General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: operational information on the Russian invasion (as of 06.00 18.03.2023)

18.03.2023 12:10

We bring to your attention the operative information of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of 06.00:18.03.2023 on March XNUMX, XNUMX regarding the Russian invasion of our country.

Glory to Ukraine! The three hundred and eighty-eighth day of the Russian large-scale invasion continues.

The enemy carried out 34 airstrikes, 11 of them using the Shahed-136 UAV. 10 of these UAVs were destroyed by our air defense units, but one, unfortunately, hit an object of industrial infrastructure. Fortunately, there were no civilian casualties. Also, the enemy launched one rocket attack and fired 57 rounds from multiple rocket launchers, one of them at the village of Veletenske in the Kherson region. Debris damaged seven 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 regions. For this purpose, the occupiers focused their main efforts on conducting offensive actions in the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiiv, Marin, and Shakhtar directions. Thanks to professional and coordinated actions, our defenders repelled more than 100 enemy attacks in the indicated directions.

On the Volyn, Polis, Siver and Slobozhan directions operational situation — without significant changes. The Russian Federation continues to maintain a military presence on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, but without the 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 attacks on the areas of 14 settlements, including Starykov, Volfine, and Solyaniki of the Sumy region, as well as Strelecha, Hlyboke, Staritsa, Vovchansk, Kolodyazne, Krasne Pershe, Kutkivka, Dvorichna, Zapadne, Ternova and Tyche in Kharkiv Oblast.

On the Kupyansk and Lymansk directions the enemy unsuccessfully tried to break through the defense of our troops during the previous day. Shelled the areas of 13 settlements along the line of military confrontation, including Vesely, Hryanikyvka, Vilshanaya, Krokhmalnoy, Berestovoy, Dibrova, and Andriivka of the Kharkiv region; Novoyehorivka, Nevsky, Bilogorivka, Novoselivka, and Chervonopivka in the Luhansk region, as well as Novoselivka in the Donetsk region.

In the Bakhmut direction 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 total, 11 settlements in the Bakhmut direction were affected by the shelling of the occupiers.

On Avdiivskyi, Marinskyi and Shakhtarskyi directions, the enemy carried out unsuccessful offensive actions in the direction of Kamianka, Nevelske, Avdiivka, Maryinka, Severna and Pervomaiske settlements of Donetsk region. Areas of 21 settlements were subjected to numerous enemy shelling. Among them are Kamianka, Avdiivka, Vodyane, Krasnohorivka, Georgiivka, Maksimilianivka, Maryinka, Vugledar, Velyka Novosilka, Zolota Niva, Paraskoviivka, Tonenka, Severne, Pervomaiske, Nevelske, Pobyeda, Novomykhailivka, Novoukrainka, Prechistivka, Neskuchne and Shakhtarske Donetsk region.

On the Zaporizhia and Kherson directions the enemy continued to defend. At the same time, he carried out intensive shelling of the settlements of Malynivka, Gulyaipole, Zaliznychne, Biloghirya, Mala Tokmachka, Novoandriivka, Mali Shcherbaki, Kamianske, Olgivske, Chervone, Charivne, Orikhov, Novodanilivka, and Stepove of the Zaporizhia region; Vremivka and Novopil of Donetsk region; Good Hope in the Dnipropetrovsk region, 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 region. The total number of settlements that came under enemy shelling is almost 40.

The local so-called authorities in the temporarily occupied and captured territories of Luhansk region announced the start of large-scale military exercises involving the entire conscripted 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.

The enemy has started building fortifications and trenches between the settlements of Ishun and Voyenka in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. 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 six strikes on the concentration areas of the occupiers, and units of missile forces and artillery hit two areas of concentration of enemy personnel and one position of deployment of its air defense means.

In total, last day our soldiers eliminated 880 Russian invaders, destroyed five tanks, seven armored fighting vehicles, eight artillery systems, two anti-aircraft missiles, 14 operational-tactical BpLA, three vehicles and a unit of special equipment.

Believe in the Armed Forces of Ukraine! We will win!

Glory to Ukraine!