Progress of the liberation of Ukraine. Rossa Primavera News Agency’s report. March 29 (5:00 pm)

ALERT:  Sourced from Russian State-Controlled Media

Rossa Primavera News Agency publishes a summary of events in Ukraine as of 5 p.m. on March 29.

Current military and political situation during the joint operation of the DPR, LPR and Russia as of 2:00 p.m.

The Kiev regime continues to suffer defeat on all fronts. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are conducting a successful offensive in the course of a special military operation.

Overnight, Russian aviation destroyed 68 Ukrainian military targets. Air-launched cruise missiles eliminated a large Ukrainian army’s fuel base in the Rovno region.

In total, since the start of the special military operation, the following targets were destroyed:

• 123 aircraft;
• 74 helicopters;
• 311 Ukrainian drones;
• 1,738 tanks and other armored combat vehicles;
• 181 multiple rocket launcher systems;
• 726 field artillery and mortars;
• 1,592 units of special military vehicles.

Over the past 24 hours, the DPR reported the elimination of 55 more paramilitary Nazi fighters. The following military targets were destroyed:

• 1 helicopter;
• 2 IFVs;
• 1 firing position of 122mm D-30 howitzers;
• 2 trucks.

Russian special forces captured Ukrainian soldiers who participated in the torture of Russian Armed Forces soldiers, said Vladimir Shamanov, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Development of Civil Society, Public and Religious Associations. At Tuesday’s roundtable, he specified that the men in question were Ukrainian citizens Sergei Velichko, nicknamed “Chili,” and Konstantin Nemichev “from the fan group of the local soccer club Metalist.” This information was later refuted.

A powerful missile attack against an airfield in the Khmelnitsky region was carried out – the mayor of the town.

Kiev direction

A decision was made to drastically reduce military activity in the Kiev and Chernigov directions.

Kharkov direction

The mayor of Balakleya in the Kharkov region decided to cooperate with representatives of the Russian army.

“Yesterday I spoke with the leadership of the Russian army, and they also offered their help. It is your right to take or not to take, but today we will organize the work of distribution points of humanitarian aid. There will be flour, potatoes. But no one will give more help today, you understand? I think that later we will meet with them to give us access to electricity and water connections and the like,” Stolbovoy said. The Ukrainian authorities have already branded the mayor as an accomplice of Russia.

Southern direction

A cruise missile hit the building of the Nikolaev Regional State Administration, where Governor Kim’s headquarters and office were located. As of now, 1 dead and 18 wounded are known. The governor was not injured.

Liberation of the LPR and DPR

As of March 29, 2022, in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic, a grouping of DPR troops with fire support from the Russian Armed Forces has liberated and established full control over 135 towns and villages.

Combats for liberation of Mariinka, Novomikhaylovka, and Novobakhmutovka are underway.

The DPR army continues to mop up Mariinka from the Ukrainian army and evacuate bodies of dead Ukrainian soldiers for further burial.

8 fighters of the 25th Airborne Brigade and 6 fighters of the 54th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian army laid down their arms and voluntarily surrendered.

Eduard Basurin, deputy commander of the DPR People’s Militia, said that the DPR military tool two more Ukrainian IFVs, as well as a warehouse with weapons and ammunition, under control.

More than 90% of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) has been liberated. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation liberated LPR villages to the north-northeast of Svatovo-Starobelsk, Novoaidar and Shirokoe. The LPR People’s Militia forces liberated 94 towns and villages of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LPR and DPR).

Mariupol

DPR and Russian troops continue mopping up Azovstal from the Ukrainian nationalists. Despite persistent resistance of Ukrainian fighters, allied Russian and DPR forces are successfully advancing in the dense urban area of Mariupol.

Over the past 24 hours, from 8:00 a.m. on March 28 to 8:00 a.m. on March 29, 629 people, including 131 children, were evacuated from Mariupol to Bezymyonnoye, Novoazovsk district. At present, they are in the evacuation center, which has been deployed by the DPR Ministry of Emergency Situations.

The situation on the territory of LPR and DPR

As a result of the Ukrainian army’s fire, 75 transformer substations, five boiler houses, four schools, one hospital, and over 6,000 household customers were left without electric power in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

Repair and restoration work will begin as soon as the situation allows.

As a result of evening shelling by the Ukrainian army, a civilian was killed in the Petrovsky district of Donetsk on Tevosyan Street. The Ukrainian army resumed the shelling of the Petrovsky district of Donetsk in the afternoon. In the Petrovsky district of Donetsk, on Glazunov Street, houses were damaged. Details are being specified.

During the day in Gorlovka, 8 houses were damaged as a result of the shelling by the Ukrainian army.

