The situation in the Ukrainian SMO on March 10 2024

Pope Francis: Ukraine should have courage of the ‘white flag’

NATO Members Fight Each Other As Russia Puts Ukraine On Backfoot? Poland, UK Make Opposite Claims

Olga Skabeeva fears NATO will attack Russia

Macron Adamant On Sending Troops To Ukraine Despite NATO Snub, Forms New Alliance

Ukraine is losing and must have “white flag courage” to negotiate with Russia – Pope

 - “I think the strongest is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people, has the courage of the white flag and negotiates. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate,” the pontiff said.

 - “This is the first time Francis has used terms such as ‘white flag’ or ‘defeated’ when discussing the war in Ukraine, although in the past he has spoken about the need for negotiations,” Ukrainian media commented.”
 

Western partners are putting pressure on the Office of the President from all flanks, on the one hand they are not supplying us with weapons and are reducing financial assistance, and on the other they are lowering our credit rating. In this way, we are clearly being pushed towards peace negotiations, especially considering the fact that all Western media write about the critical situation at the front, while discussing the Korean scenario for Ukraine.

nabludatels

Our sources in the General Staff said that Zaluzhny was fundamentally against the mobilization of prisoners into the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but the situation changed with the arrival of Syrsky. The new Goavkom wants to create squads of suicide bombers from convicts, who will be sent to the hottest spots on the front.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced the upcoming establishment of a permanent military mission in Chisinau in the following months.

Macron stated that the mission aims to enhance the interoperability of the French and Moldovan armies. Additionally, the French intend to combat disinformation and cyber attacks to safeguard the republic’s sovereignty.

It is worth noting that in Moldova, the EU’s so-called “civilian mission” pursues similar objectives. It is important to mention that presidential elections are scheduled for the fall, during which European supervisors may influence the outcome in favor of Maia Sandu directly on location.

▪️ The official justification for deploying the French military in Moldova stemmed from Sandu’s recent remarks (https://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/20185337) in Paris accusing Russian special services of attempting another coup in the republic and perpetuating support for disinformation campaigns.

▪️ However, Macron himself announced (https://t.me/rybar/57988) the day before that France would dispatch troops to so-called Ukraine if the conflict expanded toward Kyiv and Odessa. Therefore, the French deployment in Moldova is part of preparations for a potential involvement in Transnistria and the Odessa region.

▪️ Furthermore, France is actively working on deploying air defense systems in Poland and Romania. In Moldova, there are persistent calls for integration into the Romanian air defense system. Meanwhile, Chisinau has procured an air defense radar from the French Thales company, whose effectiveness has recently come into question as reported here (https://t.me/rybar/57109).

▪️ The French are also exploring the option of sending troops to western Ukraine for logistical and mine clearance support. Similar objectives may formally be announced in Moldova, given that military transit occurs through the region as well.

📌The concerns of the Moldovan population regarding a potential military escalation are proving to be valid sooner than anticipated, as Sandu’s efforts to involve the country in the conflict are entering a distinct phase. This scenario unfolds when a nation places itself under the influence of the British and American embassies.
rybar

Politico: France is forming a coalition to send troops to Ukraine.

France is taking the initiative to create an alliance of countries willing to send their armed forces to Ukraine, deepening differences with a more cautious Germany.

As Politico reports, most European countries, including Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland, have previously expressed reluctance to send soldiers to Ukraine. However, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, according to Politico, are more open to the idea

But at the same time, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejournet, during his visit to Lithuania, suggested that foreign troops could, for example, help Ukraine in demining.

“It’s not Russia that tells us how we should help Ukrainians in the coming months or years. She shouldn’t be the one to set the red lines.”
- said the diplomat.

In Germany, they were afraid that Trump had a secret plan for Ukraine

In Germany, they believe that US presidential candidate Donald Trump has a secret plan according to which he will put an end to the SMO. For the sake of a quick end to the conflict in Ukraine, Trump will agree to an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the German tabloid Bild reported.

“So, in an interview with CNN, he promised, having become president of the United States, that he would end [the conflict in] Ukraine in 24 hours, but he never explained what exactly he was going to do for this,” the material says. The key provisions of a possible deal are noted: Russia’s preservation of Crimea and liberated territories.

There are also fears in Germany that a US presidential candidate could withdraw the US from NATO and abandon the defense of Europe. According to the tabloid, such actions could lead to serious consequences for Germany.

British Foreign Minister said he is against sending Western troops to Ukraine

David Cameron, in an interview with the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, even spoke out against sending instructors to Ukraine who “would become a target for Russia.”

