Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:55 Representatives of three IT companies from the Netherlands will help modernize Ukrainian UAVs, the country's Minister of Defense Kaisa Ollongren said in an interview with Radio Liberty. According to her, the Ukrainian defense industry has many prospects for development.
21:49 The Netherlands is providing Ukraine with 350 million euros for ammunition for the F-16 and modern reconnaissance drones, the country's Defense Minister Kaisa Ollongren said during a visit to Kiev. The new military aid package will allocate 150 million euros to finance air-to-ground guided missiles that can be launched from F-16 aircraft, and another 200 million for drones. Danish F-16s are expected to arrive first, expected in the summer, with the first Dutch jets to be delivered later this year, Reuters writes.
21:37 The White House is not ready to announce the delivery of ATACMS missiles, but will continue efforts to support Ukraine, Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said during a visit to Kiev: “We are working to do this as quickly as possible.” President "Biden is working every day to get this package through the House, but I can't make any specific predictions."
21:08 Shmygal said in an interview with Bloomberg that there is currently no need to mobilize 500 thousand Ukrainians. According to the prime minister, the assessment showed that such a scale of mobilization is not necessary, given the rotations taking place on the front line and the flow of weapons. “We will continue the fight if we receive support from our partners in artillery shells, long- and medium-range missiles,” Shmygal added.
20:59 The Russian command will redeploy part of its army to defend Belgorod due to frequent attacks and shelling, Bloomberg reports, citing a source close to the Kremlin.
20:01 A group of drones on the morning of March 20 attacked the city of Engels in the Saratov region, where one of the largest military air bases in Russia is located. It is from there that the occupiers most often launch missile attacks on Ukraine. In December 2022, after a strike on the airfield, 17 Russian troops were killed and several aircraft were damaged. What was hit this time and who was behind the blow - in the material Attack on Engels.
19:50 Spain will transfer another 19 Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine, InfoDefensa reports. The vehicles will be taken out of storage, so it will take some more time to repair them before they reach the Ukrainian troops, the Spanish publication notes. The delivery will be carried out in two batches: ten battle tanks by the end of June and nine more in September.
19:46 Pope Francis again called for negotiations. In his weekly audience at the Vatican, the pontiff remembered the inhabitants of "martyrned Ukraine and the Holy Land, Palestine, Israel, who suffer so much from the horrors of war." “And let us never forget that war is always a defeat. In a state of war it is impossible to move forward. We must make every effort to negotiate to end the war. Let us pray for this,” Francis stressed.
19:13 Russia again attacked Kharkov, previously with an X-59 missile. A shell hit the enterprise, a strong fire started, five people are already known to have died, and there may be up to ten more people under the rubble. About what is known, see the material Strike on Kharkov.
18:25 Zelensky said that he met with the Minister of Defense of the Netherlands, Kaisa Ollongren, who visited the Dnieper and inspected the consequences of the Russian strikes. We discussed strengthening the Ukrainian air defense system, providing the Defense Forces with artillery, armored vehicles and UAVs.
18:02 In Kharkov, another body was released from the rubble - the number of deaths has increased to five, said the head of the OBA Oleg Sinegubov. Emergency services continue to work at the scene.
17:24 Ukraine is capable of increasing the production of drones to 2 million units per year, but this requires additional financial assistance from the West, said Minister of Digital Transformation Mikhail Fedorov.
17:21 Shmygal said that Ukraine is counting on the delivery of the first batch of artillery ammunition as early as April under the Czech initiative. The Prime Minister said that today in Brussels at a meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council, the issue of finding additional resources to the funds that the Czech Republic is currently collecting was raised. According to Shmygal, the European initiative for the purchase of shells from Ukraine is a separate direction and an additional resource that Ukraine should also receive this year.
17:18 The Russians struck the village of Maksimovka, Ugledar community, Donetsk region. As a result of the hit in a private house, two people were killed and one was injured, said the head of the OVA, Vadim Filashkin.
17:13 The death toll as a result of today's missile attack on Kharkov has increased to four, seven people were injured, the prosecutor's office reported. Rescue work continues.
16:52 Zelensky said that he had a telephone conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thanked him for supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, for humanitarian assistance and the active participation of Indian representatives in meetings at the advisory level.
16:39 The third in Ukraine and one of the largest recruiting centers for the Ukrainian army in the state began operating in Dnepr, the Ministry of Defense reported. The agency plans to open 27 recruiting centers in the first half of 2024.
