....I mean....trenches are tricky things for Bradley's to deal with...fcku, I guess they'll just have to turn around and re-think the strategy and maybe look for places without trenches....cunning wee critters these Russians they think of everything.... I mean what will happen if an M1A1 comes up against a trench!!!! Might as well pack up and let the Russians win....

 

Just goes to show the Razzcists are crapping their drawers.

 

I read the other day that Shoigu seemed to have sacked his mate Muradov as Commander of the Eastern Military District following some really really really miserable defeats. The guy's a ****ing joke! Anyway the Milbloggers were pretty positive about that after hearing he'd been fired and were hopeful that someone from the local chain of command would be promoted - which would make sense as they'd already have good knowledge of the local tactical situation....but no.....they've brought in Andrey Kuzmenko! That though is interesting because now it appears that Muradov is only on "holiday"!? The word is that Kuzmenko has been brought in as a schmuck to take the fall for Muradov if Russia loses Zaporizhzhia...lots going on down there!!