Ukraine War Update NEWS: Overnight & Other News
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This summary has been produced automatically by an AI Large Language Model (LLM) without any human intervention. Whilst every effort has been made to prompt the LLM to produce accurate output, there may be inconsistencies, inaccuracies or hallucinations!
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"It's more escalatory than all the weapons in the Western centre Ukraine combined."
Hello Team!
Jonathan provides an update on the Ukraine war news for 18th March 2023.
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🪦 DISCLAIMER FOR GENERAL STAFF LOSSES DATA
- These are real people with real lives and real families who love them. Don’t let the numbers sap your humanity.
- These numbers probably aren’t accurate but they’re the best we have and we don’t need them to be accurate to be indicative of patterns of activity.
- All losses are estimates. Losses cannot be counted with accuracy because of the conditions on the ground.
- Both sides would see it to be of their advantage to minimize their own losses maximize the other side’s losses.
- Neither side releases their losses but we have enough transparency from the Ukrainian side to have confidence in they are indicative.
- Personnel losses are hard to count. If a soldier gets injured, heals up, and returns to the front line only to get injured again, is that one loss or two? Also, how to deal with losses from PMC’s or soldiers fighting with RF from occupied territories?
- Equipment losses are hard to count. If an AA complex involves several parts and one part gets disabled, is that a loss, or a fraction of a loss? If a tank gets disabled, repaired, back into the fight, then disabled again, is that one lost tank or two?
- All recorded losses are vulnerable to multiple reporting. We have already seen numerous cases of multiple drones in the air reporting the same loss from different angles as multiple engagements.
- Losses are not always reported on the same day they occurred. It is frequent that drone losses are reported at least 24 hours after other terrestrial equipment losses. Certain losses may not be reported for days or weeks for military intelligence reasons.
Russian losses
- 880 Russian personnel were liquidated, which is a high number but not a record.
- Significant losses of tanks, APCs, artillery systems and drones.
- Jonathan believes Russian artillery capacity is diminished due to worn out barrels and shell hunger. Ukrainians likely facing similar issues.
Putin issued arrest warrant by ICC
- The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin for war crimes, specifically the illegal transportation of children. This is huge news.
- The warrant has jurisdiction in 123 countries, meaning Putin could technically be arrested if he travels to them, including South Africa and Brazil.
- Maria Alexeyevna Lvova-Belova was also issued a warrant. She publicly thanked Putin for allowing her to adopt a 15-year-old child from Mariupol.
- This is an extraordinary moment and more escalatory than all the weapons sent to Ukraine combined. It may increase the desire of regime members to get rid of Putin.
Russian T-90M tank taken out
- Video shows a Russian T-90M tank, their latest and best tank, being destroyed by successive hits from a Ukrainian drone.
- The third hit triggers a massive explosion, completely destroying the tank.
Failed attack on Russian Tunguska air defence system
- Ukrainians attempt to take out a Russian Tunguska air defence vehicle with a drone but fail as they only drop one munition.
- The Tunguska crew quickly drive off, showing the vehicle was manned and operational.
Russian aircraft losses
- A Russian Su-25 aircraft was shot down near Bakhmut using a Polish-provided Piorun MANPAD.
- The Russians seem to be consistently losing aircraft, which is problematic for them.
Ukrainian equipment losses
- A Ukrainian Vampire MLRS system was destroyed by a Russian Lancet kamikaze drone.
- These drones are still causing issues for the Ukrainians, but they are responding with their own improvised kamikaze drones using commercial drones and warheads.
Russian drone attack on Ukraine
- There was a Russian drone attack on Ukraine overnight, with some drones getting through air defences.
- 3 drones reached Lviv and 3 reached Dnipropetrovsk region, causing significant damage to what may be a fuel or grain storage facility.
- The attack wasn't huge but shows the Russians are finding weaknesses in Ukrainian air defences, especially as the drones had to travel a long way to reach Lviv.
Shelling and missile attacks
- Kostiantynivka, west of Bakhmut, was hit by Russian shelling damaging residential buildings. No casualty information yet.
- A cafe complex in Zaporizhzhia was struck by Russian S-300 missiles, which are inaccurate in ground attack mode and caused substantial damage. Arguably not a military target.
Fire at historic church in Russia
The historic St. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in central Moscow, reputedly designed by Peter the Great, caught fire. Another in a series of fires within Russia recently.
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British intelligence update
- Russia has changed the conscription age from 18-27 to 21-30, likely to conscript young men after they complete university.
- This will allow Russia to get a better 'haul' of conscripts in their prime to free up professional soldiers for the front, even if the conscripts are not directly deployed to Ukraine.
Russian rescue worker steals from Turkey earthquake
A Russian rescue team member who helped after the Turkey earthquake stole nearly half a million dollars in cash from the debris. The FSB raided his Moscow apartment as he tried to throw the money out the window.
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Military aid to Ukraine
- Slovakia will transfer 13 retired MiG-29 jets to Ukraine in the coming months. Along with Poland's 28 MiGs, Ukraine could get 40+ of these aircraft.
- However, the Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson said these are old planes with outdated radars and missiles that would need upgrading to be used offensively. But they can still help protect against cruise missiles and drones.
- Slovakia has also approved the transfer of a Kub air defence system to Ukraine.
- A Ukrainian convoy was spotted with US-provided Oshkosh MRAP vehicles that have not been announced, showing the US may have given Ukraine more equipment than is publicly known.
- Ukraine is using artillery shells, rockets and mortars made in Iran in 2022 that were seized by the US and provided as aid, an irony as they are being fired back at the Russians.
Reactions to Putin's arrest warrant
- Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan implied any country trying to arrest Putin would be nuked, showing how desperate they have become.
- US politician Mark Hertling noted the absurdity of calling this a "territorial dispute" when Putin is receiving war crime warrants.
- Serbian President Vucic fears it may lead to the "biggest conflict in history" and called for de-escalation.
Other news
- Turkey has decided to start the process of ratifying Finland's NATO membership.
- Despite tensions, the US and China had record bilateral trade in goods of nearly $700 billion.
Wrap up
Jonathan asks viewers to like, subscribe and share the video. He has to leave to watch his son play football so the video will probably be released late.
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