The situation in the Ukrainian SMO on March 19 2024

IMPORTANT guest from the USA has ARRIVED to Zelenskyi!

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When Lindsey Graham Comes to Town, Hide Your Sons

Lindsey Graham’s feelings about Russia and the Russian people are well known (if you need a refresher watch the video). Now, it appears his contempt for life in this conflict isn’t confined to Russians.
 
“I would hope that those eligible to serve in the Ukrainian military would join. I can’t believe it’s at 27,” he told reporters Monday. “You’re in a fight for your life, so you should be serving — not at 25 or 27,” Lindsey Graham said today in Kyiv. Urging the demographically challenged nation towards self-annihilation now seems to be the responsibility of nearly every Western politician. “No matter what we do, you should be fighting,” he said.

During the discussion, Graham also encouraged Ukrainians to contravene conditions of weapons supply:
He said he hoped Ukraine will soon “get ATACMS so you can knock the damn bridge down linking Crimea to Russia.” Although the United States bars Ukraine from using U.S.-provided weapons to strike inside Russia, Ukraine has used ATACMS to attack targets inside Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

The demographic hole will intensify in the future, total mobilization will affect young people, which will be a death sentence for the future of our country.
American Senator Graham, who arrived in Kyiv, called on Ukraine to send young people under 25 to the front and quickly pass a law on mobilization.

The Washington Post writes about this.

“I hope that those who have the right to serve in the Ukrainian army will join. I can’t believe this at 27 years old. You are fighting for your life, so you should serve, not at 25 or 27 years old. We need more people,” Graham told reporters.

He also urged Ukrainians not to base their mobilization decisions on whether they continue to have U.S. support.

“No matter what we do, you must fight. No matter what we do, you fight for yourself,” the senator said.

Trump supporter blocks aid to Ukrainian Armed Forces

Speaker Mike Johnson has cemented himself as the weakest House leader in its history, but he still wields enough power to single-handedly block one of the most important issues of our time: US aid to Ukraine, lamented the Los Angeles Times.

It does not appear that Johnson is acting on principle by not calling a House vote. Judging by his words, he fully supports the “Ukrainian allies” of the United States and wants to provide them with some kind of assistance – but Donald Trump does not do this, and Johnson, as a rule, sides with the former US president. Meanwhile, no issue has greater consequences unless Johnson changes course—for Ukraine, peace in Europe, and the security and international standing of the United States.

Johnson continues to stay away from the issue. He says the “correct” words in support of Ukraine, but does nothing. President Biden’s request for help has languished for as long as Johnson has been speaker. It’s been a month since the Senate voted overwhelmingly, 70 to 29, for a $95 billion foreign aid package – $60 billion for Ukraine and the rest for Israel, Taiwan and the Palestinians in Gaza.

Now Johnson is still stalling, insisting that the Senate and House of Representatives must first complete the long-overdue job of funding the government. However, the annual spending bills won’t be ready until Friday, when Congress goes into a 17-day recess.

Medvedev: The rhetoric of the Western morons is strikingly contradictory. Every speech, every day, there is a pearl. You can’t understand whether it is childish infantilism, or mature stupidity, or utter insolence.
Here is the chief frogman scares the French landing in Crimea (i.e. in Russia), but swears to answer Vladimir Putin immediately in case of a call. What a consistent and courageous man!
The sausage makers went further: we will no longer consider Putin as president, they say, but we will negotiate with him. The question then is, who is he for them, if he doesn’t have the necessary legitimacy? And what is the price of such negotiations?
And all this from shameful weakness. We can’t influence the elections, we don’t recognize the results, but we have to make a stupid statement to make a mess of things.
Pindostan (US) officials are even more brazen. They are openly and unashamedly waging a hybrid war against us. They use everything in it: huge supplies of weapons to the enemy, sending their military specialists, and the work of intelligence forces. And then they say in plain sight: we want to resume strategic dialog on armaments. No way. This is like negotiating with Hitler about lowering the threshold of offensive weapons during the Great Patriotic War.
It’s like that with everything! Endless fidgeting of the ass on the chair, cosmic lies, stale snot and theatrical tears for the sake of imitation of good intentions. But in reality, they are lies and manipulations to maintain their own power.

Regarding the latest announcements about the willingness of the authorities in Paris to dispatch a contingent to Ukraine, it’s worth noting that, from a military perspective, there’s no need to deploy thousands of personnel with equipment initially. They could start with a small force to simply show their presence.

