UKRAINE WAR BRIEF DAILY DRAFT
For: 2024-03-11
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. 11 stated that it was day 747 of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
During the past day, 64 combat engagements took place. Over the past 24 hours, the enemy carried out 4 missile strikes, 88 air strikes, and 96 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 2 concentrations of troops, weapons, and military equipment, 1 ammunition depot, 2 electronic warfare stations, and 2 air defense systems of the russian invaders.
Air Force Daily Report
The Ukrainian Air Force in its situation update at 06:00 on Mar. 11 stated that during the previous day it launched air strikes on 10 concentrations of troops, weapons and military equipment, and 1 anti-aircraft missile system of the adversary.
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 8 attacks near Terny, Yampolivka, Spirne and Rozdolivka (Donetsk oblast) plus Bilhorivka (Luhansk oblast)
Bakhmut axis: Ukrainian forces repelled 5 attacks near Klishchiivka, Andriivka and east of Chasiv Yar (Donetsk oblast)
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 17 enemy attacks near Berdychi, Orlivka, 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, Novomvahkilivka and Urozhaine (Donetsk oblast) Over the last day, the enemy supported by aviation, made 25 attempts to break through the defences of Ukrainian troops.
Orikhiv axis: Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 3 attacks northwest of Verbove and south of Novodarivka (Zaporizhzhia oblast).
Ukrainian forces destroy Russian Pantsir anti-air missile system on Tavriia front
Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of the Operative Strategic Group Tavriia stated that on Mar. 10 Defence Forces of Ukraine struck a self-propelled and anti-aircraft missile system Pantsir-S1 and a self-propelled artillery system on the Tavriia front.
"Among destroyed and damaged Russian equipment there is a self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system Pantsir-S, a self-propelled artillery system Giatsint, a BM-21 multiple-launch rocket system, and two Murom-M video surveillance systems."
— Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Operative Strategic Group Tavriia
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 3 unsuccessful assaults on the positions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces on the left bank of the Dnipro River.
TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Russians in Qirim call on teenagers to join militaristic organisations
Ukraine’s National Resistance Center has stated that the Russians in temporarily occupied Qirim have been calling on teenagers to join the so-called Yunarmiya (the All-Russia Young Army National Military Patriotic Social Movement Association).
The NRC added that the Russians are conducting campaigns in sports sections and educational institutions promising participants of such organisations advantages in the admission campaign.
"However, last year alone, about 100 members of the Youth Army went to fight as part of the Russian Armed Forces against Ukraine, and not all of them returned home; some also went to study at military universities."
THE HOME FRONT
Russian Shaheds attack Kharkiv, Odesa as Ukraine downs 15/25 UAVs
Ukraine’s defense forces shot down 15 of the 25 Shahed drones used by Russia to attack Ukraine overnight, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army reported in its morning bulletin.
Oleh Syniehubov, Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, reported that at 01:00 AM, Kharkiv was attacked by Shahed drones, damaging two apartment buildings, a hotel, an infrastructure facility, a municipal building, and two private cars, with no casualties.
The Ukraine South Defense Forces reported a renewed night-time drone attack in Odesa region, delayed by the Russians to the latter half of the night. The defense units engaged in combat for one and a half hours, successfully intercepting 10 barrage the Shahed-131/136 suicide drones. Some infrastructure was reportedly hit in the Odesa district, with administrative buildings damaged, and a fire swiftly extinguished, causing no casualties. The shockwave shattered windows in private one-family homes around the area and caused minor damage to outbuildings.
RUSSIAN WORLD
Kremlin reportedly fires Russian Navy Chief
Following its ignominious defeat in the Black Sea (by a nation that does not possess a navy) Russia has reportedly fired Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy
Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, has been dismissed, and Admiral Alexander Moiseev will replace him,” Russian propaganda outlet Izvestia reported.
Yevmenov had been in command of the Russian Navy since May 3, 2019. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he was included in the sanctions list of the EU and other Western countries.
The Kremlin declined on Monday to comment on a media report which said that Nikolai Yevmenov, the head of the Russian Navy, had been axed.
Large fire breaks out near St Petersburg, airport closed
The Pulkovo Airport in St Petersburg, Russia, was closed on Sunday, 10 March, after a hangar caught fire, which spread over a total area of 1,000 square metres. Local authorities claimed that a drone was shot down in the area. Russian propaganda outlets report.
