War Day 34 of russia's* full scale attack on Ukraine: what you need to know
On February 24, russia* attacked Ukraine. It is now Day 34 of a full-scale war. These are the key events of the day that we’ve selected for you:
russia announced partial withdrawal of its troops, and if was confirmed by various sources like General staff of Ukrainian forces and independent researches. It haven't been confirmed yet though whether forces are brought back to russia. United States are skeptical. Multiple missile launches from Belarus, air raid siren alerts reported in Ukraine in the evening after russia/Ukraine talks
Russia deploys Wagner mercenaries to Ukraine. This is due to the constant losses of Russia and the lack of progress in the offensive, the UK intelligence added, and also means russia identified the war in Ukraine, as a "priority". According to UK intelligence, east of Ukraine is a priority for Putin.
The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports, that over the past 24 hours, on March 28, they destroyed 17 targets: 8 planes, 3 helicopters, 4 drones and 2 cruise missiles. The Ukrainian military has pushed the russian occupiers 40-60 kilometers away from Kryvyi Rih, said Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the city's military administration. Now the line of contact is located not on the border of Dnipropetrovsk region, but in Kherson region. Vilkul notes that on March 28 the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated several other settlements in the Kherson region.
In the Kherson region, during the successful repulse of one of the Russian attacks, the Ukrainian military managed to destroy the BMD-2 and seize two T-64 tanks (with a full set of ammunition) and one 2M anti-aircraft gun. Ukrainian air defense shot dow a drone and a plane of the Russian occupiers over Kharkiv region
The Ukrainian military destroyed the "pride" of the russian occupiers ㅡ armored KamAZ "Typhoon". This is a universal armored car with high security on the original chassis. It belongs to the MRAP class machines, ie it is protected from mines and ambushes..
In the morning rescuers managed to put out the fire at the oil depot in Lutsk on the morning of March 29. The fire broke out before in the evening of March 27 due to russian shelling. When shelling Ukrainian cities, russians concentrate on fuel depots, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces
In Mykolayiv russian occupiers destroyed the building of regional administration. Under the wreckage of the Nikolaev regional state administration found already 12 victims, 33 people suffered. 18 people were rescued, according to the SES
russia continues to abduct people in Mariupol The occupiers continue to abduct residents of Ukrainian Mariupol. Mariupol City Council reported that the russian occupiers forcibly removed more than 70 people from the maternity hospital №2 in the Left Bank district of Mariupol. We are talking about medical staff and patients. Currently, more than 20,000 Mariupol residents are known to have been deported to Russia against their will.
Mariupol City Council says it is already preparing a database of deportees and working on a return mechanism "We are creating a base of deported residents of the city and developing an effective mechanism for the return of compatriots. We will do everything to bring people home," -city Mayor said
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Close up story: russian* troops withdrawal
The main news today is undoubtedly Ukraine’s talks with russia in Turkey, Russia’s statement that the main goal is now Donbas, not all of Ukraine, and the “withdrawal” of russian troops from Kyiv and Chernihiv as a result.
We tried to see what’s going on here and whether you should believe russia’s statements
“It’s early to let your guard down”
Today, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that as of 18:00, separate units of the russian troops are being withdrawn from the territory of Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts and are partially withdrawn to the territory of Belarus. It is also noted that this was the result of Ukraine/russia talks in Turkey. Earlier, Shoigu, who reappeared on russian TV, said that the main goal is now Donbas.
Withdrawal of part of the russian troops is confirmed by experts from the monitoring group Belarusi Gayun, who monitor the movement of russian troops on the territory of Belarus. They report that today and partly yesterday they saw that part of the russian equipment, which was located on the territory of Ukraine, as well as in the border area of Belarus and Ukraine, was being taken into Belarus territory. However, “it’s early to let you guard down”, experts say. According to their data, there have been several missile launches today, as well as departures of aircrafts that can carry cruise missiles. In addition, although part of the russian equipment was loaded into echelons, according to them, there is no confirmation that this equipment left the territory of Belarus and went to russia.
“Repositioning, not a real withdrawal”
The US Department of Defense is also skeptical. Yes, although they confirmed that a “small number” of russian troops had left Kyiv, russia could still apply “massive brutality” to the country, including the capital, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. Source: CNN.
“We believe that this is a repositioning, not a real withdrawal, and that we all should be prepared to watch for a major offensive against other areas of Ukraine. It does not mean the threat to Kyiv is over,”
John Kirby
He also stressed that the number of troops currently being withdrawn is not even close to the number that russia has set against Kyiv.
“Nobody should be fooling ourselves by the Kremlin’s now recent claim that it will suddenly just reduce military attacks near Kyiv, or any reports that it’s going to withdraw all its forces,” .
John Kirby
According to him, all that is known so far is that russian forces are moving “more northward.” The final destination is currently unknown.
“loss of momentum” and the deployment of Wagner mercenaries
At the same time, UK intelligence adds that Russia’s statements about the withdrawal of some Russian units from the areas near Kiev may indicate that Russia recognizes that it has lost the initiative in the region. And now, according to the UK Ministry of Defense, that Russia will try to shift fighting power from the north to the offensive in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
At the same time, there are reports of the Wagner mercenaries being deployed to eastern Ukraine. According to UK intelligence, it is a priority for Putin. Wagner deployment in Ukraine happening due to the constant losses of russia and the lack of progress in the offensive, the UK intelligence added added, and also means that russia has identified the war in Ukraine as a “priority”.
Deja vu
And finally: this is not the first time russia promises to withdraw troops. russia also promised to withdraw them on February 15. Exactly 9 days before starting a full-scale war against Ukraine. Moreover – all evening today the Kyiv city channel, and also channel of the governor of the Mykolayiv region report air raid siren alarms. Local telegram channels report about multiple missile launches from the territory of Belarus which is also confirmed by reports of the Belarus monitoring groups.
And from our personal experience of monitoring russia for the last 8 years, every time Russia tries to play it cool it only means there are sheaky tactics to follow.
Want to read full story? Easy: “Don’t let your guard down”, “repositioning, not withdrawal”, “shift in strategy” – what do we know about alleged partial withdrawal of russian troops
On February 24, russia* attacked Ukraine. We continue to follow the development of the situation. If you have information about russian* troops movement or any other information you want to share with us, email us via contact@762project.org or text in telegram on @JavelinSt. For particularly sensitive data – reach out, we will send more encrypted channels.
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Note: we write “russia” and “russian” refering to country and soldiers taking part in atrocities against Ukraine. This not a mistake but on purpose. We feel that capital letters represent pride and respect, and with russia’s and its soldiers current actions, it feels they stripped themselves of both things