WEBVTT

00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:15.039
We like to be precise with our 
content and not cash in on the

00:00:15.039 --> 00:00:19.839
ongoing conflicts, so instead of spamming 
your timelines with hot takes constantly,

00:00:19.839 --> 00:00:24.640
we decided to take our time and summarize 
the continuing Russian invasion of Ukraine

00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:30.320
with monthly videos. This conflict will 
enter history as pivotal both historically,

00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:35.920
and in terms of military science, so we will 
have more to say over the next while. For now,

00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:40.560
allow us to present to you our video on the 
first phase of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:46.960
And with a look at the war’s beginning, we can 
also recommend a celebration of a war coming to

00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:53.120
an end, brought to you by our sponsor MagellanTV. 
This documentary streaming service founded by

00:00:53.119 --> 00:01:00.079
filmmakers presents Tony Robinon’s VE Day: Minute 
by Minute, an in depth look at a single day,

00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:06.640
the day the war in the european theater of world 
war two came to a close. It brings historians and

00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:13.120
veterans together to tell the story of a momentous 
twenty-hour period that changed the modern world.

00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:19.359
There’s much more to see on MagellanTV too: they 
have the richest and most varied history content

00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:24.000
available anywhere, covering everything 
from the ancient to modern eras, wars,

00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:28.719
biographies, and the earth itself - plus as 
well as history content, they also give you

00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:33.359
extensive collections of science, true 
crime, travel and other documentaries.

00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:38.400
They add 15 or more hours of 4K, high 
definition content every week for their

00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:44.400
subscribers at no extra cost. It is all viewable 
anytime, anywhere on televisions, laptops,

00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:52.960
mobile devices, and more. Get access to 3500 hours 
of ad-free documentaries for only $4.99 a month,

00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:58.079
and get a month for free by subscribing to 
MagellanTV via our link in the description.

00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:06.400
In October 2021, the Russian army started 
a build-up on the Russia-Ukraine and

00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:13.200
Belarus-Ukraine borders. The Kremlin explained it 
with planned military exercises, brushing aside

00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:18.639
all the concerns and declaring that they had a 
right to move their forces wherever they deemed

00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:24.079
necessary within their borders. But soon, the 
United States started asserting that the massing

00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:29.360
of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border was a 
build-up for an impending invasion of Ukraine.

00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:35.760
The Russian government vehemently denied this, 
while some NATO states and Ukraine considered

00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:42.719
the US reports exaggerated. Nevertheless, by 
December, Russia started making demands: for

00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:48.960
NATO to guarantee that Ukraine would never join 
the organization; that Alliance would withdraw

00:02:48.960 --> 00:02:56.240
its forces from countries that joined the alliance 
after 1997; that NATO would stop its expansion;

00:02:56.240 --> 00:03:02.159
that NATO would seek agreement with Russia for any 
activities in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, Caucasus,

00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:09.039
and Central Asia. Naturally, the United States and 
its allies rejected these proposals. Despite the

00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:14.639
Russian assurances and attempts of Western leaders 
like French President Emmanuel Macron to find

00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:21.599
common ground, the tensions continued growing. 
On 17 February, forces of the unrecognized

00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:26.400
Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics and 
Ukraine accused each other of shelling.

00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:32.000
Unrecognized governments of Donetsk and Luhansk 
ordered the evacuation of their populations.

00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:39.360
On 21 February 2022, the Russian president 
Vladimir Putin made a threatening speech,

00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:44.000
questioning Ukrainian statehood and 
calling it a Bolshevik-created entity.

00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:50.319
On the same day, Russia became the first country 
to recognize the so-called Donetsk People’s

00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:56.879
Republic and Luhansk People’s republic, justifying 
this step by claiming that a genocide had been

00:03:56.879 --> 00:04:03.039
committed by the Ukrainian government and neo-nazi 
groups against Russian-speaking people in Donbas.

00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:09.520
In the early morning of 24 February, Putin 
announced the start of the special military

00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:16.240
operation to denazify and demilitarize 
Ukraine. A military conflict in Ukraine,

00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:22.879
which started in 2014, turned into a 
full-scale war with the invasion of Russia.

00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:30.879
According to different estimates, Russia deployed 
150k to 200k troops out of total active personnel

00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:37.439
of approximately 900k, along with up to 40 
thousand separatists from Donetsk and Luhansk,

00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:43.120
later joined by a few thousand troops from Syria 
and separatist republics of Abkhazia and Ossetia.

