UKRAINE WAR BRIEF DAILY DRAFT
For: 2024-03-17
Slava Ukraini! Since June 2023 I have provided a daily draft for the Ukraine War Brief Podcast collecting news from over 40 sources daily much of which ends up in the script. I will make this Draft available here for those who wish to keep up with events on a daily basis.
INSIDE UKRAINE
ALONG THE CONTACT LINE
GSAFU Morning Report
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in its situation update at 06:00 on Mar. 17 stated that it was day 753 of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
During the past day, 58 combat engagements took place. Over the past 24 hours, the enemy carried out 6 missile strikes, 62 air strikes, and 125 MLRS attacks across the positions of our troops and settlements. As a result of the Russian attacks, unfortunately, there are dead and wounded among the civilian population. Destruction and damage to residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure.
At the same time, Ukrainian soldiers continue to inflict losses in manpower and equipment on the occupying troops, exhausting the enemy along the entire front line.
Ukrainian missile forces struck 1 control point, 2 personnel focus areas and 1 enemy air defense device.
Air Force Daily Report
The Ukrainian Air Force in its situation update at 06:00 stated that during the previous day it struck 4 areas of concentration, weapons and enemy military equipment.
Ukrainian air defense destroyed 14 of 16 Shahed drones over Odesa Oblast on the night of Mar. 17. Anti-aircraft missile units of the Air Force and Ground Forces, mobile fire groups of the Defense Forces of Ukraine were involved in repelling the air attack.
The Khortytsia operational-strategic group
(Responsible for the Kup’yans’k, Lyman, and Bakhmut axes, in the northeastern part of Ukraine. )
Kup’yans’k axis: The enemy did not conduct any offensive (assault) operations in this area. Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to hold their positions.
Lyman axis: Ukrainian defenders repelled 1 attack near Bilhorivka (Luhansk oblast)
Bakhmut axis: Ukrainian forces repelled 5 attacks near Ivanivske, Klishchiivka and east of Chasiv Yar (Donetsk oblast)
Bakhmut Front — Courtesy DeepStateMAP
The Tavria operational-strategic group
(Responsible for the Avdiivka, Novopavlivka, and Orikhiv axes, in the central-eastern and southeastern part of Ukraine.)
Avdiivka axis: Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 11 enemy attacks near Berdychi, Tonen’ke, Pervomais’ke and Nevel’s’ke (Donetsk oblast).
Novopavlivka axis: Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to hold back the enemy in the vicinities of Krasnohorivka, Heorhiivka and Novomykhailivka (Donetsk oblast). The enemy, supported by aviation, made 28 attempts to break through the defense of Ukrainian troops in that area.
Orikhiv axis: Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 4 attacks near Robotyne and northwest of Verbove (Zaporizhzhia oblast).
The Odesa operational-strategic group
(Responsible for Kherson, Qırım, (also known as Crimea) and the Black Sea.)
Kherson axis: Ukrainian defenders continue to maintain their positions. Over the past day, the enemy carried out 2 unsuccessful assaults on the positions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces on the left bank of the Dnipro River.
TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Russian defence minister visits occupied Qirim
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has reportedly visited occupied Qirim, where he received reports from the Black Sea Fleet command and offered advice on how to defend against Ukrainian attacks, Russian propaganda outlets report.
Shoigu made it a priority "both in the daytime and at night to conduct constant training to repel enemy terrorist attacks" as well as "to increase the survivability of ships and vessels, and the security of infrastructure in the zone of responsibility of the fleet."
Kind of a Jean-Luc Picard “Make it so” statement if you ask me, long on the do this side with not much on the how.
THE HOME FRONT
Russia attacks Odesa with drones again
On the night of 17 March, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with 16 Shahed-136/131 kamikaze UAVs launched from Cape Chauda in occupied Crimea.
Ukrainian air defense destroyed 14 drones over Odesa Oblast, as reported by Ukraine’s Air Force.