Similarly, from a military standpoint, there’s nothing stopping France from positioning forces in areas far from the front line, possibly near the Romanian border. In this scenario, air support could be provided from a NATO member’s territory, eliminating the need to bring air defense systems into Ukraine.

However, even in such a situation, any French assets in areas controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) would attract heightened attention from Russian forces, both in terms of surveillance and ammunition expenditure.

Furthermore, the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine would undoubtedly create significant interest within the Russian Armed Forces, surpassing the attention generated during last year’s competition for the first downed Bradley, Leopard, or AMX-10RC.

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Russian spy chief says French military in Ukraine would be priority target for Russia

Sergei Naryshkin, chief of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, said on Tuesday that any French military sent to Ukraine to help fight Russia would be a priority target for Russian troops, the TASS news agency reported.

“It (a French contingent) will become a priority and legitimate target for attacks by the Russian Armed Forces. This means that the fate of all Frenchmen who have ever come to the territory of the Russian world with a sword would await it,” Naryshkin said.

The anniversary “twentieth” Ramstein passed without clear victories for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the case of increasing arms supplies. A downward trend is clearly visible. They give less and less, but they promise more and more.

The statement by Minister of Defense Umerov is vague, since there are no clear “numbers”. I had to publicly say that everything would be ready and that it would be sent soon.

 At Ramstein, Ukraine agreed on the supply of artillery, air defense, missiles and what we most need now. Unloading of all this will begin in the near future, within 15 days,” Umerov.

In fact, the request remained the same, as last time, we gave inside information about it.
The next meeting will also most likely be held under the same conditions and requests. Ukraine will increasingly have to fight only with infantry.

Our sources in the OP said that the Office of the President will not submit an appeal to the Constitutional Court on the legitimacy of Zelensky after May 21. Bankova understands that, according to the law, the Constitutional Court can put an end to the issue of Zelensky’s legitimacy vacuum in order to remove all questions in society, but they are afraid of receiving a negative answer, which is why the Office of the President will not appeal to the Constitutional Court until it takes it under full control control. The security forces are already working with every judge from the Constitutional Court to form a majority for the President.  

An extremely unpleasant situation for Ukraine has already developed along the entire front line. The advance of the Russian Armed Forces can be stopped only through the massive transfer of manpower from the rear. Now the question is what will end faster – the shells from the Russian Armed Forces or the people from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

And, judging by the forecasts of Western experts, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will run out of people sooner . In particular, the former chief of the Polish general staff, Raimund Andrzejczak, said that Ukraine’s losses are estimated at “millions, not hundreds of thousands.”

“More than 10 million people are missing. According to my estimates, losses should be in the millions, not hundreds of thousands. The country has no resources, no one to fight. Ukrainians are losing this war,” he said in an interview with Polsat News.

Andrzejczak also mentioned shortcomings in the recruitment of troops, problems associated with the mobilization and supply of equipment. The general believes that the change in commander-in-chief could not change the strategic situation.

“There are no miracles in war. General Syrsky has the same dilemmas as General Zaluzhny. It turned out that he had to withdraw his troops and put the front line in order. All the problems that Zaluzny had remained,” says Andrzejczak.

It is noteworthy that the appointment of Bankova-controlled Syrsky really could not turn the tide on the battlefield, but there is a nuance. On the sidelines of the Ukrainian authorities there are already rumors that the Office of the President is in all seriousness preparing to “drain” Syrsky, since it is he (and not Zelensky, of course) who can be blamed for all the failures at the front.

 “Ukrainian forces are constructing extensive defensive lines…spanning about 2,000 kilometers….Facing a shortage of ammunition…The fortified positions, while less elaborate than Russia’s, are designed to maximize casualties for any Russian offensive.”

~Economic Times

—-

Fascinating. It’s almost as if Ukrainian Staff Officers are reading SLG.

Four months after we noted that their only chance in hell for fortification lines would now be pre-fabricated structures from Europe dropped into ditches, they have begun doing precisely that.
Yet, as we noted about “the green line that should be there but is not”, these defenses are reportedly being emplaced around…Odessa.