00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:50.639
It is safe to assume that most of the best Russian 
troops were deployed to Ukraine. At the same time,

00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:55.839
the rest of the active personnel are mostly 
conscripts stationed throughout vast Russia.

00:04:56.399 --> 00:05:03.120
The Russian army divides into Battalion Tactical 
Groups (BTG), which are autonomous military units

00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:08.959
consisting of infantry, armored and unarmored 
military vehicles, artillery, field hospitals,

00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:15.120
and so on. According to the latest pre-invasion 
figures provided by the official US sources,

00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:23.519
Russia amassed approximately 120 BTGs on the 
border with Ukraine. BTGs usually have 600-1000

00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:30.000
infantrymen, are supposed to have 10 tanks, 
and between 40 and 70 other armored vehicles.

00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:38.720
This allows us to estimate that 1200 tanks 
and 4800 to 8400 other armored vehicles

00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:44.800
are being used in the Russian expeditionary force 
if all BTGs are equipped by the book, which is

00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:51.759
rarely the case, especially in an army known for 
vast corruption and poor administration. According

00:05:51.759 --> 00:06:00.959
to the IISS Military Balance, Russia possesses 
1391 military aircraft and 544 attack helicopters,

00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:06.560
but it is impossible to know how many of them 
Russia is exactly using in the war in Ukraine.

00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:12.320
The same source shows that Ukraine has 
active personnel of approximately 200k

00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:20.480
troops, more than 3k armored vehicles, 
132 military aircraft, and 55 helicopters.

00:06:21.279 --> 00:06:27.359
Since Ukraine has declared general mobilization 
and armed volunteer Territorial Defense,

00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:31.840
we could assume the actual number of people 
resisting the invasion is way higher.

00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:38.560
Moreover, thousands of volunteers joined Ukraine’s 
international brigade. While talking about the

00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:44.959
comparison of forces, it is necessary to note that 
the Ukrainian army has come a long way since 2014.

00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:51.600
The army has been significantly modernized. 
Its military arsenal is much better, as the

00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:57.920
United States, United Kingdom, Turkey, and others 
have provided Ukraine with anti-tank weapons like

00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:04.640
NLAW and Javelin, anti-aircraft missile systems 
such as Stinger, along with TB2 Bayraktar drones.

00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:11.040
The Russian offensive started with a massive 
shelling and airstrike campaign throughout Ukraine

00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:16.879
with more than 100 missile strikes to destroy 
the Ukrainian military infrastructure, bases,

00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:22.959
anti-aircraft missile systems, arms depots. 
The later events demonstrated that Russia

00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:28.959
failed to achieve its goal, as the Ukrainian 
military infrastructure, albeit heavily damaged,

00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:35.680
managed to mostly stay intact. This was followed 
by a ground offensive in four general directions.

00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:40.959
The Northern Offensive by the Russian troops 
deployed in Belarus towards the capital Kyiv.

00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:46.479
The Eastern Offensive from Belgorod towards 
Kharkiv. The Donbas (Southeastern) Offensive

00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:50.560
from the territories controlled by 
pro-Russian separatists and Voronezh

00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:56.079
towards the Ukrainian-controlled territories of 
the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. The Southern

00:07:56.079 --> 00:08:02.560
Offensive from Crimea towards Kherson, Mykolaiv, 
and ultimately Odesa. It looks like the Russian

00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:08.480
strategy was to rapidly advance towards major 
urban centers, taking large cities like Kyiv,

00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:14.080
Kharkiv, Odesa as soon as possible to break 
the morale and resolve of the Ukrainians

00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:18.959
and force the government to capitulate, along 
with ensuring the land connection between the

00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:24.639
separatist-ruled part of Donbas and Crimea, and 
securing the whole Black Sea shore of Ukraine.

00:08:25.680 --> 00:08:31.280
These 4 offensive axes were supposed to merge 
after securing advances along the frontline

00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:37.120
to make pincer and envelopment movement more 
possible. The exact political endgame of the

00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:43.039
Russian offensive still puzzles analysts with 
claims ranging from installing a pro-Russian

00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:47.839
puppet government to dividing Eastern 
Ukraine into several pro-Russian states.

00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:53.199
The Ukrainian defense strategy was 
to orderly withdraw to urban centers

00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:58.000
while fighting advancing Russian forces, 
bogging them down in urban warfare,

00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:03.279
ambushing and attacking their supply lines. 
It would be illogical for the Ukrainian army

00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:08.480
to defend all the terrain along the whole of 
the massive front, given the Russian advantage

00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:14.320
in firepower. The analyst Michael Kofman 
calls this tactic trading space for time.

