RF has really been fighting a war against NATO/US fascist neo cons since 2014.  This is now a 12 year war.
 
High time for RF to finish the job especially when US missile resources are diverted to the Iranian war.
 
Get the job done – carpe diem…………..

Posted by: tobias cole | Mar 16 2026 13:15 utc | 204

The peace talks are just bullshit to keep the Western media complex chattering to cover the US retreat. The US isnt going to go to nuclear war for a bunch of ethnically Russian hillbillies in Ukraine. They never were. What the talks are supposed to do is hide the disorganized climbdown and cast blame around so the loss of face isnt too great which could threaten the USD. And then chucklefuck and his cheerleaders go and attack Iran and immediately puts himself in zugzwang again. Genius level shit.
 
America is cooked. But do tell us more about how Russia, having defeated the US and her NATO puppies, is achshually losing. If nothing else, its always amusing. Like watching someone try and fail repeatedly to tie their shoes.

Posted by: Doctor Eleven | Mar 16 2026 13:47 utc | 206

From Russian journalist Evgeny Poddubny – in case anyone was wondering how the UKR counterattacks in Zapo and Dnepropetrovsk are doing. Warning: 18+ (Distressing images)

https://x.com/failure1991/status/2033538725611712618

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 16 2026 13:59 utc | 208

What happened to the Western price cap of not “allowing” Russia to sell their oil above US$60?
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 16 2026 14:41 utc | 214
 
It lives in their heads. Bessentidiot in an interview on Cnbc says that Putin will not make any money from the high price oil because he only gets 70% of  $150. 

Posted by: rk | Mar 16 2026 14:47 utc | 210

And Dmitriev’s plan wants to return Russia internally back to the 1990s too.
 How is that winning the war?
 
Posted by: GM | Mar 16 2026 4:46 utc | 179

 
Putin only selected Dmitriev to match the real estate negotiators (Kushner, Wikoff) that US has sent. Do you really believe Putin and the rest of the Siloviki that control Russia think that there will be a lasting deal made with this negotiating group or the entire larger Trump Administration?
 
For someone who appears to believe in realpolitik, that is uncharacteristically naive.

Posted by: Fool Me Twice | Mar 16 2026 15:01 utc | 212

tobias cole | Mar 16 2026 13:17 utc | 210
 
Well tobias, there’s the rub, eh, save that pun for later. Oil prices are irrelevant for Russia, cant sell or ship oil and energy through smashed infrastructure, stollen tankers. Three refineries or farms have been attacked in the last three days, ships? Here’s a wee bone for the dogs of MOA to chew on, Iran, using swarm tactics is overwhelming the Middle East’s Epstien Defence bases, same tactic Britkrainians are using on Russia’s AD and energy systems.

Posted by: SenttoCoventry | Mar 16 2026 15:03 utc | 214

Oil prices are irrelevant for Russia, cant sell or ship oil and energy through smashed infrastructure, stollen tankers.

Posted by: SenttoCoventry | Mar 16 2026 15:03 utc | 219
 
Weird isn’t it? Russia unable to export oil yet the US in a ruddy blush to “temporarily” lift sanctions on Russian oil…
 
Nope, I can’t work it out either…

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 16 2026 15:21 utc | 216

Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 16 2026 15:21 utc | 221
 
It’s the Long Game, it may or may not have temporary stops, it will have traps. Will Putin help Trump and take the EU’s lunch money? 
 
Trump had to sell a short Iran war to the US public, four days, five weeks, the bastards are lying, every word is a lie. They knew and have been planning this for years. This will go on for a while. Whatever is required to strangle the flow of oil to China. Including Britkrainians taking out Russian terminals pumping to the EU and surrounding areas. 

Posted by: SenttoCoventry | Mar 16 2026 15:35 utc | 218

What happened to the Western price cap of not “allowing” Russia to sell their oil above US$60?
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 16 2026 14:41 utc | 214

Easy! Euros stand “cap in hand”. they have no choice.

Posted by: MAKK | Mar 16 2026 16:52 utc | 220

Now that you have shown the desperation the the US/Ukraine is exhibiting I will repeat my contention that Ukraine is just one of the theaters of our civilization war and there is MAD contextualization going on with Ukraine, Iran, Taiwan, Venezuela, etc…….don’t want the bully to use nukes but to go down, regardlessI also see the desperation use of armaments as a good sign because the US side is running low on rare earths to build more weapons because of China restrictions….which I don’t see going away at the end of the month visit to China and expect the visibility of the military rare earth restrictions to get more press after that.
 If Russia shot them all down then it is just a training exercise, eh?…../s
 Do you agree that Russia is winning in Ukraine?…but maybe slower than you and other want, eh?……or do you want our species extinction to come sooner?
 
Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 16 2026 4:21 utc | 177
 
Thank you for this comment.  Not just this piece but the rest of your contributions to the threat from about 16 hours ago.
 
It is looking like “Russia’s Dramatic Event” was to ship a bunch of equipment to Iran (through Azerbaijan) along with a message to “deal with the US attack”. We’ll absorb drones that won’t be coming your way.  Just defeat the US steadily and consistently.
 
It is better for the world that Putin and his team are making the call and not me.

Posted by: Woke American | Mar 16 2026 18:02 utc | 222

I think Putin has fallen into the Anchorage trap. His decision to slow down Russia’s advance in Ukraine and his constant pleas for further negotiations are giving the West enough time to rearm. It’s clear that a stalemate has already set in. Next year, there will be a showdown, and Russia will be overwhelmed by massive swarms of autonomous, AI-controlled drones.
Posted by: guest from franconia | Mar 16 2026 11:15 utc | 199

 
Which is the same trap as Minsk-1/2 and Astana. And how did those work out in the end?
 
If you are consistently tricked so easily, some very obvious questions have to be asked. Such as which one of these two options is it:
 
1) Are you an absolute fucking imbecile who genuinely falls for every such immediately obvious deception? In which case you are completely unfit to be the president of Russia. 
 
2) Are you a traitor who deliberately leads the country to catastrophe again and again? In which case you should be sentenced to death for grand treason.
 
There are no other options.
 
The real tragedy is that in Russia itself it is not safe to ask these questions. Strelkov is still in jail for daring to bring up the first item on the list. The second nobody dares touch, because likely worse than jail will happen to you if you do that. 
 
But the slowdown is very real. Memories here are short, I know that. But let’s go back to how the war went:
 
SMO starts, and Russia’s forces immediately started to decrease in number while the Ukronazis mobilized. 
 
Russia still had an overwhemling materiel advantage, so it kept advancing up until June 2022, at which point it exhausted its offensive potential while NATO entered the war directly.
 
Putin refused to mobilize all that time despite the pleas from the military and various comentators inside Russia. 
 
The end result was the Kharkov and Kherson fiascos. 
 
Then Putin partially mobilized, the front stabilized, but the initiative was in NATO’s hands, and in 2023 Russia was on the defensive. 
 
That started to be reversed in the end of 2023 and then in 2024 Russia was on the offensive. And we finally saw real acceleration towards the end of the year. Lots of towns were taken in that stretch from August 2024 to January 2025.
 
But that is when Trump got elected. And since then there was no further acceleration, the tempo in fact slowed down a bit, a grand total of four small cities were taken in the whole of 2025, and now we are at a stalemate again, with the other side poised to push Russia on the defensive again. Because again there is no mobilization, and absolutely nothing done to deprive the enemy of the means to fight. 
 
If they had used those thousands of missiles and drones spent on hitting TPPs, transformers, and empy warehouses to just dig holes in the roads and bridges connecting Ukraine with Romania and Poland, it would have had much more effect on the war. 

Posted by: GM | Mar 16 2026 18:28 utc | 224

1.230 AFU casualties and little detail
 
https://tass.com/politics/2102275

Posted by: Newbie | Mar 16 2026 18:53 utc | 226

Forwarded from Hard Blog
 
 
One of the most serious challenges facing a country’s leadership at the outbreak of war is the need to motivate the population to participate in combat operations, ensure support for decisions made, many of which are unpopular, and generally maintain the public’s desire to wage war. This is a challenging task, requiring the mobilization of all propaganda forces. Moreover, as a rule, the longer the war lasts, the lower the public’s enthusiasm for continuing it. And here, titanic efforts are required to avoid a social rift in which an ever-increasing portion of the population demands an end to the war.
 
But in our country, as usual, the situation is developing paradoxically. The will to win among our people and army seems far stronger than that of the country’s leadership. And the public’s discontent is not the fact of the war itself, but the authorities’ unwillingness to wage it persistently and energetically and achieve victory. Our population is irritated by the authorities’ wandering around various negotiating forums in search of peaceful solutions.
 
