Tanks: 2803
destroyed: 1840
damaged: 149
abandoned: 277
captured: 537
Towed Artillery: 350
destroyed: 203
damaged: 42
abandoned: 5
captured: 100
Self-Propelled Artillery: 688
destroyed: 534
damaged: 39
abandoned: 7
captured: 108
Multiple Rocket Launchers: 353
destroyed: 265
damaged: 32
abandoned: 2
captured: 54
Total artillery destroyed: 1,002
Sweden is the 13th nation to join NATO during Putin's tenure (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Finland and Sweden).
Putin is hereby nominated for the NATO recruitment lifetime achievement award.
The port of Dortyol in Turkey has announced that it will halt the import of all Russian oil products, as sanctions enforcers seem to have gotten to them. In 2023, 90% of their cargoes came from Russia, and they were a main destination for Russian refined products.
Kremlin snuff box, 03/09/24
https://t.me/s/kremlin_secrets
An aircraft factory where the A-50 AWACS was being repaired was attacked in Taganrog
Last night, dozens of enemy drones attacked the Rostov region. According to our information, the main target was the Beriev Aviation Plant.
Sources reported that this plant is repairing the A-50 AWACS aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces. We are talking about an airplane that was damaged a year ago as a result of a drone attack at the Machulishchi military airfield in Belarus.
Sources do not specify whether the plane itself was damaged, but in general they are reluctant to talk about an attack on the plant.
We managed to find out that 4 drones flew into the plant. Air defense forces managed to shoot down over 40 in the region.
It is worth noting that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are systematically hunting for A-50 and A-50U AWACS aircraft. Since the beginning of the year alone, the Russian Aerospace Forces have lost 2 such aircraft.
Unfortunately, there is no way to make up for the loss of technical capabilities. The lack of AWACS seriously affected the ability to detect both air and ground targets in the NWO zone.
According to our information, the authorities are negotiating with India on the purchase of at least 1 A-50 AWACS aircraft from among those that are in service in this country.
However, given the reluctance to return to India the citizens of this country involved in hostilities in the Northern Military District zone, one should not expect the negotiations to be successful.
And in general, India has only a few aircraft of the A-50EI modification, so the likelihood of actually selling the aircraft for our aerospace forces looks extremely low.
The end state of the war in Ukraine, will be Ukraine in the EU and NATO
Kyiv Independent reports:
“Ukraine has fulfilled all four recommendations set forth by the European Commission to approve the framework for Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna told reporters at an anti-corruption event in Kyiv on March 11.
Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada gave its final approval on a lobbying bill on Monday that establishes definitions and rules for lobbying and involved subjects, bringing it closer in line with EU standards.
The bill also provides for the creation of a new transparency register run by the National Agency on Corruption Prevention and creates new mechanisms for lobbying monitoring.
In its November 2023 report, the European Commission - the EU’s executive arm - recommended the launch of accession talks with Kyiv but noted that several reforms are still needed, including an additional four reforms Ukraine would have to undertake to complete all the criteria.
Kyiv previously completed three other recommendations provided by the Commission, including a staff increase of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, reopening the assets declaration registry, and implementing changes to national minorities law.
Ukraine is expecting the European Commission to present a negotiation framework for Kyiv’s accession to the EU in the coming days.
OT:
SpaceX’s Ship 29 & Booster 10 are ready for Flight 3
Wet Dress Rehearsal: Fuel loading test of >10,000,000 lbs (4,600 metric tons) took only >40 minutes for both booster and ship, or almost 2 tons/sec. Falcon 9 takes 35 minutes to load 488mt. Count down pushed to T minus 10 sec.
Possible Launch on Pie (π) Day March 14th - tomorrow! (if all licenses and permits are approved)
If all goes well, they will try opening &closing the payload bay door, relighting a Raptor engine in space, doing a propellant transfer.
Splash down in the Indian Ocean.
Kremlin snuff box
https://t.me/s/kremlin_secrets
Putin again spoke about negotiations on Ukraine. There are two serious reasons
It was not for nothing that Vladimir Putin in an interview returned to the topic of negotiations on the Ukrainian crisis with Dmitry Kiselev. Several sources in the Kremlin told us about this.
“Vladimir Vladimirovich beautifully poked Zelensky and other representatives of the Kiev regime into their problems ( Ed: remembering in an interview about “the use of psychotropic drugs and a nose in cocaine,” https://t.me/rian_ru/235173 ). But we also have difficulties, and because of this the President is talking about negotiations,” said one of our interlocutors.
