Update on Russian military operations in Ukraine for March 16, 2023:
– Russian warplanes intercepted and apparently clipped the propeller of a US MQ-9 drone carrying out surveillance near Crimea;
– The US has no means of recovering the drone, though Russia may have an opportunity to recover it;
– While the drone operated in international airspace according to the US, it was collecting intelligence on behalf of Ukraine as part of ongoing hostilities, as a party of the conflict and thus threatening Russian national security;
– Bakhmut continues to face encirclement;
– The Western media has begun admitting to the grim deterioration of Ukraine’s forces under the weight of Russia’s strategy of attrition;
– Ukraine has lost the majority of troops trained by NATO over the last 8-9 years;
– Ongoing NATO training is rushed, incapable of meeting or exceeding Russia’s pool of trained manpower;
– Ammunition and weapons are also admittedly running out;
– Ukraine may or may not be diverting reserves for an upcoming spring offensive to instead fight in Bakhmut;
– Any possible counteroffensive around Bakhmut might indicate just how badly deteriorated Ukraine’s forces have become;
Credit to : The New Atlas
