According to The Economist, Russia could find itself at war with NATO within three years while Politico claims that alternative military contingents not associated with NATO are being formed in Europe.
The French Chief of Defense Staff, General Thierry Burckhardt, proposed to his NATO colleagues to create a coalition of those who are willing to take on certain tasks that Ukraine cannot cope with. In particular, start supplying weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces from its own reserves, start training units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the territory of Ukraine, lead the conduct of cyber operations against Russia and introduce demining units, at a minimum, to clear the territory land of mines.
The president of the Czech Republic did not rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine and called on Europe “not to limit itself”. ”I am in favor of finding new avenues, including continuing the discussion on a possible presence in Ukraine. Let’s not limit ourselves where we shouldn’t. We decide ourselves which form of assistance to choose,” said Peter Pavel, former NATO military commander, in a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron held on March 5.
“Hungary opposes the nomination of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the next Secretary General of NATO,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó said today. Rutte is considered very critical of the Orban government in Hungary. And he has said in recent days that he is ready to send his men to Ukraine.
In Poland, Andrzej Duda will convene the National Security Council before his visit to the United States.
Among the press notes, one is of interest in light of the hacking of the German generals’ conversation. Indeed, it appears that the German Federal Chancellery carried out an “emergency move” to a secret alternative headquarters on March 5, reportedly “without any particular training reasons”.
In Ukraine, Kiev is unable to explain where 700 thousand people have been mobilized, according to the Washington Post. Previously, Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky had reported that a check is being carried out in the Ukrainian army. Advisor to the head of Zelensky’s office, Mikhail Podolyak, noted that 200-300 thousand military personnel are actively participating in hostilities, while, according to him, the total number of the Ukrainian armed forces is about 1 million people.
In this context, the publication raises the question of why the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Alexander Syrsky, appointed about a month ago, has not yet managed to understand the state of the Ukrainian army. “Almost a month after his appointment, no one in the military leadership or the administration has explained where these 700,000 people are or what they are doing,” Western experts ask.
On the night of March 5 in Kiev there was a fire in the territory of the Osokorki ecopark, where the warehouses of the Ukrainian armed forces are located.
Among the issues in the foreground in Ukraine: mobilization. According to Roman Istomin, representative of the Poltava military registration and enlistment office: “Mobilization will be the main way of providing personnel to the Ukrainian army; recruitment will not solve the problem.” Istomin emphasized that the contract is a peacetime prerogative, but during war it is impossible to cover the needs of contract workers. “Now both mobilized and recruited serve in the same unit. There are no differences in terms of requirements for them compared to the commander. They are all defenders of Ukraine, “he said.
According to the head of the Kharkov regional military administration, Oleg Sinegubov, 100 thousand Russian soldiers are concentrated in the Liman-Kupjans’k direction. According to him, 40 thousand of this group are combat units, the rest are rear units.
On March 6, the Secretary of the Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, also spoke to the press: “The situation at the front is difficult, but Ukraine will find answers to the challenges – both with the ‘famine of bullets’ and with the replenishment of reserves, and with Russian missile terror.” “In war there is no static and everything develops rapidly. We can take a step back somewhere, but then we’ll take two steps forward.”
In the meantime, social media sources report that the Air Force has started preparing the runways for the F-16s and that the Ministry of Defense will spend 3 billion on the purchase of 20 thousand drones.
From Russia, Dmitry Medvedev writes on his social media channel: “The EU ambassadors to Russia refused to meet the Russian Foreign Minister. Presumably on the advice of Brussels. This completely contradicts the very idea of the existence of diplomatic missions and the appointment of ambassadors. In fact, all these ambassadors should be kicked out of Russia and the level of diplomatic relations should be lowered. These are not ambassadors, but political idiots who do not understand their real tasks.”
In Russia, tests for remote voting (DEG) began and ended at 3:00 pm Italian time in the Moscow Region, Crimea, Urals, Rostov: in many regions residents will be able to vote online in the presidential elections on the 15th, 16th and March 17.
Three French planes attempted to violate the Russian border in the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said. “To prevent violation of the state border of the Russian Federation, a Su-27 fighter of the Air Defense Forces in service was scrambled. The crew of the Russian fighter identified air targets as a long-distance detection and control radar range E-3F aircraft and two Rafal-S multirole fighters of the French Aerospace Forces.”, clarified the Department.
