Russo-Ukrainian War. Day 385: US drone brought down by Russian aircraft over Black Sea

Defense
eRm
March 15, 2023
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US drone brought down by Russian aircraft over Black Sea. Russians hit the center of Kramatorsk, damaging six high-rise buildings: at least one civilian killed, and three injured. Lithuania declares Russia’s Wagner a terrorist organization.

Ukrainian defender Oleksandr says goodbye to his wife and daughter at the train station after they came to visit him for several days in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast (30 km from Bakhmut)

📷by Daniel Berehulak pic.twitter.com/QRkqanVK74

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 15, 2023

Daily overview — Summary report, March 15

A map of the approximate situation on the ground in Ukraine as of 00:00 UTC 15/03/23. pic.twitter.com/KwIUSTHgjh

— War Mapper (@War_Mapper) March 15, 2023

The General Staff’s operational update regarding the Russian invasion as of 18.00 pm, March 14, 2023 is in the dropdown menu below:

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Day 385 of the full-scale russian military aggression has begun.

During the day, the enemy carried out 40x air strikes, 12x missile strikes and launched more than 100x attacks from MLRS. One of the rocket strikes hit the city of Kramatorsk – a three-story residential building was damaged, there were dead and wounded among the local population. Another missile attack took place in the city of Zatoka, Odesa Oblast – one of the buildings of the “Zolota Rybka” children’s educational institution was damaged by the fragments of the missile. There were no victims or losses among the local population. The enemy also launched a missile attack on a civil infrastructure object in the settlement of Ivanivka, Kherson Oblast. There are casualties among the local population and at least one private house has been damaged.

The probability of further missile strikes throughout the territory of Ukraine remains quite high.

The enemy’s main goal during the past day, as before, remained attempts to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. To do this, they concentrated efforts on conducting offensive actions on the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Mar’yinka, and Shakhtars’k axes. Thanks to professional and coordinated actions, our defenders repelled more than 90x enemy attacks in the indicated directions.

Kharkiv Battle Map. March 14, 2023. Situation in Ukraine. March 14, 2023. Source: ISW.

Volyn’, Polissya, Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna axes: the operational situation has not changed significantly. The enemy maintains a military presence near the state border of Ukraine, but the formation of offensive groups has not been detected. At the same time, the enemy continued to engineer terrain in the border areas of Bryansk and Kursk Oblasts. During the past day, the enemy shelled the districts of Arkhipivka, Mykhalchyna Sloboda, Kolos and Yeliny in Chernihiv Oblast; 9x settlements of Sumy Oblast: Ukrainy, Znob-Novgorod, Seredyna-Buda, Romashkov, Bachivsk, Starykov, Volfine, Grabovske and Porozok, as well as 15x settlements of Kharkiv Oblast. Among them are Gur’iv Kozachok, Kozacha Lopan, Graniv, Hlyboke, Krasne and Bologhivka.

Kupyansk and Lyman axes: the enemy maintains its military presence in the border areas with Ukraine, in order to prevent our units from being transferred to other directions. Also, during the previous day, the enemy unsuccessfully tried to break through the defense of our troops. The occupiers carried out artillery shelling of 4x settlements along the line of combat in the Kharkiv Oblast (Dvorichna, Hryanikyvka, Masyutivka and Krokhmalne); 7x settlements of Luhansk Oblast: Novoselivske, Makiivka, Nevske, Dibrova, Bilogorivka, Zolotarivka and Chervopopivka. Spirne and Fedorivka in Donetsk Oblast also suffered under the influence of fire.

Donetsk Battle Map. March 14, 2023. Situation in Ukraine. March 14, 2023. Source: ISW.

Bakhmut axis: the enemy does not stop trying to capture the city of Bakhmut, where constant positional battles continue. At the same time, our defenders repelled enemy attacks in the areas of Yagidne, Khromov and Orikhovo-Vasylivka settlements. 15x settlements of the Donetsk Oblast near the contact line were under enemy shelling. Among them are Nikiforivka, Vasyukivka, Minkivka, Dubovo-Vasylivka, Bakhmut, Ivanovske and Kostyantynivka.