When the war began, the people weren’t asked whether they wanted it or not. But the people buckled down and began to pull the strap. And then, to my surprise, I began to discover that the one supposed to be leading the way was beginning to engage in strange maneuvers: goodwill gestures, negotiations, and the creation of a favorable environment for them. It would be fine if this happened only once, but to declare once that the other side is dishonest and using negotiations to buy time and wheedle out goodwill gestures, and then to maintain enthusiasm for the peace process, is, to say the least, strange.
 
Meanwhile, the government has made and continues to make grave mistakes, publicly declaring untruths through the mouths of high-ranking officials. For example, the “army has everything” trumped the volunteers who collected money from the people and used it to fund the army. Does that mean their work is unnecessary? Perhaps they are simply scammers? Then the president thanked the volunteers for their support of the army. So, volunteers and their help are needed? Does that mean not everything is there? And where is it, if it should be? It turns out that in our army’s top leadership, you can’t spit without hitting a corrupt official. The deputy ministers were forced to resign, and the minister was merely transferred. Although, in a situation like this, questions should at least arise about the blatant negligence of management. It’s not just your subordinate who turned out to be a thief. And what were you looking at?
 
And so these episodes accumulated and accumulated, ultimately leading to the current situation in the relationship between the people and the government. The people want war, but a normal war, the goal of which is victory. And they are perplexed as to why their goals and those of the government have suddenly diverged? Why are our civilians dying almost daily in the border regions, while the government, instead of vigorously ensuring the creation of the declared “sanitary zone,” snitches on them to those who provoked and support this war? Why are we taking villages instead of entire districts? Why is the enemy so easily gaining dominance in small airspace?
 
Here’s the thing. The government (if only out of self-preservation) must respond to the key interests and demands of the people. And when the people want victory, and the government wants peace at any cost, these are fundamentally different interests. The people don’t understand what the government is doing, and so theories are emerging about a group of traitors in power (a dangerous symptom, by the way), trying to sell victory for their own selfish gain. After all, in reality, it looks as if the government is acting not only against the interests of the people, but also against its own interests. What other theories could possibly arise here?

Posted by: MiniMO | Mar 16 2026 19:51 utc | 228

Martyanov on the smoothiex12 blog is fast becoming a bag of wind.
In response to a commentator praising Iran for going after the American military bases and querying why Russia isn’t doing the same, Martyanov like a cuck answered ” they can’t because that would mean nuclear war”
Is this nonsense seriously going unchallenged- that Russia can’t strike planes taking off from Romania conducting missile strikes or interceptions against them? Bullshit.
Why is GM being labelled a troll? What the hell is the Kremlin even articulating as its current plans for victory at the moment?
Unless the calculated attrition rate for success is better a the moment than the rate at which the thousands of drones each day are saving manpower sent to the frontline for the khokhols,  then what exactly is Russia trying to do?
The khokhols claiming as their own but obviously its completely western are boasting about missiles of ever increasing range that will soon hit Moscow together with the drones. Like where is this going ,and shouldn’t the likes of Putin and Belousov be far more engaged on Russian media explaining what is happening, being honest about air defence and why cruise missile strike on Bryansk got through?
Where are we going with only more weapons being sent to Ukraine, not less?

Posted by: Winston | Mar 16 2026 20:32 utc | 230

deep strikes in Ukraine have largely stopped

OK…

In Sumy region, a number of commuter trains were temporarily canceled after attacks on the railway

In Sumy region, some commuter trains were temporarily canceled due to damage to the railway infrastructure as a result of Russian shelling
 

This was reported by the press service of Ukrzaliznytsia, reports RegioNews .
 
It is noted that Russian troops delivered targeted strikes on the railway infrastructure of the region. Due to significant damage, specialists will need several days to carry out emergency recovery work and ensure the safe movement of trains.
 
The company noted that a certain amount of time is needed to restore a full-fledged commuter service in Sumy region.
 
So, on March 16, such suburban trains will not run:
 

• No. 7008 Trostyanets-Smorodino-Lubotin;
• No. 6261/6262 Lubotin-Lebedinskaya;
• No. 6267 Lebedinskaya-Sumy;
• No. 6019 Sumy-Vorozhba;
• No. 7011 Lubotin-Sumy.

In addition, on March 17, the train No. 6012/6011 Vorozhba-Trostyanets-Smorodino will temporarily stop running.
 
Ukrzaliznytsya urges passengers to keep track of updates on train traffic and plan trips taking into account time restrictions.
 
