General description of the situation. Russia launched a war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022 (23rd day of the war). They began with a rocket-bomb attack on 17 Ukrainian cities, first on military infrastructure and now on civilian infrastructure.
Today, March 18, the twenty-third day of the heroic opposition of the Ukrainian people to the Russian military invasion has begun.
Over the past day, the Russian occupiers have defended themselves more than they thought of an offensive operation. The personnel of the enemy is completely demoralized. Russian soldiers are looking for “Ukrainian ammunition” to shoot themselves in the legs to get to the hospital.
Therefore, the Russian-Fascist command is trying to replenish its shabby armies at the expense of mercenaries. About a thousand militants from Syria and the so-called Hezbollah.
Requirement – the experience of urban battles. At the same time, the morale of mercenaries is extremely low, and many see this recruitment as an opportunity to flee Europe from Syria.
In turn, Ukrainian troops continue to counterattack on the temporarily occupied territories and inflict heavy losses on the Russians.
Thus, in the Kyiv region, in order to restrain the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the enemy tried to blockade settlements north of the capital. These are the settlements of Irpin, Bucha and Vorzel. He did not succeed, but suffered losses instead. In parallel, Bucha was finally cleared of enemy sabotage groups.
In the northern direction, the enemy seems to have abandoned plans to capture Chernihiv, as it was actively preparing to resume the offensive in order to further blockade Kyiv from the northeast.
Russia has used 97 tactical groups in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv. Of these, 15 have been completely destroyed, 18 are incapacitated, and 10 remain as they can still be overthrown.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the enemy continues to launch missile and bomb strikes on civilian infrastructure. The situation in the region is tense, but stable and under control. The region remains under the control of the Armed Forces, Terrorist Defense and the police.
Businesses and entrepreneurs are returning to work.
The enemy also used almost the entire set of Caliber naval-based cruise missiles and Iskander operational-tactical missile systems during the first twenty days of the operation, so it continues to launch missile-bomb strikes on infrastructure facilities and residential areas of large cities using weapons. indiscriminate action.
In the Volyn direction (Zhytomyr region) there is a high probability of provocations aimed at drawing Belarus into the war.
In the Slobozhansky direction, the occupiers are trying to prepare a new offensive on Kharkiv, Sumy and Izyum.
Black Sea coast and waters – the occupiers are trying to detect and destroy the coastal air defense system, ships of the Nazi fleet are conducting demonstrations 10-15 km from the coast of Odessa region in order to put psychological pressure on city residents.
An air alarm was sounded in Lviv at about 6:08 a.m., and at about 6:25 a.m. three explosions were heard on the outskirts of the city. According to preliminary information from the military, the occupiers fired missiles at the Lviv State Aircraft Repair Plant.
Losses of military personnel and military equipment of the RF Armed Forces
- Military personnel – about 14,200 people,
- tanks – 450 units,
- armored combat vehicles – 1448 units,
- artillery systems – 205 units,
- means of air defense – 43 units,
- aircraft – 93 units,
- helicopters – 112 units,
- automotive equipment – 879 units,
- ships / boats – 3 units,
Cases of resistance from the local population
In Kherson, a local woman patrolled the Russian occupiers, who were distributing so-called humanitarian aid for a picture on Russian TV. Video published in TikTok. In response to a proposal to take humanitarian aid from a Russian, the woman said she would take only red caviar.
Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov, who was taken prisoner but refused to cooperate with the occupiers, was awarded the Order of Courage of the Third Degree.
Civilian casualties
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, more than 200 civilians have been killed in enemy shelling in Chernihiv. The mayor Vladislav Atroshenko told about it in interview to “Public”.
Prepared by Denis Bohush, military and political expert, International Headquarters for Assistance to Ukrainians
