The Institute for the Study of War breaks down Putin\u2019s remarks on possibility of Western troops in Ukraine, cross-border raids into Russia. The EU will be able to produce enough ammunition, the Czech President says. Poland and Germany launch an armored capability coalition for Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to use claimed record levels of voter turnout and support for his presidential candidacy to set informational conditions for a protracted war in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a report on March 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responding to President Macron\u2019s remarks about sending troops to Ukraine, Putin stated on March 18 that military personnel from NATO member countries are already in Ukraine, including personnel who speak French and English, and acknowledged Macron\u2019s claim that Western personnel would perform \u201csecondary functions.\u201d Putin also reiterated Kremlin talking points about the possibility of full-scale conflict between Russia and NATO and Russia\u2019s feigned interest in peace negotiations aimed at undermining Western support for Ukraine and convincing Western countries to push Ukraine into negotiations that would ultimately undermine Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, ISW said. Putin\u2019s claim that Western military personnel are already operating in Ukraine suggests that Putin believes that the West has already violated this purported \u201cred line,\u201d and thus that Western concern over Russia\u2019s response to the violation of the \u201cred line\u201d (if it ever existed at all) is baseless. ISW previously noted that Ukrainian forces and Western assistance to Ukraine have crossed Russia\u2019s supposed \u201cred lines\u201d several times over the course of the war without drawing a significant Russian reaction, indicating that many of Russia\u2019s \u201cred lines\u201d are most likely information operations designed to deter Ukrainian and Western actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putin admitted that the all-Russian pro-Ukrainian volunteer forces are comprised of Russian citizens amid the continuation of cross-border raids into Belgorod Oblast on March 18. Putin stated on March 18 that \u201cfour groups of traitors\u201d are conducting cross-border raids into Russia and insinuated that Russia will execute the traitors. Putin claimed that Russian forces have destroyed 800 of the 2,500 all-Russian pro-Ukrainian personnel he estimated to be involved in conducting the attacks into Russia. Putin previously accused \u201cUkrainian forces\u201d of conducted the cross-border raids on March 12 to 15. Russian milbloggers praised Putin and agreed that Russian \u201ctraitors\u201d need to be \u201celiminated,\u201d despite previously also claiming that \u201cUkrainian forces\u201c were conducting the raids into Belgorod and Kursk oblasts. The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) recently added a section to its daily situational report to account for the \u201cBelgorod direction,\u201d suggesting concern within the Russian MoD regarding how long these cross-border raids will continue, ISW said. Russian sources, including the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that the volunteer forces continued limited ground attacks near Spodaryushino and Kozinka, Belgorod Oblast and the Siberian Battalion posted a photo claiming to show volunteer forces operating in Kozinka. The previous raids appear to have been more limited than the current raids, which began on March 12 and have continued over the past six days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
European countries will be soon able to produce enough ammunition to refill domestic stocks and send it to Ukraine, Czech President Petr Pavel told RFE\/RL. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cProduction of sufficient amounts of ammunition takes time. We need to ramp up our production. But Ukraine needs ammunition right now,\u201d Pavel said. [RFE\/RL released his comments in Ukrainian, we translated them into English]. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe cannot wait until European companies are ready. That\u2019s why we are trying to find ammunition wherever we can and send it to Ukraine as quickly as possible. In parallel, we are building up our capacity. In the near future, European companies will be able to produce enough ammunition to replenish their stocks and provide Ukraine with ammunition if it still needs it,\u201d Pavel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He earlier said that it is now not possible to imagine Ukraine and Russia negotiating an end to the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Poland and Germany are activating an armored-vehicle coalition to aid Ukraine\u2019s fightback against Russia\u2019s invasion, Poland\u2019s Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister W\u0142adys\u0142aw Kosiniak-Kamysz told a joint news conference with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in Helenow near Warsaw on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kosiniak-Kamysz said that Poland and Germany would lead the coalition, and that other countries had signed up, including the UK, Sweden, and Italy. \u201cIt is one of the most important coalitions that have been established,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Germany\u2019s Pistorius said the capability coalition is set to confront Ukraine\u2019s long-term armor needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"