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🇷🇺⚔️🇺🇦Russian Defense Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation
17 March 2024
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
▫️In Kupyansk direction, units of the Zapad Group of Forces, in cooperation with aviation and artillery, have inflicted a fire defeat on enemy formations near Kislovka (Kharkov region).
Three counterattacks by assault groups of 30th, 32nd mechanized, and 57th motorized infantry brigades of the AFU have been repulsed close to Sinkovka (Kharkov region).
The AFU losses were up to 90 servicemen and four motor vehicles.
In the course of counter-battery warfare, one U.S.-made M777 artillery system and one UK-made FH70 howitzer have been destroyed.
▫️In Belgorod direction, Russian troops have repelled enemy attacks and foiled all attempts by Ukrainian militant sabotage and reconnaissance groups to infiltrate into the border territory of the Russian Federation near Kozinka (Belgorod region).
As a result of aviation, drone, and artillery actions, up to 65 Ukrainian fighters, one Czech-made Vampire MLRS combat vehicle, and one D-20 gun have been eliminated.
▫️In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces have taken more favorable lines and positions and defeated formations of 28th, 42nd, and 93rd mechanized, 17th tank, 5th, 92nd assault brigades of the AFU, and the 104th Brigade of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense close to Bogdanovka, Krasnoye, Kurdyumovka, Pershe Travnia, Kleshcheyevka, and Andreevka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The enemy losses were up to 200 soldiers, two armored fighting vehicles, and five motor vehicles.
▫️In Avdeyevka direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces have defeated concentration areas of enemy manpower and hardware close to Tonenkoye, Severnoye, and Orlovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
In addition, nine counterattacks by assault groups of 24th, 47th, 53rd mechanized, 59th motorized infantry, 3rd assault, and 78th air assault brigades of the AFU have been repulsed close to Leninskoye, Shumy, Novobakhmutovka, Vodyanoye, Berdychi, and Pervomaiskoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
The enemy losses were up to 380 troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, and ten motor vehicles.
In the course of counter-battery warfare, one U.S.-made M777 artillery system, two D-20 guns, one Msta-B howitzer, and two D-30 howitzers.
▫️In South Donetsk direction, as a result of successful offensive operations, units of the Vostok Group of Forces have liberated Mirnyoe (Zaporozhye region) and also repelled one counterattack by an assault group of the AFU 72nd Mechanized Brigade near Vodyanoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
The enemy losses were over 120 troops and three motor vehicles.
▫️In Kherson direction, as a result of coordinated actions by units of the Dnepr Group of Forces, manpower and hardware of 65th mechanized and 128th mountain assault brigades of the AFU, 121st and 126th brigades have been hit close to Novodanilovka, Rabotino, and Zherebyanka (Zaporozhye region), as well as Olgovka, Mikhailovka, and Nikolskoye (Kherson region).
The enemy losses were over 40 servicemen and two motor vehicles.
▫️Operational-Tactical Aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have struck assembly and testing sites for uncrewed boats, one temporary deployment point for a battery of IRIS-T surface-to-air missile systems (Odessa region), one workshop for the assembly and training of unmanned aerial vehicles near Priluki (Chernigov region), as well as AFU manpower and military hardware in 127 areas.
Air defense facilities, electronic warfare means, and small arms fire have shot down 168 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, 23 Czech-made Vampire MLRS rockets, and one S-200 surface-to-air guided missile that had been converted for use against ground targets.
📊In total, 577 airplanes, 269 helicopters, 15,849 unmanned aerial vehicles, 486 air defense missile systems, 15,509 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, 1,241 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 8,434 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 19,875 special military motor vehicles have been destroyed during the special military operation.
NATO has boots on the ground in Ukraine – Putin
It is no secret that NATO soldiers are present on the ground in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, noting that those service members are facing extremely grim prospects.
Speaking to his supporters and reporters on Sunday night after the end of the presidential election, in which he is expected to win by a landslide, Putin stressed that Moscow was well aware of the US-led military bloc’s push to deploy troops in Ukraine.
“We hear both French and English speech there. There is nothing good in this, first of all for them, because they die there and in large numbers,” he said.
He also weighed in on a potential full-scale conflict between NATO and Russia, warning that it could not be ruled out. “Anything is possible in the modern world… But everyone knows that this would be one step shy of a full-scale World War II. I don’t think that anyone is interested in that.”