As a result of the shelling in Gorlovka, a woman was wounded on Krylova Street. Three people were injured as a result of the Ukrainian army’s shelling of the market area located on Gorlovka Diviziya Street. A fire broke out in a store building. The details are being specified.

An early end of the heating season is planned in the DPR in order to save water in the Republic. The heating supply will end at 1:00 p.m. on March 30.

In Yasinovataya, the water supply to the part of the city near the railway station will be stopped, in other areas water will be supplied once every two days from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m..

Liberated territories

Telecommunications workers are setting up equipment to launch cell phone base stations in Yalta and Melekino. In Novotroitsk, repair work was carried out on the Donetsk-Volnovakha fiber-optic cable.

Specialists from the DPR Ministry of Health treated 206 patients in the liberated towns and villages during the day, and all received qualified medical care. Two more medical institutions were provided with the necessary medicines.

The Ministry of Transport of the Donetsk People’s Republic is repairing the Amvrosievka-Telmanovo road near Oktyabr and Pischevik. Together with specialists from the DPR Ministry of Emergency Situations, they inspected the bridge on the Novotroitskoye road destroyed by the Ukrainian militants and the bridge over the brook on the Amvrosievka-Velikaya Novoselovka road.

Donetsk Railway is repairing production facilities of the locomotive and car depot and substation RP-1 of Volnovakha railway station. The overhead line of the longitudinal power supply of the Karan-Volnovakha line has been repaired.

Employees of the DPR Ministry of Emergency Situations inspected 19.2 hectares of the liberated territory and 0.3 hectares of the water area. 2,264 explosive objects were neutralized. Humanitarian aid was distributed.

Over the past 24 hours, from 9:00 a.m. on March 28 to 9:00 a.m. on March 29, 54 people were wounded as a result of the Ukrainian army’s shelling of the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic, previously liberated by a group of DPR troops.

A total of 58 civilians were wounded with varying degrees of severity throughout the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic during the specified period.

Political situation

According to the investigation, no later than March 27, 2022, on the territory of Ukraine, members of the Ukrainian army and other Ukrainian military units attempted with particular cruelty to murder at least eight detainees, inflicting multiple injuries of varying severity, and using firearms, firing multiple shots. The Russian Investigative Committee is taking all possible measures to identify the persons involved in this crime. Investigations into other crimes by the militants of Kiev regime are continuing.

Attempts by the US government to put pressure on China and Russia or to restrain them will be unsuccessful. This is how Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin commented on the new National Defense Strategy presented to the US Congress by the Pentagon.

“The aforementioned Pentagon report is fraught with Cold War-era thinking and ideology of bloc confrontation. China and Russia are major powers. US plans and attempts to contain or pressure us will not succeed,” he pointed out.

The Russian Ministry of Finance reported that it had fulfilled in full its obligations to pay a coupon of $102 million on sovereign Eurobonds due in 2035.

The dollar dropped below 88 rubles, while the euro reached 96 rubles for the first time since February 28. According to the data of the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange at 10:09 a.m. Moscow time, the dollar was equal to 87.7 rubles, while the euro – 96.43 rubles.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that the global energy crisis points to the need to accelerate the transition to renewable energy.

Major-General Andrei Burdyko, deputy defense minister for logistics and head of logistics of the Armed Forces, will lead a joint training with the military command, military units, and logistics organizations in Belarus from March 29 to 30. The training will focus on the planning of logistics of the Armed Forces in the course of military operations.

The main purpose of the exercise is to increase the coherence of military logistics management bodies to a level that ensures effective and quality planning of logistics of the troops (forces) in the course of military operations of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus.

A battalion tactical exercise with live firing started at the Gozhsky firing range in Belarus with an Independent Guards Tank Battalion of the 6th Independent Guards Mechanized Brigade of the Western Operational Command.

Liberated territories of Ukraine

The formation of law enforcement agencies in liberated Ukraine has begun. In particular, recruitment to police departments in Melitopol and Energodar was announced. The police department in Energodar was headed by Oleksiy Selivanov, an employee of the LPR Interior Ministry and former assistant minister of defense of Ukraine (2011 – 2014).

Aksenov, “A significant part of the residents of the regions of Ukraine liberated during the special operation declare their willingness to obtain Russian passports.”

Sanctions

Russia is ready to cut off natural gas supplies to European countries that will not be able to pay in Russian rubles.

Japanese leaders are calling on local companies to refuse to pay in rubles for liquefied gas supplies from Russia.

As part of the new sanctions, exports of premium-class cars, gems and jewelry to Russia have been banned since April 5.

US senators have prepared a draft proposing to switch from freezing the assets of Russian oligarchs to confiscating these assets and directing the funds to help Ukrainian refugees and the reconstruction of Ukraine, Axios writes.