First, the military asked Putin to make a statement about the negotiations. “There is a threat of NATO troops entering Ukraine ( Ed: we wrote about what the military fears in this regard: https://t.me/kremlin_secrets/3674). We, of course, can talk about a nuclear war, but the situation in the area where the Northern Military District is held could become tragic in the event of direct NATO intervention; there is a threat that we will lose our advantage and initiative at the front.
Plus, the Americans are helping Ukraine again ( Ed: by the way, we warned about this: https://t.me/kremlin_secrets/3710 ). The possibility of our direct war with the West, which is constantly becoming more impudent, has not gone away. Therefore, we need to hurry to at least temporarily stop the SVO on our terms. And just, I’ll be honest, gain strength,” another source said.
Secondly, according to an interlocutor from Sergei Kiriyenko’s team, what is happening now is very unpleasant on the eve of the Presidential elections. “Ukraine continues its terrorist attacks, drone strikes, and saboteur attacks ( https://t.me/kremlin_secrets/3756). Let’s be honest, we cannot completely protect the population from them. Therefore, Vladimir Vladimirovich’s words sound logical and correct,” he believes.
Armenia may be leaving the Russian bloc (CSTO), and eyeing joining the Better Bloc (NATO). French President Macron has reportedly been working on this switch.
ISW reports (12 March):
“Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan stated that Armenia would leave the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) if the CSTO fails to meet certain Armenian expectations, as Armenia continues to distance itself from Russian security relations.
Pashinyan stated on March 12 that the CSTO must clarify its “zone of responsibility” in Armenia and pledge to defend Armenia against foreign aggression, likely referencing Article 4 of the CSTO Treaty that parallels Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty and states that aggression against one CSTO member state is aggression against all member states...
...Pashinyan expanded on his February 22 statement that Armenia “essentially” froze its CSTO membership and explained that Armenia does not participate in CSTO sessions, does not have a permanent representative in the CSTO, did not appoint a CSTO Deputy Secretary General, and does not express opinions on documents circulating in the CSTO. CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov stated on March 12 that Armenia has not recently participated in that CSTO secretariat, but that Armenia has not made any official statements about its suspension of CSTO membership.
Pashinyan also stated on March 12 that Russian border guards will leave Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan by August 1, 2024, following a March 6 announcement that Armenia officially informed Russia that “only Armenian border guards” should perform duties at the Zvartnots Airport. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on March 12 that Russia received Armenia’s notification that it is terminating Russian border guards’ operations at the Zvartnots Airport.
See Russia election: Stage-managed vote will give Putin another term
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4224101/posts#4
and follow - you and RevMom are mentioned - good for a laugh
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.”
Joe Blogs on YouTube reports on increased commercial bankruptcies in Russia (up 60% year over year in January and February).
For the last three quarters of 2023, wage costs increased about 10% more that sales prices, due to competition from Defense industries and the Military, and other input costs also increased more than sales prices due to sanctions. In the same timeframe, interest rates doubled to a base rate of 16% (meaning businesses must pay 18%-20%, or more).
Commercial businesses outside of the Defense industry that have to fend for themselves and make profits, have really been squeezed. They are now also facing the prospect of higher tax rates, and cascading contagion risks of their business partners (suppliers, lenders, B2B customers) going bankrupt.
The Chinese are rapidly taking over Russia’s civilian economy, as Russian businesses are hollowed out and destroyed by Putinism.
Hazard to navigation and insurance issues with Russia’s “shadow fleet” smuggler vessels starting to manifest.
OilPrice.com reports:
Shadow Fleet Tanker Destined To Carry Sanctioned Russian Oil Causes Collision (By Julianne Geiger - Mar 19, 2024)
“a shadow fleet oil tanker (involved in) carrying sanctioned Russian crude oil was involved in a collision at sea near Denmark, the Danish Maritime Authority said in a Tuesday statement.
15-year-old Andromeda Star, an oil tanker set bound for Russia to load Russian Urals crude oil at the Primorsk port, had the capacity to carry 700,000 barrels of crude oil. The tanker was not carrying oil at the time of the collision...
...Shadow vessels operate outside the laws of the traditional maritime industry, often lack traditional—or any—insurance to protect against loss, and use risky methods of concealment to hide their location and activities by turning off transponders.
An October 2023 Politico article referring to Russia’s shadow fleet as “a disaster waiting to happen.” It turns out they were right.
