At a time of Russian aggression, everyone sees how important it is to maintain alliances, to strengthen our own security and to take care of the security of neighbors – address by the President of Ukraine

7 March 2024 – 20:01

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

A few summaries of the day.

I held a meeting with the Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service to discuss current threats and some sensitive areas of our international activities. I am grateful to everyone in the world who helps Ukraine with the proper focus of our country’s attention.

We also continue to work with our partners – I had a meeting with the UK Secretary of State for Defenсe, who was on a visit to Ukraine today. I thanked him for the UK’s tangible leadership in security support for Ukraine, in strengthening our defense and the world’s joint capabilities to defend against Russian aggression. Today we discussed our further cooperation. The priorities are obvious – air defense, long-range weapons, artillery. Supply and joint production. And achieving justice, so that every Russian murderer and their entire terrorist state are held accountable for this war. We have already reached a historically unprecedented level of cooperation with Britain. By the way, it was with Britain that we signed the first bilateral agreement on security commitments. We must fully implement it for the sake of our common strength.

Today, I also approved the candidate for the position of our country’s ambassador to the UK. General Valerii Zaluzhnyi told me that this is the direction he would like to take – diplomacy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has sent a corresponding request for agrément. Our alliance with Britain should only get stronger.

And today there are several decrees worth mentioning. I have signed two decrees on awarding state decorations to our warriors – 520 more servicemen of the Armed Forces. Each and every one of them deserves our gratitude and respect. And today there is also a decree to discharge conscripts – those who were called up for military service before the start of the full-scale invasion. Now, at the request of the military command, a few weeks are needed for preparatory procedures – for replacing people in terms of defense tasks, and from April, the conscripts will be sent to the reserve. I know that some of them have signed a contract to serve in the Defense Forces. I am grateful to everyone.

And a few more things for today.

I had the honor to hand over apartment certificates to the Heroes of Ukraine and the families of the fallen Heroes. This is our new tradition of specially honoring every warrior whose bravery has become a paragon.

I would like to thank all our people in the regions bordering Russia – Sumy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv. Everyone who protects these regions from subversive groups and enemy shelling, who saves people. This is extremely important and we appreciate it. Each and every one of you who is doing everything to preserve normal life. Today, Russia launched another attack on Sumy. There are wounded. Unfortunately, there are dead. My condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones. The Russian state will definitely be held accountable for this evil. Our warriors will ensure accountability of the terrorists.

Today, it is important to note that one more country in Europe has achieved greater protection from Russian evil. The procedures for Sweden’s accession to NATO are being finalized.

When the security of one country is guaranteed and when that country is able to truly strengthen common security, everyone wins. This rule has worked consistently throughout NATO’s existence. And I believe it will work in the future.

Now, at a time of Russian aggression against everything that has made Europe peaceful and united, everyone sees how important it is to maintain alliances and partnerships, to strengthen our own security and to take care of the security of neighbors.

Sweden is a strong ally and a country that can be trusted. And I congratulate everyone in Sweden and everyone in the Euro-Atlantic area. Ukraine has always supported Sweden in its pursuit of NATO membership, and I thank Sweden for its support of our country – there will be a day when Sweden will be able to congratulate Ukraine on joining the Alliance as well. Together, we are always stronger.

I thank everyone who is in Ukraine and with Ukraine! Glory to all those who fight and work for the sake of our country and people!

Glory to Ukraine!

Well this is interesting:

https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM/status/1765791973925929205

The cost:

https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1765727906733441431

https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1765834413697372171

The reason:

https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1765759560965308510

A dose of reality from Tatarigami:

https://twitter.com/Tatarigami_UA/status/1765617076201238859

Given the re-emergence of discussions about a potential Ukrainian counter-offensive in 2024, and even specific dates named, it would be wise to avoid these speculations, particularly by officials, considering both frontline realities and past experiences with inflated expectations.

In my assessment, any realistic counter-attacks should be opportunistic, responding to enemy mistakes or rare openings, which might or might not arise this year, much like the Kharkiv 2022 counter-offensive. Announcing such moves in advance would be highly counterproductive.

While the enemy may be losing offensive momentum, it is very important to understand that Ukraine cannot afford to incur losses comparable to those suffered by Russia – 16 thousand men and over 300 vehicles, as highlighted by the deceased Russian milblogger Morozov, only to liberate a settlement like Avdiivka.

In this asymmetrical situation, where the enemy has more men, vehicles, ammo, and better-fortified positions, a head-to-head and entirely symmetrical approach is unlikely to succeed.

 

https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1765802884032036978

From The Kyiv Independent:

The ongoing impasse on U.S. aid for Ukraine is “nothing short of a gift to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin” and other American adversaries, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on March 7.