00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:20.960
On the first day of the invasion, Russia made the 
most significant advance on the Southern Front,

00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:28.240
where the 58th Combined Arms Army (CAA) advanced 
for about 60 kilometers pushing the Ukrainian 57th

00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:33.919
Motorized Brigade back and taking the North 
Crimean Canal and reaching the outskirts of

00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:40.879
Kherson. On the Northern Front, the 35th CAA 
took Chernobyl and the Chernobyl power plant,

00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:47.840
while the 36th CAAs pushed towards the capital 
Kyiv bypassing Chernihiv. The Ukrainian 1st Tank

00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:53.280
Brigade managed to halt the Russian advance, 
as it failed to capture the city of Chernihiv.

00:09:54.159 --> 00:10:00.879
The 41st CAA’s advance towards Kyiv from Sumy was 
also halted in the outskirts of Sumy by the 56th

00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:07.120
motorized brigade. The Russian airborne attack 
on the Hostomel Airport near Kyiv by the elite

00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:13.600
31st Guards Air Assault Brigade of the Russian 
VDV (elite Airborne Army) also failed after the

00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:20.080
Ukrainian counter-attack. The rapid capture of 
Kharkiv did not happen either as the 1st Guards

00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:25.040
Tank Army could not break the resistance 
of the Ukrainian 92th Mechanized Brigade.

00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:31.440
The advance of the Luhansk Militia and the 
Russian 20th CAA towards Severodonetsk met

00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:36.720
the resistance of the Ukrainian 53rd Brigade with 
heavy fighting around the town of Schastya. The

00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:43.839
elements of the 8th CAA and the Donetsk Militia 
pushed the 54th Mechanized Brigade towards the

00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:50.560
Northwest from the Ukrainian-“DNR” line of contact 
and the 56 Motorized Brigade towards the East

00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:55.839
along the Black Sea shore with heavy fighting 
around Mariupol, but failed to reach its

00:10:55.840 --> 00:11:01.440
overall goals of taking over the rest of Donetsk 
oblast and breaking the Ukrainian resistance.

00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:08.080
On 25 February heavy fighting on all fronts 
continued. The Russian troops forced their

00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:12.639
way into Obolon mere 9 kilometers away 
from the Ukrainian Parliament building.

00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:19.519
The 95th Air Assault Brigade and the 72nd 
Mechanized Brigade were there to protect Kyiv.

00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:25.679
At this point, the United States even offered 
Ukrainian President, Zelenskyy to leave the

00:11:25.679 --> 00:11:31.679
capital, to which he reportedly replied: “The 
fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride”.

00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:38.399
The threat to the capital was real, as during his 
speech to the nation he called the Ukrainians to

00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:42.879
brace for an offensive and urged them 
to prepare for a hard battle for Kyiv.

00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:49.279
Zelenskyy’s refusal to leave and insistence to 
fight against the odds turned him into a hero

00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:54.879
and the symbol of the Ukrainian resistance, 
further mobilizing Ukrainian society and

00:11:54.879 --> 00:11:59.679
galvanizing the international community 
to adopt crippling sanctions on Russia,

00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:05.599
such as disconnecting several major Russian 
banks from SWIFT. But the situation continued

00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:10.800
to be difficult for the Ukrainians. The American 
intelligence predicted that the fall of Kyiv

00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:16.799
would happen within 96 hours. Even though the 
Russians failed to capture Sumy, they continued

00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:22.479
their march towards Kyiv from there, advancing to 
Romny. On the Southern Front, Russians developed

00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:28.159
their success by capturing Novo Kakhovka and 
moving closer to securing Kherson and Melitopol.

00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:33.519
Taking Melitopol was essential to continue 
the march along the Black Sea shore to merge

00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:38.000
with Russian and separatist units trying to 
take Mariupol, along with advancing towards

00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:42.720
Zhaporizhie, which could have encircled the 
Ukrainian units fighting on the Donbas front.

00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:49.040
In Kharkiv and Donbas, the situation remained 
more or less stable, and there were even reports

00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:53.759
of the Ukrainian counter-offensives pushing 
back the Russian units to the border in Milove.

00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:59.759
February 25 was also the day when the defenders 
of the Zmiinyi Island, south of Odesa,

00:12:59.759 --> 00:13:06.319
famously responded to the Russian demand of 
surrender: “Fuck off, Russian military ship!”.

