THE RUSSO-UKRAINE WAR BRIEF
Day 1128 of the full scale invasion
Slava Ukraini! In early 2022 I began a Telegram channel aggregating news from a number of sources daily on the war in Ukraine. In June 2023 I began providing a daily draft for the Ukraine War Brief Podcast collecting news from over 70 sources daily, which formed the basis of the script. While the Podcast no longer exists I have continued to make this Brief available for my followers here on Substack for those who wish to keep up with the news from the war.
All the latest news on the Russo-Ukraine War 6 days per week
ALONG THE CONTACT LINE
GSAFU Morning Report
For: Mar 27, 2025
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in its Operational Information update at 08:00 on Mar 27 stated that day 1128 of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation against Ukraine had begun.
The situation on the line of combat remains tense in some sectors. Ukrainian defenders continue to actively counteract the Russian aggressor, causing them significant losses in personnel, equipment and technology. Exhausting the enemy along the entire front line and continuing to disrupt the plans of Russian occupiers to advance deeper into the territory of Ukraine.
During the past day,224 combat engagements took place.
Over the past 24 hours, the enemy carried out 1 missile strike, 77 air strikes, used 2646 drones and fired approximately 6,700 artillery shells across the positions of Ukrainian forces and civilians.
Air Force Daily Report
42 ENEMY UAVS SHOT DOWN, 26 SIMULATOR UAVS FAILED TO REACH THEIR TARGETS (LOCATIONALLY LOST)
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On the night of Mar 27, 2025 (from 20:00 on Mar 26), the enemy attacked with an Iskander-M ballistic missile from the Voronezh region and 86 Shahed attack UAVs and simulator drones of various types from the directions: Millerovo, Kursk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk - Russia, Chauda - Crimea.
The air attack was repelled by aviation, electronic warfare units, and mobile fire groups of the Air Force and Defense Forces of Ukraine.
As of 09:00, it has been confirmed that 42 Shahed attack UAVs (and other types of drones) have been shot down in the south, north, and center of the country.
26 enemy drone simulators were lost in location (without negative consequences).
The Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Chernihiv regions were affected by the Russian attack.
Combat Operations in the Russian Federation
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US based think tank, in its Mar 26 Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment reported that:
Kursk Salient: Russian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast amid continued attacks in Kursk Oblast and the Kursk-Sumy Oblast border area.
Belgorod Incursion: Ukrainian forces recently advanced along the international border in northwestern Belgorod Oblast.
Several Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces advanced into northern Demidovka (northwest of Belgorod City).
The Khortytsia operational-strategic group
(Responsible for the northeastern part of Ukraine. )
Toretsk Sector: Russian and Ukrainian forces recently advanced in the Toretsk direction.
Geolocated footage published on Mar 23 indicates that Ukrainian forces recently advanced along Odeska Street in northwestern Toretsk and along Darhomyzhskoho Street in northern Toretsk.
Geolocated footage published on Mar 25 indicates that Russian forces recently advanced in the Toretska mine in northern Toretsk and westward along the O0524 highway northwest of Toretsk.
The Tavria operational-strategic group
(Responsible for the central-eastern and southeastern part of Ukraine.)
Zaporizhia Sector: Russian forces recently advanced in western Zaporizhia Oblast.
Geolocated footage published on Mar 25 indicates that Russian forces recently advanced along the T-0812 Vasylivka-Orikhiv highway in western Stepove (northwest of Robotyne).
The Odesa operational-strategic group
(Responsible for Kherson, Qırım, (also known as Crimea) and the Black Sea.)
There have been no major changes to the combat environment since our last report.
TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Nothing major to report.
THE HOME FRONT
1 killed, 34 injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over past day.
At least one person was killed and 34 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day, the Kyiv Independent reported citing regional officials on Mar 26.
Kharkiv Oblast saw one of the heaviest attacks, with 23 people injured. Strikes on residential areas and civilian infrastructure caused four fires, including one that engulfed an industrial facility covering 2,500 square meters, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
In Kherson Oblast, Russian attacks injured five people and damaged 12 homes, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported. Russian troops also attacked an elderly woman with a drone, fatally wounding her with a dropped explosive.
In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a Russian drone attack injured three people — a 48-year-old man and two women, aged 75 and 78 — while damaging enterprises, schools, cultural institutions, and over a dozen high-rise buildings, Governor Serhii Lysak said.
In Donetsk Oblast, Russian forces wounded three civilians in attacks on Pokrovsk, Zelenyi Hai, and Ivanopillia, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported.