Aid for Ukraine and other U.S. allies have been stalled in Congress for months, largely over unrelated domestic political disputes.

The U.S. Senate passed a foreign aid bill on Feb. 13 containing $61 billion in funding for Ukraine, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has yet to put it to a vote in the House, despite pressure from the Senate and the White House.

“As the House continues to stall, Russia is gaining ground and Ukraine is being forced to ration ammunition and supplies,” Yellen said ahead of a bilateral meeting in Washington with German Economy Minister Robert Habeck.

“The House must act and show the strength of the U.S support for Ukraine in the face of Putin’s aggression,” she added.

Yellen’s comments echo those from other U.S. officials, who have argued that the impasse in Congress contributed to Ukraine’s loss of the key front-line city of Avdiivka.

U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said earlier in March that Putin is taking advantage of delays in U.S. aid to Ukraine to further Russian military efforts.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned during his visit to Lviv in February that Ukraine is at risk of losing the war without American aid, urging Johnson to put the bill to a vote.

According to internal U.S. estimates in February, Ukraine’s ammunition shortage, exacerbated by the delay in U.S. aid, “could effectively turn the tide of the war and lend Putin a significant advantage.”

Ya think?

https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/1765379008760312226

Dynuz has the details.

he fighting had become increasingly ferocious last month at the Zenith air-defense base a mile south of Avdiivka, where for years a company of Ukrainian soldiers had defended the southern approaches to the city.

Russian troops had moved up on their flanks and were pounding them from all sides with tank, artillery and mortar fire, smashing their defenses and wounding men.

“Every day we tried to repel enemy attacks,” said Senior Soldier Viktor Biliak, a 26-year-old with the 110th Mechanized Brigade, who had spent 620 days defending the base. “All the fortifications were being destroyed and there was no possibility to build new ones.”

Soldiers interviewed after their retreat described an uneven four-month battle under a relentless onslaught of Russian artillery and glide bombs that destroyed buildings and broke through deep concrete bunkers. As the Ukrainians took casualties they became increasingly outnumbered by the Russians assaulting the city, who broke through at two strategic points and quickly seeded areas with fighters.

The fall of the city, when it came in mid-February, was brutal and fast, occurring in less than a week.

For two weeks, as soldiers warned they could be overrun by Russian forces, commanders told them to keep holding their positions, a delay that cost lives, Soldier Biliak said. Some units were crumbling under Russian fire. One company pulled back to the Zenith base after losing its positions.

The final retreat was dangerous and costly, as Russian artillery fired constantly on the roads leading out of the city. Many soldiers died along the way.

The biggest losses came in the center of the city from the heavy Russian aerial bombardment, said Shaman, 36, a commander of the 25th Separate Battalion, who was monitoring his units from a command post. Some brigades lost contact with units under the bombing. A group retreated to a house and were killed when a glide bomb hit it, said Shaman, who like others interviewed identified himself by his call sign for security reasons.

The capture of Avdiivka was the Russians’ most significant gain in nine months and a blow to Ukrainian forces struggling with shortages of ammunition and men.

As they regrouped in the villages and training grounds after their retreat from Avdiivka, Ukrainian soldiers expressed no doubt why they lost the city, a holdout on the eastern front that had been a target of Russian assaults for 10 years.

“It was the lack of ammunition,” said Shaman, whose battalion was deployed to Avdiivka in October when the Russians began a new offensive against the city. “No question.”

With sufficient artillery Ukrainian troops could have held the city, he said, by hitting Russian supplies and logistics behind lines, and preventing reinforcements from coming in.

More at the link.

France:

https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/1765770128405237976

Here’s the rest of Rahman’s thread from the Thread Reader App:

Macron today produced maps of a poss Russian breakthrough towards Kyiv or Odessa which could oblige the west to act to prevent a Russian victory in Ukraine. In talks w French opposition leaders, Macron said there should be no more “red lines” on Fr involvement in the conflict 1/ 

.@EmmanuelMacron summoned leaders of all French parliamentary parties to talks at the Elysée Palace to explain his controversial remarks last week in which he said the deployment of western troops in Ukraine should no longer be excluded 2/ 

Participants in the meeting said Macron had explained his theory of “strategic ambivalence” – keeping Moscow guessing. Since Vladimir Putin clearly knew no limits, he said, the West had been handing him an advantage by fixing or “interiorising” limits of its own /3 

But Opposition leaders of the Far Right, Right and Left said they had been left worried and unconvinced by Macron’s approach (which has also been rejected by the US, UK, Germany and several other Nato countries) /4 

Jordan Bardella, the president and de facto Number Two of Marine Le Pen’s @MLP_officiel far right Rassemblement National, said threatening to send French soldiers “to fight a Nuclear power like Russia  is irresponsible and  extremely dangerous for world peace” /5 

The Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel said that he feared that Macron was “ready to engage in a bellicose escalation which would be very dangerous” /6 

Today’s meeting was the prelude to a two day parliamentary debate next week to discuss a ten year defence pact signed by Macron and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr @ZelenskyyUa last month 7/ 

Macron told French journalists on Wednesday that he hoped this debate would “make it clear” which political forces in France supported Ukraine and which supported Russia 8/ 

Elysée officials deny domestic politics & June EU elex have influenced Macron’s new rhetoric on Ukraine. They say he is driven by the difficult situation on front line, Navalny’s murder & Kremlin talk of a possible attempt on his own life when he visits Kyiv later this month 9/ 

Macron is, however, evidently hoping the new rhetoric will embarrass Le Pen, who had a long history of Putin worship before the Ukr invasion. The Govt spokeswoman, Prisca Thevenot, says it is “quite evident” that Le Pen, unlike Macron, is not “committed to Russia’s defeat” ENDS 

Macron has found his spine. That’s a good thing if he can walk and not just talk.

Germany:

https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/1765763322803060978

https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/1765767161119666226

Since Weiss didn’t thread these right, here’s the last two tweets:

(FYI: Kurenkov was part of the FSO, Putin’s praetorian guard, until 2022; now he’s the Russian Minister for Emergency Situations.)

Should have been clearer above: Kurenkov was the liaison to the FSB. The cut-out used was Visa Mizayev, a Russian businessman, who first met Arthur. E. and mentioned his Russian minister contact.

Moldova:

https://twitter.com/GiorgioCafiero/status/1765750262579245237

Politico Europe has the details.

CHIȘINĂU, Moldova — Moldova is feeling the heat from Russia, but it has a message for Moscow: know your limits.

Increasingly belligerent security threats from Moscow and hints that it could annex the Kremlin-backed breakaway region of Transnistria are chilling but they are out of touch with the reality of Russia’s current military capabilities, Chișinău’s top diplomat told POLITICO.

Foreign Minister Mihail Popșoi said that Russia’s military power has waned “thanks to the sacrifice of the brave Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian army,” in one of his first interviews with international media since taking office a month ago.

“We are safe, although safe could be a strong word given the front lines are just 200 kilometers away,” he said.

Fears have grown among Moldovans, the West and analysts that the Kremlin is stepping up its efforts to destabilize Moldova after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week accused Chișinău’s government of “following in the footsteps of the Kyiv regime” by “canceling everything Russian” and “discriminating against the Russian language.” A significant proportion of Moldova speaks Russian as a native language, and it is widely used across society without restrictions — a situation Popșoi reiterated the government has no intention of changing.

“Lavrov, the perception is, doesn’t speak for the siloviki,” he said, referring to Russia’s bellicose security and military elites who call the shots when it comes to staging provocations. “We know the situation on the ground, and most likely he knows the situation on the ground — he just has to play his role.”

The veteran Russian envoy also sought to inflame tensions over Transnistria, a breakaway region inside Moldova’s borders along the frontier with Ukraine, where Russia has stationed a contingent of troops and exerts control over the separatist administration. Last week, while stopping short of requesting annexation by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Transnistria’s leaders called on Moscow to “protect it against the pressure of Moldova.”

“Our intelligence services, Ukraine’s intelligence services, are clear that there is no premise for that,” Popșoi said. “They are showing us evidence that the situation on the front line, because Ukraine is so determined in defending its territory, makes it unlikely — although not impossible. The probability that the Russians would be able to advance and reach our territory is much lower now than it was two years ago.”

Instead, Popșoi continued, the threats are more likely part of “a psychological operation” designed to divide Moldovans and undermine the country’s negotiations to become part of the EU.

More at the link.

Norway:

https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1765710043054248351

Good news from our Norwegian friends 🇺🇦🤝🇳🇴

Norway will provide €140 million to procure artillery shells for Ukraine within the Czech initiative.

Also, Norway joined the Air Defense Coalition. That’s an important step towards strengthening Ukraine’s capabilities, as Norwegian NASAMS have already proven their effectiveness in protecting Ukrainian cities.

We are grateful to Norway for their unwavering support. We stand united on our way to Victory.
@Forsvarsdep @Bjornarildgram

Only had to go through 5 countries to get to some good news!

Britain:

https://twitter.com/rustem_umerov/status/1765823490513334484

Together with @CinC_AFU Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, met with my British counterpart Grant Shapps @grantshapps and Chief of the Defence Staff of the United Kingdom Admiral Sir Tony Radakin
@AdmTonyRadakin_.

