WAR IN UKRAINE DAY 10: CIVILIAN EVACUATION FAILED, RUSSIA GAINED TACTICAL SUCCESSES, HOLDING STRATEGIC PAUSE (18+)

 29  7  3 Share1 

The tenth day of the conflict was marked by several milestone events.

First of all, the Russian side attempted to provide humanitarian corridors for local residents from Mariupol and Volnovakha. On March 4, the Russian side made this offer to its opponent. The organization of a humanitarian corridor was agreed for March 5 from 10 a.m. to 6 a.m. local time. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was informed of the evacuation arrangements.

The start of evacuation was planned at 11 a.m. along the route Mariupol – Nikolskoye – Rozovka – Polohy – Orekhov – Zaporizhzhya. The evacuation should take place from the three locations: Sport Complex “Ilyichevets” (Nakhimov Avenue, 53); Drama Theater (Theater square, 1); Kalmius district administration (193 Metallurgov avenue) by the city buses or by private vehicles strictly on the route.

By midday it had become apparent that the organization of the humanitarian corridor had been disrupted. Around 4 p.m. local time, the ICRC published report that a safe humanitarian passage from Mariupol and Volnovakha on March 5 would no longer be established.

“We understand that the safe passage operations from Mariupol and Volnovakha will not start today. We remain in dialogue with the parties about the safe passage of civilians from different cities affected by the conflict. The scenes in Mariupol and in other cities today are heart-breaking. Any initiative from the parties that gives civilians a respite from the violence and allows them to voluntarily leave for safer areas is welcome”, the report said.

On the following video the woman asked:

– That is, there will be no evacuation.

– Yes, we came to stop you so that you would not be killed by the fire. – Ukrainian soldier said.

Soldiers of nationalist battalions completely blocked the exit from the cities for thousands of local residents. The formal reason was the alleged insecurity of the corridor. Kiev accused the command of the Russian Defense Ministry and the DPR of not stopping the shelling of Mariupol and adjacent settlements. At the same time, no facts were provided that the agreed passage was shelled The AFU command in Kyiv reported that “no one showed up for the evacuation”. This is refuted by local residents as well as by photo and video materials from the evacuation points.

As a result of the actions of the Ukrainian military, not a single civilian could leave through the declared security corridors. Apparently, the population of these towns is being held by nationalist formations as a “human shield.

On March 5, only three families, a total of 17 people, including children, were able to get out of Mariupol on their own. These people had not heard of any humanitarian corridor. They reported that the Kyiv authorities did not notify anyone in their area of residence. Their families were leaving under the shelling of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. People who escaped from Mariupol reported that the nationalists had mined roads and blew up bridges that would allow people to leave the city.

Also on March 5, shocking information was received from Mariupol. Members of the so-called “territorial defense” units, who had previously arrived in Mariupol from western regions of Ukraine, had mined and blown up an multi-storey civilian building. There were 200 people, mostly women and children, in the basement, under the ruins.

Amid these developments, a third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine could take place on Saturday or Sunday, said Podolyak, an advisor to Zelensky’s office. The likelihood that another round of talks will lead to any result is close to zero. Kiev is essentially using the negotiation process solely as an element of an information campaign.

This is yielding dividends. The announcement of negotiations, as well as the likelihood that Moscow will succumb to Western pressure, stop the hostilities and withdraw the troops from their positions, have a negative effect on Russian supporters currently located in territories occupied by the Russian Armed Forces. People are afraid to speak openly in support of the Russian Federation. They remember 2014, when after Moscow refused to establish power in the DPR and LPR throughout the entire area of former Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, supporters of independence were subjected to brutal repression by the Kiev regime. Many hundreds of residents have been killed or are still missing.

Moscow has still not clearly declared its intentions toward the occupied territories. The Russians have not provided a precise political blueprint for the future of Ukraine. This reinforces the population’s negative perception of the events. The statement that the goals of the military campaign are denazification and the destruction of Ukraine’s military infrastructure only adds fuel to the fire. People are tired of uncertainty and fear that the Russians, having destroyed the military infrastructure, will simply leave, to be replaced again by angry nationalists.

It seems that there is some kind of struggle within the Kremlin elite, which does not allow to choose a clear political course regarding Ukraine.

On March 5, no side made any significant progress on the fronts. At the same time, units of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, the DPR and the LPR continued their offensive in certain areas.

The grouping of forces of the Lugansk People’s Republic continued their offensive and seized Golikovo, Nevskoye and Katerinovka. The LPR troops continued to encircle the Severodonetsk-Lysychansk agglomeration from the north, advancing towards Kramatorsk. Units of the Ukrainian armed forces are resisting fiercely. Russian troops continue advancing from the north (Kharkiv grouping) to the west and south-west in order to close the AFU grouping in the region. There are battles near Izyum. Shelling of Kramatorsk was reported. The Izyum-Slaviansk road remains uncut.

Units of the armed forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic took control of the settlements Zachatovo, Khlebodarovka, Novotatarovka southwest of Volnovakha, Mirne from southeast of Volnovakha. Advance was 7 kilometers.

A large accumulation of burnt-out AFU military vehicles was detected in the Donskoye settlement near Volnovakha. Fighting continues in Volnovakha.