The remaining two drones attacked Odesa Oblast, damaging agricultural enterprises, Oleh Kiper, head of Odesa Oblast Military Administration, reported.
Russia seeks to incite protests among Ukrainian POWs’ relatives
Russian actors are encouraging relatives of Ukrainian POWs to protest, claiming that the Ukrainian leadership is blocking their return.
Since the first days of the full-scale invasion, Russian forces have been consistently attempting to spread disinformation on social media, particularly through Telegram channels, aiming to sow panic among Ukrainians and foster destabilisation within the country.
One of these attempts has been to exploit the relatives of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) to incite domestic discontent in Ukraine, likely as part of the wider “Maidan-3” Russian information campaign
Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated on 16 March that unspecified Russian actors are contacting relatives of Ukrainian POWs, claiming that Russia is ready to return the POWs but that the Ukrainian leadership is preventing this. The relatives are reportedly encouraged to protest about this issue. Lubinets emphasised that Ukraine has never halted POW exchanges.
Ukraine's interior minister calls for review of emergency response approaches following Odesa attack
During a visit to Odesa, Ihor Klymenko, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, instructed his ministry to review, and where necessary amend, the emergency services’ approach to emergency response, taking the situation on the ground into account.
"I held a meeting in Odesa with the heads of the State Emergency Service and National Police and the local representatives of the National Guard and the State Border Guard Service. We discussed the attacks on Ukraine. Over the course of the past 24 hours alone, enemy forces have carried out 400 attacks on 10 of Ukraine’s oblasts.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs’ emergency services are fully ready to respond to emergency situations. I have also instructed [the ministry] to undertake a careful analysis of the existing instructions and, where necessary, to amend the approach [to emergency response], taking the operational situation into account."
— Ihor Klymenko, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
"We can clearly see that the enemy forces targeted civilian infrastructure. When [emergency] service workers arrived to deal with the aftermath and assist injured civilians, the Russians deviously deployed another missile to carry out a second strike on the same area. This resulted in casualties among civilians, State Emergency Service workers, doctors, and National Police officers," Klymenko said.
Grumpy Here — Klymenko’s call for a review of response procedures to these incidents considering Russia continues to employ terrorist tactics to purposefully target emergency workers is perfectly reasonable. It also goes against everything the fire service stands for.
Ukraine must balance its need to promptly render emergency services to the population against the increased risk to its emergency responders.
Replacement firefighters can be hired, a task not so easy to accomplish in a time of war when mobilisation is the first priority. Firefighters take a long time and great expense to train. Firefighting apparatus, equipment and protective clothing can be purchased. However, that is a very competitive field and much of that equipment may not be readily available. In any event this would not be an easy decision to make.
Russian sabotage groups made 2 attempts to enter Ukraine on Mar. 16
Two Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups made attempts to enter Sumy Oblast, Ukraine, on Saturday, 16 March, but were stopped by Ukraine's Defence Forces the GSAFU reported.
The firefights took place near the villages of Stara Huta and Brusky (Sumy Oblast).
RUSSIAN WORLD
Long-range Ukrainian drones target Russian fuel depots and airfields
Euromaidan in their Frontline Report stated that on Mar. 12 Ukraine launched massive drone strikes across Russia, striking oil refineries, fuel depots, airfields, and security sites inside Russia to degrade its war capabilities.
This was also the deepest strike that Ukrainians have ever conducted, as Ukrainian drones successfully destroyed targets up to 900 kilometers away from the Ukrainian border.
This achievement was a direct result of the recent advancements in long-range drone technologies, as well as the rapidly increased scale of production of these drones, as part of one of the main Ukrainian goals for 2024
The attacks continued through the week:
On 13 March, drones hit an oil refinery in Ryazan.
On 15 March, suicide drones attacked an oil refinery in Russia’s Kaluga oblast.
On 16 March, drones hit three oil refineries in Russia’s Samara Oblast.