Local authorities said that a hangar situated along the Volkhonskoye Highway in Leningrad Oblast was on fire; reports suggest that the fire spread over the area of 1,000 square metres. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said that two people sustained injuries in the fire.
The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency said that a number of restrictions were put in place at the Pulkovo Airport at 17:00 in order to ensure the safety of civilian aircraft. The fire was later contained and the restrictions at Pulkovo lifted.
Baza reported that restrictions at the airport were introduced because of an attempted drone attack on a St Petersburg production facility.
WORLD NEWS
“We must speak Russia’s language of power balance”, says French FM
In an interview with La Tribune du dimanche, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné stated that France must speak to Russia in its own language, that of the “balance of power,” and not set limitations on how it supports Ukraine as Moscow becomes increasingly aggressive.
“We need to speak the same language as Russia, that of the balance of power. We are very naive to think that we should set our own prohibitions, while it is Russia that violates international law. History has shown us that when countries allow an imperialist nation that considers itself to have no borders to dictate their foreign policy, we risk a global conflagration,” Séjourné asserted.
The minister believes that standing up to Russia means protecting the French people and preserving peace, which he considers to be true patriotism.
Séjourné emphasized that all Europeans and all of Ukraine’s allies agree on the necessity to do more and do better for Ukraine.
“History gives us some examples of the impasse of strategies of retreat and weakness. Those who, in May 1939, did not want to die for Danzig only stimulated Hitler. While I think that History doesn’t repeat itself, we must not repeat the mistakes of History,” he cautioned.
“Obviously, no one wants us to go to war against Russia and the Russian people, and it is also by supporting Ukraine, as we are doing today, that we can best protect the French against this risk,” Séjourné concluded.
“NATO troops already in Ukraine”, Polish FM reveals
During a conference in the Polish parliament marking 25 years of Poland’s NATO membership, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that NATO troops are already in Ukraine.
“Soldiers from NATO countries are already present in Ukraine. I would like to thank the countries that are taking this risk. They know who they are,” Sikorski stated, commenting on French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent remarks about the possibility of sending Western troops to aid Ukraine.
However, the Polish minister refused to specify which NATO member nations he was referring to. “Unlike other European politicians, I will not say this,” he emphasized.
On 26 February, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine “cannot be ruled out,” later clarifying that his words were carefully considered.
Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski stated that French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to deploy Western troops on Ukrainian soil could be useful as a way to influence Russia’s actions in the ongoing war.
He argued that the West should leverage its “ability to engage in creatively defined and asymmetric escalation” to gain an advantage in the war.
Stoltenberg on Pope’s remarks: Capitulation is not peace
NATO rejects Pope Francis’ call for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, while Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is against Ukraine’s “capitulation,” the German news site NTV reports.
“Capitulation is not peace,” said Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, without mentioning Pope Francis by name.
“President Putin started this war and he could end it today. Ukraine, on the other hand, does not have this option.”
The NATO Secretary General called on all allies to continue to support Ukraine militarily.
Zelenskyy rebukes Pope’s “white flag” remark
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to Pope Francis’ suggestion that Ukraine should raise the “white flag” and negotiate an end to Russia’s invasion.
The Pope’s remarks have sparked widespread condemnation from Ukraine and its allies, with many interpreting them as a call for Ukraine to surrender.
“Russian murderers and torturers are stopped from advancing into Europe only because Ukrainians with weapons are holding them back under the blue and yellow flag,” Zelenskyy stated. “In Ukraine, once-white walls of houses and churches now lie scorched and ruined by Russian shells, showing eloquently who must stop for this war to end.”
Pope Francis has faced intense criticism over his comments, suggesting that Ukraine should have what he called the courage of the “white flag” to negotiate an end to the war with Russia. The head of the Catholic Church made the remarks in an interview recorded last month with Swiss broadcaster RSI, but partially released on Saturday.
Ukraine’s Ambassador to the Vatican, Andriy Yurash, will meet with Pope Francis in the near future to convey several “fundamental points for Ukraine,” Yurash told Radio Svoboda.
“Appeals should be directed not at Ukraine, but at Russia. Ukraine is the victim. Ukraine cannot under any circumstances accept the model of raising the white flag – because it is a matter of life and death,” said Yurash.
German politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chair of the German parliament’s defense committee, expressed her shame as a Catholic.
