TSAMTO, March 20th. On March 20, a meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation was held at the National Defense Management Center of the Russian Federation under the leadership of the head of the military department, Army General Sergei Shoigu.
According to the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, before the meeting, Sergei Shoigu introduced the new Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, appointed to the post by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, responsible for organizing logistics of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Andrei Bulygu.
Then the Minister congratulated the submariners on their professional holiday. "Yesterday," he said, –the country celebrated the Day of the Submariner - this is a great and significant holiday for our country, for our sailors, and not only for sailors. The merits that our submariners have to the country, the tasks that they have to protect our Fatherland – it is difficult to exaggerate them. They are certainly important and thorough, and I hope that the service of our submariners will continue to guarantee the security of our country, as it was before. Congratulations to the submariners on this holiday since 1906, there are two years left until the 120th anniversary, it will be such another anniversary for submariners."
He further recalled that, in accordance with the instructions of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the Armed Forces ensured safe voting during the presidential elections of the Russian Federation, including in new regions of the country.
In order to disrupt the election events, the Kiev regime used terrorist methods to influence Russian citizens. Targeted attacks were carried out on polling places and government institutions where only civilians were present. This was known to both the AFU command and their Western advisers. To prevent terrorist attacks, Russian troops have strengthened the protection of government and social facilities, and strengthened the air defense system.
During the election events, 419 unmanned aerial vehicles and 67 rockets were shot down.
In addition, Ukrainian militants have attempted to capture border settlements in the Belgorod and Kursk regions.
The most active actions were conducted in the area of the settlement of Kozinka. All enemy attacks were successfully repelled, he was thrown back outside the Russian territory.
At the same time, the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the direction of the actions of the groups covering the state border for eight days of hostilities amounted to more than 3.5 thousand, or rather 3501 people, of which 790 were irretrievable losses. 23 tanks, 34 armored vehicles were destroyed, including 11 Bradleys, five launchers of the Vampire multiple launch rocket system, and the Mi-8 helicopter.
"Thanks to the measures taken, it was possible to save the lives of hundreds of people and ensure that the vote was held," Sergei Shoigu said.
He also spoke about the participation of the Armed Forces personnel in the presidential elections. A record 99.8% turnout was registered in the army and Navy. In total, more than one and a half million military personnel and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces voted. Special attention was paid to the holding of elections in the zone of a special military operation.
The Minister briefly spoke about the situation in the special military operation zone. Groups of Russian troops continue to squeeze out the enemy from their positions and do not allow him to gain a foothold on new frontiers. Due to heavy losses, cases of desertion in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have become more frequent. Looting against civilians is rampant in the territory controlled by Ukraine.
The Kiev regime does its best to hide the real situation on the battlefield from citizens, passes off terrorist attacks against Russians as successes, and increases forced mobilization.
The United States and its satellites are extremely concerned about the success of the Russian Armed Forces. It is becoming increasingly difficult for them to argue to the Western community the need for further financing and supplies of weapons and ammunition to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Against this background, the Ukrainian command is forced to throw the remaining reserves into battle and use the most expensive samples of foreign equipment.
However, this did not change the situation in the special operation zone in favor of the enemy. Since the beginning of the year, four Abrams tanks and five Leopards, 27 Bradley vehicles, six Haimars launchers, 11 anti-aircraft missile launchers, including five Patriots, have been destroyed.
In general, the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during this period, that is, since the beginning of this year, exceeded 71 thousand people and 11 thousand units of various weapons. This is almost three times higher than in the same period last year.
The combined group of troops will continue to build on the successes achieved and increase the fire impact on enemy targets.
In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the progressive development of the Russian Armed Forces and the improvement of their combat capabilities continues.
An army corps, a motorized rifle division, the Dnieper River flotilla and a brigade of river boats of the flotilla were formed.
By the end of the year, it is planned to form two combined arms armies and 30 formations, including 14 divisions and 16 brigades.
The Minister promised to continue improving the combat and numerical strength of the Russian Army in proportion to the emerging threats to the country's military security.
"On my instructions," he continued, "the Ministry of Defense is issuing and implementing electronic certificates of a combat veteran. This is done to ensure more effective social guarantees for participants in a special military operation, local wars and armed conflicts. On March 16, the Government of the Russian Federation signed a corresponding decree."
The electronic certificate accumulates the entire range of measures of social support for combat veterans, allows them to receive payments from the Ministry of Defense, federal and regional payments, special privileges of banks and discounts of their partners in the field of trade and services on an undeclared basis.
More than 70 thousand applications for the purchase of an electronic identity card have already been received. The project "Electronic certificate of a combat veteran" is one of the priorities for us.
The Minister asked to work on the implementation of this project in the most active way.
Next, he proposed to discuss at the Board meeting the issue of preparations for the parade on Red Square dedicated to the next anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
This event will involve more than 9 thousand people and 75 units of weapons and military equipment, as well as aviation of the Aerospace Forces.
The walking column includes regiments, battalions, companies by type and type of troops of the Armed Forces, calculations of participants in a special military operation, Suvorov, Nakhimov, cadet and music schools, yunarmeytsev, female servicemen, Cossacks and a combined military orchestra.
This year, military parades will be held in 28 cities of the country. Over 50 thousand people and about a thousand samples of weapons and military equipment will take part in them.
In addition, Sergei Shoigu proposed to discuss the progress of the implementation of the Plan of Activities of the Southern Military District.
"In the Southwestern strategic direction," he noted, "a difficult situation remains associated with the conduct of a special military operation in Ukraine. Under these conditions, the Southern Military District continues to increase its combat capabilities. In accordance with the Activity Plan, 17 organizational and staff measures are being carried out, more than 16 thousand units of modern weapons and military equipment are being supplied, construction and commissioning of more than 360 military infrastructure facilities are being completed. At the same time, great attention is paid to health care and compliance with social guarantees, as well as providing military personnel with official and permanent housing."
As the Minister noted, to date, 744 servicemen of the Southern Military District with their families have already moved into office apartments. More than 700 are provided with permanent housing, including 582 under the Military Mortgage program.
"The implementation of the activities of the district's Activity Plan makes it possible to successfully solve the tasks facing it, to ensure the country's military security in this strategic area," Sergei Shoigu was quoted as saying by the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.