The situation at the front
In the Donetsk direction, Russian troops, supported by artillery, are conducting offensive operations in the city of Marinka, in the direction of the North, from the side of Experienced to the southern outskirts of Avdiivka, in Kamenka and near Stepovoe. WarGonzo reports this in its summary. In the last three areas listed, the Russians, according to these data, have an advance, and the fortified area of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Avdeevka is under the threat of coverage from the south, east and north.
The day before, Russian Telegram channels and military correspondents wrote that the Russian Armed Forces were able to break through the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine north of Avdiivka in the Stepovoe area. According to these data, the city is threatened by a "cauldron". Military experts have not yet confirmed the information about the surroundings of the city. British military intelligence compared the situation around Avdiivka with the situation in Bakhmut. The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to organize defense in the city.
Military expert Alexander Kovalenko, in an interview with The Insider, explained that Avdiivka is necessary for Russian troops to further advance deep into the Donetsk region.
“It is not only an important link for moving through the Donetsk region itself, but also, including the exit to Pokrovsk. If Avdiivka is not captured, it does not even make sense to talk about any plans to advance to Pokrovsk. And in the plans of the Russian troops, this promotion is mandatory. Therefore, without the capture of Avdiivka, further advancement in this area is pointless.
Southwest of Bakhmut, the Wagner PMC, supported by artillery, advanced towards Ivanovskoye and into the southern part of the city itself. From the north, assault operations continue in the industrial zone, WarGonzo reports. To the northwest they attack near Khromovo and Bogdanovka.
In the Luhansk direction, Russian troops, with the support of artillery, again attacked Belogorovka. They also conducted offensive operations on Yampolevka, Terny, Nevskoye and Makeevka. In addition, they made an attempt to break through the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Novoselovskoye.
Putin found the "nuclear component"
Russia will be forced to react if the collective West starts using weapons with a nuclear component, Vladimir Putin said following Russian-Chinese talks, RIA Novostireports . This is how Putin commented on the statement of British Deputy Defense Minister Annabelle Goldie, who said that in addition to sending a platoon of Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, London would also transfer ammunition, including armor-piercing shells containing depleted uranium, to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Earlier, the head of the Russian delegation at the talks in Vienna on military security and arms control, Konstantin Gavrilov, had already stated that Moscow, if such shells were supplied to Kiev, would respond, as he put it, "adequately." In his opinion, this will be another step "towards the abyss of escalation."
As The Insider previously wrote , depleted uranium is a metal composed almost entirely of the isotope U-238, which has a half-life of 4.5 billion years. For a long time it was considered a useless waste from uranium enrichment, until in the 1970s, American specialists turned their attention to it in search of material for shells capable of penetrating Soviet tank armor. Its density is 67% higher than that of lead, and in a finely divided state it ignites spontaneously on contact with air.
The radioactivity of uranium-238 is insignificant, shells with depleted uranium under international conventions are not considered either nuclear or chemical weapons and are not prohibited.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also showed his ignorance of this military technology, saying in a commentary to a Rossiya 1 correspondent that the transfer of such weapons would be a violation of international humanitarian law.
Such shells were used by the US Army during the Gulf War in 1991. In total, more than 700 thousand shells with a total mass of up to 300 tons were fired. They were also used in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq in 2003. Studies have not shown any serious health hazard to people who have come into contact with these projectiles.
The Soviet, and now Russian, army also has depleted uranium shells in service, although they have not yet been used in the war with Ukraine, military expert David Gendelman told The Insider.
“Armor-piercing sub-caliber shells with a core of depleted uranium, and not of tungsten, have been developed for a long time and have been in service with various armies since the 80s. The reasons for using depleted uranium instead of tungsten are both technical and economic. In a technical sense, the high density of uranium provides good armor penetration, and its pyrophoricity <the ability of a solid material to spontaneously ignite on contact with air in the absence of heating – approx. The Insider> also enhances the defeat effect. In economic terms, for countries with a developed nuclear industry, depleted uranium is much cheaper than tungsten, a rare and expensive metal. Due to its technical qualities, uranium is also used for composite armor, and not just for projectiles.
In the Soviet and then Russian army, shells with depleted uranium were also in service, in particular Nadfil-2, Vant, Lead-1 (a series of shells "Lead" comes in various modifications, and with tungsten, and with uranium cores).
The disadvantage of depleted uranium is considered to be its chemical toxicity, especially as a result of dispersal after impact, and its radiation hazard is relatively low. In any case, the armies that adopt such projectiles consider these harmful side effects to be negligible compared to the benefits in combat use.
The transfer of such shells to Ukraine by Britain means that Britain wants to provide, along with the Challenger 2 tanks, also the most effective armor-piercing ammunition for these tanks. All Russian statements against the transfer of these shells are just propaganda and nothing more. As already mentioned, the Russian army has similar shells. But in general, compared with other models, there are few of them in the RF Armed Forces, and specifically during this war, their use was not noted. It was noted, for example, the use of the latest "Lead-2" with a tungsten core, uranium variants of the "Lead" series or other shells were not noted.
Even at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine discovered the 3BM60 Lead-2 ammunition used by Russia, UNIAN wrote , publishing a photo.
Ukraine will strike back
The German publication Bild published an article in which, referring to a high-ranking NATO representative, he writes that the Ukrainian military may launch a counteroffensive in May, the main focus of which will be the Luhansk and Zaporozhye regions, and the goal is to cut off Russia's land communication with the Crimea.
According to NATO analysts, both for Ukraine and Russia ahead of the critical 6 months. The publication writes that the official in the comment noted the training, equipment, logistics and intelligence that the allies provide Ukraine for a successful counteroffensive. Ukraine will also carry out other attacks that the official could not talk about due to security concerns. "It might come as a surprise," he added. – "Last summer, when all attention was focused on Kherson, Ukraine unexpectedly attacked Kharkiv." According to these data, some of the operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine may also take place in the Crimea.
shelling
The authorities of Odessa reported about the shelling of the city with rockets launched from Russian Su-35 fighters. According to the Odessa Regional Military Administration, six missiles were fired at the city, some of them were shot down by the air defense system. At the moment, it is known about the impact on a residential building. According to preliminary data, there are casualties as a result of the shelling.
It became known with the help of which drone the attack was carried out in Dzhankoy in the annexed Crimea, which took place the night before. The GRAY ZONE Telegram channel publishes photos of the wreckage. This is a Chinese UAV "Mugin 5 Pro", which has the ability to carry up to 20 kilograms of payload.
The Russian Investigative Committee began to investigate the explosions in the town of Dzhankoy. It is alleged that it was about the attack of several drones, they were shot down, but the wreckage damaged the household and the store. One person was injured. According to the Russian side, the drones targeted civilian targets, while the Investigative Committee does not say who launched the drones.
There is a Russian military base and a major railway junction in Dzhankoy.
Read about what happened at the front on March 18 in The Insider report: “ Avdiivka is the new Bakhmut, mobilization did not help Russia, Ukraine can launch a successful counteroffensive. What's going on at the front .