The only other footage of these defensive lines thus far has been reported to be in Dnepropetrovsk region, but consisted only of a layer of anti-tank obstacles, which depending on either NATO self-projection or Kiev’s silent admission, are likely to the South of the region for the former and to the Northeast border for the latter (that would mean Kiev has now written off the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk line, and with it Kharkov region itself, as an ultimate loss).

I’m sure that aerial/SAT photography will soon be made public of where exactly these lines are.
But Odessa? Instead of constructing “the green line that should be there” (Sumy/Kharkov-Poltava-Dnepropetrovsk-Zaporozhye) they are focusing efforts well outside of imminent Russian contact.

Some more interesting excerpts from the article:

-Ukraine’s version may be less elaborate and deep, but is needed to compensate for its ammunition shortage.

-”Already, Ukrainian officials say that time is the key factor preventing them from building something resembling the… Surovikin line,”

Zaluzhny proposed starting the construction of defensive structures back in the summer, but Zelensky refused this idea, which is why the ex-Commander-in-Chief gave a scandalous interview to The Economist, which became the reason for his resignation. Now everyone recognizes that Ukraine started construction of the defense line late, which is why there are large losses among the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
” Big Builder” Kirill Timoshenko is now responsible for fortifications and protective structures in the country

According to the Prozorro system, weekly contracts (March 9-16) for the construction of fortifications cost 6.33 billion. The bulk of orders were made by regional administrations. Active orders began only at the beginning of February 2024, when it became clear that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would be forced to surrender Avdiivka to the enemy. If before this, fortification orders for the year amounted to 0.64 billion UAH. So, a month and a half later, another 17 billion UAH were ordered.

Russian smart bombs are a new nightmare for the Ukrainian Armed Forces

Having failed to overcome the well-fortified Russian defenses, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are now building their own long lines of deep trenches, minefields and “dragon’s teeth” anti-tank barriers. But at the same time, Ukrainian soldiers are faced with a new threat – glide bombs, writes The Times.

According to the publication, we are talking about modified Soviet-era bombs that are equipped with “smart” wings and thus turn into controlled, powerful weapons. Dropped from aircraft over Russian-controlled territory, they pose a “mortal danger” that Kyiv’s army is ill-prepared to combat.

In case of retreat, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to diligently strengthen their defensive lines, including in the Kupyansk area. But these positions would not be able to withstand the impact of 1,500-kilogram glide bombs, which clearly demonstrated “the extent of their destructive power” in the battle for Avdievka.

“These bombs completely destroy any position,” complained one of the Ukrainian soldiers in his Telegram channel. “After at least one of them hits, all that remains of any building or structure is a crater.”

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- All attempts by Ukrainian DRGs to break through the Russian border have failed.
- Traitors involved in DRGs should be sought by name and punished without statute of limitations.
- The West has actively used cross-border radical terrorist groups against Russia, encouraging their aggression against the Russian Federation.
- Attempts to provoke inter-ethnic conflicts and violate the rights of Russians must be firmly suppressed.
- It is necessary to increase the combat readiness and equipment of the border forces not only on land but also at sea, above all on the Black Sea.
- Putin also thanked the FSB personnel for their patriotism and courage, including those shown during their work in Novorossiya and Donbass.

Belgorod border area, from the guys on the ground:

“The situation is tense, but controlled. They continue to come in hordes, we smash them with cast iron, but they are still coming. When you look from the copter, 30 people are lying dead. It seems that RVC and all this junk just were decided to be destroyed by us. There are a lot of “birds”, in the sky as if they were crows. FPV arrives almost every two minutes. It’s very difficult to move around without a mobile EW. But that’s okay, everyone is hanging in there. As always there are some problems with interaction, but in general nothing critical. By the way, our reconnaissance is working well. They’ve (AFU) started hitting civilians harder, it’s noticeable. Motherfuckers. They are breaking on us, so they decided to fight with civilians.”

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President Putin orders the FSB to seek revenge on all traitors:

“We will uncover the identities of all traitors, we will not forget any of them and we will punish each and every one of them regardless of where they are located.”

 

Slobozhansky direction: battles near Kozinka and mass shelling of the Belgorod region Situation at 17:00 on March 19, 2024

Even though there are occasional reports claiming that the fighting in the border area is almost over, Ukrainian forces are still active in multiple areas.

▪️ Clashes are ongoing in the Kozinki area: the enemy is attempting to advance towards the Church of St. John the Evangelist, where administrative buildings are also situated. Units of the 2nd Obrspn are repelling attacks from the AFU.

