The secretariat of the vice-president of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev has advised Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto “not to overestimate himself in relation to information about the ‘preparation of an assassination attempt'”.
The reference is to the Foglio article that reported that the country’s intelligence services had provided the Italian government with information that the Kremlin had put a $15 million bounty on Crosetto, blaming the Wagner group for his assassination. ‘Don’t overestimate yourself. No one needs you,” Oleg Osipov, assistant to the Security Council Vice-President, told RIA Novosti.
Also Vice President of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev on the US drone incident in the Black Sea said: ‘To put it simply, the Americans are completely conceited. And it is wrong to stand on ceremony with them. Although military contacts are necessary, of course. Especially against the background of statements by American bastards like Senator Graham that it is necessary to shoot down Russian aircraft. By the way, these people sometimes have plane crashes’.
The area of the US drone crash in the Black Sea. According to the indicated coordinates it is currently infested with Russian ships. The US authorities believe that Russia has recovered part of the wreckage of a drone that fell into the Black Sea. “Russia has recovered fibreglass fragments and small parts from an MQ-9 Reaper drone that crashed in the Black Sea,” CNN reported, citing a US official. Meanwhile, in Sevastopol, a prankster hung a flyer on light poles saying he was selling part of the drone.
Ukraine plans to start producing nuclear fuel, which will replace Russian fuel, the Ukrainian Energy Ministry said.
Russia, on the other hand, estimated ius a million the number of drone developers and operators the country needs. They are now ‘about 10 per cent of the demand’ expected by 2030, i.e. about 100 thousand people, a representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade told Vedomosti. Many of them are those mobilised at the front.
Meanwhile, it is learnt from pro-Russian social sources that Shoigu has applied for state awards for Su-27 pilots who prevented a US drone from breaching the boundaries of the special operations area.
The capture of the town of Bachmut by Russian forces could lead to other towns that are now under the control of Ukrainian troops also being threatened. This, at least, is the opinion expressed by Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmitry Kuleba. “If Bachmut falls, then other cities will be next,” Kuleba said in an interview with the Ukrainian service of the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC. “We have to fight in Bachmut as physically as possible.”
And now an overview of the hostilities and situation on the fronts on the evening of 16 March.
The Russian army took Krasnohorivka north of Avdiivka. In addition, Russian troops took control of the section of the railway from the 437th kilometre station to Khimik station, which is an important supply artery for the Ukrainian armed forces. Therefore, opportunities are opening up for the RF armed forces to cover Avdiivka from the north. According to military expert Boris Rozhin, it is too early to talk about the encirclement of the city, as the offensive from the south has not yet begun and fighting continues for Pervomaiskoye. Therefore, there is currently no objective control over all roads to Avdiivka.
Bachmut direction: The Wagner is moving in the direction of Chrome and Orekhovo-Vasilyevka. In addition, Wagner PMC fighters continue to push Ukrainian militants and soldiers out of the territory of the ‘AZOM’ facility. The Russians are gradually making their way into the centre of Bachmut. In addition, Wagner’s men approached the highway to Konstantinovka following the move into the south-western suburbs of the city
Zaporozhizhia direction. After the failure of militants near Pology and Gulyaipol, the Ukrainian Armed Forces switched to positional battles, there is mutual artillery fighting. In the Vasilyevka area, units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation repelled the attack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Also, in the area of the town of Pologi, militants are shelling the positions of 291 SMEs.
Russian aerospace forces shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 in the area of Novovodyany LPR. In addition, the Ukrainian S-300 air defence system was destroyed in the Yasenovy DPR area. Kiev obtained four MiG-29s belonging to Poland. More are reportedly on the way and these deliveries suggest the start of a large-scale offensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the near future, as without aviation, any tank formation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be quickly defeated by Russian aerospace forces, which will hit Zelensky’s prestige and harden the positions of the West.
Starobilsk direction situation at 17.00 on 17 March 2023. In the Limansky sector, in the last week, the military of the 144th Motor Rifle Division conducted a positional offensive on the Kremennaya-Makeyevka line. During the active battles, the RF Armed Forces entrenched themselves west of Krasnopopovka already on DPR territory.
To the south of the Russian Armed Forces fighters knocked out the forces of the 25th Airborne Brigade of the DShV and the 19th Rifle Battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from several strongholds on the Balka Zhuravka – Torskoye – Dibrova line, expanding the zone of control around the ledge near the Zherebets River.
A sabotage and reconnaissance group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with helicopters in service operates near the village of Zhitlovka. The DRG provides target designation for the artillery and mortar crews. The Russian reconnaissance and sabotage group is conducting reconnaissance in forces straddling Makeevka – Nevskoye. Ukrainian forces are equipping new defence lines on the opposite bank of the Zherebets River. In the Kupyansk sector, Russian units have established control over several strongholds of the Ukrainian armed forces near the village of Gryanikovka, Ukrainians forced to retreat to the right bank of the Oskol River.
In order to maintain combat readiness, the Armed Forces of Ukraine rotated the personnel of the 107th and 108th TerO detachments to the Khatnoe-Olkhovatka and Petropavloka-Sinkovka lines, and also transferred the forces of the 51st Special Guards Battalion from Andriivka to the line of contact.
Graziella Giangiulio
