Explosion at Moscow Oblast factory, deaths of civilians after shelling: highlights of the day

Explosion at plant in Moscow Oblast

On the evening of March 5, an explosion occurred in a workshop of a coke and gas plant in the city of Vidnoe, Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is noted that after the explosion, a fire broke out over an area of 200 square meters. The Russians did not report the cause of the explosion.

Later, the propagandists wrote that the fire on the separation column in the recovery section at the plant in Vidnoe was localized, and "there were no victims and no threat to the environment."

Civilian deaths as a result of Russian shelling

In the early hours of March 5 and in the morning, Russian occupation forces again shelled Kupyansk, Kharkiv Oblast. This caused destruction and fires, and a 65-year-old man died in one of the residential buildings.

The occupiers also shelled the village of Budarky, Chuhuyuiv district, Kharkiv Oblast, with artillery. The occupiers hit a car with a married couple in it. The man and woman died on the spot from their injuries.

On the afternoon of March 5, Russians fired mortars at the village of Ponyativka in the Daryivka community of Kherson Oblast. A woman and two children died as a result of the shelling, said the head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak.

Intel explains award to blogger

The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine responded to the Instagram story of blogger Oksana Voloshchuk (Ksyusha Maneken). They explained that the organization can involve people of different professions in performing tasks.

"Military intelligence, especially in a country at war, is a specific structure that sometimes performs extremely specific tasks. For obvious reasons, intelligence cannot disclose all its methods to the general public," they emphasized.

Death of combat medic

On March 3, a 29-year-old volunteer and combat medic with the 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Brigade, Yana ("Yara") Rykhlitska, was killed near Bakhmut while evacuating the wounded.

Until February 24, 2022, Yana worked for an IT company, and after the outbreak of full-scale war, she began volunteering. Then she joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine and worked as a medic at the stabilization center in Bakhmut.

Situation in Bakhmut

The deputy commander of the Svoboda battalion, National Guard lieutenant Volodymyr Nazarenko, said that Ukrainian troops hold the key road to and from the town of Bakhmut.

"The Ukrainian Armed Forces hold the Bakhmut-Kostiantynivka road, it is quite stable. The situation around Bakhmut and its outskirts is very similar to hell, as it is on the entire eastern front," Nazarenko said in a comment to CNN.

Nazarenko dismissed speculation that Ukrainians might leave the settlement.

"There is no withdrawal. On the contrary, new reserves are coming to hold the line. The entire combat area is under chaotic shelling, but there is communication with the town, there are routes that are not blocked," said the lieutenant.

Assessment of Ukrainian pilots' skills

Two Ukrainian military pilots are in the United States to have their skills assessed. They will be using flight simulators to do so, news media reported.

Reportedly, the pilots are at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. This is the first visit of the Ukrainian military to the United States for this purpose. Two congressional representatives say it will help determine how long it will take to train Ukrainians to fly Western military aircraft, including F-16 fighters.