Mar 16, 2023
Update on Russian military operations in Ukraine for March 16, 2023:
- Russian warplanes intercepted and apparently clipped the propeller of a US MQ-9 drone carrying out surveillance near Crimea;
- The US has no means of recovering the drone, though Russia may have an opportunity to recover it;
- While the drone operated in international airspace according to the US, it was collecting intelligence on behalf of Ukraine as part of ongoing hostilities, as a party of the conflict and thus threatening Russian national security;
- Bakhmut continues to face encirclement;
- The Western media has begun admitting to the grim deterioration of Ukraine’s forces under the weight of Russia’s strategy of attrition;
- Ukraine has lost the majority of troops trained by NATO over the last 8-9 years;
- Ongoing NATO training is rushed, incapable of meeting or exceeding Russia’s pool of trained manpower;
- Ammunition and weapons are also admittedly running out;
- Ukraine may or may not be diverting reserves for an upcoming spring offensive to instead fight in Bakhmut;
- Any possible counteroffensive around Bakhmut might indicate just how badly deteriorated Ukraine’s forces have become;
Kazan is the name of a city in RuZZia.
Is that where you live?