Russia – Ukraine war updates as of March 18, 2023

Russia – Ukraine war operational update of the General Staff of Ukraine for the last 24 hours of Russia – Ukraine war as of 6:00 a.m., March 18, 2023.

388 day of the russian large-scale invasion has begun.

The enemy launched 34 airstrikes. 16 of them – with the use of the Shahed-136 UAV. 11 of these UAVs were destroyed by Ukrainian air defense units, but the rest unfortunately, hit an object of industrial infrastructure. Fortunately, there were no civilian casualties. The enemy also launched one missile strike and fired 57 rounds of anti-aircraft fire. One of them is in the village of Veletenske, Kherson Oblast. Debris damaged 7 private houses and the building of a local kindergarten. Here too, fortunately, there were no victims.

The probability of launching missile strikes on the entire territory of Ukraine remains quite high.

The enemy’s main goal during the past day, as before, remained attempts to enter the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblast. For this, the occupiers focused their main efforts on conducting offensive actions in the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Marinka, and Shakhtarsk directions. Thanks to professional and coordinated actions, our defenders repelled more than 100 enemy attacks in the indicated directions.

On the Volyn, Poliske, Siversk and Slobozhansk directions, the operational situation has not changed significantly. The russian Federation continues to maintain a military presence on the territory of the republic of Belarus, but without the obvious formation of offensive groups. At the same time, the enemy continues to engineer terrain in the border areas of Bryansk and Kursk regions. During the past day, the enemy carried out mortar and artillery shelling of the districts of 14 settlements. Among them are Starykov, Volfyne, and Solyaniki in the Sumy Oblast, as well as Strelecha, Hlyboke, Staritsa, Vovchansk, Kolodyazne, Krasne Pershe, Kutkivka, Dvorichna, Zapadne, Ternova, and Tyche in the Kharkiv region.

On the Kupyansk and Lymansk directions, the russian forces unsuccessfully tried to break through the defense of our troops during the previous day. Shelled the areas of 13 settlements along the combat line, in particular, Vesely, Hryanikyvka, Vilshanaya, Krokhmalnoy, Berestovoy, Dibrova, and Andriyivka of the Kharkiv Oblast; Novoyehorivka, Nevsky, Bilogorivka, Novoselivka, and Chervonopivka in the Luhansk Oblast, as well as Novoselivka in the Donetsk oblast.

In the direction of Bakhmut, the enemy did not stop the assault on the city of Bakhmut. At the same time, our defenders repelled the attacks of the occupiers in the districts of Klishchiivka and Ivanivskoye. Near the contact line, the enemy shelled such settlements as Minkivka, Orihovo-Vasylivka, Zaliznyanske, Vasyukivka, Bakhmut, Hryhorivka, Ivanovske, Ozaryanivka, Oleksandro-Shultyne, Predtechine and Chasiv Yar of the Donetsk region. In general, 11 settlements in the Bakhmut direction were affected by the shelling of the occupiers.

On the Avdiyivka, Marynka, and Shakhtarsk directions, the enemy carried out unsuccessful offensive actions in the direction of Kamianka, Nevelske, Avdiivka, Maryinka, Severna, and Pervomaiske settlements of the Donetsk oblast. Areas of 21 settlements were subjected to numerous enemy shelling. Among them are Kamianka, Avdiivka, Vodyane, Krasnohorivka, Georgiivka, Maksimilianivka, Marinka, Vugledar, Velika Novosilka, Zolota Niva, Paraskoviivka, Tonenka, Severne, Pervomaiske, Nevelske, Pobieda, Novomykhailivka, Novoukrainka, Prychystivka, Neskuchne and Shakhtarske of the Donetsk region .

The enemy continued to defend in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson directions. At the same time, he carried out intensive shelling of the settlements of Malynivka, Gulyaipole, Zaliznychne, Biloghirya, Mala Tokmachka, Novoandriivka, Mali Shcherbaki, Kamianske, Olhivske, Chervone, Charivne, Orihiv, Novodanilivka, and Stepove of the Zaporizhia Oblast; Vremivka and Novopil of Donetsk oblast; Good Hope in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, as well as Dudchany, Kachkarivka, Vesele, Kozatske, Ivanivka, Mykilske, Dniprovske, Berehove, Veletenske, Kizomys, Mykhailivka, Respublikanets, Novoberislav, Kherson, Novosilka, Shilova Balka, Odradokamyanka, Mykolaivka, Tyaginka, Sadov and Bottling of the Kherson Oblast. The total number of shelled settlements that were subjected to enemy shelling is almost 40.

The local so-called authorities in the temporarily occupied and captured territories of Luhansk Oblast announced the start of large-scale military exercises involving the entire conscript male population of Starobilsk, Shchastya, Novy Aydar, Novopskov and Nizhnyoteply, who have passports with the inscriptions “LNR” and “russian Federation”. In this way, the occupiers are trying to hide the total mobilization in the above-mentioned settlements.

Between the settlements of Ishun and Voenka of the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the enemy has started construction of fortifications and trenches. The civilian population is forcibly involved in the execution of works on a free basis.

During the day, the aviation of the Defense Forces of Ukraine carried out 6 strikes on the concentration areas of the occupiers, and units of missile troops and artillery hit 2 areas of concentration of enemy personnel and 1 position of deployment of its air defense means.

Last, but not the least, russia’s losses in manpower for the last 24 hours are as follows:

Ukraine Front Lines

Photo credit: The General Staff of Ukraine

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