00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:11.920
On February 26, the Russian army mostly used 
special forces and airborne troops to fight

00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:18.479
the Ukrainian defense in Kyiv. With the 36th 
CAA giving up on the rapid capture of Chernihiv

00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:23.840
and bypassing it to move towards the capital, 
it looked that other Russian units around Kyiv

00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:30.080
waited for its arrival to strike Kyiv with massive 
force. Similarly unable to take the city of

00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:36.960
Kharkiv with a direct assault, the 1st Guards Tank 
Army divided into two groups to bypass the city

00:13:36.960 --> 00:13:41.200
to possibly envelop the Ukrainian 
units in the city or move towards Kyiv.

00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:46.800
The situation in the Southeastern Donbas 
front remained relatively stable as well.

00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:52.960
The Russian troops and separatist militia captured 
the port of Berdiansk and the Berdiansk Airport.

00:13:53.519 --> 00:14:00.319
DPR separatists also claimed to capture Pavlopol 
and Pischevik, while LNR separatists also claimed

00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:05.920
to seize Lopeskyne and Markivka. Russia 
continued its advance on the Southern front.

00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:11.759
The 42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division 
of the 58th CAA of the Russian army

00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:16.639
continued fighting in Kherson, while also 
sending units toward the city of Mykolaiv.

00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:22.400
Other elements of the 58th CAA were 
engaged in fighting to seize Melitopol,

00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:26.879
along with advancing towards Enerhodar and 
the Zaporizhian power plant in the north.

00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:33.840
Oleksiy Arestovych, the advisor to the Ukrainian 
president, admitted on February 27 that Ukraine

00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:40.000
lost control over the whole of Berdiansk. 
Prevailing in Kherson and Melitopol, capturing

00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:44.879
Henichesk and Kherson Airport meant that the 
Russian offensive on the Southern front developed

00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:50.480
its success, increasing the threat on Mykolaiv 
and Odesa in the West and Mariupol in the East.

00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:55.919
First reports of the Russian army merging its 
offensives in the Southern and Southeastern

00:14:55.919 --> 00:15:02.319
Front around Mariupol also emerged on that day. 
But the continuing assault on Zaporizhzhya,

00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:08.960
namely on Enerhodar, Vasylivka and Tokmak meant 
that the 58th CAA, the most successful unit of the

00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:14.320
Russian war effort so far, had to fight in three 
different directions, dividing its resources.

00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:21.120
On other fronts the situation remained more or 
less stable as Russia made small gains such as

00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:27.200
the capture of Kupyansk, the encirclement of 
Konotop, but the 41st CAA’s attack on Pryluky

00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:34.240
and the 1st Guards Tank Army’s attacks on Kharkiv 
and Okhtyrka were repelled. By now, it had become

00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:40.080
clear that the strategy of causing collapse of the 
Ukrainian defense by rapid mass offensive on major

00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:46.080
Ukrainian cities had failed, as the Ukrainian 
army not only remained functional in the cities,

00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:51.600
but also managed to harass Russian supply lines 
and inflict major losses on the Russian manpower

00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:57.279
and military vehicles. In response to the 
Western sanctions and failure to rapidly

00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:03.519
defeat the Ukrainian resistance, Putin ordered 
Russia's nuclear forces on high alert. The valiant

00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:09.679
defense of Ukraine caught the West by surprise, 
as contrary to almost unanimous expectation of the

00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:14.479
fall of Ukraine, the Ukrainian army remained 
a force capable of defending the country.

00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:20.559
As a result, for the first time in history, 
the EU announced direct military aid to a

00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:26.479
foreign country - Ukraine, while Germany made 
a major turn in its foreign policy by sending

00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:31.759
weapons to Ukraine and stating its intention 
to dramatically increase its military spending.

00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:39.439
But Russia still possessed major resources 
sufficient to defeat Ukraine. On February 28

00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:45.920
satellite images of a 64-kilometers long massive 
column of tanks, military vehicles, and artillery

00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:52.240
moving from Belarus towards the western part of 
Kyiv were shared on social media. Along with that,

00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:59.519
in the Kyiv front, elements of the 41st and 36th 
CAAs moved to bypass Sumy and Chernihiv to merge

00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:05.759
with an aim to make a push toward East Kyiv. 
Presumably, the overall goal was to attack Kyiv

00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:11.440
from a number of directions, but the maintenance 
of a formidable force by Ukraine in Chernihiv and

00:17:11.440 --> 00:17:16.480
Sumy oblasts caused a major threat to the 
extended supply lines of the Russian army.

