Victory Chronicles
-DAY 385

KEY TAKEAWAYS TODAY

Above: The enemy’s federal security service arrested a woman charged with treason in Khabarovsk, Russia, for donating 2500 rubles – about $33 – to a Ukrainian charitable organization.  Khabarovsk is traditional Chinese land located in a far southeastern corner of Russia’s imperial conquests. (Moscow Times)

Above: View of the towers of Kyiv Pecherska Lavra from the Dnipro River.  The cave monastery was founded in 11th century Kyivian-Rus. To the south, the russo-soviets built an outdoor museum for- what else – soviet greatness in WWII.  It is said that the soviets purposefully built the titan lady higher than the highest Lavra church spire to demonstrate man’s domination over religion. 

After the fall of the soviet union, the Russian Orthodox church was quick to grab as much church territory in Ukraine as possible.  They have been bunkered in the Lavra until this year as the Ukrainian government slowly ejects them due to their obvious intelligence and propaganda work carried out for Moscow.  The last of them have been given notice to vacate by March 29.  

Above: Google Maps plotting of places where the invader is expending a lot of scarce resources to build defensive fortifications. (Russian Fortifications)

Above: Ministry of Defence

• A year ago, it was “not possible” and today, Ukraine may soon receive fighter jets from a NATO ally. Poland’s prime minister says his government may hand its Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets over to Ukraine “within the next four to six weeks.”  Other countries including Ukraine’s border neighbor Slovakia and the Netherlands have signals readiness to turn over older plane stocks within a larger international coalition.
• Ukraine went through the same no-then-yes process over tanks.  Just as soon as allies agreed to deliver tanks, Ukraine renewed its campaign for aircraft. Ukraine needs jets to “close the sky” for the coming spring counteroffensive.  Through pure ingenuity and grit, Ukraine has been able to keep the enemy’s airforce at bay using soviet-era defense systems and MANPADS.  Moscow’s terror campaign on civilian infrastructure, while it hasn’t diminished Ukrainian will in the slightest, has used up a lot of Ukraine’s air defense.
• In Kazakhstan, authorities have impounded Moscow’s Baikonur Cosmodrome space engineering complex due to its failure to pay its bills.  Its assets have been frozen and its director ordered not to leave the country.  .
• In Moscow, propagandists staged the first “International Russophile” festival with big names like Sergey Lavrov and Stephen Segal slated as keynote speakers. Meanwhile, the latest Gallup polling in the USA found that only 9% of Americans are russophiles, the lowest percentage since the depths of the Cold War. Russia joins Iran, Iraq and North Korea in having favorability under 10% in the US.
• Putin noticed during a March 14 visit to an aviation production plant in Ulan-Ude, Buryatia, that Russia’s defense industry suffers from a lack of trained personnel. He offered federal financial incentives to attract more specialists. Moscow continually dangles financial incentives to boost recruitment and production, but complaints are widespread that these are hollow promises.

General Staff’s Daily Video Digest with English subtitles

GENERAL STAFF DAILY ENEMY LOSSES

Above: Ukrinform

General Staff on Facebook

Ukrainian General Staff of the Armed Forces estimated enemy losses since February 24, 2022 (with daily additions)

• Liquidated personnel, 161,250 (+980)
• Tanks, 3,492 (+8)
• Armored personnel vehicles, 6,799 (+10)
• Artillery systems/MLRS, 2,528/502 (+9/7)
• Anti-aircraft warfare systems, 262 (+2)
• Aircraft/helicopters, 304/289 (0)
• UAV operational-tactical level, 2,132 (+12)
• Cruise missiles, 907 (0)
• Warships/boats, 18 (0)
• Vehicles and fuel tanks, 5,377 (+10)
• Special equipment, 257 (+1)

GENERAL STAFF CIVILIAN MISSILE STRIKES

Above: Shelling of Kherson. (New York Times)

Video: Bilohorivka, Luhansk. This is what is left of the residential sector of this historical Kosak outpost west of Severodonetsk.

Білогорівка, Луганська область. Українські військові показали, що залишилося від комфортних, чудово облаштованих будинків місцевих мешканців. Рашисти атакують Білогорівку практично безперервно. pic.twitter.com/3YQlh7MehB

— Інформаційний Спротив (@info_sprotyv) March 13, 2023

Glory to Ukraine!
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 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.
• 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: 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.
• Bakhmut axis: 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: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 and Kherson axes: 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 Among them are Zolota Balka, Mykhailivka, Kachkarivka, Vesele, Ivanivka, Mykilske, Antonivka, Zelenivka, Dniprovske and Kherson.

Support the Armed Forces! United we will win! Glory to Ukraine!

KHARKIV-LUHANSK

Above: Spotted in temporarily-occupied Luhansk,  “Don’t take occupant passports because we are waiting on AFU!” and “Luhansk is a Ukrainian city”. (Serhii Haidai)

Above: Brigade mascot Whiskas examines the tail section of an enemy rocket. Reuters visited Ukrainian positions near Kreminna where the enemy is building up troops, weapons and using increasingly aggressive tactics to try to break through Ukrainian lines in eastern Kharkiv.  