Russian airlines ignored the sanctions and withheld foreign planes after March 28. Now lessors can begin to hunt for the assets of air carriers.

Matviyenko said she is against nationalizing the property of foreign companies if they leave Russia.

Ukraine

Talks have begun in Turkey between a Russian delegation and representatives of the Kiev regime on the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, with Turkish President Recep Erdogan also taking part in the diplomatic process.

Results of the negotiations from the Russian side:

• Talks between Russia and Ukraine were constructive

• Russia makes two steps to de-escalate the conflict in Ukraine

• Russia suggested that a meeting between Putin and Zelensky is possible after the foreign ministers initial the peace treaty

Kadyrov, “The negotiations that are taking place in Turkey will do no good. It is necessary to finish what we started, to destroy the Banderites, Nazis, and Shaitans. Only then must we decide what to do next.”

Senator Klishas, “Negotiations are necessary, but we must not forget what happened to the Minsk agreements. The neo-Nazis and those behind them do not recognize any obligations. They recognize only force.”

Speaker of the Federation Council Matviyenko, “After reaching agreements with Ukraine, which Russia insists on, we will be ready to stop the special operation and establish cooperation.” At the same time, Matviyenko admitted that she was not yet optimistic about the results of the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia has received written proposals from Ukraine confirming its desire for a neutral and non-nuclear status, Medinsky said.

The Russian Armed Forces will remain on the territory of Ukraine in the coming years. State Duma deputy Sergey Mironov, the head of the A Just Russia — For Truth party, said. “Only our army is able to guarantee the implementation of any agreements with Kiev, only Russian soldiers will reliably ensure the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. This land has already been watered with the blood of our guys, and their comrades-in-arms will not allow these sacrifices to be in vain,” Mironov said.

Senator from Pskov Oblast Turchak noted that it is necessary to transfer the liberated territories of Ukraine to Russian educational standards as soon as possible. “The topics of textbooks that we found in Ukrainian schools – it makes your hair stand on end from what we saw. It is clear that [the books contain] propaganda of cruelty, and anti-Russian ideas. Our common history, including the history of the Great Patriotic War, was literally turned upside down.”

Verkhovna Rada deputy from the Servants of the People Fyodor Venislavsky said that it is possible to enshrine Ukraine’s neutral status in the Constitution. However, the issue must be put to a referendum. And the referendum can take place only after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine.

Anton Gerashchenko, the advisor to the head of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, called the Russian Defense Ministry’s statement about the reduction of military activity around Kiev and Chernigov “absolutely false, aimed at delaying time to strengthen the strike force in Donbass to encircle [the Ukrainian army].”

Denisenko, advisor to the Ukrainian Interior Minister, “So far, the Russians’ words that they will reduce the intensity of hostilities are just words. We can hear the cannonade near Irpen. In Mariupol, there is continuous combat.”

Western countries

The Netherlands is expelling 17 Russian diplomats, Belgium – 21 diplomats, the Czech Republic – 1, Ireland – 4.

Bloomberg reports, citing sources, that NATO countries are divided on what weapons to send to Ukraine and whether it is “useful” to negotiate with Russia.

France and Germany, in particular, believe that a cease-fire and then the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine should be achieved as soon as possible. They are in favor of dialogue.

Other NATO members believe that dialogue between Paris and Berlin and Moscow is counterproductive and could, as one document reads, “play into Putin’s hands,” Bloomberg reported. These are the UK, Poland and a number of Eastern and Central European countries, with the exception of Hungary. They are skeptical about the negotiations because they believe that the Russian leader is not seriously considering a peace agreement, the agency added.

The Pentagon believes that the liberation of the Donbass has become the current priority of the Russian command. The most active advance has been seen in the Kharkov region. Over the past weekend, Russian units overcame five kilometers deep into the territories southeast of Izyum.

The Pentagon explains the priority of Donbass as follows:

The Russian Armed Forces’ intention is to encircle the Ukrainian army’s units in the area and prevent them from moving to other combat areas;

acquiring a powerful trump card for future negotiations;

a general change in military strategy, as no attempts are still being made by Russian forces to advance on Kiev.

According to the Pentagon, Russian troops are 15-20 km from the center of Kiev northwest of the capital and 55 km from the city center to the east.

Due to the running out of stocks of Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and Javelin anti-tank missiles for delivery to Ukraine, the US will accelerate their production – CNN.

A meeting of defense ministers of the Visegrád Group countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland) in Budapest on March 30 and 31 were canceled because of Hungary’s position on the Russian military operation in Ukraine.

The United States is preparing to send former members of the Afghan National Army to the area of combat operations in Ukraine, a source told RIA Novosti. According to the source, they are a group of up to 400 people and will be provided with US weapons.

Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency