Posted on 02/28/2022 8:10:18 PM PST by Mariner
A Russian military convoy that was outside of Ivankiv, Ukraine, on Sunday has since made it to the outskirts of Kyiv, satellite images show.
On Sunday, the convoy was roughly 40 miles northwest of the Ukrainian capital, according to images provided by Maxar Technologies.
Maxar said that roughly 17 miles of roadway is chocked full of the convoy, which consists of armored vehicles, tanks, towed artillery and other logistical vehicles.
The private US company said the convoy was located on the T-1011 highway at Antonov air base around 11:11 a.m local time.
Antonov is roughly 17 miles from the center of the Ukrainian capital.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Emperor Xi Jinping paid a royal visit to Pu Tin, regional governor of the northern Chinese province of Ruxia. That’s what it looked like, because that is what is happening. Xi was beaming and Putin looked the servant that he is. This was the greatest humiliation Russia has ever seen.
This isn’t an alliance, it’s boss and lackey. Xi isn’t talking about fighting NATO or the US. He’ll take Russia first. Putin is trying to buy extra hours in power by selling Russia to China. Putin’s insane war on Ukraine is worsening the Russian demographic crisis, depopulating the country. China isn’t doing well and needs space, resources, and victories. Putin’s nationalist supporters see what’s happening.
China has issued maps that list swaths of Russian border territory with Chinese names and configurations. Putin would give that up to do what, take Bakhmut temporarily? Why not?
He doesn’t care about Russia or Russians at all
https://twitter.com/Kasparov63/status/1638570114026029057
https://twitter.com/Kasparov63/status/1638570114026029057
Through the winter, Ukrainian and Western officials had warned Russia was preparing to launch a new offensive. Apparently, it was “mustering forces beyond the Urals”, according to General Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine's army chief. Rumours circulated, that Russian forces, bolstered by Belarussian divisions, could even try to storm Kyiv once more. Russia had gathered half a million fresh mobilised troops and would “make a push” around the anniversary of the war, suggested the defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov. But it seems that Russia's offensive began weeks ago, around the meat grinder of Bakhmut, and is already running out of steam – a damp squib. Intercepted communications and the ravings of angered mil bloggers suggest Russia is running out of ideas and ammunition. Now it seems is the turn of Ukraine to strike back. But when, where, and how hard will they hit the Russians?
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 22, 2023
Russian forces conducted a limited drone and missile strike campaign in Ukraine overnight on March 21-22, indicating that Russian forces continue struggling with precision missile shortages.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced that the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) intends to increase the size of Russia’s air defense forces at a Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) collegium on March 22.
Shoigu likely signaled to Japan that it should not become more engaged in supporting Ukraine by announcing the deployment of an anti-shipping missile system on one of the Kuril Islands.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu walked away and refused to answer a question about how soon to expect peace in Ukraine.
The tempo of Russian operations around Bakhmut appears to be slowing amid Western reporting that Russian forces may be attempting to launch offensives in other directions.
Russian forces may be deploying T-54/55 tanks from storage to Ukraine to compensate for significant armored vehicle losses.
Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks along the Svatove-Kreminna line.
Russian forces made marginal territorial gains within Bakhmut and continued offensive operations in and around Bakhmut and on the outskirts of Donetsk City.
Ukrainian officials stated that Ukrainian forces continue to clear an area on the east (left) bank of the Dnipro River.
The Kremlin continued hybrid reserve callup and crypto mobilization campaigns to recruit Russians for contract service.
Russian officials and occupation authorities continued to advocate for legislative changes in an effort to further legitimize the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-march-22-2023
This is what a plague called Russian world looks like on satellite images.
https://twitter.com/PaulJawin/status/1638794244360921088
Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin has softened his rhetoric towards the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) likely out of fear of completely losing his mercenary force in Bakhmut.
Prigozhin denied the Kremlin's claims that Russia is fighting NATO in Ukraine and questioned whether there are actually Nazis in Ukraine as the Kremlin constantly claims:
Prigozhin stated that Russia is fighting “exclusively with Ukrainians” who are equipped with NATO-provided equipment and some “russophobic” mercenaries who voluntarily support Ukraine - but not NATO itself.[3] Prigozhin also noted that Russian officials most likely knew that NATO would offer Ukraine military aid, because “it is ridiculous to think that when [Russia] decided to conduct this special military operation it did not account for NATO's help to Ukraine.” Prigozhin noted that he is unsure about the “denazification” objectives in Ukraine, because he does not know if there are “Nazis” in Ukraine. Prigozhin also noted that Russia will ”demilitarize” Ukraine only when all of the Ukrainian military is destroyed, claiming that this effort is ongoing, but that it is unclear if it will be successful. Prigozhin stated that Russia can avoid an exhausting protracted war by deciding now which borders it wants to capture. Prigozhin also called on the Russian military and media to stop underestimating Ukrainian forces and engaging in internal conflicts. Prigozhin effectively rejected the Kremlin's pre-war and post-war claims that Russia needed to defend itself against a NATO threat in Ukraine and undermined the necessity and probability of Russian President Vladimir Putin's stated maximalist objectives for this invasion.