We will remind, recently the enemy struck at Sumy region, causing new losses and destruction. In the Boromlyansk community, two men aged 39 and 35 were injured, and a diesel locomotive was damaged. In the Trostyanets community, the consequences of the shelling were even more extensive: two diesel locomotives, railway tracks, five private houses and a farm were damaged.

https://regionews.ua/ukr/news/sumshchina/1773638716-na-sumshchini-timchasovo-skasuvali-nizku-primiskih-poyizdiv-pislya-atak-na-zaliznitsyu (via translation add-on.)

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 16 2026 20:43 utc | 232

deep strikes in Ukraine have largely stopped

Right you are then…

Night attack of drones on Nikolaev: the educational institution and houses are damaged

On the night of March 16, Russian invaders attacked Nikolaev with drones
 

This was announced by the mayor Alexander Senkevich , reports RegioNews .
 
As a result of the attack, an educational institution was damaged, as well as apartment buildings nearby.
 
Fortunately, there were no casualties.
 
“The district administration is already in place and fixing the damage. We will begin to eliminate the consequences of the attack, ” the mayor said.
 
Recall that on the night of March 16, the Russian military attacked Zaporozhye with drones- they hit the private sector . As a result of the attack, houses burned, three people were injured.

https://regionews.ua/ukr/news/nikolaevshchina/1773643075-nichna-ataka-droniv-mikolayiv-poshkodzheniy-navchalniy-zaklad-ta-budinki (via translation add-on.)

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 16 2026 20:50 utc | 234

deep strikes in Ukraine have largely stopped

But there are still three more pages of reports to go…

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 16 2026 20:55 utc | 236

@ J. R.-L.
 
You’re doing much appreciated yeoman’s work. Please don’t stop!

Posted by: malenkov | Mar 16 2026 21:07 utc | 238

deep strikes in Ukraine have largely stopped

A consensus is developing in support of this…

Russians massively attacked Odessa region with drones: kindergarten and high-rise buildings were damaged

On the night of March 16, the enemy again massively attacked the Odessa region with drone strikes
 

This is reported by RegioNews with reference to the head of the Odessa OVA Oleg Kiper .
 

“The air defense forces shot down most of the enemy targets, but damage to civilian infrastructure was recorded,” the report says.
 

In Chernomorsk, the attack damaged the facade and glazing of a kindergarten, as well as adjacent high-rise buildings. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
 
Special and municipal services are working to eliminate the consequences.

https://regionews.ua/ukr/news/odesskaya/1773648505-rosiyani-masovano-atakuvali-dronami-odeshchinu-poshkodzheni-ditsadok-ta-bagatopoverhivki (via translation add-on.)

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 16 2026 21:38 utc | 240

deep strikes in Ukraine have largely stopped

Although further market research is revealing some pushback against the initial product concept…

Russians attacked Zaporozhye again: there may be people under the rubble (Updated)

On Monday, March 16, at about ten in the morning, the enemy attacked a private sector UAV in one of the residential districts of Zaporozhye
 

This was announced by the head of the Zaporozhye OVA Ivan Fedorov , reports RegioNews .
 
As a result of the attack, houses were damaged: windows were broken, roofs and facades were disfigured.
 
One woman is known to have been injured. She is receiving medical attention.
 

Updated at 10: 55 a.m.: Unfortunately, one woman was killed. Two more were injured, they are under medical supervision. Cautiously, there is a 16-year-old girl under the rubble.

https://regionews.ua/ukr/news/zaporozhchina/1773650547-rosiyani-znovu-atakuvali-zaporizhzhya-pid-zavalami-mozhut-buti-lyudi (via translation add-on.)

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 16 2026 21:44 utc | 242

The lights are on in Ukraine

But for how much longer?

Slovakia announced the termination of emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine

Slovakia announces termination of emergency assistance agreement with Ukrenergo
 

This is reported by RegioNews with reference to the company’s statement.
 
It is noted that after a number of public statements that we saw in February and March, Ukrenergo received an official letter from the Slovak system operator, SEPS, on the unilateral termination of the agreement on mutual provision of emergency assistance.
 
The final termination of the contractual terms will take place from May this year.
 
“The reasons why our colleagues cancel the contract were not explained by the SEPS management. For its part, Ukrenergo has never committed any violations of the contractual terms with SEPS, acting in the spirit of good neighborliness and respect for the norms of European legislation,” the report says.

https://regionews.ua/ukr/news/economics/1773685124-u-slovachchini-zayavili-pro-pripinennya-avariynogo-postachannya-elektroenergiyi-ukrayini (via translation add-on.)