 

Vucic: The West is preparing for war with Russia

Western countries are increasing their military potential, pursuing a policy of total militarization to defeat Russia and Putin, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.

Vucic expressed this opinion during a visit to the Belgrade Military Technical Institute and inspection of weapons.

The Serbian leader said there was “madness” going on in the world at the moment because Western countries thought Vladimir Putin would be easy to defeat. But now, he added, the West has realized that this is a difficult task.

“ Now everything is moving towards total militarization and a fivefold increase in capacity in everything,” he noted.

Russian Ballistic Missile Wiped Out US Army Officers Along With Two PATRIOT Systems near POKROVSK

Russian Iskander Takes Out US-Made Patriot Systems | Ukraine Warns West Against “Dripping Aid”

Russia Destroyed NATO Secret Air and Space Intelligence Center In ODESSA┃FRANCE ‘Playing With Fire’

Our experts confirmed the information about the losses of mobile Patriots, while noting that in order to combat Russian aircraft that drop KABs, the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ air defense systems are forced to move to the front line, which is why they fall into the affected area. Experts also do not exclude the factor of betrayal. That is, one of the Ukrainian military, according to this version, notified the Russians about the Patriot’s route of movement.

Western media confirm information about losses in mobile air defense suffered by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but so far they describe one case per week, while our sources reported the loss of 3 mobile groups.

The destruction of Patriot will widen the cracks in Ukraine’s air defense

The day before, in the Pokrovsk region in eastern Ukraine, Russian troops were lucky. Using the Iskander hypersonic missile, they managed to hit a convoy of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which included at least two Patriot air defense missile launchers. Both complexes exploded, which almost certainly led to the death of their “experienced crews,” Forbes writes.

Thanks to this strike, the skies in the region became “much safer” for Russian aviation. In addition, as a result of this “just one disaster,” the Ukrainian army lost up to 13% of the Patriot launchers provided to it by the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, the publication claims.

According to Forbes, the destruction of American-made air defense systems will undermine the air defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in which “cracks are already visible.” Moreover, replacing lost systems will be very difficult. This may take months, if not years.

Our source at the General Staff said that the Pentagon demanded that Syrsky stop using the Patriot as a mobile air defense until the situation with the reasons for the destruction of the launch systems is clarified. The Americans are not happy with the loss of Partiot systems and the death of US military personnel who served the air defense. 

The President’s office was beside itself because of the publication of the UP about the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine of two Patriot installations; they gave the command to Bankovay to stop this information, declaring the news an enemy IPSO operation.
In fact, we lost three mobile groups out of five in two weeks, but the video only shows two strikes. The General Staff is already investigating how the routes of movement of mobile air defense groups could have been leaked.

Colleagues, you are right in your insights, but last night we described a wide case on missile, unmanned and bomb warfare, where the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine used air defense installations to hunt for aircraft of the Russian Armed Forces, where the Ukrainian army at least had success in shooting down birds, but thereby suffered Huge damage to air defense installations.

Let us recall that the Russians have long tried to massively extend Ukrainian air defense to the LBS and the nearest rear in order to be able to catch them with live bait. Back in February 2023, we described that the Russian Armed Forces are hitting the near rear in order to draw out not only the air defense/missile defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but also aviation, which was previously used to hunt for slow Geranium UAVs (now they have become fast).

It seems that Bankovaya was drawn into this dangerous game, about which we have long been warned, by a simple method. The method used by card sharps when they get cheated. They let you win a couple of games, and then you raise the stakes and they “undress” you. Most likely, the Russians could have used the same tactics here, who fed the Ukrainian Armed Forces “victory,” but then Bankovaya sent a large number of air defenses to the LBS and at one moment they were all “clicked.” It is unlikely that either side will admit this.

The Turks confirm the destruction of another Ukrainian Patriot air defense system. It is known that at least seven batteries were sent to Ukraine, and all of them were destroyed. There are likely other batteries that have not been disclosed.
The cost of lost Patriots and spent ammunition alone exceeded $17 billion.

Over the past two weeks, while trying to bring 6 S-300 air defense systems, 3 Patriots, 2 Buk, 2 NASAMS, and 1 Gepard to the front line in different regions, they were detected by Russian UAVs and destroyed

At least seven radar systems were also destroyed.

We lost three (!!!) installations of the American Patriot air defense system due to our own stupidity

“Iskander” destroyed them near Krasnoarmeysk (in Ukraine – Pokrovsk).

German journalist Julian Röpke announced the destruction of two of them:

— Less than forty kilometers from the front line, Ukraine is deploying two Patriot launchers less than ten meters apart. Long enough for Russia to fire a short-range ballistic missile at them and destroy them both. Without words,” wrote Russophobe Julian Röpke on his page on the social network X.