RUSSIAN WORLD
North Korea sent 3,000 more troops to Russia to offset Ukraine war losses.
North Korea transferred around 3,000 additional soldiers to Russia in January and February to compensate for battlefield losses sustained fighting Ukrainian forces, AP reported on Mar 27, citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea has also been sending more missiles, artillery equipment and ammunition to help Russia and that North Korea could increase its weapons supplies further depending on the war situation. Russia and Ukraine recently agreed on a limited ceasefire, though both sides have accused each other of violations.
The military equipment North Korea has sent to Russia includes a “considerable amount” of short-range ballistic missiles, 170 millimeter self-propelled howitzers and around 220 units of 240 millimeter multiple rocket launchers.
North Korea has sent approximately 11,000 military personnel to fight in the war against Ukraine in its first involvement in a large-scale conflict since the 1950-53 Korean War, and the Joint Chiefs assessed that around 4,000 of them have been killed or wounded.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service previously attributed the high North Korean casualties to the troops’ likely struggles in adapting to drones and other elements of modern warfare. North Korean troops are further disadvantaged by the crude tactics of their Russian commanders, who have sent them into assault campaigns without providing rear-fire support, the spy agency told lawmakers in January.
Cruise Missile Stockpile at Russian Engels Destroyed.
The Engels Air Base is pivotal in enabling Russian strategic aviation strikes on Ukraine with Kh-555 and Kh-101 air-launched cruise missiles. However, with how much emphasis has been on its conventional activities lately, one more important role this facility has traditionally occupied has been sometimes overshadowed: Engels is also the principal airfield of the Russian nuclear deterrent forces. Accordingly, it has a storage for nuclear warheads for Kh-55 and Kh-102 missiles. Defense Express reports.
During the remarkably effective blow delivered March 20 by the Ukrainian Defense Forces, Ukraine's General Staff confirmed 96 cruise missiles were destroyed, yet nothing is said about the nuclear warheads. Based on publicly available data, Defense Express analyzed the possibility of any damage inflicted to these sensitive supplies.
Red marks the destroyed site where conventional aviation ammunition had been kept; blue is the cruise missiles' maintenance and preparation site; and yellow is the so-called Object S. The name refers to the Russian designation for a number of bases for nuclear weapons storage. Besides simply keeping nuclear charges in one place, these establishments are tasked with providing service and preparing them for usage.
The nuclear weapons storehouse at Engels is 7 kilometers away from the airfield itself. This Object S is a highly secure complex of its own with a double perimeter of security, and importantly, a separate military unit with all the infrastructure to ensure guard duty and protection. Moreover, it is not the Russian Aerospace Forces who control it but the 12th Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense responsible for nuclear forces management nationwide.
In the satellite photo above, number 1 points to the warheads storage and maintenance site; it features highly secure buried reinforced concrete structures. Three such locations are visible in the image. The largest one is most likely the nuclear ammunition dump.
Number 2 marks a place that appears to be purposed for maintenance and/or preparation of warheads for use, or for their installation inside cruise missiles.
Meanwhile, the third site looks abandoned. In 2018, an overhaul construction began there, and they managed to build a dug-in concrete shelter. Best guess is that the works were aimed to rebuild storage premises, however, by the summer of 2019 the construction equipment was removed without completing the work.
RELATED INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Ukraine allies meet in Paris with new aid, security assurances in mind.
France pledged 2 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine as some 30 leaders met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris on Thursday to discuss strengthening Kyiv's position and what role they might play if a peace deal is struck with Russia, Reuters reports.
It was the third summit of what France and Britain have called the "coalition of the willing", reflecting concern among Europeans that the U.S. no longer represents a firm bulwark of support for Ukraine in its three-year-old fight against Russia.
Among those attending were the British, Polish and Italian prime ministers as well as the NATO secretary-general and Turkish vice president.
The gathering was taking place after Zelenskyy agreed earlier this month to proceed with ceasefire talks to ensure a resumption of U.S. aid and intelligence sharing.
U.S. President Donald Trump, in office since January 20, has said he wants to broker a swift end to the war. But a series of bilateral talks between the U.S. and the warring sides has yet to yield a significant change in hostilities.
Russia and Ukraine said on March 18 they agreed to cease strikes on each other's energy infrastructure but both sides have accused each other of flouting that limited truce.
"First and foremost (we will discuss) the immediate support for Ukraine. It must go on because it is necessary to continue the resistance," President Emmanuel Macron told reporters on Wednesday evening at a press conference with Zelenskyy.
Macron committed to a further 2 billion euros in French military support, including missiles, warplanes and air defence equipment. Zelenskyy said other partners could announce aid packages on Thursday.
