the lit venue

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Where History Meets Happily Ever After

Classic, elegant, and unique - The Lit GR is a premier historic wedding venue located in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids.

Your guests will take a step into history as they enter through the wrought-iron gates and view the original Tiffany stained-glass window, historic paintings, handcrafted details and gorgeous chandeliers. Originally built in 1886, the venue served as the Ladies’ Literary Club before being reimagined into this one of a kind event space.Fully renovated with two dressing suites, state of the art house sound system, and ceremonies on site with no additional fee, this venue offers just the right amount of character and flexibility to make any event magical.

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Reviews of The Lit

• Quality of service 4 out of 5 rating 4.0
• Average response time 4.7 out of 5 rating 4.7
• Professionalism 3.7 out of 5 rating 3.7
• Value 4.3 out of 5 rating 4.3
• Flexibility 3.7 out of 5 rating 3.7

Beautiful Venue!

Professional, extremely kind and helpful!

Do Not Recommend

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Callie leads the sales team at Rye Venues with her 10 years of industry experience. She is a Michigan State University Alumni with a degree in Hospitality Business (Go Green!) and has worked in Southeast Michigan, Florida, and West Michigan in every area of events including planning, catering, sales and operations

Her experience and knowledge of the industry is a great resource for clients and her passion for the industry is easily recognized when she's touring clients through our space.

When she’s not busy touring clients through our space she enjoys cooking, listening to her extensive vinyl record collection, and relaxing with her cat Toby and dog Bugsy.

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61 Sheldon Blvd. SE, Grand Rapids, MI

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We’re celebrating the return of Cider Week GR (May 10-18, 2024) with a cider-themed giveaway! Register to win by May 18, 2024!

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61 Sheldon Blvd SE

Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Serving Grand Rapids Area

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No matter if you are planning a corporate event, fundraiser, meeting, reunion, or anything in-between, Seating for up to 200 banquet style Open main hall with beautiful stage Lobby complete with bar Bridal suite Catering prep space Bathrooms everywhere Convenient downtown location easily walkable from many locations House sound and lights Connections with local vendors …

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Overall rating

I went to such a beautiful wedding here and thought it was an amazing venue! The building is gorgeous, with tons of historic-looking touches. And, the space has everything needed- ceremony space, reception space, a front room for cocktail hour, etc. From what we heard, the coordinators were a dream to work with. A great venue for a small-medium sized wedding or event!

Reception Space

This is the perfect venue for weddings or parties of a variety of sizes. You can make your small Covid wedding still feel special in their beautiful setting. As a wedding photographer, this space is excellent to photograph in, the beauty of the building is amazing.

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• Grand Rapids
• Wedding Venues
• Phone 616-214-3120
• www.thelitgr.com
• Capacity: 300 people

About The Lit

• Write A Recommendation

• