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The Russian Armed Forces continue their attempts to evacuate civilians from the combat zone in the east, northeast and north of Ukraine.
On March 9, the Russian side declared a regime of silence from 10:00 local time and announced that it is ready to provide humanitarian corridors from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol, as well as from other cities in the case of the agreement on this topic with the Ukrainian side.
The announcement was made in a statement signed by the head of the Interdepartmental Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine, Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev.
“The said statement should immediately be brought to the attention of the Ukrainian side and proposed by 03:00 Moscow time on March 9, 2022 to agree on the indicated routes and the start time of the humanitarian corridors,” the statement says.
In particular, security guarantees on the declared routes of the humanitarian operation should be provided by the Ukrainian authorities.
The Russian side will also offer the Ukrainian side to publish a statement on humanitarian corridors in both Ukrainian and Russian languages in the Ukrainian media.
According to the Kyiv side, the corridors were finally agreed in the following directions:
- Energodar — Zaporozhye
- Sumy — Poltava
- Mariupol — Zaporozhye
- Volnovakha — Pokrovsk
- Izyum – Lozovaya
- Vorzel, Bucha, Borodyanka, Irpen, Gostomel – Kyiv
It should be noted that in the previous days, Kyiv’s forces repeatedly sabotaged the evacuation of civilians and even opened fire at residents that tried to use the humanitarian corridors announced by Russia.
Meanwhile, the intensification of clashes were reported in Kharkiv Region. Late on March 8 and early on March 9, the situation was especially tense in the area of Izum. Reports claim that Ukrainian units tried to conduct a counter-attack there. The Russians responded with precise strikes.
Units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine try to push the Russians back from Izum in an attempt to rescue the grouping of pro-Kyiv forces that are currently being isolated in the region of Donbass.
A strike on military positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at Balakliya in the Izum area of Kharkiv Region:
The Russian side released fresh videos showing units involved in the operation in Ukraine:
Delivery of 120t of Russian humanitarian aid to Kharkiv region:
Around Kyiv, Russian forces expanded their control around the Brovary suburb. The developments there were a part of the larger operation to block the city from the eastern and southeastern directions.
Video filmed in the Brovary suburb of Kyiv on March 8:
On March 9, the Russian Defense Ministry revealed that it has obtained documents confirming that the Kyiv government was covertly preparing for an offensive military operation in the Donbass in March 2022. The Russian Defense Ministry shared the documents publicly via the following link: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/i27vyXSwZwLjLw
“In the course of a special military operation, secret documents of the command of the National Guard of Ukraine came into the possession of Russian servicemen. These documents confirm the covert preparation of an offensive operation in the Donbass in March 2022 by the Kiev regime.
The Russian Ministry of Defense publishes the original secret order of the commander of the National Guard of Ukraine, Colonel General Mykola Balan, dated January 22, 2022.
Order “On organizing the training of a battalion tactical group of the 4th operational brigade to perform combat (special) tasks in the joint forces operation as part of a brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
The document is addressed to the heads of the northern Kyiv, southern Odessa and western territorial departments of the National Guard of Ukraine.
The order, communicated to the command of the National Guard of Ukraine, details the plan for preparing one of the shock groups for offensive operations in the zone of the so-called “Joint Forces Operation” in the Donbass.
The document approves the organizational and staffing structure of the battalion-tactical group of the 4th Operational Brigade of the National Guard, the organization of its comprehensive support and reassignment to the 80th separate air assault brigade of Ukraine.
I would like to emphasize that since 2016, this formation of the airborne assault troops of Ukraine has been trained by US and British instructors under the “NATO standard” training programs in Lviv.
In accordance with the order, the Deputy Commander of the National Guard was tasked with organizing combat coordination of the battalion-tactical group of the National Guard as part of the 80th separate air assault brigade of the armed forces of Ukraine from February 7 to February 28, 2022.
…
The document contains the original signatures of the officials of the command of the National Guard of Ukraine responsible for the fulfillment of the tasks,” the statement by the defense ministry spokesperson said.
The Russian Defense Ministry recalled claims by Western media about the |the alleged absence of any plans [by Kyiv] for the armed seizure of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics.”
“Thus, only one question remains unclear so far: how deeply the US leadership and its NATO allies were involved in the planning and preparation of the operation to storm the Donbass by the Ukrainian inter-service grouping of troops in early March. All those who care so much about peace in Ukraine today, the spokesperson added.”
Ka-52 attack helicopters destroy targets in Ukraine:
A map summary of the military situation in Ukraine as of March 8:
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