Map via ISW

• Russian forces continue to construct fortifications along the border with Ukraine in Kursk and Bryansk oblasts and keep troops in Belgorod Oblast to perform demonstrative actions to keep Ukrainian forces from moving to other directions.
• Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks northeast of Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive operations northeast of Kupyansk near Dvorichna (17km northeast) and Hryanykivka (17km northeast of Kupyansk).
• Russian forces continued ground attacks along the Svatove-Kreminna line. Russian troops conducted unsuccessful offensive operations near Nevske (18km northwest of Kreminna), Chervonopopivka (6km northwest of Kreminna), Dibrova (5km southwest of Kreminna), Bilohorivka (12km south of Kreminna) and Berestove (30km south of Kreminna).
• Ukrainian Luhansk Oblast Governor Haidai reported that Russian forces lose up to a company per day (30 to 100 personnel), but do not reduce the number of attacks on the Svatove-Kreminna line.

DONETSK

Above: Ukrainian defenders in Bakhmut near a soviet-era WWII memorial.  Eastern Ukraine didn’t robustly take on the task of removing these old soviet propaganda memorials because many eastern Ukrainians remained sympathetic to the nostalgia of the “Great Patriotic War” prior to invasion. (RFERL)

A close-up map of the approximate situation around the city of Bakhmut.

🇷🇺 have advanced into the northern industrial area of Bakhmut and taken control of the first buildings.

🇺🇦 conducted a counterattack to the west of the city. pic.twitter.com/omkul4Og4V

— War Mapper (@War_Mapper) March 15, 2023

Map via ISW

• President Zelensky held a meeting with staff of the Supreme Commander of Ukrainian forces March 14 wherein they agreed that Ukraine will continue to hold and defend the city of Bakhmut. General Zaluzhny called the defense of Bakhmut very important from the point of view of strategy and deterrence of the Russian army.
• Russian forces advanced within Bakhmut and continued ground attacks in and around the city on March 14. Geolocated footage posted on March 13 indicates that Russian forces have advanced along Sadova Street in southern Bakhmut.  Ukrainian troops repelled Russian attacks on Bakhmut itself; north of Bakhmut near Vasyukivka (15km north); northwest of Bakhmut near Yahidne (1km northwest), Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Dubovo-Vasylivka (6km northwest), Minkivka, and Hryhorivka (10km northwest), and west of Bakhmut near Khromove (5km west) and Ivanivske (5km west).
• Russian forces continued ground attacks along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City frontline on March 14. Geolocated combat footage posted on March 13 shows that Russian troops have advanced east of Krasnohorivka (about 9km north of Avdiivka).  Russian troops conducted unsuccessful offensive actions near Avdiivka itself; in the Avdiivka area near Kamianka (4km northeast of Avdiivka), Novokalynove (14km north of Avdiivka), and Severne (5km west of Avdiivka); on the northwestern outskirts of Donetsk City near Nevelske, Pervomaiske, and Neitalove; and on the southwestern outskirts of Donetsk City near Marinka, Novomykhailivka, and Pobieda.
• Russian forces conducted a limited ground attack in western Donetsk Oblast on March 14. Russian troops conducted unsuccessful offensive operations near Vuhledar, 30km southwest of Donetsk City.

ZAPORIZHZHIA-KHERSON-CRIMEA

Above: Mykolaiv opened an Invincibility Yurt with partners from Kazakhstan.  Kazakh donors have financed Invincibility Yurts in Bucha, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Odesa and Dnipro as a sign of solidarity between the two countries trapped in Moscow’s orb.  The yurts offer generated power and Starlink internet connection to local residents. (Mykolaiv Oblast Administration)

Above: It’s just not safe to betray your country in southern Ukraine. A car in central Melitopol exploded yesterday, killing a collaborator who worked in the occupation government.  Also yesterday, Ukrainian partisans deployed an improvised explosive device against a Nova Kakhovka occupation collaborator who was hospitalized. 

Map via ISW

• Russian forces continue constructing fortifications in occupied Zaporizhia and Kherson oblasts. Geolocated images published on March 13 show Russian checkpoints and defensive structures south of Tokmak, Zaporizhia Oblast.
• The Russian Army has increased the number of ships in the Black Sea, according to the Southern Operational Command.  There are currently 17 Russian ships in the Black Sea including four missile carriers capable of firing a total salvo of 28 Kalibr missiles. .
• Zaporizhia Oblast occupation is opening the Zaporizhia Oblast branch of Russian child brainwashing military organization “Youth Army”. Occupation officials will likely use the organization to collect personal data on Ukrainian children. The Ukrainian Resistance Center reported on March 14 that Russian occupation officials in Strilkove, Kherson Oblast, force school pupils and employees to sing the Russian national anthem and study the Russian constitution outside of school hours. Children are prohibited from taking Ukrainian online classes under threat of criminal punishment.

Video: “This is how our Pooch-Bandera rouses us to victory at dawn”