Update on Russian military operations in Ukraine for March 6

Solid work from Brian Berletic:

Summary:

UK DoD Claims Russians Fighting with “Shovels” – Ukraine Losing Bakhmut, Low on Artillery Shells

▪️Russian forces continue the encirclement of Bakhmut;

▪️Western media admits Russian operations around Bakhmut is exhausting Ukrainian forces and may diminish them ahead of an anticipated Ukrainian spring offensive;

▪️US announces another military assistance package for Ukraine with fewer items listed and absent of any specific quantities despite previous packages featuring such information;

▪️Ukraine has urgently asked the West for more artillery shells in particular, highlighting the inability for Western industry to match or exceed Russian military-industrial output;

▪️German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall claims to be considering building a tank factory in Ukraine. Older articles claim only if approved by the German government and after the conflict is over, newer articles suggest the factory may be built sooner;

▪️Ukrainian pilots are in the US to assess their skills for potential training on US warplanes (likely the F-16);

▪️Training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s or other Western warplanes will admittedly take years, if F-16s arrive in Ukraine beforehand they will likely be Western operators posing as Ukrainian pilots;