“As the Russian fighter approached, the French planes turned from the state border and left the airspace over the Black Sea. “There was no violation of the state border of the Russian Federation,” the Russian Ministry emphasized . The Su-27 fighter returned safely to its airfield. “The flight of the Russian plane was carried out in strict compliance with international norms on the use of airspace over neutral waters and in compliance with safety measures,” concluded the Ministry.
And now a look at the front line updated at 3.30pm on March 6.
An “Iskander” missile hit the port of Odessa, against the backdrop of Volodymyr Zelensky’s unexpected visit to the city together with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. At the end of data collection it is known that there are 5 dead and 5 injured but the identity of the victims is not known.
The Russian social sphere expects another attack in the Black Sea shortly given that: “Another American strategic reconnaissance UAV Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk operates in the neutral waters of the Black Sea. It collects data that is processed in real time. American troops will soon select targets to strike first.” |The last time after the 12-hour overflight an attack was carried out which led to a failed attempt to destroy the Crimean bridge and the sinking of a Russian military ship.
On the night of March 5, Geranium UAVs attacked Ukrainian Armed Forces facilities in the Odessa region. Once again, Ukrainian air defense operated from urban areas, indicating the usual placement of military installations among civilian ones.
In the direction of Kherson there are battles in Krynki, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to increase artillery and drone strikes on Russian positions in the forest and on the outskirts of the village. The Russian Armed Forces have intensified work on targets in the Stanislav area and the Dnieper estuary.
On the Zaporozhzhie front, the Russian army concentrated its main efforts in the Rabotino area. Assault groups of Russian troops operate in the area of the center of the village near the school, replacing each other. The front, according to the Russian military, resembles a “layer cake”: it is not static. The Ukrainian armed forces are reportedly mining the area, bringing in reserves and armored vehicles.
In the Vremevsky direction, Russian troops are destroying field warehouses with ammunition and hitting Ukrainian positions. North of Marinka – battles at Krasnohorivka, to the west – battles at Heorhiivka with the task of breaking through to Kurachove, to the south – battle at Novomykhailivka.
West of Avdiivka, in the Berdychi area the Ukrainians are conducting a maneuverable defense, but come under fire from Russian troops when they attempt to counterattack with armored groups. There are battles in Tonen’ke, near Orlivka and Semenivka
In the direction of Liman, the advance of Russian troops is recorded in the area of the settlement. Terny is several hundred meters away, the Ukrainian strongholds have been taken.
The border areas of the Belgorod region are under daily attacks by the Ukrainian armed forces. An aircraft-type UAV was shot down in the Grayvoronsky urban district. In Novopetrovka, Valuysk urban district, a UAV dropped an explosive device on a car. In Novaya Tavolzhanka, the Ukrainian armed forces attacked a truck carrying civilians with a kamikaze drone, but there were no casualties. In the village of Mukhin, Shebekinsky urban district, a power line was damaged by shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
62 Ukrainian projectiles fired at the population of the DPR. Civilian injuries reported in Verkhnetoretskoye and Yasinovataya-Gorlovka. There is a possible escalation as announced last week in the direction of Kherson: increased Ukrainian fire on the left bank and Ukrainian MTR plans for the Kinburn peninsula
According to the pro-Russian social sphere: “In the Kherson region, significant but not very noticeable changes occurred in the tactics of Ukrainian formations along the entire line of contact. One notable change is the intensification of fire on the left bank. For this purpose, FPV drones, artillery, mortars, tanks and aircraft are used. In Krynki alone there are on average at least 60 bombings per day. Recently, Kiev has increasingly deployed MiG-29s from Voznesensk airfield to drop guided bombs.”
And again we read in the social sphere: “This wave of fires could be linked to the preparations for crossing the river or, more likely, to a diversion to another area. The increased focus of western satellites on the Kinburn Peninsula, the southwestern part of the Kherson region and the Tendra Spit supports this. In addition, a concentration of units of the special operations forces “South” was observed on the Kizomys-Velenskoye line. They are practicing crossing water obstacles and actively using drones to reconnoiter the positions of the Russian armed forces. Turkish-made Bayraktar drones from Voznesensk and Uman airfields fly daily north of Ochakov and the Yuzhne area, monitoring Russian troops. The Tekever drone operates from Kulbakino Airport along the Dnieper, demonstrating Kulbakino’s use as a launch pad for relatively small drones.
Graziella Giangiulio