▪️ Russian aviation is targeting locations in the Kharkov and Sumy regions. According to sources from the Kyiv regime, around 200 bombs were dropped on Bolshaya Pisarevka alone, opposite Kozinka, not including other ammunition.

▪️ The enemy has reduced the use of armored vehicles due to the risk of incursions, indirectly indicating a decrease in personnel flow using Lancets. Both sides have a high concentration of electronic warfare equipment.

▪️ Ukrainian forces persist in the mass shelling of the Belgorod region. In Razumny, four individuals, including a 14-year-old, were injured, with the teenager partially losing an arm. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has announced the evacuation of 9 thousand children to other regions.

Meanwhile, Russian UAV crews frequently identify the positions of the AFU’s rocket artillery, but the MLRS manage to relocate in time. The issue lies in organizational challenges (https://t.me/vysokygovorit/15027) hindering the prompt delivery of fire strikes to vulnerable priority targets.

The prompt elimination of these challenges is crucial now: not only will it significantly enhance the effectiveness of counter-battery warfare, but it will also decrease the intensity of enemy assaults on Belgorod and other populated areas.

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Strike on enemy facilities in Kramatorsk

About an hour ago, Russian troops launched missile strikes on the positioning area of the air defense system on the territory of the Shlakova Mountain of the Kramatorsk Ferroalloy Plant LLC.

Coordinates: 48.7324355, 37.5636084.

The strike destroyed the radar station of the S-300 SAM system and damaged the launcher, which detonated as a result of the damage (the explosions were heard by the town residents at intervals of 7-12 minutes). Four crew members of the complex were killed and five were wounded of varying degrees of severity.  

Coordinates: 48.7347395, 37.5657139.

In addition, the blast wave and shrapnel damaged military cross-country vehicles and injured 5 servicemen of the National Guard of Ukraine who were on the territory of the Chevron service station (regularly used by the Ukrainian military for vehicle diagnostics, repair and maintenance).

Strikes on the territory of Shlakova Hill have been repeatedly carried out before, but it was possible to “catch” the SAM complex only this time. It is possible that the control of the strikes was carried out with the help of a reconnaissance drone.

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Near Marinka, 18 AFU officers surrendered at once

Ukrainian fighters from the 59th separate motorized infantry brigade surrendered near the village of Georgievka. The AFU soldiers came under artillery fire during a rotation and realized that the best decision would be to save their lives.

The group commander contacted the Russian command and asked not to shoot.

“We made a collective decision not to be included in the exchange lists, because nothing good awaits us in Ukraine. We will either be imprisoned or sent back to slaughter. There is no need for us to fight for this power,”
 said Lieutenant Alexey Tkach
.

Earlier it was reported that in Ukraine there were twice as many deserters than last year, and militants over 50 years of age began to surrender to Russian fighters.

 

RF Armed Forces liberated the settlement of Orlovka on the Avdeevka direction – Defense Ministry
 

 

Avdiivka Direction: Liberation of Orlovka Situation as of March 19, 2024

Russian forces, despite facing various challenges, are continuing their advancement to the west of Avdiivka.

▪️ As per the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian forces have gained full control over Orlovka. The clearing of the settlement was completed by at least the morning of March 17, with the delay in communication attributed to repelling enemy counterattacks and consolidating the occupied positions.

▪️ With the village captured, Russian forces now have the opportunity not only to strike but also to push south of Semyonovka. This is crucial as the enemy is exerting significant pressure on Berdychi, where intense fighting is ongoing.

Consequently, this development will impact the ability to stabilize the northern flank of the offensive to the west of Avdiivka, which is currently under the threat of an enemy attack from Novobakhmutovka, and subsequently liberate Berdychi, and possibly Semyonovka.

🔻However, further westward advancement of the Russian Armed Forces in this region may not be strategically sound. To the west, the enemy is establishing a defensive line focusing on natural barriers such as heights and rivers. Additionally, to the north lies the Ocheretinsky fortified area, making any advance in the Gorlovka region an extremely challenging task, if not outright suicidal.

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Chronicles of the Special Military Operation for March 19, 2024

Fighting continues in the border zone of the Belgorod region and, along with this, shelling of Belgorod and the surrounding area. The enemy has not abandoned its offensive plans, although it has somewhat reduced its activity.

