3/1/24-3/4/24 Ukrainian General Update LanguageLearner

3/1/24-3/4/24 Update, day 739-741 of Russian invasion.


Belarus/Western Border:

As of the morning of March 3, Polish protesters continue to block the movement of trucks at six checkpoints on the border with Ukraine. More than 2,400 trucks are in queues, and one checkpoint is completely blocked except for humanitarian goods. Personal transports are not blocked.

The Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, announced an official appeal to the EU via the polish parliament regarding a complete blockade on the import of any Russian and Belarusian agricultural products into the EU.

UA PM Denys Shmyhal said that there is communication between Poland and UA regarding the plan to unblock the border proposed by Kyiv earlier. No corn, wheat, rapeseed, sunflower seeds have entered into Poland from Ukraine following negotiations.

Lithuania closed two more checkpoints on the border with Belarus - Lavorishkes and Rygards. Only checkpoints in Myadininkai and Shalcininkai remain in operation in the country.

A peaceful protest was held in Ivano-Frankivsk for the demobilization of the military after 18 months of service. About 20 wives and mothers of servicemen took part.

Italy is reportedly withdrawing its SAMP-T air defense system from Slovakia as it is "needed elsewhere", which promoted frustration from Slovakian PM Robert Fico.

UA exported 12,200 MWh of electricity on average per day to Slovakia, Poland, and Romania due to overproduction and lack of damage to the UA energy grid.


Kyiv/ Central Ukraine:

The UA MoD Audit found almost 30,000 new SOF-T western tourniquets  in a Medical division command's storage  in Zhytomyr. Of these 30k received in April 2013, only 458 were issued in total.

Since the audit was performed, approx. 10k were sent to units in need.

A pilot project of reparations for victims of sexual violence during the war has been launched, which provides for a one-time payment of 3,000 euros to each victim, will last until the end of October. Pains are taken to maintain victims confidentiality as incidents are recorded. At least 500 people are expected to participate, with 274 cases recorded already. This is an initiative being led by the UA Attorney generals office and First lady.

UA claims to have hacked the RU MoD servers and stolen classified documents as well as encryption protocols and information security software utilized by the MoD. A command structure for various units was also retrieved.

Since the beginning of this week, the RU has already used almost 400 guided aerial bombs, more than 50 shahed UAVs, and more than 40 missiles for strikes in UA. Zelensky called on partners not to delay in helping Ukraine, so that the war would become hopeless for Russia in particular. Zelensky repeated claims that RU lost 7 aircraft this week alone, and 15 aircraft since February.

UA is rolling out a formal civil drone operator program, across universities in 7 Oblasts.

Syrsky has stated he will be replacing commanders who do not adequately control the situation in their regions of activity, after he has toured areas of the battlefield.

Oleksiy Chernyshov, head of UA company Naftogaz, reported on March 1 that Ukraine spent the winter entirely on self-produced gas.


Sumy/Chernihiv/Kharkiv city region:

RU continues to shell civilian infrastructure along the NE border. The majority of these appear to be 120mm mortars.

Zelensky stated improving AD capabilities in Kharkiv is a priority.

An RU Pantsir-1 modern SAM was damaged in Belgorod oblast at the end of February.


Kupyansk/ E Kharkiv:

Per UA, RU has reduced its activities towards Synkivka in the NE and is instead transferring troops further SE to Lyman. 9 Assaults were recorded in the region.

UA has increased its drone activities towards Tabaivka, along the highway SE of Kupyansk. The terrain is something of a bowl here, and it was expected that UA troops would withdraw from the village rather than fight it out.


Kreminna/Lyman:

The situation around Lyman remains consistent without major change in territory, although RU is reportedly committing more forces here. UA counter-attacks were visualized near Terny, as RU airstrikes the main highway.

UA troops repelled 3 assaults in the past day.


Kramatorsk/Bakhmut:

RU strikes continue towards Bilhorivka to the NE of Siversk, as satellite footage clearly shows the scale of artillery destruction. UA continues to strike RU APCs in the region, preventing forces from amassing.