00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:24.400
Elements of the Ukrainian 1st Tank Army conducted 
defensive actions against the 41st and 36th CAAs

00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:30.080
stalling the Russian advance in Nizhyn. Along 
with maintaining a solid defense around Kyiv,

00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:35.279
the Ukrainian forces also engaged in 
pointed counter-attacks, such as in Makaryv

00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:42.000
and Borodyanka. In Donbas heavy battles around 
Volnovakha, Starobilsk and Mariupol continued.

00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:49.039
In Kharkiv, Ukraine set a defensive line between 
Chuhuiv and Balakliia, preventing Russians from

00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:55.039
encircling Kharkiv and moving towards Poltava 
and Dnipro. Numerous reports of heavy shelling

00:17:55.039 --> 00:18:02.079
of civilian areas in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol 
and other cities of Ukraine continued. Also, the

00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:08.639
first death of a Russian general in the war was 
reported, as the deputy commander of the 41st CAA

00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:15.920
Major General Andrey Sukhovetsky was allegedly 
killed. On a diplomatic front, as expected the

00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:21.680
first round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations 
in Belarus did not bring any positive results.

00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:26.720
The first day of March brought several 
setbacks to the Ukrainian defense.

00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:33.600
Reports of capture of Kherson and Melitopol 
meant that now the 42nd Motor Rifle Division

00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:40.000
was free to move towards Mykolaiv, while other 
units of the 58th CAA engaged in Melitopol

00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:45.519
could join the attack on Mariupol from the West, 
making the encirclement of the city a real threat.

00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:50.559
Reports of the Belarusian army joining 
the Russian offensive were not confirmed.

00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:56.879
On March 2, the Western intelligence sources 
reported that Russia was switching its military

00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:02.960
tactic from head-on offensive on cities to 
attritional war, wearing down the Ukrainian

00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:08.559
army by continued assault on its defensive 
lines and shelling of Ukrainian cities to break

00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:13.679
the morale of the population as the overall 
pace of their offensive remained well below

00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:21.360
expected. Ukrainians report reclaiming of Horlivka 
by the forces of the 96th Air Assault Brigade and

00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:28.479
Makariv by defenders of the Kyiv perimeter. During 
the next few days both sides claimed taking Irpin,

00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:34.480
Bucha and Hostomel, towns in the vicinity of Kyiv, 
capture of which was crucial for the success of

00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:40.480
the Russian campaign in Kyiv. It indicates that 
heavy fighting was going on around this area,

00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:45.920
but these reports also stipulated that the 
Russian attacks were mostly carried out by

00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:51.360
1 or 2 BTGs at the same time, which 
was interpreted by military experts

00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:56.719
as inability of the Russian army to carry out 
coordinated attacks by a large number of units.

00:19:57.599 --> 00:20:02.399
Another point of the Russian offensive in the 
Kyiv front was Brovary, but the attempts to

00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:10.720
push back the Ukrainian army by the 41st and 36th 
CAAs were repelled. Within the next several days,

00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:16.960
these unsuccessful attacks would continue. 
On other fronts Russia took Balakliia,

00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:21.680
repelled the Ukrainian counter-attack on 
Horlivka and engaged in heavy battle to

00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:28.480
take the Mykolaiv airport on March 3. But possibly 
the biggest gain of the Russian army on this day

00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:34.640
was the capture of Svatova, which is situated 
between Kharkiv and Luhansk, by the 6th CAA

00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:40.320
and by the Luhansk militia. This allowed the 
Russian Eastern and Southeastern axis to link.

00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:46.319
The only positive result of the second round 
of negotiations was the agreement to open

00:20:46.319 --> 00:20:51.519
corridors for civilians stuck in encircled 
cities like Sumy, Chernihiv and Mariupol.

00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:59.200
On 4-6 March Russia made important 
gains on several fronts. In the South,

00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:05.680
the 58th CAA took Enerhodar and the power plant 
in the vicinity, along with Tokmak and Vasylivka.

00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:10.720
There were also reports of successful 
Russian advance on the Mykolaiv airport

00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:15.839
and heavy fighting in the Mykolaiv oblast, which 
was defended by the 57th motorized brigade.

00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:22.160
Along with that, the 6th CAA and Luhansk 
separatist forces started attacking Izium

00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:28.240
and Severodonetsk. The fall of these cities could 
have been disastrous for Ukraine, as it could have

00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:33.839
possibly allowed the Russian units to encircle 
the 56th Motorized Brigade and other Ukrainian

00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:40.159
units fighting in Donbas. Heavy fighting was 
reported along the Chuhuiv-Balakliia line, which

00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:46.720
the Ukrainian defense managed to withstand. They 
were not as successful at the Nizhyn-Pryluky line,

00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:52.559
as Russians were able to penetrate it pushing 
within 20kms of central Kyiv from the Northeast.