On March 5, the commander of a separate DPR reconnaissance battalion “Sparta” with the call sign “Vokha” was killed in Volnovakha. Earlier, he had replaced the deceased battalion founder, with the call sign “Motorola”.

After the resumption of active operations near Mariupol, the DPR units occupied the village of Sopine on the eastern outskirts of the city.

The bases of the nationalist battalion “Azov” in the village of Sopino, to the east of Mariupol. Previously, the tourist complex “Azovaya” was located there.

Units of the Russian Armed Forces, advancing with a broad front, took control of a number of settlements in Zaporizhia region: Marfopol, Zatishye, Malinovka, Removka, Orlinoe, Volodino to the south and east of the important transport hub Huliaipole; Malaya Tokmachka, Novokarlovka in the direction from Polohy to Orekhov. The Russian grouping in the region continues to successfully encircle AFU units and formations concentrated near the area of Volnovakha and to the west of Donetsk from the west.

A huge crowd of people wishing to get weapons in Zaporizhya:

Heavy fighting is going on near Kharkiv. The city is partially blockaded, but not surrounded. It is still possible to leave Kharkov by train and on roads to the west. Civilian exit from Kharkiv is blocked in the direction of the Russian border. There are reports of fighting inside the city and large columns of Russian military equipment moving toward the city. There is an active work of the Russian assault aviation.

The UAF blew up the bridge on the dam across the Seversky Donets River.

On March 5, the situation near Kiev was difficult for the advancing Russian troops, with heavy fighting to the west of capital. Fighting continued near Bucha and Irpen. The AFU units attempted to counterattack the Russians. There are reports of casualties on both sides, and photos and video footage of destroyed Russian equipment in this direction. In general, the configuration of the front in this area remained unchanged.

Ukrainian soldiers direct artillery fire from a civilian house:

The Brovary area adjacent to Kyiv has not still been stormed. Russian units are in close proximity to residential areas.

Chernihiv and Sumy are blockaded. An assault is unlikely in the coming day or two. A Russian Air Force Su-34 frontline fighter-bomber jet was shot down over Chernihiv by man-portable air defense systems. One pilot was killed and the other captured.

In the Mykolaiv area, fighting continues north and south of the city. The city is half surrounded. By the evening of March 5, reports emerged that the Russian Armed Forces had forced the Southern Bug, expanded its positions on the opposite bank of the river, taking the village of Yastrebinoe, and pulled up reserves, preparing for the next phase of the offensive operation. This information has not been confirmed by official sources at the moment.

The AFU succeeded in shooting down one combat helicopter of the Russian Air Force near Mykolaiv. It is reported that a Stinger man-portable air defense system was successfully used.

UPDATE — 8:00, 6.03.2022 — The Russian Armed Forces have been pushed back by AFU units from the settlements of Bashtanka, Piskik and Marianivka in the outskirts of Mykolaiv. Losses of military equipment have been reported. At the moment, the nearest Russian forces’ stronghold to the north of Mykolaiv is in the village of Kashperovo-Mikolayivka. Earlier on March 5, north of Mykolaiv, the AFU and territorial defense units entrenched themselves in the village of Peresadovka, where during the afternoon of March 5 they accumulated military vehicles for the upcoming attack.

In the vicinity of Odessa, the Russian Armed Forces carried out strikes on the facilities of the AFU on the coast. There was no airborne landing, nor were any strikes on military infrastructure inside the city.

For its part, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that on March 5 alone it destroyed: 5 radar stations, two Buk M-1 air defense missile systems, in an air battle near Zhitomir it shot down four Su-27 AFU aircraft and air defense forces near Nizhyn shot down one Su-25. The air defense forces also destroyed a Ukrainian Air Force Mi-8 helicopter and an unmanned aerial vehicle Bayraktar TB-2.

A total of 2,119 Ukrainian military infrastructure objects were hit during the operation. Among them:
74 Ukrainian Armed Forces command posts and communication nodes; 108 S-300, Buk M-1 and Osa air defense missile systems; and 68 radar stations.

As well as: 69 aircraft on the ground and 21 aircraft in the air, 748 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 76 multiple rocket launchers, 274 pieces of field artillery and mortars, 532 pieces of special military vehicles, and 59 unmanned aerial vehicles.

On March 5, an attempt was made by a sabotage and reconnaissance group of the Ukrainian armed forces to shell residential areas of the Russian border town of Belgorod. Several shells were launched in the direction of the suburbs of Belgorod. The shells did not reach their targets. There were no casualties or damage.

As of March 5-6, it can be noted that the overall initiative is still on the side of the Russian armed forces. At the same time, the Russian offensive has slowed or stopped in many directions. Operational successes have still not turned into strategic successes, which means the defeat of the main AFU groupings in the east of the country.

The Russian Armed Forces are preparing to bring in a second echelon of troops to solve the strategic tasks at the next stage of the operation.

The National Guard units are being formed and deployed to the occupied territories to protect the rear and communications.

The current actions of the Russian Armed Forces confirm the previously reported information that Moscow had initially planned a military operation in Ukraine for 30 days. So far, there are no signals that this plan will not be implemented.

https://southfront.org/war-in-ukraine-day-10-civilian-evacuation-failed-russia-gained-tactical-successes-holding-strategic-pause-18/