https://twitter.com/front_ukrainian/status/1769371303264284789
Posted on 02/24/2024 5:59:01 AM PST by SpeedyInTexas
https://twitter.com/front_ukrainian/status/1769371303264284789
Bingo? Looks more like GO.
The graphic is missing two Xs - hard to keep up, I know.
Reuters eports:
“Putin won 87.8% of the vote, the highest ever result in Russia’s post-Soviet history, according to an exit poll by pollster the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM). The Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) put Putin on 87%. First official results indicated the polls were accurate.”...
...The early result means Putin, 71, will easily secure a new six-year term that would enable him to overtake Josef Stalin and become Russia’s longest-serving leader for more than 200 years.
Communist candidate Nikolai Kharitonov came second with just under 4%, newcomer Vladislav Davankov third, and ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky fourth, results suggested...
...Nationwide turnout was 74.22% at 1800 GMT when polls closed, election officials said, surpassing 2018 levels of 67.5%.
The Daily Digest reports:
“The Russian Armed Forces suffered its bloodiest month since Vladimir Putin ordered his invasion of Ukraine, and while February did see Moscow make gains, the British Ministry of Defence reported those gains were costly...
...The British Ministry of Defence assessed that Russia lost 29,000 killed or wounded over the month of February and it added that the daily average casualty numbers throughout the month were the highest since the war began.
On average, Moscow was losing 984 soldiers per day in February, a figure the ministry noted was a reflection of the type of warfare that Russia was using in the pursuit of the country’s goal to capture more Ukrainian territory...
...Russian battlefield tactics combined with poor-quality troops may be the reason why the country suffered such a high casualty rate in February, and whether or not the rate kept rising in March is still unknown, but it doesn’t look good...
...Such high losses may be why the British Ministry of Defence felt comfortable providing an estimate of current Russian casualty figures, noting in its assessment that Moscow had probably lost over 355,000 soldiers since invading.
ISW reports (17 Mar):
“The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) signaled that it intends to protect the Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF) against Ukrainian strikes and may have replaced the BSF commander as part of this effort.
The Russian MoD reported on March 17 that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited the BSF command post in occupied Sevastopol, Crimea where he received reports about Ukrainian operations and the BSF’s performance. Shoigu emphasized that the BSF must conduct daily training exercises to repel aerial and unmanned maritime vehicle strikes so that all Russian crews are ready to defend against such strikes.
Shoigu ordered that the BSF install additional weapons, including large-caliber systems and machine guns, on unspecified BSF assets to augment Russian defenses.
Shoigu also received a report from Russian Vice Admiral Sergei Pinchuk, whom some Russian sources recently claimed replaced Admiral Viktor Sokolov as BSF commander. ISW remains unable to confirm this claim, however.”
This should pander well to farmers throughout the EU, who were upset over imports from Ukraine...
Kyiv Independent reports:
“Czechia is planning to propose a ban on grain imports from Russia and Belarus into European Union countries at next week’s European Council meeting, Czech Agriculture Minister Marek Vyborny said on March 17.
Over the last year, 1.5 million tons of grain were imported into the EU market from Russia, which amounted to more than what was imported before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
“There is no reason why we should support the aggressor by buying Russian grain in Europe,” Vyborny said on Czech television, insisting that grain must be added to the list of sanctions.”
Reporting From Ukraine:
Note: other versions of this report are found elsewhere on FR, but this is guaranteed to be the complete transcript - unlike the others.
https://www.youtube.com/@RFU
[ Russians Try a New Tactic. Get Decimated Instantly ]
==
Day 753: Mar 17
Today, there is a lot of news from the Bakhmut direction.
Here, the most interesting developments happened in the southern part of the region, where Russian forces completely changed their offensive plan, opened a new vector of attack, and conducted a series of powerful assaults south of Ivanivske.
The reason why Russian forces suddenly decided to adjust their approach is twofold.
