Overview
- Ukraine’s General Staff reported 286 engagements on March 17 and 215 by late March 18, with 49 Russian attacks on the Pokrovsk axis and 31 on the Kostyantynivka axis.
- Ukrainian forces say they struck the Aviastar plant in Ulyanovsk on March 16 and the 123rd aircraft repair plant in Staraya Russa on March 17, damaging a climate shelter and aircraft stands at Aviastar and an Il‑76/L‑410 service hangar in Staraya Russa, with overall damage still being assessed.
- The Defense Ministry said more than 20 Russian air-defense and radar/electronic warfare assets were hit from March 1–15, as Ukraine’s drone forces reported additional Tor systems destroyed and a fuel depot struck.
- Russia mounted another large drone attack overnight into March 18, with Ukraine’s Air Force counting 147 strike UAVs and claiming 128 interceptions, while Ukrenergo imposed scheduled and emergency power outages across all regions.
- Ukraine’s security service detained an alleged Russian informant scouting a major thermal power plant, and ISW assessed that Moscow is overstating battlefield gains as Sergei Shoigu acknowledged that no Russian region is fully safe from Ukrainian drones.