[Korrespondent] 22:57 Russian propagandists launched a new fake online: they released a video in which allegedly "Ukrainian military" stopped a civilian car and began to offend a woman with a child. The fake was picked up even by the Russian Foreign Ministry, despite the fact that even the Kremlin military correspondents have already managed to debunk it. More details - in the material The shooting of the car .
22:34 As of March 28, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have destroyed more than 1,500 drones of the Orlan-10 operational-tactical level at the front, not counting quadrocopters and tactical-level UAVs, Yuri Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force Command, said. He also noted that the grouping of enemy aircraft, which attacks Ukraine from several dozen airfields, has increased quantitatively, but has become much worse in quality.
22:20 The Institute for the Study of War in a new report analyzes the actions of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and predicts the course of hostilities in Ukraine. More details - in the material There are no hopes for the world .
21:59 Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin believes that Ukraine, thanks to the significant depletion of Russian forces and the supply of Western weapons, has a "very good chance" of a successful counteroffensive in the spring of 2023. In his opinion, Ukraine has a "significant advantage" in comparison with Russian forces, although the front line has changed from one side to the other in recent times.
"The Ukrainians inflicted significant losses on the Russians, and they depleted their stocks of armored vehicles in a way that no one could ever imagine. And now we see how Russia will re-mothball the T-54 and T-55 tanks due to the level of losses that the Ukrainians inflicted," - said the US Secretary of Defense. He added that Russia's resources are running out, it is increasingly lacking artillery ammunition and is forced to turn to Iran and North Korea for help.
“Therefore, I think that we will see an increase in hostilities in the spring, as the conditions for maneuvering improve, and also based on what we have already done and continue to do. I think that Ukraine will have a very good chance of success,” Austin emphasized. .
21:41 At least 2,000 Russian officers died in the war in Ukraine, the KIU OSINT project calculated on March 28 according to open data.
20:44 British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that China's recent actions regarding the war in Ukraine undermined its status as a neutral side, and called on Beijing to take constructive steps.
20:26 The United States stops the exchange of data on strategic nuclear forces with Russia after Moscow announced the suspension of participation in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, writes WSJ.
20:13 Peskov in December 2022, during a meeting with one of the Russian officials, where representatives of the cultural and political elite were present, said that the war against Ukraine would continue for a very long time, writes The Guardian. According to the publication, the guests raised a toast to the establishment of peace, after which Peskov said: "Everything will be much more complicated. It will take a very long time." This spoiled the mood of the guests, who spoke in private conversations against the war with Ukraine, the sources of the publication shared.
19:24 The National Resistance Center under the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has compiled a map of the camps where the Russians are taking deported Ukrainian children. The map was created on the basis of data from open sources and will be supplemented. As can be seen from the geography of the camps, the process of taking children to the Russian Federation is systematic and prepared in advance.
18:56 The first three strike companies of the UAV are already ready for battle - they have been fully equipped, pickup trucks, shock copters and Starlinks have been handed over, Mikhail Fedorov, head of the Ministry of Digital Development, said. He stressed that all the drones are Ukrainian-made, and the equipment for the shock companies of the Drone Army was purchased by private donors.
18:32 Due to the incident in the Black Sea with the downing of an American drone in early March, the United States decided to send reconnaissance drones further from Crimea, which limited their ability to collect information, CNN reports, citing a US senior official. The decision to bypass the area of potential collision with Russian aircraft, according to a CNN source, is part of the Biden administration's efforts to "avoid excessive provocation" between Washington and Moscow. At the same time, the official did not rule out that reconnaissance flights of drones will resume in the usual mode in the future.
18:10 According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the settlements of Belogorovka, Bakhmut, Avdeevka, Maryinka and their environs remain at the epicenter of hostilities. During the day, units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine repelled 24 enemy attacks in the indicated directions.
17:44 In the next six months, the Ukrainian energy system will have enough electricity to cover the needs of consumers, Volodymyr Kudrytsky, chairman of the board of NPC Ukrenergo, predicts. At the same time, he added that "it is necessary to prepare well for the next winter: to resume, first of all, the operation of those power units at thermal and hydroelectric power plants that were damaged, and to mobilize all the resources of the energy system to the maximum in order to pass the winter with dignity, without blackouts."
17:40 The Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee recommended that international federations allow Russians who do not support the war against Ukraine to start as neutral athletes, said IOC head Thomas Bach. At the same time, teams from Russia and Belarus cannot be considered as participants in international competitions.
The IOC also recommended not to allow Russian athletes associated with the armed forces and security agencies to participate in the competition. In particular, among the Russian athletes, many are listed in the CSKA sports society, some represent the National Guard.
Bach said that the decision on the participation of Russian athletes in the Olympic Games will be made by sports federations. The IOC Executive Committee recommended that international federations create separate commissions on the issue of admitting Russian athletes to competitions.
17:34 Propaganda Russian media write with reference to emergency services that near the railway tracks near the village of Svitino in New Moscow, they found "wreckage, presumably of a drone." According to them, there is no damage at the site of the discovery of the wreckage. Meanwhile, the telegram channel Baza reports that the drone had the inscription "Glory to Ukraine" and publishes a photo.
17:07 Zelensky held a coordination meeting in Sumy with the leaders of the armed formations and law enforcement agencies on the arrangement and protection of the state border and the security situation in the Sumy region.
17:00 In Poland, three more suspected of collaborating with Russian special services have been detained. The Polish Cabinet reported that they were charged with espionage activities, all of them are in custody.
16:55 Under Melitopol, according to preliminary data, a substation was blown up near the village of Fedorovka of the Terpinovsky village council, Melitopol mayor Ivan Fedorov said.
16:52 In Mariupol, a total cleansing and search activities after yesterday's explosion of the car of "the head of the city police department" Mikhail Moskvin. According to the adviser to the mayor of the city, Petr Andryushchenko, there are patrols of military occupiers and "policemen" on the streets. Mostly men are stopped regardless of age and women under the age of 40. They check documents, gadgets, personal belongings.
Moskvin himself was hospitalized with a shell shock after the explosion of his car, but today he was taken by helicopter from Mariupol to Taganrog. His condition is unknown, "but definitely far from stable-good," Andryushchenko added.
16:41 Blinken called proposals for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine a "cynical trap" to freeze the conflict.
16:26 Zelensky said that in the Sumy region he got acquainted with the service of border guards to cover the borders of the state. The President checked the fulfillment of tasks by the units of the State Border Service on the border with Russia.
15:42 The Ukrainian military showed that inside the downed Iranian drones.
15:03 In Bakhmut, Russia is reinforcing the PMC Wagner mercenaries with units of its regular army, primarily paratroopers, said Sergey Cherevaty, spokesman for the Eastern Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: “The main striking force remains PMC Wagner. However, due to huge daily losses and due to the fact that they can no longer replenish their ranks as quickly as before, including at the expense of former prisoners, we see that they are being reinforced by regular army units, primarily airborne troops. Cherevaty added that the Wagnerites have problems with ammunition and manpower.
14:54 The “Supreme Court of the DPR” sentenced a serviceman of the Azov Battalion, Dmitry Smitiy, to 20 years in a strict regime colony for allegedly shooting a resident of Mariupol.
14:25 The European Union at the summit in December will consider the issue of starting negotiations on the accession to the EU of Ukraine and Moldova, said the head of the European Council Charles Michel.
14:23 Zelensky is on a working trip to the Sumy region today. In particular, he presented Akhtyrka with "an honorary distinction of a hero city, a city-defender, a city-winner."
13:46 In Bakhmut, the number of military clashes has decreased over the past three days - it is possible that the Russians are regrouping, said Sergey Cherevaty, spokesman for the Eastern Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to him, "the coming days - a week will show what is the cause in reality."
13:17 The Russians fired two missiles, previously S-300, at the city of Bogodukhov, Kharkiv region, Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA, said. Previously, no casualties.
13:14 France will double the supply of 155-mm artillery ammunition for Ukraine - up to 2000 per month, Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said. He also said that the SAMP-T air defense system will arrive in Ukraine "in the near future." In addition, the French government is considering the possibility of increasing funding for the EU fund to help Ukraine. According to the minister, the 200 million euro allocated by Paris has already been fully used.
13:01 Ukraine received three Leopard 2A6 tanks from Portugal, the country's Ministry of Defense reported.
12:45 The order to bombard the Drama Theater in Mariupol, as well as the maternity hospital and the children's hospital was given by the commander of the military unit, Serhiy Atroshchenko, investigators of the InformNapalm international community found out. He was born in Ovruch, Zhytomyr region.
12:14 The US State Department supports the creation of a special tribunal to investigate the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine, said Ambassador for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Skaak. At the same time, she added that there was not yet a final consensus on the model for such a tribunal. Thus, two models are being considered: a Ukrainian tribunal, which will have international support, and a court that the UN General Assembly can create. The Ukrainian authorities want to create a separate international institution, but there are fears that it will not be possible to collect the necessary votes in the General Assembly for its creation, the ambassador said.
According to her, the United States came to the conclusion that the most effective way to ensure accountability for crimes of aggression involves the creation of an internationalized court within the Ukrainian judicial system, that is, a hybrid option. Such a court could generate greater international support, and would not require a General Assembly resolution to establish a new independent international institution, which would take time and resources.
11:32 Zelensky may visit Poland soon, but even when an agreement is reached, the visit will not be reported until the last moment for security reasons, said Deputy Polish Foreign Minister Pavel Yablonsky. He added that the leaders of Poland and Ukraine are actively maintaining contact.
10:47 The Russians fired mortars at a hospital in the Dnipro district of Kherson at night, the head of the OVA, Alexander Prokudin, said. The main building and the heating system were damaged, there were no casualties.
10:21 The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said that the deployment of nuclear warheads on the territory of the country without transferring control over them to Minsk would not contradict the provisions of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
10:15 Motor Sich President Vyacheslav Boguslaev blocked the delivery of a combat helicopter for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense in April 2022 in favor of Russia, the SBU reported. According to the investigation, he received an order from representatives of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense for the transfer of a MI-2 helicopter to the department for a fee to carry out combat missions at the front. However, Boguslaev instructed his subordinates to disassemble the aircraft into parts and hide the operational documentation for it.
09:46 Reznikov showed a video with British Challenger 2 tanks that arrived in Ukraine.
09:23 British intelligence reports that in recent days Russia continues to prioritize the operation to encircle Avdiivka, but has made little progress at the cost of heavy losses in armored vehicles. Analysts estimate that the 10th Tank Regiment probably lost most of its tanks trying to encircle Avdiivka from the south. The regiment is part of the 3rd Army Corps, the first major new formation that Russia sent to Ukraine in August 2022.
Despite training in Belarus, the 3rd Army Corps still demonstrates limited combat capability, intelligence notes. The losses of the 10th Panzer Regiment were probably mainly due to tactically erroneous frontal attacks. There were similar losses in other unsuccessful attacks by Russian armored vehicles, for example, in the Ugledar region.
09:12 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggests that the Russian military leadership involved a certain number of highly trained Wagner PMC units in the attack on Avdiivka in order to consolidate recent limited tactical successes in the area.
Also, ISW drew attention to rumors about the resignation of the commander of the Eastern Military District of the Russian Federation, Colonel General Rustam Muradov, as well as the possible dismissal of the commander of the Western Military District, Colonel General Yevgeny Nikiforov, whose troops are operating along the line Kupyansk - Svatovo - Kremennaya. Analysts cannot confirm these rumors, but note that potential dismissals of commanders are related to areas of operations in which Russian troops have failed to make significant progress or have suffered significant losses. At the same time, the Russian authorities and bloggers focused on finding and punishing individual commanders, and not on investigating and solving systemic problems in the army.
08:59 In the Kherson region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, five people were injured, the OVA reported.
08:46 The Russians launched an airstrike with a guided aerial bomb on Belopolye, Sumy region, one person was injured, the President's Office reported.
08:35 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of March 28.
- personnel - about 171,730 (+570) people liquidated,
- tanks - 3602 (+7),
- armored combat vehicles - 6966 (+13),
- artillery systems - 2653 (+15),
- MLRS - 525 (+2),
- air defense systems - 277 (+0),
- aircraft - 305 (+0),
- helicopters - 291 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 2235 (+19),
- cruise missiles - 911 (+0),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 5502 (+9),
- special equipment - 287 (+2).
08:11 According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, at night the Russians used 15 attack UAVs of the Shahed type, 14 of which were destroyed.
The army of the Russian Federation is concentrating its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions. The fiercest battles go for Bakhmut, Avdeevka and Maryinka. Over the past day, units of the Defense Forces repulsed 62 enemy attacks in the indicated directions.
The Russians have recently introduced more and more restrictions on the free movement of Ukrainian citizens between settlements in the occupied territories. In particular, in the Gorlovsky district of the Donetsk region, as well as in the Kakhovsky district of the Kherson region, it is impossible to get into individual settlements without local registration.
07:38 In the Dnipropetrovsk region, two enemy drones were shot down by air defense forces at night, another one hit a private enterprise in the Dnieper. There was a strong fire on the area of 4000 sq. m, said the head of the OVA Sergey Lysak. The fire has already been extinguished and no one was hurt.
07:05 At night, 12 Shahed-type enemy kamikaze drones were detected and destroyed by air defense forces in the airspace of Kiev, Sergey Popko, head of the KGVA, said.
02:17 Germany and the Netherlands will continue to provide humanitarian and financial assistance to Ukraine, supply weapons and train the military, as well as take care of compliance with anti-Russian sanctions, a joint statement says following the results of government consultations between the two countries.
02:14 The Russians attacked Ukraine with Shahed-136/131 strike drones and guided aerial bombs. According to the command of the Air Force, 12 Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs and one reconnaissance drone Granat-4 were destroyed. In total, the enemy used 13 kamikaze drones, one reconnaissance UAV Granat-4 and two guided bombs.
The attack of "shaheeds" was carried out from the northern and south-eastern directions. Su-35 fighters took off from the Morozovsk airfield in the Rostov region and attacked the Kherson region with two guided aerial bombs.
01:02 In the Svyatoshinsky district of Kiev, as a result of the fall of the wreckage of a downed kamikaze drone, a fire broke out in the store, people were not injured, the city authorities said.
00:10 Since March 27, the military command has transferred Avdiivka, Donetsk region, to the red zone. The city is closed to entry. This also applies to accredited journalists and volunteers. Read more about the situation in the city in the material Avdiivka in the red zone .