First of all, the village of Ivanivske has been reduced to ruins by Russian artillery and aviation, and with nowhere to seek shelter, it became increasingly hard for Russians to establish stable footholds inside the village.
As a result, Russians sustained losses so heavy that they had to halt their attacks for replenishment and regrouping, as reported by Ukrainian fighters.
Secondly, Ukrainian fighters have exacerbated problems for the Russians even more by establishing their main positions around the settlement and turning it into a kill zone.
If we look at the topographic map, we can see the tactical elevation to the northwest of the village, which gave Ukrainians the ability to observe and strike Russians who were trying to advance along the road.
Russian forces had already tried to assault Ukrainian positions on the hills, however, Ukrainians managed to withstand Russian artillery strikes and bombardments, followed up by intense infantry assaults.
Since their plan of bypassing Ivanivske from the north failed, the Russian commanders decided to try bypassing the village from the south.
The main goal of Russian forces was to reach the forest, establish a foothold, and cut off Ukrainian supplies coming across the passage over the canal. Once Russian forces dig in, they could expand their offensive effort by moving north through the forest, gradually approaching the hills.
If the Russians manage to reach the hills, it would enable them to cut off the supply road and also seize the positions behind Ukrainian positions at the tactical elevation, which would allow them to strike Ukrainians from the rear.
Such developments would put Ukrainians on the hill and in the village in a pocket and allow Russians to take control of the rest of the village and advance further towards the main stronghold in the next phase of their assault.
The first Russian attacks targeted Ukrainian positions in the tree lines just south of the village. Russian forces conducted mechanized assaults by driving through the southern street of the village and attaching Ukrainian positions in the tree lines from the north. Based on the nature of previous assaults in the region, Russians also seem to have conducted infantry assaults across the fields.
Ukrainian fighters reported that initially, Russians made incremental progress, advancing up to 2 kilometers to the south of the village. Nonetheless, the moment Russian forces reached the approach to the forest, their progress stalled, and Ukrainian forces retook the initiative.
It seems like Russians overextended themselves, as it is very difficult to accumulate forces in the sparsely located positions across the fields, while attacking densely located Ukrainian positions in the forest.
Moreover, Ukrainian fighters from the 93rd Mechanize Brigade released many videos showing how their drone operators conducted a concentrated raid on Russian positions in the fields.
The footage features dozens of strikes on Russian shelters that further complicated Russian forces accumulation efforts. These strikes, in combination with Ukrainian ground operations, resulted in the collapse of the front line.
So, Ukrainians managed to repel the Russian flank attack and pushed them back to ground zero. Ukrainian soldiers reported that in the end, all Russian assaults were in vain, and Russians suffered heavy losses in manpower and equipment.
Overall, Russian forces underestimated the density of Ukrainian fortification southwest of Ivanivske, and failed to conduct a partial envelopment of the village from the south.
The inability to supply the attacking forces through the death zone lead to the fast culmination of the offensive effort, and collapse of the bridgehead.
But what is even more important, Russians forces failed to reach Chasiv Yar by early spring.
Based on the intercepted radio talks, Russians maintained such a high pace of the operation, sustaining much higher than necessary losses in manpower and equipment, only because the Russian commanders wanted to enter Chasiv Yar before the elections.
Achieving this goal would have secured them new ranks and medals, however, so far, it has just degraded the most capable Russian assault units.
Moreover, with the coming spring, the soil will be muddy, preventing Russians from launching any mechanized attacks, at least through the fields, which will inevitably make any renewed offensives here very difficult and deadly for them.
This means that Ukrainians have time to reinforce this direction and also can continue building their fortified defense lines in and behind the town, until the Russians draft another plan to proceed with renewed offensive efforts. This is especially true in the light of the recent developments of strategic significance along the border.
Secret Chancery
https://t.me/s/Taynaya_kantselyariya
In Romania, they began to build the largest NATO base in Europe, designed for 10 thousand military personnel.
