[Korrespondent] 22:50 The KRAKEN special forces reported that they had destroyed an autonomous observation tower in the Bryansk region of the Russian Federation with a drone.
22:03 Powerful explosions are heard in Melitopol, two enemy bases have been previously destroyed, Mayor Ivan Fedorov said.
21:12 In Zaporozhye, the rubble of a destroyed high-rise building as a result of a Russian missile attack on March 2 has been completed. 13 people died, including an eight-month-old baby, the State Emergency Service said. City Council Secretary Anatoly Kurtev said that five more people are now considered missing. Monday, March 6, is declared a day of mourning in Zaporozhye.
20:38 Zelensky, in an evening video message, called the battle in Donbas "one of the most difficult, painful and difficult." At the same time, he added that the past week was "another week when our soldiers and each and every one who helps defend the state made the Ukrainian victory even closer."
20:14 Russia has caused damage to the Ukrainian ecology for 2 trillion hryvnia, said the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strelets. According to him, the forest is currently suffering the most in Ukraine, because of which the state is suffering enormous losses: due to the war, almost 3 million hectares of forest were damaged, almost 500,000 hectares are under temporary occupation or in the war zone.
The minister also noted that ten national parks, eight nature reserves and two biosphere reserves are now under Russian occupation. Under the threat of destruction of 600 species of fauna and 750 species of flora.
19:30 The Russian army is focusing its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Kupyansky, Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Miner directions. According to the State Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a conflict is brewing in the top military leadership of the Russian Federation due to significant losses and the lack of real achievements at the front. In February, Putin awarded the commander of the Eastern Military District, Rustam Muradov, the rank of colonel general for his report on the "successes" of the 155th Marine Brigade in the Ugledar direction. Now Shoigu is demanding that the general work out his rank and take the city at any cost.
According to the information of the General Staff, the leadership of the brigade and the servicemen refuse to again go on a senseless offensive, in which the leadership sends them - to storm the well-fortified positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine without any support and training.
18:29 Scholz said that Ukraine will receive security guarantees from the West only after the end of the war with Russia: "We are ready to organize certain security guarantees for the country after the onset of peace." At the same time, the chancellor added that "we have not yet reached this point." Scholz stressed that the decision to resolve the conflict will be made by Ukraine, not the West.
17:31 In the Kharkiv region, Russians fired artillery at the village of Budarki, Volchansky community, Chuguevsky district. In particular, they got into the car in which there was a married couple - both died on the spot.
16:42 Diplomatic efforts to return the Zaporizhzhya NPP under the control of Ukraine have reached a dead end, Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said: "As of the moment, the situation has reached a dead end. Our position, which we voice at all international platforms, boils down to the fact that any negotiations on the Zaporizhzhya NPP should be based: firstly, on the demilitarization of the station, secondly, on the exit of all employees of Rosatom from the ZNPP, and thirdly, Ukrainian personnel should be able to operate the nuclear facility calmly, without pressure."
According to the minister, the situation is approaching critical. In particular, the IAEA reported that due to the incorrect operation mode, the condition of the equipment at the ZNPP is deteriorating.
14:08 Loitering air bombs, which the Russians have recently begun to use in Ukraine, are dangerous, in particular, because they can fly tens of kilometers, said Yury Ignat, speaker of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Therefore, according to Ignat, Ukraine needs modern fighters, such as the F-16, to intercept guided aerial bombs, as well as to “fight away” aircraft that make launches. In addition, such bombs are capable of destroying Patriot and SAMP-T air defense systems.
13:40 The Russians fired mortars at the village of Ponyatovka in the Kherson region - a woman and two children were killed, the Office of the President reported.
12:07 The number of Russian missile carriers in the Black Sea indicates preparations for a missile attack, but the tactics of the Russian Federation have been changing lately, Natalya Gumenyuk, speaker of OK Pivden, said: "They have already realized that massive attacks are not the result they expect. This is high costs and low returns. Therefore, most likely, they will use pinpoint attacks - as was the case in the Kremenchug region."