00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:59.759
The Russians also managed to encircle Okhtyrka.
On March 7, Ukraine managed to reclaim the

00:21:59.759 --> 00:22:05.440
Mykolaiv airport and Chuhuiv. The massive tank 
column in the west of Kyiv still threatened

00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:10.400
the city, but no significant fighting or 
movement in that direction was reported.

00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:17.039
This was also the day when the first international 
volunteers joined the defense of Kyiv. In the

00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:22.879
South, Russia repeated its tactic of bypassing 
the cities, which it failed to take with a head-on

00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:28.960
assault, as the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault 
Division bypassed Mykolaiv towards Voznesensk.

00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:34.959
The aim was to force the Southern Bug river 
and advance on strategically crucial Odesa.

00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:40.640
On March 8 Russia took steps to 
solidify its encirclement of Mariupol,

00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:46.000
by capturing the highway between the city and 
Volnovakha, while also moving elements of the

00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:52.240
41st CAA to the Sumy oblast to strengthen its 
extended and constantly attacked supply lines.

00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:59.759
On March 9-12, the Ukrainian 1st Tank division 
managed to repel the Russian offensive by the 90th

00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:05.920
tank division and 55th motorized rifle brigade on 
Chernihiv, along with establishing a connection

00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:11.680
with the pocket of resistance in Nizhyn. Heavy 
battles continued in Izium and Severodonetsk.

00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:17.039
Russian offensives on Brovary by the 6th 
Guards Tank Regiment, on Hadyach by the 4th

00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:22.799
Guards Tank Division, and on Krivyi Rih by 7th 
Guards Mountain Air Assault Division were also

00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:30.000
successfully repelled. But the Ukrainian situation 
around Mariupol continued to deteriorate,

00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:35.680
as the Russian forces and Donetsk separatists 
moved into portions of eastern part of the city,

00:23:35.680 --> 00:23:40.799
along with taking Volnovakha. The 
infamous tank column in Northwest of Kyiv

00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:48.799
by now had dispersed and redeployed elsewhere.
The most important event of 13-16 March was the

00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:54.799
ballistic strike at the Yavoriv training center 
near Lviv, as the Russian Defense Ministry claimed

00:23:54.799 --> 00:24:01.039
that 180 “mercenaries” were killed in this strike 
on the base, where training of foreign volunteers

00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:07.680
was conducted. By these dates it had become quite 
clear that Russia had stalled in all directions

00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:12.160
and was unable to conduct any major 
offensive operations anywhere, but Donbas.

00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:18.639
While the Russians made some gains in Izium and 
pushed around Rubizhne, the Ukrainian offensive

00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:24.640
towards Kherson pushed the 20th Guards Motor Rifle 
Division and reached the town of Posad-Pokrovske.

00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:28.799
The Ukrainians also broke 
the encirclement of Okhtyrka.

00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:36.639
On 19-20 March reports of Russian troops digging 
trenches and deploying minefields around Kyiv

00:24:36.640 --> 00:24:42.000
indicate that Russians had given up on offensive 
operations to take the capital and prepared for

00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:50.079
a defensive war. On March 21-24 Ukraine gained 
ground around Kyiv by counter-attacking towards

00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:56.240
Bucha, Vorzel, Moshchun, Makaryv, and Irpin, 
while Russia made progress in Izium and Mariupol.

00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:04.160
On 25-29 March, Ukraine capitalized on low 
morale and poor supply of the Russian army

00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:10.880
and made considerable progress on several fronts. 
The Ukrainian army solidified its successes on the

00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:17.280
Kyiv front by pushing back the 37th Separate 
Motor Rifle Brigade and the 31st Guards Air

00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:23.440
Assault Brigade from Irpin and the 90th Tank 
Division further away from Brovary and reclaimed

00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:30.680
Lukyanivka. In the Sumy-Kharkiv axis, the 93rd 
Brigade took back Trostyanets, Boromlia, and Mala

00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:37.039
Rohan, and end the encirclement of the city of 
Sumy, forcing the 27th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade

00:25:37.039 --> 00:25:42.879
to withdraw to Russia for presumed redeployment 
in Donbas, where Russia still had a capability

00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:48.320
to launch successful offensive operations and 
made some gains around Izium, Severodonetsk,

00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:53.599
along with capturing more of Mariupol putting 
the Ukrainian defense of the city in an even more

00:25:53.599 --> 00:25:59.519
desperate situation. On the Southern front, the 
Russian offensive had completely stalled as well.

