UPDATES: War In Ukraine (Day 15)
Last night the US House of Representatives voted on a massive $1.5 trillion package to fund the US government it also includes a $13.6 billion emergency fund for Ukraine.
Talks are underway today in Turkey with the Turkish delegation meeting the Russian and Ukrainian parties separately.
In the UK there is discussion of providing Ukraine with the highly capable Starstreak short range air defense system. The UK Ministry of Defence is currently exploring the ideas feasiblity of deploying the system.
Yesterday we also examined the impact the war is having on private sector industries in Russia, with countless companies stepping away. Read the full article here.
If you missed our coverage of the ongoing conflict from yesterday, you can find it here.
This feed timestamps using local Eastern European Time (EET).
Updates:
11:45PM (EET) – the Institute for the Study of War has released its latest situation map and report. Interestingly, they suggest that the likelihood of Ukrainian forces fighting Russia to a standstill is increasing. The Russians seem to be suffering from operational inertia around Kyiv and Chernihiv in the face of strong Ukrainian resistance. The Institute also suggests the possibility of a fresh push from Belarus is increasing.
10:30PM (EET) – Ukrainian efforts to recruit international volunteers continue with a new video aimed at English speaking audiences. It combines stock imagery with some of the footage of damage to Ukrainian cities. Another example of Ukraine’s very capable public relations efforts.
7:50PM (EET) – The high level talks which took place in Turkey earlier today have failed to achieve meaningful progress according to reports. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his counterpart Sergei Lavrov met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu for tripartite talks. The talks were described as uneasy.
6:05PM (EET) – Footage shared by Radio Liberty Ukraine shows a fighting patrol near Kyiv (date unknown). What is of interest is that they are extremely well equipped with anti-armour weapons. They have RPG-7s, RPV-16s, NLAWs and Spanish C90s.
4:40PM (EET) – Oryx have updated their verified list of Ukrainian losses. Noting a T-64BV, one of Ukraine’s most capable tanks, confirmed lost.
4:07PM (EET) – Ukraine’s President Zelensky discusses the bombing of the Mariupol children’s hospital in a video address. He notes the Russian narrative around the incident is to deny the hospital was in use and that military forces were using it.
This aligns with the public line pushed by official Russian channels. Earlier today the Russian Embassy in the UK published a thread suggesting the hospital was “non-operational” and occupied by the neo-Nazi associated Azov battalion. Also claiming that a pregnant beauty blogger was employed by the Ukrainian’s for propaganda purposes. (Since removed by Twitter as misinformation).
3:35PM (EET) – OSINT analysts Oryx have shared an update on their tally of verified Russian losses.
3:10PM (EET) – President Zelensky has announced the establishment of a government task force for the reconstruction of every Ukrainian city affected by the Russian invasion.
3:05PM (EET) – Ukraine’s Prime Minister has thanked the US for its substantial emergency aid package, voted on yesterday.
2:20PM (EET) – Ukrainian drone footage, likely from a TB2, shows the destruction of a Buk-M2 surface to air missile system. The footage is yet to be verified.
1:17PM (EET) – A drone video, believed to show the ambush of a Russian armored column near Brovary, gives us some interesting insights. The Russians don’t appear to have done proper reconnaissance before entering the area and are tightly packed. The Ukrainian’s use the time honoured tactic of targeting the lead and tail vehicles first. The column retreats rapidly and could have taken considerably more losses. The time and date of the video is yet to be independently verified.
10:54AM (EET) – Japan confirms the shipment of the defensive aid it promised last week.
10:40PM (EET) – Ukraine’s National Guard shared footage of personnel defusing an unexploded unguided bomb, said to have been filmed in Mariupol.
10:20AM (EET) – Discussing the potential deployment of Starstreak high-velocity manned portable anti-air missiles with Sky News, Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said: “We’re just looking at the practicality and feasiblity of how we would deploy that to the Ukrainians.”
9:30AM (EET) – The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense released a video showing Ukrainian troops salvaging Russian ordnance from a ambush site. This is part of an increasing narrative of reusing captured Russian kit against their enemy. It has also featured in a recent speech from President Zelensky.
9:05AM (EET) – Seperate meetings between Turkey and both Russia and Ukraine have taken place.
8:10AM (EET) – The UK Ministry of Defence has released an update on the situation in Ukraine. It notes reduced Russian air activity as a whole, confirms Russia has used conscripts in Ukraine (despite stating the opposite) and the column approaching Kyiv have been attacked by the Ukrainians.
7:25AM (EET) – The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense released a short video update on the situation as of 6AM (EET). Reporting limited operations and slowed Russian progress. Also claiming to have destroyed 4 Su-25. They also claim that Russian personnel are demoralized and that “the number of cases of desertion and looting has significantly increased.”