Russia, on the offensive against a Ukraine lacking ammunition, claimed the conquest of a new village, Ivanivské, on Saturday, March 23, in an important sector of the Eastern Front.
The capture of the town of Ivanivské announced by Russian forces comes a day after an attack on a Moscow concert hall claimed by Daesh that left 133 dead.
This Ukrainian town is located between Bakhmout, a town destroyed and occupied by Russia since May 2023, and Chassiv Iar, which Moscow wants to conquer.
Advance towards Avdiïvka
If Russian forces were successful, they could intensify their attacks on Kramatorsk, a large city in Donbass controlled by Kiev and an increasingly frequent target of Russian bombing.
Further south, the Russian army on Thursday claimed the capture of another village near Avdiïvka, a ruined town captured in February by Moscow.
Russia also claimed on Saturday afternoon to have repelled an attack by ten Ukrainian missiles against the city of Sevastopol in Crimea, a peninsula annexed in 2014 by Moscow, its governor said.
“Our army repels a massive attack on Sevastopol. According to initial information, more than ten missiles were shot down,” Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram. He later stated that the attack left one dead, a 65-year-old civilian hit by the remains of a missile, and four injured, including a teenager.
Intense exchange of strikes between both countries
Crimea is regularly attacked by the Ukrainian army using missiles and drones because it is important for the logistics of the Russian forces occupying southern Ukraine.
In addition, Ukraine and Russia again carried out reciprocal air strikes during the night from Friday to Saturday, which left two dead on the Russian side, while the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, still partially deprived of electricity after the attacks the day before, was again attacked. .
Two civilians were killed and seven others wounded during a drone strike and strikes in Russia’s Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, the regional governor said.
Ukraine, for its part, was the target of 34 Shahed explosive drones, of which 31 were shot down. Four people were injured in Kharkiv, a city with a pre-war population of 1.5 million near the Russian border.
Kharkiv plunged into darkness
The country’s second city, Kharkiv, was plunged into darkness on Friday, and as of Saturday morning, some 275,000 people were still without power, according to Governor Oleg Synegoubov. However, the city was attacked again overnight from Friday to Saturday by Russian drones.
A municipal building was hit first and then again when emergency services arrived at the scene. Two rescuers and a police officer were later injured. According to the governor, an 18-year-old man was also injured.
Ukraine experienced a massive bombing campaign against its electrical facilities during the winter of 2022 and 2023, but this year these infrastructures were largely spared thanks to stronger anti-aircraft defenses.
Friday’s attacks, however, showed that Ukraine was far from safe and authorities insisted they urgently needed anti-aircraft systems and ammunition.
Source: BFM TV