RU forces are recommitting additional fighters to the Ivanivske/Chasiv yar direction, with VDV soldiers leading the charge into the E section of the town. The rest of Ivanivske is currently contested, and it is unclear if UA will stay or withdraw. 4 assaults were recorded in the last day.

UA troops have stepped up shelling and drone strikes S of Bakhmut near Kliischivka and Andriivka. RU has reportedly reduced its airstrikes here, allegedly generally reducing aviation activity.

UA claimed to have fired AA missiles against two SU-34 aircraft in this region on friday.

RU forces continue to shell the road towards Chasiv yar.

RU drones attacked firefighters in the Slovyansk area as they were putting out a fire, killing 2 and wounding 3 firefighters.


Pokrovsk/Avdiivka direction:

RU forces continue efforts to push W of Avdiivka, punching through the riverside village of Orlivka. It appears that RU is committing more forces to this specific axis on the line, as Orlivka has numerous water features around it and RU bridge laying equipment has been spotted in the region.

UA drone and artillery strikes have destroyed a number of RU armored vehicles operating along the main road out of Lastochkyne towards Orlivka.

An M1 Abrams tank operated by the 47th brigade was apparently attacked by drones and damaged near Berdychi. NW of Avdiivka. An M1150 Abrams-tank derived breaching vehicle was destroyed in the same area.

UA airstrikes in Avdiivka have targeted the NW intensely, including the coke plant which is now likely an RU strongpoint.


Donetsk/Luhansk/Occupied areas:

RU is reportedly committing forces from Avdiivka towards Novomykhailivka, to the SW of Marinka, as they seek to break through UA lines. There were 30 assaults in this direction over the past 24 hours.

RU troops have succesfully broken into the suburban center of Novomykhailivka via the southern approach, and raised a flag. The southern and E approach to the village have been the most contested for the past several months.

RU assaults towards the larger town of Konstantynivka in this area, which sits on the major highway, appear to have been unsuccessful as they push down from Marinka.

Per the UA Mayor of Mariupol- "A major clean-up is underway in Mariupol. 11 crews of policemen from St. Petersburg arrived in the city to reinforce. They strengthened the Rosgvardia unit, which in turn was placed under the command of the FSB. Everyone is looking for partisans in the leadup to RU elections".

In occupied Dovzhansk, Luhansk Oblast, at the "Red Partisan" and "Dovzhanska Kapitalna" mines, equipment is being dismantled and taken to RU. It is planned to send the miners on long-term vacations, where they will likely be mobilized.


Zaporizhia/Southern Axis:

RU attacked 6 settlements in Zaporizhia over 177 times, and launched 3 unsuccessful attacks towards Robotyne. RU forces have been unable to definitively advance past the SW fields of the village, despite air and drone strikes. Footage emerges of RU APC's apparently abandoned in pursuit of another breakthrough charge in this area, and RU soldiers complain about UA EW, defensive lines, and drone strikes.

RU continues to heavily shell to the NE of Robotyne, near Mala Tomachka and the main E-W highways in the region, utilizing copious airstrikes and RBK-500 cluster bombs.

In order to increase the turnout in the "elections" of the president of the Russian Federation, RU is forcing the military to vote in the Zaporizhzhia region. This is to then make statements about high positive turnout among local residents.

IAEA experts who are at the Zaporizhzia NPP, reported that they heard an explosion at some distance from the station and the sounds of gunshots nearby or directly at the station. The agency also noted that during travel they noticed anti-personnel mines visible along the perimeter of the fence. RU claimed to have shot down UA drones, and refused to let IAEA observers see, stating it was outside the plant and thus outside their authority.

An RU border guards coast guard boat caught fire in the Sea of Azov.


Kherson:

RU has diminished its assaults towards Krynky over the past few days, although shelling of the bridgehead and far side of the river remains constant.

The weather in Kherson is 6c/42f.

RU continues to launch drone strikes across the Dnipro, dropping a grenade on a resident of Beryslav.

