On February 29, 2024, the Russia-Ukraine war entered its 736th day.
First, a bad piece of news.
It is reported that units of the 73rd Naval Special Operations Center of Ukraine conducted an operation near the Tendra Spit in the Black Sea, possibly trying to gain a foothold.
Unfortunately, the operation failed, and a group of Ukrainian soldiers died.
On the Avdiivka front, over the past few days, the Russian army has continued to suffer relatively large losses in equipment and personnel in Avdiivka.
According to the estimates of open source**, the daily equipment losses of Russia and Ukraine are basically between 2:1 and 5:1.
Noel's Birdie "(UAV unit) shot for the first time yesterday in Avdiivka, destroying a set of TOS-1A.
Also yesterday, near Steppove, a scene appeared in which two advancing Russian BTR-80s simultaneously crashed into Ukrainian mines.
Before this war, I really didn't expect that landmines would become one of the protagonists on the battlefield.
In terms of specific combat conditions, the Ukrainian 3rd Assault Brigade yesterday released the ** of FPV drones striking the advancing Russian infantry on the outskirts of Orlivka, refuting the previous claim that the Russian army has entered Orlovka.
Currently Orlovka and Tonen'KE), in addition, Russia's claim that Ukrainian troops have been withdrawn from Berdychi, although unconfirmed, is likely to be false.
On the Zaporizhzhia front, the Ukrainian army yesterday repelled an attack by the Russians near Robertini, and 2 Russian infantry fighting vehicles were destroyed.
Overall, despite the ongoing offensive of the Russian army, there have been no noteworthy changes in the front in this direction over the past 48 hours.
In the direction of depth, Russian television reported that in Olenivka, in the occupied Donetsk region, units of the Russian 155th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade were being hit by the Seahorse while awarding awards.
Preliminary results: 19 soldiers killed, 12 wounded.
On the Russian battlefield, the partisans of Free Russia, who had not been seen for a long time, appeared in Samara and burned the relay cabinets on the railway line. The railway is located near the airport and is responsible for transporting military cargo.
Yesterday's results announced by the General Staff of Ukraine.
Let's take a look at the other news.
Ethnic Russians in Transnistria demand that Russia intervene, break through the economic blockade of Moldova and be one step away from independence or becoming part of the Russian Federation.
I saw this...
Zelensky, who is visiting Albania and attending the summit in Southeast Europe, signed a cooperation agreement between the two countries with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. Zelensky said that the agreement places special emphasis on "strengthening Ukraine and our artillery." This seems to imply that Ukraine will receive artillery shells from Albania.
Norway and Japan supplied Ukraine with 7$600 million in grants. These funds are provided through the World Bank's "Peace and Development" mechanism in Ukraine and will be used to cover key national budget expenditures;
Zelensky confirmed that Belgium has allocated 200 million euros for the purchase of 50,000 155mm artillery shells for Ukraine (probably the same shipment found by the Czech Republic);
Ukrainian pilots have completed introductory training on the Swedish Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter. Now Sweden is making a decision on the Kyiv ** fighter jet, which is expected to happen soon;
The Netherlands ordered 9 of the latest ITA self-propelled artillery installations for Ukraine from the Czech Republic.
The DITA self-propelled howitzer is a modern fire system capable of striking targets at a distance of several tens of kilometers.
Overall, in the face of the delay in the adoption of the aid budget of US imperialism, Europe is constantly increasing its aid and its attitude is becoming more and more hawkish.
Following Macron's statement that there should be no restrictions on the entry of NATO troops into Ukraine, the chief of the general staff of the Dutch Defense Forces, Onno Eichelheim, also said, "I don't think you should give up any option to see how best to support Ukraine, and sending troops to Ukraine is the last option."
For his part, the chairman of the defense committee of the Finnish parliament said, "Finland has not set any restrictions on its **aid, and Ukraine can also use the ** provided by Finland on Russian territory."
In a word, Europe will not sit idly by and watch Russia win in Ukraine, because this is not only a moral responsibility, but also their own security.
Parliamentary speakers from 23 countries, along with European Parliament President Robert Metsola, sent an open letter to US House Speaker Mike Johnson, urging him to support aid to Ukraine.
I'm still bullish on a breakthrough in March, and one of them could be the "discharge petition" I mentioned earlier, bypassing Speaker Johnson to send the bill to the House of Representatives for a vote on aid to Ukraine and Israel.
"Discharge petition" is a special voting method in the U.S. Congress: when the Speaker refuses to put an agenda on the congressional voting agenda, a discharge petition by a majority of the members of the House can bypass the Speaker and vote directly.