Discussed priority needs of Ukraine’s defence forces.
Grateful to 🇬🇧 for the decision to increase drone funding for Ukraine by over $150 mln and delivering of more than 10,000 drones to the #UAArmy.

Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi provided an update on the situation on the frontlines and the enemy’s recent activity.

Expressed gratitude for the UK’s comprehensive support, particularly for providing Storm Shadow missiles that truly make change on the battlefield.

The UK is continuously persuading the free world to do what’s right. Together, we are proving that democracy can win against autocracy.

Sweden:

https://twitter.com/NATO/status/1765792533378933201

And the best of the good news for last!

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1765794972387733664

The necessary amount for the purchase of 800,000 pieces of artillery ammunition for Ukraine from countries outside the European Union has been collected. Czech President Petr Pavel told journalists today during his visit to the Central Bohemian Region. Another 18 countries will participate in the assistance initiated by the Czech Republic. The ammunition should be in Ukraine in the coming weeks.
https://ceskenoviny.cz/zpravy/pavel-castka-na-nakup-munice-pro-ukrajinu-je-shromazdena/2489100

From Ceske Noviny: (machine translated into English)

Kersko – The amount needed to buy 800,000 artillery ammunition for Ukraine from outside the European Union was collected. President Petr Pavel told reporters today when visiting the Central Bohemian Region. Another 18 states will be involved in the assistance initiated by the Czechia. Ammunition should be in Ukraine in the coming weeks, said Pavel. Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) appreciated the ability to cooperate with partners in providing assistance to the country under attack by Russia. He assured that hundreds of thousands of rounds would be delivered this year. However, according to national security adviser Tomáš Pojar, the total costs are not covered and the president apparently thought only of the first delivery, he said Diary N.

“This morning we have collected the total amount for the purchase of all ammunition, ie the 800,000 pieces,” the president announced today. According to him, the next step is to be taken by the Czech government, which will conclude a memorandum and set up mutual relations. “The Czech side will then be followed by information on all those contributing states about the timetable and how we will proceed,” said President Pavel.

According to Prime Minister Fiala, Ukraine now needs more support than ever. “I am glad that we are able to work with so many partners around the world to provide the necessary help. I can guarantee that hundreds of thousands of rounds will be delivered this year, “the Prime Minister told ČTK today.

However, National Security Adviser Pojar questions that he would be able to withdraw the money needed to buy all the ammunition. “I assume that the President meant covering the first batch, not our entire initiative, we have by no means covered here yet,” said Deník N Pojar, who coordinates the initiative.

According to Defense Minister Jana Černochová (ODS), the speed with which the necessary money can be obtained is great. “The initiative continues, we are constantly looking for other ways to get Western and Eastern provenance ammunition. It is necessary to use the potential of this broad coalition, “she said. She pointed out that the Czechia was one of the first countries to supply Ukraine with rocket launchers, tanks, howitzers or attack helicopters. “At a time when other countries were still hesitant about Russia’s response. When it turned out that Europe’s efforts to deliver the promised ammunition would not be fulfilled, we were the first to come up with an ammunition initiative and once again stood at the forefront of helping Ukraine as leaders, “added Černochová.

“Defending sovereign Ukraine is in Europe’s security, as Russian imperialism will not stop in Ukraine. Czech diplomacy is doing everything to ensure the security of Czech citizens, “said Daniel Drake, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement to ČTK.

President Pavel informed about the possibility of purchasing artillery shells for Ukrainians in third countries at the Munich Security Conference in mid-February this year. He said the Czechia had located 500,000 artillery ammunition in standard NATO caliber and another 300,000 pieces in Soviet caliber in non-EU states. The British Financial Times wrote that the purchase should cost $ 1.5 billion (about $ 35 billion). The Agency reported today that the amount was collected Bloomberg with reference to its unnamed resources.

Pavel did not want to mention the amounts from individual states today. “It probably wouldn’t be fair to those states that contributed if we didn’t discuss it with them,” he said. According to him, Norway promised the necessary amount today. “Now it will only be on the dexterity of our companies and the Ministry of Defense, how we will be able to speed up the whole process,” added Pavel.

Kharkiv:

https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1765673997159563507

Novomykhailivka:

https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1765698659679617352

Russian occupied Kherson Oblast:

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1765722789128871936

Moscow:

https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1765873887709954135

Cherepovets, Russia:

This morning, 7th of March 2024, 5:40 local time. There was a reported drone attack on the Severstal plant (Steel industry company) in Cherepovets, Russia. 800km from Ukraine border. The drone hit the place where the blast furnace is located. pic.twitter.com/OuNI5b0XBm

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) March 7, 2024

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

Proud to serve Ukraine with our brave sappers of @SESU_UA pic.twitter.com/dD9p9zjo49

— Patron (@PatronDsns) March 7, 2024

Open thread!