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 16 2026 21:50 utc | 244

@ Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 16 2026 21:34 utc | 245
 
I thought the naughty bits were on page 5. Or maybe that was the Viennese Keonen-Zeitung. It’s been a while…

Posted by: malenkov | Mar 16 2026 21:59 utc | 246

@ malenkov | Mar 16 2026 21:59 utc | 252
 
It was definitely page 3 in the British Sun, speaking as a former young teenage newspaper delivery boy…

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 16 2026 22:01 utc | 248

I trust your customers all received their papers promptly and in pristine condition… 😜

Posted by: malenkov | Mar 16 2026 22:06 utc | 255
 
They did, the Christmas tips were enough to buy my first (cheap) music centre (remember those?!) in the January sales.
 
Of course, one or two papers might have been opened, purely for quality control purposes, just to make sure the ink hadn’t smudged…

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 16 2026 22:28 utc | 250

There are alot of factories in Russia, but there seems to be nothing coming out from Putin or the Ministry of Defence to at least reassure the people of the nation, the people working in  these factories that western missiles masquerading as ” ukrainian” from some shitty company like Fire Point aren’t going to destroy them once or twice each week for the foreseeable future.
For a year or 2 it’s mostly been border VILLAGES not the border cities that’s been dangerous because of the excellent Russian airdefence, but now there is no sign that the NATO missiles and drones ranges aren’t going to get longer and plentiful.
 
Is it for once the actual truth from the US – that Russia has caved into every single demand regarding security guarantees, reparations,  no real limit on khokhol military, nothing more about denazification, nothing ever officially agreed on borders –  but the one sole thingy they are demanding is control of all the Donbass? It seems to me like it could well be.
 
If so then the leadership in the Kremlin need to come clean to their people.

Posted by: Winston | Mar 16 2026 23:34 utc | 252

Is it for once the actual truth from the US – that Russia has caved into every single demand regarding security guarantees, reparations,  no real limit on khokhol military, nothing more about denazification, nothing ever officially agreed on borders –  but the one sole thingy they are demanding is control of all the Donbass? It seems to me like it could well be.Posted by: Winston | Mar 16 2026 23:34 utc | 259

 
There were leaked calls between Witkoff and Ushakov, which revealed exactly this. And Ushakov did not deny they were real when asked directly. 
 
So yeah, the Kremlin surrendered everything.
 

If so then the leadership in the Kremlin need to come clean to their people.

 
No, the people need to rise up and take back control of their country, the way they did in October 1917.

Posted by: GM | Mar 16 2026 23:37 utc | 254

No, the people need to rise up and take back control of their country, the way they did in October 1917.

Posted by: GM | Mar 16 2026 23:37 utc | 261
 
Latte-sipping liberal/neo-liberal wishful thinking: “Stir up the population so (((we))) can inject division”.

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 16 2026 23:43 utc | 256

Posted by: Cheney | Mar 16 2026 22:55 utc | 257

It provides intelligence to Ukraine and runs the Ukraine army out of the Rammstein base in Germany.

And I wonder why the evil RF is apparently providing target information on US bases in the ME to Iran.  It beats me, and the real reasons are clearly above my pay grade.
 

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 16 2026 23:02 utc | 258 Is that the same place that was taking bookings for beach parties on the Crimean coast, back in 2023?

Yes, i think so, but I am still waiting on the tickets I ordered then, But everything comes to those who wait.

Posted by: Barrel Brown | Mar 17 2026 0:01 utc | 258

Jeremy,  why do I need a citation?
 
Through the evil of the EU,NATO,404 and the Pindos it looks to me like the otherwise sound attrition policy can still work..but it would take enormous time,money and manpower losses
 
Its not in doubt that Russia is killing many times more khokhols, but with the money flowing and useless, slave, zombified populace as they are the ukrostan (((elite))) have no motivation to come to any agreement. With drones and ISR from the west it could still take over 2 years to liberate Donbass. Probably 4.
 
All the while NATO destroys Russian industries and oil& gas infrastructure with no repercussions ( not even bothering with threatening them now). As I see it, NATO has a free reign to seriously damage 1 or 2 important Russian factories a week. This further reduces the benefit to the attrition strategy.
 