The Andromeda Star is shrouded in mystery, with undisclosed owners, managed by a company in India without a registered phone number, and not insured through the International Group of P&I Clubs—the industry standard.”
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
—
Day 756: Mar 20
Today, there are a lot of updates from the Lyman direction.
Here, Russians have reinforced this direction with additional forces and are preparing for their new spring-summer offensive. The ultimate Russian goal is to cross the Zherebets River and reach the Ukrainian city of Lyman, a key railway and logistics hub known as ‘The Gates of Donbas.’
Historically, to achieve this, Russians have carried out direct frontal assaults from the east, which the Ukrainians have repelled by flanking from the forest to the south, forcing the Russians back.
Recently, Russians have reorganized and reinforced their units in the area and are again attempting to breach Ukrainian defenses.
Right now, there are 2 important battles being fought: one in the forest and the other in the direction of Yampolivka. In the long term, if the Russians want to take Lyman, they must advance both from the forest and the river.
However, before they can cross the river and push on to Lyman, Russians need to establish control over three Ukrainian settlements: Terny, Yampolivka, and Torske.
During these attacks, the Russian flanks are vulnerable to Ukrainian counterattacks from the south. Therefore, it is critical for Russians to establish control over the outer area of the forest.
Nonetheless, Ukrainians hold steady defenses and have been able to hold off Russian attacks on the forest while simultaneously projecting fire control over the road to Torske and forcing the Russians to divert into the fields.
In distancing themselves from the forest, Russians have made Yampolivka and Terny their primary targets.
If we look at the topographic map, we can see that the settlements along the reservoirs are situated in the lowlands and are under Ukrainian control, while the hills to the east overlooking the settlements are partially under Russian control.
Russians have used this advantage to carry out direct frontal assaults on Ukrainian positions downhill. However, Ukrainians have been able to deal with these direct attacks by maintaining well-organized supply lines and quick reaction forces to counterattack, if the situation becomes dire.
To launch assaults on the settlements themselves, Russians must first expand control over the forests to the east. Here, Russians have increased the pressure on Ukrainian defenders by utilizing large mechanized assaults in order to overwhelm Ukrainian defenders.
However, in most cases, the assaulted positions are so heavily damaged that they are of little use to the Russian forces. Ukrainians then use their quick reaction forces to counterattack and retake the lost positions, forcing heavy casualties on the depleted Russian assault groups.
At the end of their previous assault waves and achieving small territorial gains in Febuary, Russians were forced to decrease their activity in the region and take time to recuperate and recover their losses.
Ukrainian Khortytsia Group of Forces spokesperson, Ilya Yevlash stated that Russian forces are reinforcing their assault groups with Sorm-Z convict recruits and are transferring additional forces to the area.
Russian aviation also conducted air strikes with FAB-500 glide bombs against Ukrainian positions in the area, in preparation for their attacks. Shortly thereafter, Russians completed their reorganization and launched a new wave of attacks towards Yampolivka.
The first attack took place during the night, where seven Russian armored vehicles attempted to reach Ukrainian defenses and catch them by surprise.
However, Ukrainian drone operators were monitoring the area and spotted the Russian assault group well in advance. One by one, they were then completely destroyed by mines and Ukrainian artillery.
Later, during the day, Russians launched two more attacks in an attempt to reach the settlement.
The first attack consisted of one T-90M tank in the lead and one BMP infantry fighting vehicle following it. They are seen to be driving around the remnants of the night attack.
They decide to take a different route, however, and Ukrainian artillery crews almost instantly open fire on the assault group, which manages to drive about a kilometer further before the tank drives over a mine and gets disabled on impact.
The tank crew and the assault group then manage to dismount and run into the tree line, with the BMP providing fire support.
Ukrainian artillery crews, however, opened fire on the infantry with cluster munitions. With no more infantry to support, the BMP then decides to retreat, but is quickly taken out by a kamikaze drone.
The third assault that day was carried out by a small group of soldiers on Chinese-made all-terrain vehicles.
These so-called golf carts are very agile and allow for quick maneuvers along the frontline. Unfortunately for Russians, however, these carts also provide zero protection against enemy fire, artillery, or mines and were subsequently destroyed by Ukrainian cluster munitions.
Overall, Ukrainian forces managed to successfully defeat a huge wave of Russian assaults and hold their positions in front of the settlements.