Avdiivka, Mar’yinka, and Shakhtars’k axes: the enemy carried out unsuccessful offensive actions in the direction of the settlements of Kam’ianka, Nevelske, Novokalynove, Severne, Pervomaiske, Novomykhailivka, Pobyeda, and Vodyane of the Donetsk Oblast. Areas of 16x settlements of Donetsk Oblast were hit by enemy shelling: Berdychi, Kam’ianka, Avdiivka, Vodyane, Netaylove, Krasnohorivka, Nevelske, Mar’yinka, Georgiivka, Vugledar, Paraskoviivka, Ocheretine, Orlivka, Pobyeda, Prechistivka, and Neskuchne.

Zaporizhzhia Battle Map. March 14, 2023. Situation in Ukraine. March 14, 2023. Source: ISW.

Zaporizhzhia and Kherson axes: the enemy conducted defensive operations. 17x settlements of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, near which hostilities are taking place, were shelled. In particular, Olhivske, Gulyaipole, Biloghirya, Mala Tokmachka, Novodanilivka and Stepnohirsk. Primyske of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast was also affected by the fire; Ochakiv – Mykolaiv Oblast, as well as 20x settlements of Kherson Oblast. Among them are Zolota Balka, Mykhailivka, Kachkarivka, Vesele, Ivanivka, Mykilske, Antonivka, Zelenivka, Dniprovske and Kherson.

Kherson-Mykolaiv Battle Map. March 14, 2023. Situation in Ukraine. March 14, 2023. Source: ISW.

In Horlivka, which is located on the territory of the temporarily occupied Donetsk Oblast, about 90c servicemen of the russian army, who are being treated in medical institutions of the city, will soon be sent to the city of Urzuf to undergo a medical examination to determine their suitability for further military service. At the same time, the occupiers in Horlivka received an order to conduct another wave of mobilization in the city to replenish the manpower of the units, which are temporarily withdrawn from the combat zone due to the loss of combat capability.

It is planned to mobilize about 500x people from those categories who previously received delay for reasons of limited or complete unfitness for military service.

During the day, the Air Force made 9x strikes on the areas where the occupiers were concentrated, 3x strikes on the enemy’s SAM deployment sites, and 3x strikes on other important objects of the occupiers.

Units of missile and artillery forces hit 3x areas of concentration of enemy personnel, 3x control points of units of the russian army and a position of enemy air defense.

Military Updates

Shelling by Russian Troops. Icelandic Data Analyst.

Ukraine establishing “naval coalition” as UK, Netherlands join it – Ukrainian Defense Minister. Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov says that Ukraine will develop its fleet, and currently, three countries have joined the naval coalition: Ukraine, Great Britain, and the Netherlands. Reznikov stated this at a meeting with the head of the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands. The meeting with the Minister of Defense of the Netherlands, Kaisa Ollongren is taking place in the south of Ukraine.

Poland may send Ukraine Soviet-era MiG-29 jets within 4-6 weeks, PM says – Bloomberg. Poland may deliver Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in the coming weeks, a move that would cross a threshold among NATO member states cautious about sending air power, Bloomberg reports. “This might happen within the next four to six weeks,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters on 14 March, not elaborating on other details, including the size of a contingent.

According to British Defence Intelligence, (last 48 hours):

The illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is continuing.

The map below is the latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 15 March 2023.

Find out more about Defence Intelligence: https://t.co/qi9pyI0NXr

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/Q4hSEeJWcO

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) March 15, 2023

Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian public officials and workers have been subject to increasingly severe foreign travel restrictions. Some officials have likely had to forfeit their passports to the Federal Security Service. Employees closer to the centre of power face more severe restrictions; Kremlin officials are banned from all international leisure travel.

This is a widening of existing measures which date from the Soviet era. Travel restrictions were tightened after the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014.

The measures are likely designed to prevent the flight or defection of increasingly disaffected officials. There is a realistic possibility that as the securitisation of the Russian state continues, travel restrictions will be tightened for an increasing number of public sector employees.

Losses of the Russian army

Losses of Russian Army. Source General Staff of Ukraine. Source: Euromaidan Press.