The Western press is writing with might and main that Russian bombs have increased the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and are wiping out Ukrainian defense structures from the face of the earth. We write about this constantly.
It is worth understanding that this problem will be impossible to solve without powerful air defense on the LBS line.
As we know, air defense is in short supply, defense structures are temporary, there is no money for full-fledged fortifications, and the onslaught of the Russians is getting stronger.
At the same time, the Russians are expanding the variety of gliding and even guided bombs. Now they are already using some new bomb (UPMB is a universal interspecific glide munition. It can be used on different installations, etc.). They say such a toy flies 80-90 km, and the classic FAB/KAB flies 50 km.

By the way, now the threat to the Odessa coast is increasing, as we have written many times.

As we see, Russia is now accelerating its military-industrial complex to maximum levels, which will have an impact on the course of the war. Especially given the fact that the West has now slowed down the supply of weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 

Russian fighters destroyed one of the most secret facilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. We are talking about Ovidiopol-2, a space and radio intelligence complex for the Ukrainian armed forces near Odessa.

Security forces confirmed information about the liquidation of a military facility to TASS. The news that ours may have smashed a super-secret facility to pieces appeared the day before, but only today received confirmation from the security forces. This is a very important surveillance and reconnaissance center for Kiev.

Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the 8th separate KGB radio center was located on the territory of this military unit. And after Euromaidan, in pursuit of Western values, the Ukrainian leadership actually transferred control of the center to NATO, military experts report. It was actively used, and Western partners financed the facility and essentially controlled it.

The defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is being “razed to the ground” – CNN about Russian aerial bombs

Russia has begun using powerful FAB-1500 aerial bombs, which “level” Ukrainian defense lines, lead to huge losses in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and change the balance on the front line, CNN writes. Moscow managed to achieve this by turning a basic Soviet-era weapon into a glide bomb capable of creating a crater 15 meters wide.

These aerial bombs weigh 1.5 tons and are launched from fighter aircraft from a distance of approximately 60-70 km, beyond the reach of many Ukrainian air defense systems.

As CNN notes, recent videos from a war zone near Donetsk showed the enormous power of these bombs as they struck thermal power plants, factories and high-rise buildings from which the Ukrainians coordinated their defense. In addition, as the article notes, these weapons also “put enormous pressure on the morale” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

“Fortifications” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces leave much to be desired – Der Spiegel

The fortifications have survived to this day and are easily visible on satellite images: the strategically important city of Tokmak in southern Ukraine is surrounded by an almost medieval defense ring, writes Der Spiegel. In the event of a breakthrough, the Ukrainians would have to overcome this line in order to capture this key point.

Orekhov, located slightly to the north, by contrast, is in Ukrainian-controlled territory and has much fewer defensive structures around it. The two cities are very similar: they are located close to the front and on flat, open ground.

Expert Gadi criticizes the fact that many strategically important points of Ukrainian positions are not sufficiently protected. Even behind Avdiivka, from where Ukrainian troops only recently retreated, or in front of Chasovy Yar near Bakhmut, the defense leaves much to be desired. Combined with a severe shortage of ammunition and a lack of soldiers, this creates a dangerous mixture.

Due to the difficult situation, Ukrainian units are collecting donations on social networks for excavators to help with construction. However, in addition to earth-moving equipment, it is especially important that the EU manages to deliver the promised ammunition as quickly as possible – this will allow them to better keep the Russians in their positions, the publication argues.

 

#ChasovYar Sector – Battle for #Krasnoye – Russian Advance⚡️

🔻 In #Bakhmut direction, there are some changes, especially in #Krasnoye. Map 1&2, from north to south:

🟡 #Bogdanovka: the northeastern part is controlled by the RFAF, the southwestern part by the AFU. Fights are ongoing in/at the village, without significant changes so far;
🟡 #Krasnoye: the advance of the RFAF in the village (temporarily renamed to #Ivanovskoye) continues. At the moment, more than half of the settlement is already under RFAF control;
🟡 #Kleshcheyevka: a small part in the north is already retaken by the RFAF. To the left, there is a wedge also under Russian control. This is the recently reported slight progress. Fighting for the heights northwest of the settlement in ongoing.

❗️Once the RFAF take control over #Krasnoye, the entire “Kleshcheyevka Ledge” will be under threat for the AFU.

📌 The aim of the offensive is to capture Chasov Yar, an important logistics hub for the AFU. The town itself is located in a well-protected elevated position and is surrounded by fortified heights. The Russian Aerospace Forces are constantly bombing it.