French President Emmanuel Macron suggested last month that the West “cannot exclude” the possibility of sending soldiers to aid Ukraine. Later, he also described Russia as an “adversary,” insisting, however, that Paris is not “waging war on” Moscow.
Commenting on Macron’s remarks, Putin noted that while NATO troops in Ukraine are expected to act as an auxiliary force, helping Kiev train its military, “this is not much different from what mercenaries are doing there now.” Russia, he added, wants France not to escalate the conflict but to help find a peaceful solution to hostilities.
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"You're here and it means that not everything is lost for the United States," Putin told NBC News correspondent, Keir Simmons, who was the only foreign journalist on President Putin's campaign trail. In 2021, the Russian President sat down for a major interview with Keir Simmons.
▫️ Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation General of the Army Sergei Shoigu, within the framework of his visit to the troops of the Southern Military District at the command post of the Black Sea Fleet, heard reports of the fleet command and staff officers on the current situation, and also the Russian Minister of Defense inspected the progress of construction of a new military hospital in Sevastopol.
▫️ Voting in the Russian Federation's presidential election has been completed in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The turnout was 99.8 %.
▫️ In Belgorod direction, Russian troops have repelled attacks and foiled all attempts by Ukrainian militants to infiltrate into the border territory of the Russian Federation by sabotage and reconnaissance groups near Kozinka (Belgorod region).
▫️ As a result of successful offensive operations in South Donets direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces have liberated Mirnoye (Zaporozhye region).
▫️ The Ukrainian Air Force’s Mi-8 helicopter flying towards Kozinki (Belgorod region) was shot down close to Lukashovka (Sumy region) by Verba man-portable air defense system crew of the grouping of troops covering the state border of the Russian Federation.
▫️ The Russian Ministry of Defense shows forward air controllers in the South Donetsk direction, specialists from the fire support group in Kupyansk direction, and Uragan MLRS crews in Avdeyevka direction in action.
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🇷🇴🇪🇺🇺🇸Romania is building Europe's largest NATO base, a $2.5 billion project, an "unsinkable aircraft carrier on the Black Sea." The base was built in the middle of a mountain plateau and will become the center of command and control of troops in South-Eastern Europe. It will be 17% larger than Ramstein.
NATO is on suicide watch after Vladimir Putin won re-election in a landslide victory over the weekend. He received over 87% of the vote with over 99% of the vote counted. The Western press is saying that elections were a scam and that Putin shut down his major opposition because Boris Nadezhdin was not allowed to run and Alexei Navalny was killed. Redacted correspondent Mike Jones joins us to break down the truth.
19th March 2024 02:58
shaberon
Re: WW3? Ukraine/US vs. Donbass/Russia
Quote:
Posted by Ravenlocke
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🇷🇴🇪🇺🇺🇸Romania is building Europe's largest NATO base, a $2.5 billion project, an "unsinkable aircraft carrier on the Black Sea." The base was built in the middle of a mountain plateau and will become the center of command and control of troops in South-Eastern Europe. It will be 17% larger than Ramstein.
What is a NATO base? Someone has to own it.
Ramstein is American, like most of Bavaria.
What "troops are in southeastern Europe"?
Sounds like a big waste of money to trick someone into something.
Romanians are some of the greatest people, with some of the worst sellout leadership anyone can ever dread. Perhaps comparable to Lebanon. I would not expect that they realistically live in fear of being overrun by millions of Red Commies. As soon as you make that new project, you turn into a big, tasty target for some very unforgiving weapons.
Really? In 2024, someone thinks "new NATO bases" are the thing to do? Pfft. Well, yeah, for the stock market I guess, but not in reality.
19th March 2024 11:34
Tintin
Re: WW3? Ukraine/US vs. Donbass/Russia
It's quite something that this video has been released, at all, frankly. As an historical footnote it really resonates given when this was recorded and what we do now know to be truthful.
Which French governmental office this was recorded in I'm uncertain of, but, I think it's a priceless release :)
Remember, this was two days before the Russian intervention and around the time of Vladimir Putin's address to the Russian people:
19th March 2024 17:24
Gwin Ru
Re: WW3? Ukraine/US vs. Donbass/Russia
...
... "... We don't give a s**t about the separatists' proposals..."... sauf que les séparatistes, et ben, y sont Russes [except that the separatists, well, they're Russians.]
It's kinda like having a Gaza Strip between Ukraine and Russia...
