This week was full of events that in one way or another are important for the approaching victory of Ukraine in this war. First of all, mention should be made of the raid in the Russian Federation by fighters of the RDK, the Siberian Battalion and the Freedom of Russia Legion, as well as explosions at oil refineries in Russia as a result of drone attacks.
President Vladimir Zelensky said that the advance of the Russian army in Eastern Ukraine has been stopped, but called on our partners to give us more weapons.
And recently new aid packages were announced in the USA and Denmark.
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However, the enemy attacks cities almost every night with dozens of attack drones. And today the Russian Federation launched a missile strike on Odessa, where at least 20 people were killed, more than seven dozen were injured.
About the main events of the last week — from March 8 to 15 — read in the selection of ICTV Facts.
- The advance of the Russian Federation in the East of Ukraine has been stopped
- Aid package from the US for $300 million
- New military aid package from Denmark
- Massive drone attacks on Ukrainian cities
- Explosions in Odessa on March 15
- Raid of the Legion Freedom of Russia and RDK in the Russian Federation
- Explosions at oil refineries in the Russian Federation
- UAV strike on an aircraft factory in Taganrog
- Mobilization bill
- Negotiating framework for Ukraine’s accession to the EU
The advance of the Russian Federation in the East of Ukraine has been stopped
This week, President Vladimir Zelensky, in an interview with French media, said that the advance of the Russian army in eastern Ukraine has been stopped.
At the same time, he noted that in a week or a month the situation may change if the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not receive support from partners on time.
US aid package for $300 million
March 12, the United States announced the allocation of security and defense assistance to Ukraine totaling $300 million.
It includes HIMARS missiles, artillery ammunition, air defense interceptor missiles and other weapons.
The new package comes amid the delay of a large $60 billion relief package, the passage of which is being blocked by Republicans in the House of Representatives. This is the first such step in several months.
New military aid package from Denmark
Also on March 12, the Danish Ministry of Defense announced a new package of military assistance to Ukraine worth about $335 million already the sixteenth since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion.
It will include Caesar artillery systems, self-propelled 120mm mortars and ammunition for them.
Massive drone attacks on Ukrainian cities
On the night of March 14, the Russian Federation attacked the Vinnytsia region with drones. Despite the fact that the air defense shot down all 27 UAVs, two people were killed, and two residential buildings were destroyed. Three more people are now in the hospital.
And on the night of March 13 in Sumy, the attack drone Shahed-136/131 hit a five-story building. Here three people died, ten were rescued from the rubble. About 30 apartments in this building were damaged, half of them were destroyed.
On March 12, shelling in Krivoy Rog killed five people and injured 49 people, including small children. The youngest of them are only 2 and 11 months old.
In Dobropolye, Donetsk region, on the night of March 10, Shaheds killed two people, their bodies were taken out from under the rubble of a house destroyed by drones.
Explosions in Odessa on March 15
At the end of the week, on the afternoon of March 15, the Russian Federation launched a missile attack on Odessa. Two explosions recorded.
20 people are known to have died, including a paramedic and an employee of the State Emergency Service, who came to provide assistance after the first explosion, another 75 people were injured. The total number of victims is being clarified.
10 private houses, a service station, a low-pressure gas pipeline and two fire and rescue vehicles were damaged.
The prosecutor's office opened proceedings on the fact of violation of the laws and customs of war, coupled with premeditated murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Photo: DSNS
Raid of the Legion Freedom of Russia and RDK in the Russian Federation
On the morning of March 12, fighters of the RDK, the Siberian battalion and the Freedom of Russia Legion entered the territory of the Kursk and Belgorod regions as part of a joint operation.
They appealed to the Russians with a request not to go to the “elections” President, calling on him to fight for a better future with arms in hand.
On the afternoon of March 13, it became known that the Russian Freedom Legion had taken control of part of the village of Tetkino, Kursk region.
A representative of the Russian Freedom Legion, Alexey Baranovsky, in a commentary to ICTV Facts, stated that it is impossible to remove Putin through some kind of meetings, rallies or petitions — only weapons will help.
In his opinion, liberate Russia piece by piece — this is a completely possible course of events.
Explosions at oil refineries in the Russian Federation
Three oil refineries in Russia were attacked by drones on the night of March 13 — in Ryazan, Kstovo (Nizhny Novgorod region) and Kirishi (Leningrad region).
In particular, we are talking about the Rosneft oil refinery in Ryazan, the Novoshakhtinsky oil refinery and the Lukoil plant in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
According to ICTV Facts sources, these strikes — continuation of a number of special operations against enemy refineries, which were previously launched by the SBU.
Bloomberg said that the latest Ukrainian drone attacks paralyzed 12% of the aggressor country’s oil refining capacity.
And this is just the beginning. On the night of March 15, three drones attacked an oil refinery in the Kaluga region of the Russian Federation. Equipment damage reported.
In addition, on the night of March 12, explosions occurred in at least nine regions in Russia. Information about the explosions came from the Moscow, Leningrad, Tula, Bryansk, Belgorod, Kursk, Voronezh, Oryol, and Nizhny Novgorod regions. The last two were arrivals at oil refineries.
UAV strike on an aircraft factory in Taganrog
As a result of a drone attack on an aircraft plant in Taganrog on March 9, the A-50 long-range radar detection and control aircraft received significant damage.
Frontelligence Insight analysts released satellite photos taken before and after the drone strike, which confirm damage to the roof of one of the hangars where the Russians could repair the A-50.
Military-political observer of the Information Resistance group Alexander Kovalenko claims that this is exactly the A-50 that was damaged by partisans at an airfield in Belarus in February 2023.
Mobilization bill
March 12 The Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence began considering amendments to the draft law on mobilization No. 10449.
Now, out of more than 4 thousand, only 600 have been agreed upon, therefore, according to preliminary forecasts of Deputy Speaker of Parliament Alexander Kornienko, adoption of the document in the second reading is possible at the end of March or at the beginning of April.
He believes that at this rate the relevant committee needs about another week to agree on controversial issues.
Negotiating framework for Ukraine’s accession to the EU
March 12, the European Commission submitted proposals to the EU Council regarding the draft negotiating framework for Ukraine and Moldova on accession to the European Union.
This document consists of three parts: the principles that will govern negotiations on EU membership, and the content and procedure of accession negotiations.
After internal discussion of the projects, the adoption of a negotiation framework is expected. This process could drag on for several months and occur even after the European Parliament elections in June.
