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The Russian military and the forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) have concluded day 25 of their special military operation against the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) with several gains, mainly in the Donbass region.
The city of Mariupol remains the center of events. As of March 20, fierce street fighting continues in the city of Mariupol. Units of the Russian Armed Forces and the DPR developed their advance in the city with fire support from Russian Navy warships. The grouping of AFU troops, nationalist forces and foreign mercenaries encircled there is gradually being destroyed.
In a last attempt to spare the city any further destruction, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it will open humanitarian corridors in the eastern and western directions of the city from the morning of March 21.
Russian forces will give AFU troops, nationalist forces and foreign mercenaries a possibility to leave Mariupol unarmed via humanitarian corridors.
Meanwhile in the western and southern parts of the Donetsk region, Russian and DPR forces continue to advance to the west of Volnovakha. The village of Stepnoye was reportedly captured. Intense clashes continued in the vicinity of Marinka and Avdiivka.
Russian and DPR forces also advanced 12 kilometers and reached the Nikolske line. The settlement of Sladkoe was blocked from three sides by the joint forces.
Work is currently underway to eliminate the remnants of nationalist formations and the 54th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the AFU in the settlements of Sladkoe, Novoukrainka and Shahterskoe.
DPR forces are pursuing the retreating units of the 53rd Mechanized Brigade of the AFU in the direction of the settlement of Novomihailovka. At the same time, the forces penetrated the defense of the AFU’s 25th Airborne Brigade and reached the settlements of Kamionka and Novoselovka 2.
Meanwhile, in the Kharkiv Region, the area of Izum is the main hot point. Fighting continues near Kamenka to the south of it. Russian and LPR forces are working to to eliminate the defense of AFU troops there to open the door for an advance on Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.
In the region of Kherson, the situation is under complete control. The region has become a logistical hub for the group of Russian forces involved in both operations around Mariupol and Mykolaiv. The road from Crimea to Kherson city has been fully secured by Russian forces.
In the region of Mykolaiv, Russian troops tightened their siege on the provincial capital by expanding their zone of control around it and establishing strong points in such areas as Pervomaiske and Snigirevka.
Meanwhile in the regions of Chernihiv and Sumy in northern Ukraine, the military situation remained almost the same. All the large cities are besieged by the Russian military that does not appear to be planning to storm them anytime soon.
On the western front of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Russian forces continued to expand their zone of control. Russian forces have been gradually advancing towards the towns of Makarov, Belgorodka and Byshev. Russian forces also conducted security operations in the already liberated villages and towns there.
The Russian military continues to carry out precision strikes on high value military targets in Ukraine. On March 20, fresh strikes on military infrastructure facilities in Ukraine were carried out.
A high-precision air-launched missile hit the training center for special operations forces of the AFU, where foreign mercenaries were based. The strike on the base near the settlement of Ovruch in the Zhytomyr Region, eliminated more than 100 members of pro-Kyiv forces.
Furthermore, a salvo of Kalibr cruise missiles [from the Black Sea] hit the Nezhin repair plant and destroyed workshops for the repair of Ukrainian armored vehicles damaged in the hostilities.
Another strike with Kalibr missiles [from the Caspian Sea] and hypersonic aeroballistic missiles Kinzhal [from the airspace over the territory of Crimea] destroyed a large base for storing fuel and lubricants of the Ukrainian armed forces near the village of Konstantinovka in the Mykolaiv Region. This base was used for supplies of fuel for Ukrainian armored vehicles in the combat areas in southern Ukraine.
According to the most recent briefing by the Russian Ministry of Defense, since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, 214 drones, 1483 battle tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 150 warplanes, 584 field artillery and mortar weapons and 1279 units of special military equipment were destroyed.
The city of Mariupol will likely remain the focus of Russian military operations in Ukraine for the upcoming few days. Once the city is captured by Russian forces, the other fronts in Donbass will likely see more intensive operations. Kyiv’s forces to the east of the Dnieper river may end up getting besieged within a few weeks.