16:18 Amid statements about a possible Russian attack on one of the NATO members in Europe, military personnel are being dismissed from service. According to Western media, now the EU governments are faced with the question not so much of recruiting new soldiers, but of convincing the military not to leave the service. Moreover, a number of European governments began to consider fundamental changes in the concept of forming their armies. For more details, see the material Europe is bringing back conscription.
15:43 Lithuania is allocating 35 million euros to the Czech initiative to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said.
15:30 Russia has intensified its campaign to discredit Ukraine in the Middle East, reports the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense. In particular, employees of the Russian Embassy in Egypt received instructions from the Kremlin to hold a series of meetings under diplomatic cover to spread disinformation about the war. The Russians also send propaganda materials to the embassies of other states in Cairo, which justify the war against Ukraine.
15:03 The US House of Representatives adopted a resolution on the abduction of Ukrainian children. The document recognizes that the government of the Russian Federation under the leadership of Putin is responsible for the unlawful and illegal abduction of children from Ukraine, and that facilitating illegal adoptions contradicts the obligations of the Russian Federation under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and constitutes genocide.
The document also states that Russia is trying to destroy a generation of Ukrainian children and thus undermine Ukraine's ability to raise the next generation of citizens and leaders, the ability to rebuild Ukraine after the Russian war, the purpose of which is to destroy the unique Ukrainian language, culture, history and identity.
14:47 The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the Russian military in the Belgorod direction allegedly “completely cleared the settlement of Kozinka from the remnants of Ukrainian militants” and continues measures to prevent the penetration of the DRG.
14:34 The Russians struck Kharkov - three dead and five wounded are known, the number of victims may increase, the National Police reported. As a result of the strike, an eight-story building and a production workshop in the Kholodnogorsk district were damaged. A fire in a workshop for the production of furniture and paints and varnishes covered more than 1000 square meters. m. Among the wounded are printing house workers, two of them are in serious condition. The rescue operation and fire extinguishing are ongoing.
14:26 Ukraine will be able to use F-16 fighters only within its sovereign territory, said Pentagon Speaker Patrick Ryder. At the same time, he noted that the planes will give Ukraine “unique air potential.”
13:55 Russia plans to form two combined arms armies and 30 formations, including 14 divisions and 16 brigades, by the end of the year, Shoigu said. According to him, an army corps, a motorized rifle division, the Dnieper river flotilla and a brigade of river boats of the flotilla have already been formed. Earlier, the Russian Federation decided to recreate the Moscow and Leningrad military districts that existed in Soviet times.
13:27 The European Commission transferred 4.5 billion euros to Ukraine - this is the first tranche of macro-financial assistance from a support package worth 50 billion euros, Borrell said.
13:18 The Cabinet of Ministers announced that it is closing the list of “international war sponsors” maintained by the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption. All information from the list will be transferred to the Interdepartmental Group on Sanctions Policy. The decision was made after a report by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on complaints from the diplomatic corps of partner countries about the lack of a regulatory framework for the existence of such a list.
12:52 The Russians have significantly increased the use of aviation in the Lugansk region, increased ground pressure on Belogorovka, and struck the territory of Serebryansky Forest, said the head of the OVA Artem Lysogor.
12:09 The situation near Rabotino, Zaporozhye region, is “fluid, but this is not critical,” said Natalya Gumenyuk, speaker of the Southern Defense Forces. This is how she commented on information from Deep State analysts that Russian forces are advancing in the village of Verbovoye in the direction of Rabotino.
12:03 The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the destruction of 13 Vampir MLRS rockets in the Belgorod region. Russian public pages write about one death and several wounded as a result of the shelling of Belgorod.
11:58 The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that he proposed that EU member states use windfalls from frozen Russian assets in Europe to support Ukraine. The proposal envisages channeling 90% of the funds through the European Peace Fund, 10% through the EU budget.
11:45 Russian troops attacked civilian vehicles between the settlements of Sadovoe and Antonovka in the Kherson community. According to preliminary information, two people were killed, the OVA reported.
11:42 The Pivnich operational command showed footage of the construction of fortifications in the Chernihiv region:
11:36 According to updated information, as a result of a night attack in the Sinelnikovsky district of the Dnepropetrovsk region, six people were wounded, including two teenagers aged 13 and 15, said the head of the OVA Sergei Lysak. Five private houses were destroyed and several were damaged. In addition, in the morning the enemy fired artillery at Nikopol, one person was injured.