So if nobody is coming up with any better guess of what the Russian strategy is other than attrition ( which would have already been successful if 30 of the richest nations in the world weren’t continously supplying the Nazis), and the Russian leadership is too cowardly to do anything to the loser East European part of NATO – then what the hell other conclusions can be reached other than that the American readouts of the negotiations are correct?
 
If Russia shoots down Ukrainian  planes on the tarmac in Romania tomorrow are the Romanian population going to be such dumb deathcultist losers like the Ukrainians are and step right into war against Russia with all other western nations? I strongly doubt it
 
Russians are free people. They are patient people, but they better start asking serious questions about their leadership and Putin should start answering 

Posted by: Winston | Mar 17 2026 1:35 utc | 260

More (from the Military Channel).
 
Ukraine talked about the fact that the Iranian conflict raising oil prices have given Russia the opportunity to fight the war for at least another year.  Ukraine is requesting (demanding?) 5 billion dollars from the EU for energy.
 
Hungary is doubling down on its opposition to Ukraine.  The parts where people in the street show their anger about Ukrainian attempts to assassinate family members of Orban is quite interesting.  US allies have been assassinating foreign leaders for quite some time.  US assassination threats – well from US allies which are presumed to be approved by the US – are taken a lot more serious than ever before.

Posted by: Woke American | Mar 17 2026 3:36 utc | 262

https://t.me/dva_majors/89751
 

#Summary for the morning of March 17, 2026
▪️ 155 enemy drones were shot down yesterday between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., including those en route to Moscow . By evening, a fire at an oil depot near Labinsk in Krasnodar Krai was still being extinguished after the attack. By nightfall, a large number of enemy UAVs were detected crossing the border in the Bryansk region.
▪️The Russian Armed Forces responded with precision strikes by UAVs and missiles on Kiev and energy facilities.
▪️In the Bryansk region , a Ukrainian Darts UAV attacked a gas station in Sevsk, and another drone attacked a gas station in Suzemka. The enemy’s consistent use of this type of target is evident. Drones carrying incendiary mixtures are also being used in the border area.
▪️ In the Kursk region, two enemy UAVs attacked an energy infrastructure facility, disrupting power supply in settlements in the Glushkovsky and Rylsky districts.
▪️In the Belgorod region , there are three wounded civilians (in Grafovka, Malomikhaylovka, and Gruzskoye) and one Orlan fighter (in Bessonovka). Regular arrivals are reported in seven municipalities in the region.
▪️The situation in Kupyansk and further south remains unchanged. Heavy weapons and drone strikes continue.
▪️Russian units are fighting on the approaches to Konstantinovka , using aircraft and drones. The enemy still retains control of the heights near Krasnoye and Chasov Yar.
▪️In the eastern Zaporizhzhia direction , Ukrainian forces continue their attack at the junction with the Dnipropetrovsk region. In Otradnoye, a Ukrainian Armed Forces armored personnel carrier was hit by a drone strike, but the enemy has not regained control of the area. Forces of the East Group of Forces continue the systematic clearing of controlled territory to prevent Ukrainian infantry, supplied by air, from entering the rear. Further south, our forces are advancing in Komsomolske and Verkhnyaya Tersa, capturing several strongholds.
▪️On the Zaporizhzhia Front, the enemy launched five targeted attacks on the grounds of a district hospital in the city of Vasilyevka. Our forces are engaging the enemy with drones in the gray zone up to Malokaterynivka.
▪️Yesterday, the Kherson region summarized the horrific results of shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces over the weekend. Kyiv regime attacks claimed the life of one civilian (in Nova Kakhovka) and wounded six people (in Topolivky, Oleshky, and near Velyki Kopani).

Posted by: GM | Mar 17 2026 3:42 utc | 264

Correction, the URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ4AeeMdSvA  came up eventually, very slow to load

Posted by: Perimetr | Mar 17 2026 5:31 utc | 266

https://ria.ru/20260315/pvo-2080789280.html

MOSCOW, March 15 – RIA Novosti. Russian air defense forces destroyed two Neptune missiles, 12 HIMARS projectiles, and 605 Ukrainian Armed Forces drones in the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry reported .

“Air defense systems shot down two long-range Neptune guided missiles, four guided aerial bombs, 12 rockets from the US- made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system , and 605 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Posted by: Perimetr | Mar 17 2026 5:54 utc | 268

How did you get Ria Novosti converted into English?  I tried quite a few things, all unsuccessfully.
Posted by: Woke American | Mar 17 2026 6:24 utc | 277

 
Most browsers have an autotranslate option these days, revealed with a simple right click anywhere on the page.