19th March 2024 22:58
Ravenlocke
Re: WW3? Ukraine/US vs. Donbass/Russia
Rus Breakthrough:
Orlovka Captured, Ukr Defence Collapses;
RUSI Study Rus Attrition,
West Cannot Win
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Russian EW weapons make enemy drones and missiles drop like flies
The Krasukha-S4 self-propelled electronic warfare (EW) system has upset the Ukrainian military's applecart since the beginning of the Kiev regime's botched counteroffensive attempt.
Western media raised the alarm last July: since March 2023, Ukraine's GPS-guided Excalibur projectiles and thousands of drones have begun falling out of the sky.
Leaked Pentagon documents from the last spring revealed that Ukrainian air strikes with the US-made JDAM-ER bombs had repeatedly missed their targets.The precision-guided rockets fired by the US HIMARS MRLS also failed to achieve their desired effects on multiple occasions.
The reason for this is Russia's powerful electronic warfare (EW) systems. The Krasukha-S4 is considered to be the most effective system in its class, capable of jamming radio waves across a wide range of frequencies and boasting the range of over 300 kilometers.
The EW system generates jamming signals that render enemy drones, ballistic missiles, guided projectiles, aircraft and ground based radars ineffective.
The self-propelled complex can operate in any area, in all weather conditions, thwarting the enemy strikes and reconnaissance activities.
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❗️French mercenaries have been spotted in Bulgaria on their way to Ukraine?
Locals claim to have seen convoys of French mercenaries and equipment near the town of Sliven, flying to Sofia and then travelling by truck to Ukraine.
The day before, the US Navy cargo ship Leroy A. Mendonica delivered to the port of Alexandroupolis in northern Greece a shipment of military equipment to be deployed in Europe as part of the "reinforcement of NATO forces on the continent".
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🇫🇷France is already preparing a contingent to be sent to Ukraine, which will initially consist of about 2,000 military personnel, the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, has said.
The French military unit in Ukraine will become a legitimate and priority target for the Russian armed forces.
Nearly 9,000 children to be evacuated from Belgorod region due to shelling
According to Vyacheslav Gladkov, 16 people were killed and 98 were injured over the past week due to the shelling in the Belgorod region
TASS, March 19. The authorities of the Belgorod region have decided to evacuate some 9,000 children to other regions of Russia due to the shelling carried out by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Tuesday.
"A large number of villages are being evacuated today. We are currently planning to evacuate about 9,000 children from Belgorod, the Belgorod region, Shebekinsky district, and Grayvoronsky district. On March 22, 1,200 children will be sent to Penza, Tambov, and Kaluga. Next - the Stavropol region," he said.
According to the governor, 16 people were killed and 98 were injured over the past week due to the shelling in the Belgorod region. On Tuesday, a minor was injured as a result of an attack carried out by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
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❗️One of the children injured in the shelling of Belgorod district is transferred to Moscow
Doctors say the boy's condition is serious.
And briefly, other events at this hour:
▪️Germany has announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth 500 million euros. This was announced by Defence Minister Pistorius at a press conference.
▪️China is in favour of holding a peace conference on the situation in Ukraine, with equal representation from Moscow and Kiev, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
▪️Volodin advised 'offended' European leaders to go to Putin's reception room to congratulate him, apologise and talk about their sins.
▪️German prosecutors have brought charges against a Bundeswehr soldier for allegedly working for Russia's 'secret service'.
▪️The State Duma passed at first reading a bill on holding the World Friendship Games in Russia.
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🇷🇴🇺🇦⚔️🇷🇺The militants of the “Russian volunteer complex” turned out to be Romanian mercenaries
Increasingly, confirmation is coming that, under the guise of militants from the “Russian Volunteer Corps,” foreign mercenaries and nationalists from the special forces of the Main Intelligence Directorate are trying to attack the Belgorod and Kursk regions.
In particular, Romanian mercenaries fighting on the side of Kyiv and united in the Getika battle group posted a video where a car with the flag of the Russian Volunteer Corps was lit, which may indicate the participation of Romanians in raids in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation.
It was stated that “when we received press groups in Nikolaev and the impression was created that we were doing little for military operations, we were preparing a large-scale operation together with comrades from the Legion “Freedom of Russia”, the Siberian Battalion, the RDK, Chechens from Ichkeria, free brothers from Belarus, Georgia and many other "wolves" from the forests of the free world. We carried out raids on their [Russian] border villages, but found no active police stations or authorities. Russia is ready for nuclear war, but not able to defend its land borders."