Gumenyuk noted that in the case of pinpoint attacks, the enemy raises aircraft into the air, and also keeps rocket carriers at the ready in the sea. So he diverts attention and tries to confuse the Ukrainian air defense.
11:33 British intelligence notes that cases of close combat have become more frequent at the front in Ukraine. This is likely the result of the Russian high command continuing to push for offensive actions that involve mostly infantry with less artillery support due to a lack of ammunition in Russia, experts say.
In particular, in late February, Russian mobilized reservists said they were ordered to storm a Ukrainian concrete stronghold, although they were armed only with firearms and shovels. Most likely, we are talking about sapper shovels, which are used by Russian soldiers for hand-to-hand combat. According to intelligence, the lethality of the standard trench tool - MPL-50 - is especially mythologized in Russia. The infantry shovel has changed little since it was developed in 1869, but continues to be used as a weapon, which emphasizes the brutality and low-tech combat, experts conclude.
11:26 In Russia, there is time until the end of spring to try to achieve at least some military goals in Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, head of the GUR MOU, said in an interview with USA Today: "Russia has spent a huge amount of human resources, weapons and materials. Its economy and production unable to make up for these losses. It has changed its military chain of command. If the Russian military does not achieve its goals this spring, Russia will run out of its tools of war."
11:05 Ukrainian defenders in one night destroyed 15 groups of Wagnerites who were going to storm in Bakhmut, TSN journalists say with reference to the fighters. Due to the lack of equipment, the Russians are increasingly sending only soldiers on the offensive, they said. The mercenaries of Wagner PMCs attack mainly with manpower and try to push through the Ukrainian positions.
09:29 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, two people were killed (in Bakhmut), seven more were injured. In the Kherson region, one person died, three were injured. In the Kharkiv region, one dead (in Kupyansk), according to the regional military administrations.
08:51 In Zaporozhye, the number of people killed as a result of a Russian missile attack on a residential building on March 2 increased to 13 people , including an eight-month-old child, the State Emergency Service reported. Work continues. Employees of the State Emergency Service rescued 11 people, as well as four cats and a dog.
08:36 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of March 5.
- personnel - about 153,120 (+930) people liquidated,
- tanks - 3414 (+5),
- armored combat vehicles - 6692 (+9),
- artillery systems - 2426 (+12),
- MLRS - 488 (+1),
- air defense systems - 248 (+1),
- aircraft - 302 (+0),
- helicopters - 289 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 2071 (+5),
- cruise missiles - 873 (+0),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 5299 (+10),
- special equipment - 232 (+2).
07:58 The Russian army is concentrating its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Kupyansky, Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Miner directions. Over the past day, the Defense Forces repulsed more than 130 enemy attacks in the indicated directions, the General Staff said in the morning report .
In particular, in the Bakhmut direction, the enemy does not abandon attempts to cordon off the city of Bakhmut. Over the past day, Ukrainian defenders repulsed numerous attacks in the areas of the settlements of Vasyukovka, Zaliznyanskoye, Orekhovo-Vasilyevka, Dubovo-Vasilyevka, Grigorievka, Ivanovskoye and Bakhmut.
05:24 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that the Russians will not be able to surround or capture Bakhmut in the near future. According to analysts, the Russian troops on Saturday, March 4, carried out one limited attack and once again failed. Experts suggest that the Russians probably intended to encircle the Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut, but the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces would rather give the command to retreat than risk encirclement. The ISW estimates that Ukrainian forces can still hold their positions at Bakhmut if they choose to try.
03:49 Two Ukrainian pilots arrived in the US to test their skills in piloting combat aircraft, including F-16 fighters, NBC reports. Ukrainian pilots are assessed on simulators at a military base in Tucson, Arizona. According to NBC, US authorities have approved the arrival of ten more Ukrainian pilots in the US to undergo a similar assessment this month.
00:24 For the first time, Russian troops used UPAB-1500V (index K029B) guided planning bombs weighing 1500 kg against Ukraine for the first time, Defense Express reports citing its own sources. According to the publication, the first use of this type of ammunition was recorded a few weeks ago against one of the objects in the Chernihiv region. On one of the wreckage there were remains of markings that correspond exactly to UPAB-1500V.