Posted by: GM | Mar 17 2026 6:31 utc | 270

Very simple — the government is not run by and for the people, and the interests of the people it is run by and for are very different. And yeah, those people are traitors indeed

Posted by: GM | Mar 16 2026 21:52 utc | 251

 
Point being that every single Russian is solidly glad not to be Ukrainian right now … because although the Russian Federation might be occasionally neglecting some details of your perfect defence strategy, the Ukrainian government is actively sweeping the city streets with press gangs, sending their own people to certain death for a pointless war already clearly lost.
 
Eventually NATO will need to come out in the open … it’s getting closer to that stage but jumping too early is an incredibly stupid idea. Take a look at the advantage to Russia of nothing more than waiting for Trump to attack Iran. Now the Iranians can apply pressure and Russia can concentrate on Ukraine … no more defence missiles for Zelensky.
 
No government anywhere is run “for the people” but sometimes they fully hate their own people … while other times they at least offer something. Other times they just act like idiots in no one’s best interests. If the leadership did exactly what the people wanted, you would never need any leadership because the people would already be doing that.

Posted by: Tel | Mar 17 2026 8:15 utc | 272

 Ukraine is countering Russian attacks with drone warfare that is the only thing they can do and they are quite successful with it. But that does not mean they are winning the war, they can only defend themselves and prolong the war.  
Posted by: Lesjeuxsontfaits | Mar 17 2026 7:25 utc | 278

 
If you think of this as a war between Ukraine and Russia and not as a war between NATO and Russia, you have no clue what is going on.

Posted by: GM | Mar 17 2026 9:13 utc | 274

dozens of your civilians to be killed and maimed daily 
 
 
“daily”
 
 
hyperbole

Posted by: UWDude | Mar 17 2026 9:26 utc | 276

I remember when you claimed Putin was doing nothing because Donetsk was getting shelled daily.
 
Now that Donetsk is rarely attacked, you still claim Putin is doing nothing.

Posted by: UWDude | Mar 17 2026 9:30 utc | 278

like when you claimed Moscow was getting “bombed” “daily” years ago.
 
Posted by: UWDude | Mar 17 2026 9:27 utc | 284
 
like a week ago when you claimed there was footage of Patriot missiles firing off “daily”

Posted by: UWDude | Mar 17 2026 9:49 utc | 280

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Russia had earned $10 billion in two weeks of the US-Israeli war with Iran.
 
 
That’s about 10% of what Moscow has lost in the oil trade so far this year, he said in a post on X.
 
 
“Now we see they have made around 10 billion over two weeks of the war in the Middle East,” Zelenskyy wrote. “This is really dangerous. It gives Putin more confidence that he can continue the war.”

Posted by: Fredrick | Mar 17 2026 10:42 utc | 282

@GM 281 
That‘s hilarious.  What a lame answer to my comment.
Do you really think there is someone on MoA who does not know that  the war in Ukraine is a war between NATO and Russia?But wait… Starlink is provided by Elodymyr Muskenskij

Posted by: Lesjeuxsontfaits | Mar 17 2026 10:58 utc | 284

The EU is now trying to repair the Druzhba pipeline.
 
If I were Russia, I would let them repair it and then blow it up and blame Zelensky.

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 17 2026 13:32 utc | 286

https://t.me/dva_majors/89759
 

And again, massive launches. Another day, the number of enemy drones launched in a short period of time is striking:
From 8:00 p.m. Moscow time on March 16 to 7:00 a.m. Moscow time on March 17, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 206 Ukrainian UAVs.

Not without consequences:
 
Drone fragments fell within the city itself, and in another case, in a gardening community near Slavyansk-on-Kuban.

One person was injured. He received medical treatment and was hospitalized with a fracture.

Drone debris damaged at least one residential building’s facade, the roof, and windows in several houses. Debris also fell on residential properties.

✨The enemy has increased production (including outside of Ukraine).
 
✨⭐️Isn’t it time to follow the Iranian scenario and destroy the enemy’s factories in the countries serving Kyiv?
 
The warning that we would strike was given in the first minutes of the SVO.

Posted by: GM | Mar 17 2026 13:37 utc | 288

I am still trying to fully understand what actually happened in Venezuela, it’s clear there were traitors and the now so called leader could have been bribed early on, but where are the thousands of Chavista Militia fighters?