11:11 Kuleba said in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa that Macron spoke about sending not combat units to Ukraine, but instructors: “We never asked for people and combat units, we are proud of our soldiers. When Macron started talking about sending troops to Ukraine, "European leaders panicked. Macron only wanted to say that there is a possibility of training Ukrainian soldiers directly in Ukraine, and not outside its borders, as is happening now."
10:40 Production of scarce 155-mm shells in Ukraine will begin no earlier than the second half of this year, writes The Washington Post, citing a representative of Ukroboronprom. In the meantime, Ukraine independently produces Soviet-style shells of 122 mm and 152 mm caliber, as well as mortar shells, military equipment, and missiles.
As for the production of drones, as reported by Ukroboronprom, it is possible to cover 90% of the demand. For other positions, our own production is not enough to compensate for the lack of international support. The newspaper also writes that Ukraine last month began production of missiles with a range of more than 640 km.
10:29 Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson refused to consider the allocation of aid to Ukraine until the general US budget is adopted. This delays the resolution of the issue for at least another three weeks - until April 9, when the House of Representatives is due to return after the Easter break, writes The Hill.
09:46 Bloomberg writes that the European Commission will today announce proposals for using profits from frozen Russian assets to finance arms supplies to Ukraine and stimulate its defense industry. The publication notes that this will happen on the day of the visit of Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal to Brussels.
09:05 At night, the Russians attacked the village of Kazachya Lopan, Kharkov region, with a controlled aerial bomb. Part of the village was left without electricity as a result of a damaged power line, one person was injured, said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA.
08:37 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of March 20:
- personnel - about 433,090 (+700) people,
- tanks - 6828 (+9),
- armored combat vehicles - 13,058 (+9),
- artillery systems - 10,714 (+16),
- MLRS - 1017 (+0),
- air defense systems - 721 (+0),
- aircraft - 347 (+0),
- helicopters - 325 (+0),
- UAV of operational-tactical level - 8355 (+37),
- cruise missiles - 1922 (+0),
- ships/boats - 26 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 14,198 (+7),
- special equipment - 1738 (+3).
08:09 Over the past 24 hours, 80 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report. In particular, the enemy tried 29 times to break through the defenses of Ukrainian troops in the Novopavlovsk direction - in the areas of Krasnogorovka, Georgievka, Novomikhailovka, Vodyanoye, Urozhaynoye of the Donetsk region. In addition, 14 enemy attacks were repulsed in the Liman direction (in the Belogorivka districts of the Lugansk region, Ternov and Spornoye in the Donetsk region) and 13 attacks in Avdeevsky (in the Berdychi, Orlovka, Tonenky, Pervomaisky, Nevelsky districts of the Donetsk region).
In the Kupyansk direction, the enemy unsuccessfully tried ten times to storm the positions of the Defense Forces in the Sinkovka area of the Kharkov region. In the Bakhmut direction, Ukrainian defenders repelled seven enemy attacks in the areas of the settlements of Predtechino, Kleshcheevka, Belaya Gora in the Donetsk region. In the Orekhovsky direction, the enemy attacked the positions of Ukrainian troops six times in the Staromayorsky district of the Donetsk region and Rabotino of the Zaporozhye region. In the Kherson direction, the enemy carried out one assault on the positions of the Defense Forces.
07:38 At night, the Russians shelled the Sinelnikovsky district of the Dnepropetrovsk region, said the head of the OVA Sergei Lysak. According to preliminary information, five people were injured, including an entire family of four. Among the wounded is a 12-year-old child.
07:14 Governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov said that holidays for schoolchildren from border areas will begin early, from Wednesday, March 20. Clubs and sections in cultural, sports and additional education institutions will not work this week. Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported the destruction of one drone over the Belgorod region and four over the Saratov region at night. Russian public pages write that UAVs tried to attack the Engels strategic aviation airfield.
04:21 The United States can transfer Russian military equipment to Ukraine, which is on the balance sheet of the defense departments of South American countries, said the head of the US Southern Command Laura Richardson. According to her, such equipment is found in nine countries in South America. Richardson explained that the United States is offering South American countries to exchange this equipment for new ones.