Over the last week,in Mykolaiv and Kherson region, sappers identified and neutralized UXO, clearing more than 26.5 square KM/10.2 square miles of land. They removed over 1030 items of UXO.


Odessa/Black Sea/Crimea:

There was reportedly a UA strike on the Kerch bridge overnight, with both USV and Aerial drones allegedly used. The specifics are not known at this time, but Kerch residents report air defense activity and explosions. RU previously claimed to have shot down some 38 UA drones over Crimea.

RU appears to have launched drones towards Odesa in response.

On March 2nd, an RU drone attack hit a residential apartment in Odesa, killing 12 people of which 5 were children. An impromptu memorial has been set up next to the former building.

There has been no observed RU missile-carrying ships in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov since Feb 19th. They still have the ability to sortie out of harbor inside a few hours and launch missiles, but it appears that RU has grown more concerned about UA USV strikes.

Per Budanov, UA is reportedly looking to integrate air defense equipment on the Magura V5 naval drones.


Russia:

The railway bridge across the Chapaevka river in Samara, RU, was blown up by unknown actors. Reportedly its power infrastructure was targeted, as the rail line is used for transporting engineering ammunition for RU military purposes.

RU has reportedly restored its ranks of FSB spies in Europe over the past 2 years, aided by RU refugees fleeing conscription to the EU. The 3rd directorate of the FSB which focuses on surveilling the RU military and preventing desertion/treason has reportedly become the largest unit in the force.

The head of the Russian defense conglomerate Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, confirmed that the most modern RU tank, the T-14 “Armata,” is not being deployed to UA citing "exorbitant costs". The tank fleet of T-14 is widely believed to exist in functionally name only.

RU airlines have lost almost all contracts with UN missions due to serious flight safety concerns by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Specifically, almost all RU helicopters have left the UN market for resource use.

North Korea could suspend the supply of ammunition to the Russian Federation by sea. Ships carrying the weapons have not been in port in recent weeks, possibly due to production problems in North Korea or other logistical issues. There have been no observed transit of 4 marked vessels to RU ports in the last month.

Putin signed a decree on drafting reservists in RU. Two points of this decree are secret. The decree entered into force from the moment of publication. According to the document, citizens who are in reserve are subject to conscription for military training in the armed forces, national guard troops, rescue military formations of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, state security agencies, and the FSB.



General:

Over the last day UA forces conducted 9 airstrikes and RU forces 57 air strikes (including drones) and 112 MLRS strikes.

Yesterday Ukrainian forces eliminated:
1150x troops (417,950 in total)
21x APC
8x Tanks
2x Air defense
23x Artillery (1x MLRS)
0x Aircraft
43x vehicles
2 x UAV

These costs amount to some $99.2 million USD, or $2.7 billion over the last 30 days.


Overseas:

Chechen paramilitary formations actively buy captured Ukrainians from other Russian military formations in order to exchange them for Chechen POW's, per UK paper The Times. Reportedly over 10,000 Kadyrovite soldiers are present in Ukraine.

Frances ambassador to UA reiterated that "there is nothing that would make France change its mind" regarding the supplying of long range missiles to UA.

Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson held a series of private meetings with lawmakers regarding the new bipartisan foreign aid package, including Ukraine. The UA aid package is not predicted to be brought to vote before the middle of march.

For the first time, the Finnish Defense Forces as a member of NATO will take part in the Norwegian-led exercise Nordic Response 24, which will take place in the northern regions of Finland, Norway and Sweden during March 4-15.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius commented on the publication by the Kremlin of intercepted telephone conversations of German officers, in which they discussed the possible supply of Taurus missiles to Ukraine and the task of striking the Crimean bridge. He stated this is a hybrid disinfo attack. The leaked audio seems to indicate the GR military is amenable to the idea, although there is a shortage of UA airframes available and it could take several months to adequately train UA pilots to carry out such an assault.

In February of this year, the average daily losses of the RU military were the largest thus far, at 953/day per UK intel sources. They additionally stated that RU has likely lost more then 355,000 soldiers thus far in the war.

The UK Parliament's Finance Committee has launched a review of whether their sanctions against Russia are working.