“Before the Ukrainian victims raise the white flag, the Pope should loudly and unmistakably call on the brutal Russian perpetrators to take down their pirate flag — the symbol of death and Satan,” said Strack-Zimmermann.
Czech President: NATO support troops in Ukraine not against international rules.
Czech President Petr Pavel indicated in a March 8 interview with Czech Television that NATO troops could engage in support activities directly on Ukrainian soil without breaching international regulations, according to Euroactiv. His comments followed a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, who had recently raised the prospect of deploying Western troops to Ukraine.
Pavel, the former head of NATO’s Military Committee, emphasized the need for a clear distinction between deploying combat troops and potentially engaging troops in certain “support” activities, highlighting NATO’s existing experience in this regard.
It should be remembered that after the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of part of Donbas, which was essentially an aggression, albeit on a much smaller scale than today, a NATO training mission was operating on Ukrainian territory, which at one time included more than 15 countries and numbered around 1,000 people. From the point of view of international law and the UN Charter, there would be nothing to prevent NATO member states’ troops – as well as civilians, for example – from assisting in the work in Ukraine,”
— Petr Pavel, Czech President
When asked about his stance on NATO troops directly supporting Ukraine on its territory, Pavel did not dismiss the idea. He suggested that instead of training Ukrainian soldiers in NATO member states and transporting troops to places like Poland or the Czech Republic, it might be more practical to send a few dozen instructors to Ukraine for training.
Pavel argues that Western allies should bravely defend their actions legally, asserting that training and equipment maintenance in a sovereign country do not constitute combat.
20 Days in Mariupol wins Oscar for best Documentary
Director Mstyslav Chernov won the Oscar for best feature length documentary for his film 20 Days in Mariupol. On hand to collect the award were also photojournalist Yevhen Malolietka and journalist Vasylisa Stepanenko. Yahoo.ca reported
The whole crew chose black outfits for the ceremony. Chernov's outfit was made more interesting by the symbolic lining of his jacket. The suit was specially made for the director by Indposhiv. The inside was coloured a deep blue, with the Ukrainian word for "freedom" written on it in yellow letters.
Our Dear Leader Yewleea has a fascinating interview with Chrenov available on our sister podcast The Press Lounge which you can find here
MILITARY & TECH
Ukraine could deploy F-16s as soon as July, but only a few
The New York Times on Mar 11 reported that Countries promised the fighter jets last year, but delivering them and training pilots have proved complex. Ukraine may initially start with as few as six, out of about 45 pledged.
The jets are ready, and the flight instructors are waiting, at a new training center in Romania that was created to teach Ukraine’s pilots to fly the F-16 warplane. But there’s a catch: The Ukrainian pilots have yet to arrive, despite declarations last summer that the center would play a crucial role in getting them into the air to defend their country from increasingly deadly Russian strikes.
It’s still unclear when Ukrainian pilots will begin training at the center, at the Fetesti air base in southeast Romania, which NATO allies also are using to get schooled on the fighter jets. But the delay is a window into the confusion and chaos that has confronted the military alliance’s rush to supply the F-16s.
That is not to say that Ukraine’s pilots are not being prepared. Twelve pilots so far — fewer than a full squadron — are expected to be ready to fly F-16s in combat by this summer after 10 months of training in Denmark, Britain and the United States.
But by the time the pilots return to Ukraine, as few as six F-16s will have been delivered out of about 45 of the fighter jets that European allies have promised.
Nevertheless, their highly anticipated arrival over the battlefield will come not a moment too soon. Russia has employed more aggressive air support to gain ground in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, using its warplanes to send guided glide bombs over long distances into the Ukrainian front lines.
New Russian UMPB Extended-Range Bomb deployed in Ukraine.
Photographs surfaced on March 8th, 2024, indicate russian invasion forces had used previously unseen ordnance with the "UMPB" marking inscribed on its hull. The weapon was made out of a FAB-250 free-falling bomb. Defense Express reported.
Preliminary analysis of the wreckage tells that UMPB is a type of air-launched weapon that has a bomb integrated into the guidance-and-glide kit, with inertial and satellite navigation systems, ailerons, and actuators at its aft end.
The most interesting part is that the source, war_home Telegram blog, suggests a jet engine and fuel tank were inside the weapon as well. This basically makes UMPB a simple cruise missile analog.
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