In total, Ukrainian forces used up to 85 drones of various types to strike at least ten military and energy infrastructure targets.
"Many saw in the last few weeks that the Russian war machine has vulnerabilities and that our weapons can reach those targets. I am grateful to Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Defence Intelligence for the newly long range of Ukrainian weapons. Of course I am also grateful to our defence industry, to everyone working to make Ukraine stronger, because this long range was really made possible by and in Ukraine, this is what our Ukrainian-made drones can do. From now on, Ukraine will always have its own attack force in the sky."
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine
Russia’s Krasnodar Krai oil refinery set on fire following nighttime drone attack
In the early hours of 17 March, drones struck the Slavyansk oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai. Social media videos showed the refinery ablaze. Euromaidan reported.
In the past three months, Ukraine has intensified its drone attacks against the Russian oil industry. Over the past week, Ukraine has targeted several Russian oil facilities with drone attacks, aiming to hit the core of Russia’s economy over two years into Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russian sources confirmed the drone attack but claimed the drones were “neutralized,” although the footage showed drone strikes. “At around three in the morning, several UAVs attempted to attack the Slavyansk Oil Refinery. The drones were neutralized, but the fall of one of the devices caused a fire,” Krasnodar Krai officials stated.
As our dear leader would say: Awww Sad!
WORLD NEWS
Canada reiterates that occupied Crimea remains Ukraine's territory
On the 10th anniversary of the Russian pseudo-referendum that aimed to "legalise" the occupation of Crimea, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated that his government has not and will not recognise the annexation of the peninsula.
Trudeau stressed that Russia's hybrid invasion of the peninsula was more than an aggression against Ukraine, as the Kremlin had called into question the international legal order by these actions. He also reiterated that after the occupation, mass repressions against all disloyal people, including Crimean Tatars, began on the peninsula.
"Today is a reminder that Russia’s war against Ukraine did not start on February 24, 2022 – it started a decade ago. As Putin still tries to redraw the map as he pleases, we remain unequivocally clear: Ukraine’s territory will remain Ukraine’s, and we will stand with Ukrainians for as long as it takes,"
Justin Trudeau — Prime Minister of Canada
He concluded his statement with the slogan "Slava Ukraini".
Macron: Disagreement with Scholz on Ukraine is about style, not policy
French President Emmanuel Macron has stated, in an interview with Le Parisien that there is no conflict between him and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, despite recent disagreements over their views on the situation with Russia's war against Ukraine.
"I have never had any problems with the chancellor. We have a lot in common in terms of goals and situation. The only difference is in the way they are implemented, because the strategic cultures of our countries are different," Macron said.
"I wanted to come to Germany very quickly so that there would be no discussions about alleged strategic disagreements: there are none," he said.
At the same time, Macron continues to insist that foreign troops may be needed.
"Perhaps at some point – I do not wish for this, I will not initiate it – it will be necessary to conduct operations on the ground, whatever they may be, to counter Russian forces. France's strength allows us to do so," the French president added.
MILITARY & TECH
Ukrainian MiG-29 Spotted with French AASM Hammer Guided Bomb
A photo of a MiG-29 fighter aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force with a suspended AASM Hammer-250 guided aircraft bomb, on the pylon under the left wing, has appeared in open access. Defense Express reports.
This is the first photo of a MiG-29 in service with the Ukrainian Air Force with a French guided bomb, taken during the aircraft's flight.
Interestingly, the aircraft, in addition to the guided bomb, also carries a suspended fuel tank; there is no other payload there.
Additionally, it was also reported that Su-24M aircraft in service with the Ukrainian Air Force were also modernised to carry French Hammer aerial bombs.
As we previously reported the AASM Hammer-250 guided aircraft bomb is rocket assisted making it essentially a precision air launched cruise missile with a longer range than conventional guided bombs.
That’s it for today’s Draft folks if you would like to keep up with events in Ukraine daily please consider subscribing, its free!
Feel free to share this update with your friends. Heroyam Slava!