00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:08.480
On 30 March, reports of withdrawal of several 
Russian units from the Kyiv axis started to

00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:14.400
emerge, whether due to heavy losses or as a part 
of a campaign to deescalate military operations

00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:20.640
around Kyiv. Along with that, redeployment of 
Russian units, such as the elements of the 20th

00:26:20.640 --> 00:26:26.720
CAA and the 1st Guards Tank Army to Belgorod 
for replenishment to presumably later send

00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:31.279
them to the Donbas front continued.
During the next couple of days,

00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:36.879
we witnessed several instances of fighting on the 
Northern Front with Ukrainian success and then a

00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:45.120
complete withdrawal of Russian units from Kyiv and 
Chernihiv oblasts. The 35th, 36th, and 41st CAA

00:26:45.119 --> 00:26:51.119
made an orderly withdrawal towards Belarus, while 
reports of redeployment of the 90th tank division

00:26:51.119 --> 00:26:57.919
and 2nd guards motor rifle division to the Donbas 
front emerged. On April 2, the Ukrainian Defense

00:26:57.920 --> 00:27:05.039
Ministry stated that Ukraine was now controlling 
all of the Kyiv Oblast. On April 4, the governor

00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:10.319
of Zhytomyr Oblast also stated that the region 
was now completely under Ukrainian control.

00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:17.839
By April 5, there were no Russian troops left in 
the Chernihiv Oblast either. Ukraine prevailed in

00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:24.000
the Northern Front and the Battle of Kyiv against 
all odds. But Russian loss came at a very high

00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:30.240
price for the Ukrainian military, infrastructure, 
and particularly, the civilian population. As the

00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:35.680
Ukrainian army reclaimed Bucha, it witnessed 
horrific scenes of hundreds of civilians lying

00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:41.279
dead on its streets. Satellite images taken on 
the days, when the Russian army still controlled

00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:46.720
this town, prove beyond reasonable doubt that 
this massacre was indeed committed by Russia.

00:27:47.680 --> 00:27:54.080
Ukraine also staged counterattacks in 
Zaporizhia and Kherson oblasts. On 31 March,

00:27:54.079 --> 00:28:00.319
they liberated Malynivka, Vesele, Zelenyi Hai 
and other towns in the Zaporizhia oblast, along

00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:06.639
with several towns and settlements in the Kherson 
oblast, including Novovoronstovka on 1-2 April.

00:28:07.440 --> 00:28:13.279
But around the same dates, Russia continued 
very slow, but steady progress in Donbas,

00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:18.559
as they claimed to capture Zolota Nyva in the 
Donetsk oblast and Zhytlivka in the Luhansk

00:28:18.559 --> 00:28:24.079
oblast. On April 1, Ukraine admitted 
that Russia was able to capture Izium

00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:29.439
after days of heavy fighting. But arguably, 
the most important event of this day

00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:34.640
was the Ukrainian strike on a fuel storage 
depot in the Russian city of Belgorod,

00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:39.200
which was the first incident of spillover of 
the war in Ukraine to the Russian territory.

00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:46.240
On April 4, reports of the advance of the Russian 
forces from the Kharkiv axis towards Slovyansk

00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:52.559
started emerging. According to various military 
experts, capture of Slovyansk created options

00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:57.679
to link up with the Russian units fighting in 
Rubizhne, or advancing towards Horlivka, both of

00:28:57.680 --> 00:29:02.480
which carried a potential risk of encirclement 
for the Ukrainian units on the Donbas front.

00:29:03.519 --> 00:29:11.519
By 5 April, elements of the 1st Guards Tank Army, 
including the elements of the 2nd GMRD, 4th GTD,

00:29:11.519 --> 00:29:21.599
47th GTD, the 106th GAD, the 144th MRD and the 
3rd MRD were redeployed to Izium and we can expect

00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:25.919
most of the Russian offensive operations 
to be conducted along the Donets River,

00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:32.080
which the Ukrainian 25th Airborne Brigade and 
the 81st Air Assault Brigade will try to defend.