Posted by: Englishman | Mar 17 2026 14:54 utc | 290

SMO joke of the day. Sean Penn was unable to receive his Academy Award for best actor as he was partying with Volo in Kiev, oh yeah, the joke part, they get permission from Russia to go there and ask them not to bomb the capital itself while visiting…..coffee projection bibs required. Totally pathetic.

Posted by: SenttoCoventry | Mar 17 2026 15:02 utc | 292

Here’s what Lavrov said at the end of his presser yesterday about the SMO:
 

But the second root cause is the presence of the Nazi regime in Kiev. And it is the Europeans who definitely want to keep it on the territory that Ukraine has left. This regime will continue its hostile anti-Russian activities. Some “stabilization forces” are going to be brought into its territory. These will be occupation troops that will pose a threat to the Russian Federation. We have already spoken about this many times. What kind of “settlement” is it that will preserve the Nazi regime, which banned the Russian language in all spheres, banned the history of those lands that, ironically, ended up within the framework of the Ukrainian SSR, declaring hostility to everything Russian?
 
Back in September 2021, Vladimir Zelensky called those who rebelled against the 2014 coup d’état in Crimea and Donbass “creatures” rather than people. Now he was asked about Crimea. He gave interviews to Western journalists and also said that he did not consider the Crimeans to be people. They want to keep such a person at the head of the state, which, at the behest of the West, has turned into a neo-Nazi entity. The fact that the main sponsors are Germany and the Baltic countries suggests that Nazism is very tenacious in European brains and in European plans. And France, of course, betrays the behests of General Charles de Gaulle and, in fact, takes the same conciliatory position that the Vichy government took during World War II. This is a very serious problem. This is not easy, as they say now, let’s stop along the line of contact and everything will be fine. This is not true. [My Emphasis]

 
Some are trying to connect the War on Russian speaking Ukrainians that began in 2014 with the current war on Iran, however that seems rather tenuous to me since most NATO/EU nations have said publicly the latter isn’t NATO’s war and refuse to participate, which has greatly riled Trump.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 17 2026 15:37 utc | 294

The late SMO trend that’s developing is seeing mercenaries from all the cartels and mafias in the world going to 404 for “training” and kokhols sending “military experts” everywhere the empire could need them to train “rebels”.
I wonder what will happen when there will be more Colombians in the AFU than Banderists … a coup from a Narco ? Not that the new one would sniff less that the former one but that’ll be fun. El Banderistan libre ! 

Posted by: Savonarole | Mar 17 2026 16:16 utc | 296

Isn’t it about time that the BRICS countries expressed solidarity with Iran and withdrew from this year’s World Cup in North America?
In particular I’m looking at 3 Countries.
 
Brazil
 
Egypt
 
Iran
 
South Africa
 
 
What do Lulu, al-Sisi and Ramaphosa think about the US attack on Iran?
 
Maybe they are waiting to see how it turns out, but who do they express solidarity with – the USA or Iran?

Posted by: Julian | Mar 17 2026 16:38 utc | 298

There were some figures floating around that 60% of AFU is already foreign mercs.
Posted by: unimperator | Mar 17 2026 16:22 utc | 304
 
I want to add a few more comments about this.  The Military Summary Channel talked about a new US counter offensive – kind of a continuation of an older one.
 
It looks like the US engaged in a strong 2 pronged attack.  New mercs to Ukraine, well trained. LOTS and LOTS of drone support, hundreds fired each day, combined with the decapitation strike on Iran.  In short, preempt the upcoming Russian offensive with strong additional forces providing both defensive AND offensive support.
 
The plan seemed to be able to brag:  Russia talked about this great spring offensive – WE TURNED THE TIDES.  Not only that… Iran is now FREE !!!  “Ukraine” might not be able to actually get all the way to the original Russian border, but “Ukraine” would be able to reclaim lots of Blackrock owned territory for the US.
 
So in Ukraine it’s been standoffish, although Russia has made continual modest gains depending on how you map out the US counter offense area.  Iran has definitely turned the tide in the West Asian front.
 
My expected outcome:  Russia made a big deal about sending stuff to Iran through Azerbaijan.  This implies that Russia has fairly large stockpiles of stuff to use.  Russia has still not made its big spring move.  The one thing I am fairly certain of:  it will be noticeable, it will be not strong enough according to critics of Russia, including many Russians living in Russia, and there will be kinetic activity outside of Ukraine.   

Posted by: Woke American | Mar 17 2026 16:53 utc | 300