Bloomberg reported that Prigozhin is preparing to scale back Wagner's operations in Ukraine after Russian military leadership succeeded in cutting key supplies of personnel and munitions.
Ukrainian officials supported ISW’s prior assessments that Russian forces are unable to conduct large-scale, simultaneous offensive campaigns on multiple axes.
Russian forces may be shifting their missile strike tactics to focus on Ukrainian military facilities as overall Russian missile strikes decrease, indicating the depletion of Russia's stocks of high-precision missiles.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin outlined various measures to support Russian military personnel, the Russian defense industrial base (DIB), and Russian independence from the West in an address to the State Duma.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Rosatom may be working to restore three power lines at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) which would increase Russian control over the ZNPP.
Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks northeast of Kupyansk and along the Svatove-Kreminna line.
Russian forces are continuing to attack Bakhmut City and areas in its vicinity and around Avdiivka.
Ukrainian forces continue to conduct raids over the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast.
The Kremlin continues efforts to coerce Russian reservists, conscripts, and other personnel into contract service.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced that Russia is continuing efforts to integrate newly-occupied Ukraine into Russian institutions and infrastructure.
Russian forces in Belarus recently redeployed back to Russia ahead of Russia's spring conscription call-up on April 1.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-march-23-2023
Terrorist Girkin-Strelkov assesses the probability of Putin being sent to the Hague.
https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1639178234485940224
They were built to be used against the West, but Moscow became their end target.
Slovakia has released a video of the moment when Ukrainian technicians and pilots came to Slovakia to pick up the 4 MiG-29 fighter jets donated by Slovakia
They camera captured the pilots taking off & flying to Ukraine with their new planes
Russia didn’t do anything as expected
https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1639015364242837504
To stop supporting Ukraine means acknowledging Putin’s right to invade foreign territories - @GiorgiaMeloni
It’s absolutely true. To stop supporting Ukraine would mean that the only law in the world is the right of force.
Grazie per il supporto!
https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1639010977591984129
23 Mar: Genius. Ukrainians USE JAVELINS TO DESTROY RUSSIAN ATGM SYSTEMS | War in Ukraine Explained
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qLhSjKMTjE
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 24, 2023
Prominent voices in the Russian information space are increasingly setting information conditions to prepare for a potential Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Crimean occupation head Sergey Aksyonov has reportedly formed a Wagner Group-affiliated private military company (PMC) in occupied Crimea.
Some prominent Russian milbloggers criticized the Russian military command for continuing to impale Russian forces on Vuhledar with ineffective human-wave style frontal assaults.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the Russian Security Council likely as part of his effort to portray himself as a present and effective wartime leader.
Russian forces conducted limited attacks along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line.
Russian forces have made gains in and around Bakhmut and conducted ground attacks in the Avdiivka-Donetsk City area.
The Ukrainian General Staff corrected its March 23 statement that Russian forces withdrew from Nova Kakhovka, occupied Kherson Oblast.
Russian occupation authorities announced the creation of a pro-Russian militaristic youth movement aimed at brainwashing children.
The Russian government is adopting new measures to revitalize and eliminate corruption, lethargy, and resistance in Russia’s defense industrial base (DIB).
The United Kingdom Ministry of Defense (UK MoD) reported on March 24 that at least 1,000 Russian personnel training at the 230th Combined Arms Obuz-Lesnovsky Training Ground in Brest, Belarus, redeployed to Russia.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-march-24-2023
Russian commanders and the occupiers’ administration are very active in selling real estate and taking their families out of Crimea, the intelligence representative said.
“But they told the rest, like ordinary soldiers, not to worry, that everything is calm, and everything under their control... But, it has really become a meme that the so-called ‘special operation’ (Kremlin propaganda terminology for its war on Ukraine) is going according to plan... Families associated with Russians are being taken out, and quite promptly. And it is a sign for all those who tied their destiny with the criminal Kremlin regime.”
Yusov said that it would be better for Russians to leave Crimea now while they still have the chance.
Earlier, the Deputy Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Vadym Skybytskyi said that the Russian invaders were preparing to defend the occupied Crimea.
A defense group has been building fortifications in the peninsula, he said.
https://news.yahoo.com/russians-starting-evacuate-occupied-crimea-151500970.html
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