00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:39.040
The presidential aide Orestovych noted in his 
interview that the Ukrainian army faces 8 to 1

00:29:39.039 --> 00:29:46.079
numerical disadvantage on this axis. On 6 April it 
was confirmed that the Russian army completed its

00:29:46.079 --> 00:29:54.399
withdrawal from the Sumy oblast too. These forces 
were to be redeployed in Donbas too. Lastly,

00:29:54.400 --> 00:30:00.400
the situation of the Ukrainian units in Mariupol 
was getting increasingly more desperate. According

00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:07.840
to British Intelligence, by April 7 Russia 
already controlled 76% of the city. But it is also

00:30:07.839 --> 00:30:13.439
reported that the Russian units participating in 
the siege of Mariupol are suffering heavy losses

00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:18.559
amid fierce resistance by the Azov battalion 
and units of the regular Ukrainian army.

00:30:19.279 --> 00:30:25.279
In the run-up and on the first few days of the 
war, almost everyone expected a quick Russian

00:30:25.279 --> 00:30:31.039
victory and the collapse of the Ukrainian 
army. It was only a question of when. But

00:30:31.039 --> 00:30:36.639
the Ukrainian army has defied the odds by 
standing tall and more recently prevailing

00:30:36.640 --> 00:30:41.200
in the Battle of Kyiv and reclaiming some 
of the lost territories in other regions.

00:30:42.799 --> 00:30:48.799
Despite the overwhelming advantage in firepower, 
bad planning by the Russian command manifested in

00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:54.480
an inability to conduct major offensive operations 
in the coordination of a large number of units

00:30:54.480 --> 00:31:00.480
and different branches of the military; poor 
logistical preparation was demonstrated by images

00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:06.799
of incapacitated military vehicles due to lack of 
fuel and insufficient food supplies proved by the

00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:13.200
Russian looting of civilian stores; low morale, 
the clear indicator of which is scores of Russian

00:31:13.200 --> 00:31:18.960
servicemen, particularly conscripts surrendering 
to Ukrainians, since they don’t really understand

00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:23.600
what they are fighting for and are just 
completely unprepared to the brutality of war;

00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:30.319
inability to ensure air domination despite the 
huge numerical advantage in military aircraft

00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:33.679
has made the Russian war effort 
in Ukraine to go horribly wrong.

00:31:34.720 --> 00:31:38.880
Around Kharkiv and South of Ukraine, the 
Russians have been pushed back as well.

00:31:39.759 --> 00:31:44.160
The only axis, where Russians and 
pro-Russian separatists can hope to gain any

00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:51.200
considerable success is the Southeastern front.
The Russian General Staff has stated in late March

00:31:51.200 --> 00:31:56.400
that its main focus is on the so-called 
“liberation” of Ukrainian-controlled territories

00:31:56.400 --> 00:32:01.920
of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, since it remains 
the only front, where Russians can realistically

00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:07.360
hope for success. Russia continues to 
employ the tactic of shelling cities,

00:32:07.359 --> 00:32:16.079
including civilian areas causing the death of 1611 
civilians, according to the UN. Mariupol, Kharkiv,

00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:22.000
Sumy, and other cities have been heavily damaged. 
Millions of Ukrainians have fled their country.

00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:27.920
Both sides have suffered heavy losses, but 
Ukrainians have inflicted way more damage on

00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:34.240
Russians than was expected. By April 7 Oryx 
military analysis blog visually confirmed

00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:41.839
Russian losses at 448 destroyed or abandoned 
tanks; 750 armoured vehicles, 20 fighter jets,

00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:48.880
32 helicopters, and three navy ships, 
against Ukrainian losses of 95 tanks,

00:32:48.880 --> 00:32:55.920
under 200 armoured vehicles, 18 aircraft and 
helicopters, and 15 ships. According to the NATO

00:32:55.920 --> 00:33:04.240
estimates of 29 March, 7k-15k Russian soldiers 
have been killed in Ukraine. The US sources

00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:09.839
reported on 9 March that 2k-4k Ukrainian 
soldiers were killed during the invasion.

00:33:11.119 --> 00:33:16.159
Soon we will summarize the second month of 
this conflict, which proved to be not the

00:33:16.160 --> 00:33:22.800
Short Victorious War Vladimir Putin hoped for, but 
a war of attrition that could change the fate of

00:33:22.799 --> 00:33:28.159
the entire region, so make sure you are subscribed 
and have pressed the bell button to see it.

00:33:28.720 --> 00:33:34.400
Please, consider liking, commenting, and sharing - 
it helps immensely. Our videos would be impossible

00:33:34.400 --> 00:33:39.759
without our kind patrons and youtube channel 
members, whose ranks you can join via the links

00:33:39.759 --> 00:33:45.440
in the description to know our schedule, get 
early access to our videos, access our discord,

00:33:45.440 --> 00:33:51.840
and much more. This is the Kings and Generals 
channel, and we will catch you on the next one.