The summit format aims to forge a role for Europe in any talks on ending the conflict. While the United States is not present, French officials say the outcome of the gathering will be shared with the U.S. administration.
Macron spoke with Trump ahead of the meeting, the French presidency said.
The discussions will focus on how to strengthen Ukraine militarily to deter future attacks, and how to monitor limited ceasefires over sea targets and energy infrastructure as discussed at U.S.-led talks this week in Saudi Arabia.
US will evaluate Russian demands for Black Sea ceasefire.
The United States will evaluate demands made by Russia after Moscow had agreed "in principle" to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Ukraine in the Black Sea to allow safe navigation, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday. Reuters reported on Mar 26.
The U.S. announced separate Black Sea agreements with Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday - following talks in Saudi Arabia - to ensure safe navigation, stop attacks, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes.
U.S. President Donald Trump - who took office on January 20 - has been pushing for an end to the war amid a rapid U.S. rapprochement with Moscow that has alarmed Kyiv and European allies.
"After our meeting (in Saudi Arabia) ... the Russians detailed a number of conditions that they want to see met in order to do that, so we're going to evaluate that," Rubio told reporters on Wednesday during a visit to Jamaica.
He said U.S. officials would work to "more fully understand what the Russian position is, or what they're asking in exchange, and then we'll present that to the President (Trump)" and make a decision about the next step.
Russia's demands are well-known. The conditions listed in a statement by the Kremlin on Tuesday - including the lifting of restrictions and sanctions on a major agricultural bank, exporters of food and fertilizer and on Russian vessels - largely mirror demands made by Moscow two years ago during talks to extend a Black Sea deal first agreed in July 2022.
The 2022 deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to allow the safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain. Under an accompanying three-year pact, the U.N. agreed to help facilitate Russia's food and fertilizer exports.
Russia quit the Black Sea deal in July 2023, complaining that demands related to its food and fertilizer exports had not been met. U.N. officials have continued to work with Russia to try and address its export concerns.
In a letter to the U.N. in March 2023, Russia said it wanted the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) reconnected to the SWIFT payments system. The bank was cut off from SWIFT by the European Union in June 2022.
Russia also said it wanted a resumption of supplies to Russia of agricultural machinery and spare parts; lifting restrictions on insurance and access to ports for Russian ships and cargo; and unblocking accounts and financial activities of Russian fertilizer companies.
While Russian exports of food and fertiliser are not subject to Western sanctions, Moscow has said restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have amounted to a barrier to shipments.
Rubio noted on Wednesday that Russia's demands involved the lifting of some EU sanctions. The European Commission said on Wednesday that the withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukraine would be one of the main conditions to lift or amend sanctions.
After U.S. and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia, the White House said in a statement on Tuesday that as part of a ceasefire deal it had agreed to "help restore Russia's access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions."
MILITARY & TECH
Russia preparing for new spring offensive in Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts, Zelenskyy says.
Russia is preparing for a new offensive in Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts this spring, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Le Figaro published on Mar 26.
"We must look at the situation with our eyes wide open. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is preparing a new offensive, particularly in Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts," Zelenskyy said.
"I can confirm that Putin is trying to get time and is preparing for a spring offensive. We see preparations for this upcoming operation," he added.
Zelenskyy added that Putin initially planned to launch this operation eight months ago but was forced to delay it due to the Ukrainian military's Kursk operation.
Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts, both located in northeastern Ukraine and bordering Russia, have played a key role in Ukraine's defense since the start of the full-scale invasion. Moscow launched a two-pronged offensive on Kharkiv Oblast last May. By June 8, Zelenskyy declared that Russia had "failed" in its offensive.
In August 2024, Ukrainian forces crossed the border into Kursk Oblast, seizing 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of Russian territory.
In early March, Russian troops, reinforced by North Korean units, launched a counteroffensive and recaptured significant ground, which Zelensky's administration had hoped to use as leverage in negotiations.
On March 15, Zelenskyy had already warned of Russian forces amassing along Ukraine's northeastern border.
"We understand this and will take countermeasures," he wrote on Telegram.
That’s it for today’s Brief folks if you would like to keep up with events in Ukraine daily please consider subscribing, it’s free!
Thanks Grumpy. Europe has said no Russian sanctions relief until Russia leaves Ukraine. Russia has developed a bad case of Vietnam and Afghanistan quagmires. The killing of innocent civilians will only harden Ukrainian resolve to recapture all of Ukraine pre-1991.
I wonder why SK hasn’t done more to help Ukraine.