Humanitarian

Singer, volunteer for Ukraine’s army & his music band Khoreya Kozatska win most prestigious national Shevchenko Award for Songs of the Ukrainian Revolution album

“Moscow’s big lie & dirty methods in 1917–1921 are similar to 2022,” Taras Kompanichenko says https://t.co/60FjlzwpBl pic.twitter.com/mMjl3mV8zw

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 15, 2023

Singer serving in Ukraine’s army wins Shevchenko National Prize for Ukrainian Revolution Songs album. Taras Kompanichenko and members of his Khoreya music band Kozatska Maksym Berezhniuk, Severyn Danyleyko, Yaroslav Krysko, and Serhiy Okhrimchuk received the Ukrainian national annual award Shevchenko Prize — for the audio album titled “Songs of the Ukrainian Revolution.” The Shevchenko National Prize is Ukraine’s most prestigious state award for achievements in culture and arts, named after Taras Shevchenko, a prominent 19th-century poet and painter. It has been awarded annually since 1961.

95% of Kyiv high school students feel proud of their country

Acc to survey by Kyiv City Adm, comp to 2021, this indicator doubled & is highest since 2014

86% noted that majority of their environment communicates in Ukrainian. 22% of rspondents are IDPs https://t.co/ps2KOZbD0T pic.twitter.com/V26uM8qzMA

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 15, 2023

95% of Kyiv high school students feel proud of their country – poll. 95% of Kyiv high school students feel proud of their country, according to the regular survey of schoolchildren in grades 8-11 regarding the language environment conducted by Kyiv City Administration. Compared to 2021, this indicator has doubled and is the highest since 2014. 86% of students noted that the majority of their environment communicates in Ukrainian. 69% of teenagers consider the concept of “patriotism” to work for the well-being of their country. Half of the respondents emphasize that communication in the state language is an important component. 76% of students believe that Ukrainian should be the only state language.

“Ukrainians demonstrate to the whole world what it means to be a volunteer. In heroic battles on front. In 24-h volunteer work. Help in rear. Enemy wants to break us, but the nation of volunteers is invincible,”🇺🇦Comm-in-Chief on Day of Ukrainian Volunteer https://t.co/k1KLc7gm8F pic.twitter.com/bXHfA357Mv

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 14, 2023

“The nation of volunteers is invincible,” Ukraine Comm-in-Chief says on Day of Ukrainian Volunteer. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi hightlighted the role of volunteers in the liberation war against the Russian invaders on the Day of the Ukrainian Volunteer “Dedication. Determination. And a sincere desire to protect the Motherland. Every day. Every second. Ukrainians demonstrate to the whole world what it means to be a volunteer. First of all, in heroic battles on the front lines. In 24-hour volunteer work. Help in the rear. At the call of the heart, for the sake of victory. The enemy wants to break us, but the nation of volunteers is invincible. Today, more than ever, we are all united and fighting for our independence,” Zaluzhnyi wrote.

Russians hit center of Kramatorsk, damaging 6 high-rise buildings: at least 1 civilian killed, 3 injured. In the morning, Russian invaders launched a missile attack on the center of the city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast. As a result, one person was killed, Head of Donetsk Administration Pavlo Kyrylenko reported.

Legal

Ukraine accused 2 Russian soldiers of sexually assaulting 4yo girl & gang raping her mother at gunpoint, acc to🇺🇦prosecution files seen by Reuters

The father was beaten w/ metal pot then forced to kneel to watch. The soldiers aged 32 and 28 returned to🇷🇺 https://t.co/7VhEmqSqbZ pic.twitter.com/zCzmDwjbDC

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 14, 2023

Ukraine accuses Russian snipers of sexually assaulting 4-year-old girl, gang raping mother – Reuters. Ukraine has accused two Russian soldiers of sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl and gang raping her mother at gunpoint in front of her father, as part of widespread allegations of abuse during the more than one-year-long war, Reuters reports. According to Ukrainian prosecution files seen by Reuters, the incidents were among a spree of sex crimes Russian soldiers of the 15th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade committed in four homes of Brovary district near the capital Kyiv in March 2022.

Iceland PM and FM arrived in Ukraine to discuss Council of Europe summit that will be focused on🇺🇦issues

Jakobsdóttir noted it is very important for🇮🇸to meet w/ Zelenskyy on the eve of the summit in May

There have been only three such summits in history https://t.co/OVvc0lX602 pic.twitter.com/zwWy112MdU

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 14, 2023

Ukraine President and Iceland PM discussed Russia compensation mechanism and efforts to bring Russia to justice. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a meeting with Prime Minister of Iceland Katrín Jakobsdóttir.