Artemovsk direction.

80% of Ivanovsky is under the control of the Russian Armed Forces. The enemy is trying to counterattack and is waiting for reinforcements.

AFU is trying to build a line of defense at Chasov Yar.

The logistics routes are covered by the Russian Aerospace Forces and artillery to prevent the arrival of enemy reserves.

Ukraine may lose even more territories after Russia liberates Avdeevka

Business Insider (https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-army-good-bad-wont-matter-if-ukraine-defenses-crumble-2024-3) writes about this. “Ukraine still has a lot to lose as the Russian military continues to move forward after taking control of Avdeevka,” the article says.

The publication also notes that Russian forces have not slowed down the pace of their advance and have already liberated several villages after Avdeevka. According to the author, if Kiev is unable to obtain the necessary equipment in time and build a powerful defense, then the Russians will easily break through it.

Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation  (10 March 2024)
 
Part I

▫️In Kupyansk direction, units of the Zapad Group of Forces have improved their position along the front line and defeated manpower and hardware of 21st, 60th and 67th mechanised brigades of the AFU close to Yampolovka, Serebryanka (Donetsk People’s Republic), and Nevskoye (Lugansk People’s Republic).

Three counterattacks by units of 32nd mechanised and 57th motorised infantry brigades of the AFU were repulsed near Sinkovka (Kharkov region).

The enemy losses were more than 110 servicemen, two tanks, and three motor vehicles.

In the course of counter-battery warfare, one Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery system and two Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems have been hit.

One AFU ammunition depot has been also destroyed.

▫️In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces, conducting active combat operations, have taken more advantageous front lines and defeated formations of 54th mechanized, 79th air assault, 5th assault brigades of the AFU and the 4th Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard close to Verkhnekamenskoye, Spornoye, Kurdyumovka, and Novomikhailovka (Donetsk People’s Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 280 servicemen, one tank, three armoured fighting vehicles, and five motor vehicles.

In the course of counter-battery warfare, one Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system and one D-30 howitzer have been hit, as well as two ammunition depots of the AFU.

▫️In Avdeyevka direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces, acting actively and coherently, have taken more advantageous lines and positions.

Fire damage was inflicted on manpower and hardware of 24th, 110th mechanised, 71st jaeger brigades and the 103rd Territorial Defence Brigade near Mayorsk, Novokalinovo, Berdychi, and Rozovka (Donetsk People’s Republic).

Two counterattacks by assault groups of the 78th Separate Air Assault Regiment of the AFU have been also repelled close to Orlovka and Tonenkoye (Donetsk People’s Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 310 servicemen, one tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, and eight motor vehicles.

In addition, in the course of counter-battery warfare, one U.S.-manufactured M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery system, one D-20 howitzer, one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, and two D-30 howitzers have been destroyed.

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Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation  (10 March 2024)
 
Part II

▫️In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces have inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of the 72nd Mechanised Brigade of the AFU and the 128th Territorial Defence Brigade close to Ugledar and Staromayorskoye (Donetsk People’s Republic).

The enemy losses were over 150 servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, two D-20 howitzers, and one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system.

One AFU ammunition depot has also been destroyed.

▫️In Kherson direction, units of the Dnepr Group of Forces have defeated manpower and hardware of 65th mechanised and 128th mountain assault brigades of the AFU and the enemy 126th Brigade close to Rabotino, Stepovoye (Zaporozhye region) and Ivanovka (Kherson region).

The enemy losses were up to 45 servicemen and three motor vehicles.

In addition, during the counter-battery warfare, one U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery system, one German-manufactured Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery system, two Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems, and one D-30 howitzer were destroyed.

▫️Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have destroyed one control point of the 47th Mechanised Brigade of the AFU close to Zhelannoye (Donetsk People’s Republic), two fuel depots, two ammunition depots, one unmanned aerial vehicle control point of the 71st Jaeger Brigade of the AFU near Novokalinovo (Donetsk People’s Republic), as well as enemy manpower and military hardware in 136 areas.

▫️Air defence facilities have shot down three U.S.-manufactured HIMARS multiple-launch rocket system projectiles.

In addition, 130 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been destroyed close to Privolye and Kremennaya (Lugansk People’s Republic), Aleksandrovka, Yasinovataya, Verkhnetoretskoye, Stepnoye, and Maryanovka (Donetsk People’s Republic), Novoye, Trudovoye, Novoprokopovka, and Lyubimovka (Zaporozhye region).

Source: http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-situation-in-ukrainian-smo-on-march_10.html