In the Avdiivka sector, the Russian Armed Forces have completed clearing Orlovka and are currently engaged in battles in Berdychi and Tonenkoye. Air strikes are being carried out on the adjacent territory under enemy control.

In the Bakhmut sector, the enemy conducted reconnaissance along the Razdolovka – Orikhove- Vasylivka line but was repelled. Fighting is ongoing in the areas of  Bogdanovka and Ivanovsky.

In the Donetsk direction, the AFU have almost completely driven the Russian Armed Forces out of Krasnohorivka; a focal presence of Russian forces remains on the southern outskirts of the city.

In other sectors of the front, the situation remains stable. Both parties are conducting mutual reconnaissance and counter-battery warfare, occasionally testing the strength of the defense with small assault groups.
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Map of military operations and the situation on the fronts on the evening of March 19

◼️The Kiev regime continues its terror tactics against the Belgorod region. In Razumny, three people were injured as a result of the shelling. A 14-year-old girl lost her arms, and her mother is in serious condition. In Belgorod itself, cars and private houses were burning .

⚔️The situation on the fronts over the past 24 hours:

⚫️Bakhmutskoe (Artemovskoe) direction

There are positional battles in Bogdanovka and Krasnoe . Kleshcheevka has no changes.

⚫️Donetsk direction

In the Avdeevsky sector there are battles in the Berdychi area. The Russian army liberated Orlovka . In addition, our fighters continue to advance in Pervomaisky and Novomikhalovka.

⚫️Zaporozhye direction

In the Orekhovsky sector there were oncoming battles in Rabotino , as well as northwest of Verbovoy . There are no changes on the Vremevsky ledge .

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Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (19 March 2024)

▫️ In Kupyansk direction, the Zapad Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on the AFU units and improved the situation along the front line.

The AFU losses amounted to up to 30 servicemen, one infantry fighting vehicle, four motor vehicles, two U.S.-made M777 artillery systems, and one Czech-made RM-70 Vampire multiple rocket launcher.

▫️In Belgorod direction, Russian units continue to carry out measures to prevent sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from entering the border area.

As a result of air strikes and artillery fire against clusters of AFU manpower and hardware in border areas of Ukraine near Kozinka (Belgorod region), the enemy has lost up to 40 servicemen, two infantry fighting vehicles, and three motor vehicles.

▫️In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions, and defeated formations of the 79th Air Assault Brigade, 46th Airmobile Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the 118th Territorial Defence Brigade near Novomikhailovka, Razdolovka, and Georgiyevka (Donetsk People’s Republic).

Over 215 servicemen, three tanks, two infantry fighting vehicles, and four motor vehicles were neutralised.
In the course of counter-battery warfare, one Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery system, two Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems, one D-30 howitzer, and one S-60 anti-aircraft artillery system were eliminated.

▫️In Avdeyevka direction, the Tsentr Group of Forces liberated Orlovka (Donetsk People’s Republic) and improved the situation along the front line. Six counter-attacks of AFU 47th, 53rd, 59th mechanised brigades were repelled near Pervomayskoye, Tonenkoye, and Berdychi (Donetsk People’s Republic).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 125 servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, and five motor vehicles.
In the course of counter-battery warfare, the Russian troops hit one U.S.-made M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery system, one Msta-B howitzer, two D-20 howitzers, one D-30 howitzer, and one MT-12 Rapira anti-tank gun.

▫️In South Donetsk direction, the Vostok Group of Forces’ units inflicted fire damage and repelled two counter-attacks of the AFU 72nd Mechanised Brigade’s assault groups close to Staromayorskoye (Donetsk People’s Republic).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 130 servicemen, one tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, five motor vehicles, and one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system.

▫️ In Kherson direction, units of the Dnepr Group of Forces improved the situation along the front line and hit manpower and hardware clusters of the 65th Mechanised Brigade of the AFU and 121st Territorial Defence Brigade close to Rabotino and Pyatikhatki (Zaporozhye region).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 30 servicemen, two motor vehicles, one U.S.-made M777 artillery system, and one D-30 howitzer.

▫️Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, and Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have engaged AFU manpower and hardware in 114 areas during the day.

Air defence systems shot down 143 AFU unmanned aerial vehicles and shot down 38 HIMARS, Olkha, Grad, and Vampire MLRS projectiles.

Source: http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-situation-in-ukrainian-smo-on-march_19.html