Nonetheless, a Ukrainian soldier active in the area stated that the attacks will not stop here, as Russians have increased their presence in the area and are using a large amount of infantry, armor, artillery, and aviation in their attempts to break through Ukrainian defenses.
On the other hand, a prominent Russian military blogger also stated that while Russians hold the initiative in this direction, they have been unable to translate small tactical gains into serious operational successes.
If Ukrainians can manage to hold off the new wave of Russian assaults, this will likely be the last before the seasonal mud takes over and makes any armored assault impossible, at least until the summer.
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
[ Imminent Threat! Russians Are Encircling Ukrainians in Ivanivske]
—
Day 760: Mar 24
Today, there are a lot of updates from the Bakhmut direction.
The most interesting news comes from the southern flank.
Here, the situation is very complex and dynamic. After the failure of cutting off Ukrainians from the south of Ivanivske, Russians decided to divert their focus to the north of the village. In this area, Russians made incremental gains which enabled them to break the stalemate and maintain their momentum in and around the village.
In previous reports, I stated how the hill to the northwest of Ivanivske gives Ukrainians a tactical advantage, enabling them to strike Russians who are trying to advance in the lowlands through the village. For this reason, Russians constantly shelled the hill with artillery and bombed it with aviation.
Russians already tried to advance and take the tactical heights by conducting a turning move from the south to engulf Ivanivske but failed.
Therefore, they decided to do the same but from the north of the village. Their goal is to establish a foothold on the hills, then entrench and expand their control of the hill. After that, Russians would inevitably try to establish fire control over the road to the village, force Ukrainians out, and cut off major supply lines.
Once Ukrainian defenses to the south of the village are undermined, the Russian plan is to finish the operation by advancing from the hills to try to take Klischiivka into a pocket.
So, after the Russians finished conducting their artillery preparation and suppressing the Ukrainian fire, they launched a powerful attack with infantry and armored vehicles. Geolocated footage shows that in the aftermath of heavy clashes, Russians established control of part of the hill that is facing the village.
Meanwhile, Ukrainians maintain some positions to the west of the hill in hopes of launching counter-attacks and regaining the lost positions.
After the capture of a tactically important hill, Russians were able to advance while facing much softer Ukrainian resistance in the village itself. For this reason, Russians launched extensive preparations with very destructive TOS thermobaric artillery systems to pummel Ukrainian positions and amplified the destruction with drone strikes.
After that, Russians launched one wave of assaults into the village after another. Ukrainian fighters report that the situation is difficult, but that they are holding on and knocking out Russian armored vehicles. Based on footage from the village, we can see that the village is mostly destroyed as a result of heavy bombings over the past months.
Because of the lack of proper infrastructure for firing positions and sleeping quarters, neither Russians nor Ukrainians can exercise proper control over these ruins with troops on the ground.
For this reason, every Russian assault into the village consists of mostly armored vehicles, in hopes of overwhelming Ukrainians with their sheer firepower and numbers, which leads to heavy losses for the Russians due to lack of infantry support.
However, Ukrainian fighters report that supply lines to the village are now also placed in danger because of the Russian control of the tactical elevation from which they use anti-tank guided missiles to strike Ukrainian vehicles moving along the road.
To counter this, Ukrainians launched FPV drone strikes at Russian positions on the hill. Generally, the roads in this direction are very dangerous, not only because of the Russian anti-tank fire but also because of the damage to other vital roads, like the one to Chasiv Yar, and here, the situation is very intense but much less difficult.
Russians, as seen before, have resorted to scorched earth tactics to demolish any infrastructure that can be used by Ukrainians as fortifications, firing positions, shelters, or sleeping quarters.
In Chasiv Yar, the extensive daily bombings with glide bombs that carry hundreds of kilograms of explosives forced the Ukrainians to no longer use the town as a point of troops rotation and treatment of wounded, and instead have to use nearby towns.
Ukrainian fighters report that roads to the town itself are so damaged by bombings to the point they are no longer usable. However, this comes off as a double-edged sword for the Russians.
Although they inflict hard blows on Ukrainian logistics, they also cause problems for themselves in advance, because they will have nowhere to establish positions if Ukrainians withdraw.
For this reason, the Russian bombings only increase the gray zone between the two sides. Despite all this, Ukrainians are tightly holding their positions in front of Chasiv Yar, where they are planning a counter-attack on the hill north of Ivanivske to relieve their forces.
The goal of Ukrainian forces here is to delay Russian attacks long enough until defensive lines along the Siversky-Donets canal are ready to finally put the Russian offensive to a halt so that Ukrainians may regain the initiative, and switch the course of fighting in their favor.