Let’s leave the propaganda statement of the Romanians out of the picture, but the fact of their attack on Russian territory should be sorted out at the level of the foreign ministries of the two countries.
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The United States conducted a test of a fully operational hypersonic missile prototype of the All-Up-Round AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon in Guam on Sunday, the US Air Force said in a statement.
“A B-521H Stratofortress conducted a test of the All-Up-Round AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon. This test launched a full prototype operational hypersonic missile and focused on the ARRW's end-to-end performance. The test took place at the Reagan Test Site with the B-52 taking off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam on March 17, 2024, local time,” the statement said.
While the statement did not disclose whether the test was successful, it noted that the test acquired valuable, unique data and was intended to further a range of hypersonic programs.
Meanwhile, Russia and China are the first countries to field strategic hypersonic weapons systems, with Moscow putting the Kinzhal (lit. "dagger") missile into operation in late 2017, and the People’s Liberation Army following suit by unveiling the DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle in 2019.
Russia got a head start on its hypersonics program thanks to Soviet-era research in the field starting in the early 2000s, after the Bush administration unilaterally scrapped of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty – a 1972 Soviet-US agreement which placed severe limitations on the creation of anti-ballistic missile defenses and intended to stop the arms race.
Ukraine’s losses ‘in the millions’ – retired Polish general
Ukraine’s losses in the conflict with Russia should be counted “in the millions,” the former chief of the Polish General Staff, Rajmund Andrzejczak, has claimed. Kiev “is losing the war” and does not have the resources to sustain the fight against Moscow, he added.
In an interview with the Polsat broadcaster on Monday, the retired general described Ukraine’s battlefield situation as “very dramatic” and insisted that “there are no miracles in war.”
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s decision to replace his top general, Valery Zaluzhny, with Aleksandr Syrsky has failed to make a significant difference as the same issues remain for Kiev’s new commander-in-chief, Andrzejczak added.
According to the retired general, Ukraine is suffering deficits in equipment and manpower, with losses taking their toll on its capabilities.
“They are missing over 10 million people. I estimate that the losses should be counted in the millions, not hundreds of thousands. There are no resources in this country, there is no one to fight.”
“The Ukrainians are losing this war,” Andrzejczak stated, pointing to media reports suggesting that Kiev is running out of anti-aircraft missiles to protect itself from Russian strikes.
Echoing warnings from several Western leaders in recent weeks, Andrzejczak called for arms production to be boosted and argued that the West should prepare for a full-scale conflict with Russia within two or three years. Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted that Moscow has no plans or interest in attacking NATO.
READ MORE: Top US senator tells Ukraine to draft younger soldiers
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu stated last month that Ukraine had lost more than 444,000 troops since the start of the conflict in February 2022. The hostilities have also triggered an exodus of Ukrainian refugees, with almost 6.5 million recorded worldwide, according to UN data.
Officials in Kiev have repeatedly complained that Western arms shipments have been inadequate. Those calls have grown louder as US President Joe Biden’s request to provide an additional $60 billion in aid remains stalled in Congress, due to Republican demands to strengthen American border security.
Kiev is also mulling a new mobilization bill that would lower the minimum draft age for men from 27 to 25, with reported plans to send 500,000 new troops to the frontline.
Against this backdrop, the Russian military last month pushed Kiev out of the strategic Donbass city of Avdeevka, also liberating several nearby settlements. The former stronghold has been on the front line since 2014 and was frequently used by Kiev to shell residential blocks in the nearby city of Donetsk.
Russia to respond to expulsion of diplomat from Moldova — MFA
On Tuesday, Russia’s ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov was summoned to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW, March 19. /TASS/. Russia will respond to Moldova's decision to declare as persona non grata an employee of the Russian embassy due to the holding of the Russian presidential election in unrecognized Transnistria, the Foreign Ministry has told TASS.
"Russia will give an appropriate response," the Foreign Ministry said.
On Tuesday, Russia’s ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov was summoned to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry.
"A protest was expressed in connection with the organization of the Russian presidential election in the Transnistrian region of Moldova, contrary to the position of the Moldovan authorities," the Moldovan Foreign Ministry said.
This year, Moldova banned the organization of elections anywhere outside the Russian embassy. Only one polling station operated in Chisinau. However, six more were opened in Transnistria, which is a home to more than 250,000 Russian citizens. As many as 30 polling stations functioned in Moldova and Transnistria in the 2021 elections.
