Russian army attacks Ukrainian energy facilities, fragments of drone found in Romania: Friday brief

Russia's war against Ukraine: Latest

• Russia's losses in the war against Ukraine have exceeded 440,000 soldiers.
• According to ISW data, the Russian army captured 505 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory since the beginning of the offensive operations in October 2023.
• The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, announced that recently the number of positions regained by the Ukrainian Defense Forces has surpassed the number of losses.
• According to the General Staff, there have been 61 combat clashes on the front, with Ukrainian soldiers repelling Russian attacks near Terniv, Donetsk region, and striking the enemy's command post.

Russian army attacks energy facilities in Ukraine

On the night of March 29, the Russian army once again attacked Ukraine from the air. The enemy launched 60 kamikaze drones and 39 missiles of various types at Ukraine. The anti-aircraft defense managed to destroy 56 drones and 29 missiles.

The enemy attack targeted energy facilities. In particular, the Russians attacked three thermal power plants in Ukraine. Critical infrastructure facilities in Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions were also targeted.

As a result, emergency power outages were implemented in some regions of Ukraine.

For more details on the consequences of the enemy attack, see the material by RBC-Ukraine.

France to transfer decommissioned military equipment to Ukraine

France will transfer decommissioned military equipment to Ukraine instead of discarding it. This was stated by the Minister of Armed Forces of France, Sébastien Lecornu.

During the interview, the journalist clarified that there is some criticism in France regarding the supply of weapons withdrawn from national stocks. The minister responded that the criticism varies.

"From those who think we are giving too much, and from those who think we are not giving enough. We clearly see that we are talking somewhat superficially, and sometimes even politicized, because the European election campaign has begun," the minister said.

He further specified that there is a certain "red line" that he will never cross. It concerns undermining the French defense system.

"As for the weapons we managed to take from our armies, for example, regarding the Caesar guns, they, of course, disrupted the training schedule of our artillerymen, particularly in Canjuers, but other than that, it never undermined our systemic artillery," he explained.

Fragments of a drone found in Romania

Yesterday, on March 29, fragments of a drone were found on a Romanian farm near the border with Ukraine. Several army search teams were dispatched to Great Brăila Island to conduct an investigation.

Currently, the Ministry of Defense of Romania and law enforcement agencies are investigating the drone's crash.

Later, Romanian media published photos of the crashed drone, and its elements contained Cyrillic inscriptions. It was noted that a four-meter crater was formed when the drone fell.

Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu could not confirm whether the drone that crashed near the border with Ukraine was of Russian origin.

Russia jams GPS signals for aircraft over the Baltic region

Aircraft flying over the Baltic region are encountering GPS signal jamming. Russia is considered responsible for these problems.

"The blackout episodes — known as GPS jamming — have been occurring regularly since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022," Politico writes.

Politico specifies that the disruptions are concentrated in Russia's Kaliningrad region.

"Russia is regularly attacking the aircraft, passengers, and sovereign territory of NATO countries," said Dana Goward, President of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation.

She called these incidents real threats and reminded of how during an accidental jamming in 2019, a passenger plane narrowly avoided crashing into a mountain.

The European Aviation Safety Agency is studying this issue, but regulators currently claim that GPS issues do not pose a danger to flights.