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
[ Final Warning! Ukrainian Intelligence Detects a Scary Pattern ]
—
Day 761: Mar 25
Today, there are a lot of updates from the Kupiansk direction.
In the wake of the increased activity along the border of the Belgorod region, Russian military commanders and high-ranking officials started demanding the creation of a “sanitary zone.” The calls for the establishment of the demilitarized zone to protect the Russian border has brought back to the forefront a potential new Russian offensive from the north.
Today, we will examine the prospects of this offensive, given that the main attack direction in the area is north of Kupiansk, particularly the one located between the Seversky-Donets and the Oskil rivers.
As you may remember, Kupiansk and the territories located on the eastern bank of the Oskil River are the core objectives for the Russian political aims of capturing and securing the complete borders of the different invaded regions in the present war and among those, primarily Luhansk and Donetsk.
Fears of an offensive from the north have also multiplied after the recent decision of the Ukrainian regional authorities to evacuate people from dozens of settlements near Kupiansk, as a consequence of the continuous indiscriminate artillery attacks on the civilian population.
Ukrainian forces have been preparing for many months for a possible Russian offensive in this region, and according to various statements, this is one of the best-prepared areas for defense in all of Ukraine.
As an example, Russian forces have been trying for more than a year to reach the city of Kupiansk directly without success.
If we look at the map of defensive lines, Ukrainian forces have arranged here two main defensive lines, each connecting a network of fortifications, which provide support to each other.
The northernmost line is about 70 km long and faces this entire border segment, including the two main border crossings.
The second line is slightly shorter and runs in parallel, about 50 km south, from the Seversky Donets River to the north of Kupianks city. In addition, the two lines are connected by a road linking their approximate midpoints.
Firstly, an attack from the north would have to face this extremely well-prepared first defensive line. The location of the rivers implies that even if they managed to break the line at some point, they would inevitably have to face the second line.
If we look at the topographic map, we can see that an attack from the northwest has the added difficulty of fighting uphill in the first stretch after the border. Therefore, this option seems particularly adverse to the Russian forces.
A second option would be to establish an additional attack vector from Dvorichna, trying to quickly reach the road linking the defensive lines in an attempt to isolate the first defensive line.
It is not an easy undertaking, but if successful, a possible continuation is to completely encircle both Kupiansk and the second line, trying to isolate them and appearing from the rear all the strong points protecting the city to finally surrender them all.
One must consider the magnitude of resources necessary for an offensive of these characteristics, which implies mechanized advances of tens of kilometers, given that the actual advances here for months have been only marginal gains of a few hundred meters.
However, the Russian command could play its card by taking advantage of delays in Western aid in artillery supplies and especially by achieving localized air superiority to undermine Ukrainian fortifications with the use of FAB glider bombs.
The main option for the Ukrainians in this second hypothesis is to reinforce the defense of the segment in front of the Dvorichna pass, up to the road linking the defensive lines, trying to make it as difficult as possible to lose control of this road.
bIn addition, they should consider alternative supply routes, both for the defensive lines and for Kupiansk from the south.
As a third hypothesis, in addition to all the above, Russian forces could attack from the north to fix the forces of the two defensive lines, focusing on encircling Kupiansk in the first instance.
This could be done in theory by increasing the combat force from the already active areas, but especially by launching an attack vector from Dvorichna and moving down from there to the south to engage only the eastern end of the second defensive line. In the event of breaking the defense at this point, going down to Kupiansk to encircle it seems feasible.
The city encirclement would automatically compromise the logistics of the entire line facing the Russians east of the Oskil River, complicating the situation for the Ukrainian forces in this area to a large extent.
The options here for the Ukrainians would be to reinforce again the entire area near the Dvorichna Pass, as well as to increase defenses and fortifications in the western and northwestern part of the city of Kupiansk, and to improve logistical supply options from the south of the town.
Overall, the recent demands of the Russian leadership for a sanitary zone, the evacuation of numerous villages in the Kharkiv region, and the fact that sooner or later, the Russians need to address the seizure of Kupiansk and the eastern bank of the Oskil River with more significant resources have raised the alarm of a potential new Russian offensive from the north in the coming months.
Given the high level of readiness of the defensive lines in this region, it is clear that this will require Russian forces to build up a huge mass of forces, based on the difficulties already encountered in recent months.
The recent announcement of the creation of two new combined Russian armies and rumors of a possible new mobilization in Russia increase speculation in this regard.
Let us hope that in the event of this new offensive, the Ukrainian forces will have received the promised Western aid to achieve the best defensive preparation level possible.
Coalitions created among the Ramstein Group nations go about their work of supplying the Ukrainian war effort:
Kyiv Independent Reports:
“Countries participating in the armored vehicles coalition for Ukraine, an initiative of Poland and Germany, met in Warsaw for the first time on March 26, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry announced.
Some of the countries involved in the coalition include the U.K., Italy, and Sweden.
During the meeting in Warsaw, participants “developed a consolidated position regarding the strengthening of the technical fleet of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with certain samples of armored vehicles,” Ukraine’s Defense Ministry reported.
The participants also discussed organizing the system to repair the armored vehicles provided to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The repair of the vehicles is one of four focus areas of the coalition, along with the supply of weapons and ammunition for the vehicles, the training of crews and technical personnel, and developing effective tactics for using the vehicles on the battlefield.
“This is a very important initiative of our allies in view of the existing problems in the Armed Forces with the repair of foreign-type armored vehicles,” Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk said.
“I hope that with the help of our allies we will be able to create an effective repair base for Western armored vehicles in Ukraine as quickly as possible,” Havryliuk said.
Other similar initiatives include an artillery coalition, a fighter jet coalition, or a demining coalition, organized within the framework of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), also known as the Ramstein format.”
Separately, they report:
“France (which heads the Artillery Coalition for Ukraine) will soon be able to supply Ukraine with 78 Caesar howitzers and has boosted its production of artillery rounds to meet Kyiv’s most urgent needs, the Associated Press (AP) reported on March 26, citing French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu.
In January, Lecornu presented a plan for Kyiv, Paris, and other allies to jointly finance 78 Caesar howitzers for Ukraine. Speaking at a news conference on March 26, the minister said that France, Ukraine, and Denmark reached an agreement that will enable Paris to “quickly deliver” the artillery systems.
Separately, France had already delivered 30 Caesar artillery systems to Ukraine as part of earlier deliveries.
According to the French minister, his country also plans to deliver 80,000 155 mm artillery shells to Ukraine in 2024, a considerable increase from 30,000 rounds last year.”
As expected, Sweden is taking an active political leadership role within NATO, to spur the bloc into action against Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Kyiv Independent reports:
“NATO is not doing enough for Ukraine and some countries in the alliance don’t “understand that the conflict is here and that we need to deal with it,” Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told Euractiv on March 27.
“We have to understand that Russia is a neighbor that is behaving irresponsibly, which is threatening the world with irresponsible nuclear threats and the idea of recreating its former empire at the expense of independent sovereign states… We have to put an end to that,” he said.
Sweden officially joined NATO on March 7, almost two years after it applied to join the alliance in a direct response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and in a reversal of 200 years of formal military neutrality.
Billstrom said that in order to stop Russia “we first of all have to stop the aggression against Ukraine.”
“Not all countries understand the sense of urgency to act that there is,” he said, adding: “NATO is not doing enough for Ukraine.”...
...Latvia last year reintroduced mandatory military service and Warsaw has begun building bomb shelters. Such levels of rhetoric and concern have been largely absent in Western European countries but in recent weeks, French President Emmanuel Macron called Russia’s war against Ukraine “existential” for France and Europe and warned that Moscow’s potential victory would “reduce Europe’s credibility to zero.””
The Sun (UK) reports:
“PUTIN’S PAL Russia’s most notorious gangster FREED from jail early for ‘helping Putin recruit convicts for Ukraine meatgrinder war’
“Putin allegedly uses his criminal pal to meddle in Georgia’s politics.
RUSSIA’S most notorious mafia king has been quietly released from prison four years earlier as an alleged gesture of goodwill from Putin.
Crime boss Shakro Molodoy, 71, was freed from the maximum security colony after reportedly not ordering prisoners to boycott’s Putin’s war…
… Shakro - a citizen of the former Soviet republic of Georgia - was also sentenced in absentia to 18 years in prison for murder in Tbilisi.
The underworld boss was also allegedly in charge of a “criminal congress” with 150 delegates in the Armenian capital of Yerevan in January 2015.
“This was the largest congress of leaders of the criminal world in the last 20 years,” said an official source.
Molodoy may have been released early in a Putin attempt to meddle in the politics of Georgia, claimed former president Mikheil Saakashvili”