They started talking about its construction back in 2020.
The facility is being built on an area of almost three thousand hectares in Constanta County, as an expansion of the already existing Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase, used by NATO forces.
The €2.5 billion project includes runways, weapons platforms, hangars for military aircraft, as well as schools, kindergartens, shops and a hospital.
Kremlin snuff box, 03/18/24
https://t.me/s/kremlin_secrets
Mi-8 helicopter lost in Transnistria
Over the weekend, an emergency occurred on the territory of Transnistria. In Tiraspol, drones attacked a site with our Mi-8 helicopter. Naturally, the helicopter is part of the PMR air fleet, but in fact it was our helicopter and was used by our peacekeepers in the region.
The strike was carried out by FPV drones of a new modification. Sources do not undertake to say who exactly struck the blow. The first and most obvious version is that the terrorist attack was the work of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The second, also real - the blow was struck by the Romanian special services. It is important to clarify here that from the point of view of military logic, such a strike looks illogical for Kyiv.
Having many difficult areas on the front on one side, opening another front is pure suicide. The Kiev regime is, of course, hostile to us, but the people fighting there are clearly not stupid.
However, interlocutors from Tiraspol hint that relations between the supervisors of law enforcement agencies on the Russian side have recently worsened in this region.
Allegedly, the FSB did not appreciate the initiative of the deputy head of the Presidential Administration, Kiriyenko, who became active in the region through the head of the relevant department responsible for these territories.
Kiriyenko wants to show the President a beautiful picture and begins to break the programmed logic and system that has been formed for many years. One can only guess who provided the enemy with information about the location of the helicopter. I would like to believe that this incident is not the result of internal competition in Moscow.
It is worth noting that the PMR air fleet had only 4 helicopters; now only one Mi-8 and two Mi-2 remain. We do not have the opportunity to transfer more equipment there, but the region is extremely important in light of future elections in Moldova.
Kremlin snuff box. 03/17/24
https://t.me/s/kremlin_secrets
Unfortunately, Moscow is being attacked, as we warned
An attempt to strike Moscow, repelled, among other things, in the area of Domodedovo airport is a “targeting.” And, probably, the beginning of attacks on the capital, the peak of which may occur on March 18.
We wrote that on Monday the city faces the threat of drone strikes, terrorist attacks and other provocations. It looks like the enemy has begun reconnaissance ahead of a possible strike.
At least, that’s what sources among the military and those around Sergei Sobyanin say. All services that must respond in such situations are on full alert.
Fortunately, our other insight is also confirmed - the air defense of the capital and the Moscow region has been seriously strengthened. Thanks largely to this, the drone attack was repelled. According to military sources, the drone in the Domodedovo area was shot down from a system recently transferred here from Crimea.
Let’s hope that the air defense will cope with a larger enemy attack, if there is one. We also believe that the security forces will cope with all the challenges that will confront them in Moscow on March 18.
Kremlin snuff box, 03/18/24
https://t.me/s/kremlin_secrets
After the elections. Will the SVO end this year? What will happen to demobilization and mobilization?
We have already made a forecast about what awaits our country after the presidential elections (by the way, we quite accurately predicted their result back in August last year ). Having talked with a number of military personnel and AP employees close to Vladimir Putin, we want to give one more forecast - about what awaits Russia militarily.
First, the SVO will continue.
Vladimir Vladimirovich is determined to win, we have a good chance of winning them, the initiative at the front now belongs to Russia. None of our interlocutors believe that the negotiations will be successful; they say that “we don’t trust our opponents, and they really don’t trust us and for some reason they think that we don’t want peace.”
At the same time, the SVO is unlikely to end this year. In addition, we may experience serious complications if we do not disrupt the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine.
The interlocutors are pessimistic regarding the issue of attacks on Russian territory. “The enemy hates us, plus he was additionally offended because we held elections in new regions of the country. At the same time, the enemy is quite seriously armed.
