The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine says it can’t rule out that Russia’s leadership could stage acts of provocation on their own territory to impose martial law and announce full mobilization.
The relevant statement was issued by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook.
As of 06:00, March 19, 2022, the situation and nature of actions of the Ukrainian defense forces remained mostly unchanged. “The Armed Forces of Ukraine and other units of Defense Forces continued to strike at the grouping of enemy troops, which attempted to hold the earlier captured positions,” the report states.
Ukraine’s anti-aircraft missile forces and fighter jets engaged 12 enemy air targets, including two warplanes, three helicopters, three UAVs, and four cruise missiles.
Over the past day, Ukrainian defenders have destroyed several enemy convoys in Mykolaiv and Sumy regions. The data on enemy losses is yet to be updated.
“Commander of the 8th All-Military Army of the Southern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Andrey Mordvichev, was killed in a Ukrainian attack,” the General Staff wrote.
Considering heavy manpower losses, Russia’s military and political leadership may decide to declare full mobilization to continue a protracted war of exhaustion.
“In order to justify such actions, it is possible that a number of provocations will be carried out within the territory of the Russian Federation involving casualties among civilians, similar to what they did before the start of the second Chechen campaign. This will allow the pro-government leadership to impose martial law and declare full mobilization,” the General Staff stressed.
Meanwhile, bodies of Russian soldiers and Russia’s wounded servicemen are being shipped out of Ukraine.
“In the city of Gomel, all health institutions with surgical departments are involved in treating the wounded occupiers. Surgeons are working around the clock; all scheduled operations on Belarusian citizens are either canceled or postponed indefinitely. The high death rate is recorded among the severely wounded Russian invaders,” the General Staff added.
The enemy keeps suffering significant losses and faces logistical issues. The low level of moral and psychological condition of the personnel results in a growing number of deserters and refusals of the Russian military to take part in the war against Ukraine.