“Therefore, we expect serious blows. Not only in new regions and Crimea, but also in the deep rear. We will decide something with the air defense,” a high-ranking source in the Ministry of Defense said on this matter.
Secondly, there will most likely be mobilization.
But an interesting situation has arisen here. Many people talk about mobilization, even admit its inevitability. They call, as we wrote, a figure of up to 400 thousand people (some believe that it will be possible to get by with 200,000; some talk about 400,000-500,000 new military personnel). But no one undertakes to say when such a decision will be made. And will it be accepted in principle?
“I think we can’t do without mobilization. But Vladimir Vladimirovich will give signals. I hope he will give it soon,” said a source among the military. Interlocutors in the Kremlin refused to comment on these words.
Thirdly, the issue of demobilization remains relevant.
Our inside information is confirmed that Putin wants to send some of the mobilized people home and could do this in the spring.
But there is no final information and decisions on this issue. At the same time, many in the Kremlin complain about the actions of the wives of the mobilized, saying that they were “fed up” with them. There are, however, officials who are tolerant, even sympathetic, towards such protests, understanding their reasons.
It is still difficult to say whether this factor will affect demobilization. As well as when exactly there will be a decision on this issue.
Kremlin snuff box, 03/18/24
https://t.me/s/kremlin_secrets
After winning the election, Putin held secret conversations with Lavrov and Shoigu. They could talk about negotiations or a new war
According to our sources in the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin had private conversations with Sergei Lavrov and Sergei Shoigu immediately after he learned the first voting results. Even people close to the president do not yet know exactly what he talked about with the ministers. But they note that Vladimir Vladimirovich was not in a very good mood immediately after these conversations. Then it improved.
It is interesting that it was after conversations with Lavrov and Shoigu that Putin made several loud public statements. In particular, he said that he was not against the exchange of Alexei Navalny, acknowledged the possibility of war with NATO, talked about negotiations on Ukraine, but at the same time made a number of harsh statements addressed to the Kiev regime.
Again, we don’t know exactly what the conversations were about. But a source close to Putin, based on the information he had, put forward two versions. They seem to be close to the truth.
“I think Vladimir Vladimirovich could talk with the head of the Foreign Ministry and the Minister of Defense about two things. The first is negotiations on the Ukrainian crisis. I know for sure that we are ready for them, but on our own, rather strict, terms.
“The second is a possible new war, which could begin even before the end of the NWO. Obviously, a war with one of the NATO countries. Our readiness for it is still, thank God, hypothetical,” our interlocutor said.
At the same time, he doesn’t really believe in negotiations. And he hopes that there will be no war with NATO, “although those around Vladimir Vladimirovich are talking about it more and more often, convincing him that the West cannot defeat us.”
Also, according to the source, Putin almost exactly demanded from Shoigu an answer to the question of why we cannot effectively protect the Belgorod and Kursk regions from enemy invasion and attacks. “Vladimir Vladimirovich, to be honest, is very concerned about this situation,” said a source in the Kremlin.
We will find out the details of Putin’s conversations. was not discussed with Lavrov What we know for sure is that the resignation of the minister. So far, it seems, it’s not up to her.
“NATO Builds Largest Europe Base Near Black Sea”
Romania has now begun construction of what will eventually be the NATO alliance’s largest European military base
https://www.newsweek.com/nato-builds-largest-europe-base-black-sea-romania-1880210
🔥 Burns well...
Destroyed Putin's army ammunition depot in Tetkino.
More to come.
https://twitter.com/legion_svoboda/status/1769688591314108804
The depot was probably well guarded...easier to blow up than capture.
I was in England when these 2 were captured, tried, and executed. They were defiant to the end.
The TV coverage on BBC was amazing.
Romania has come a long way.
https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1769629248954703939
Animated video transposed over Google earth.
Constanta Romania on Google Maps
Right on the Black Sea coast.
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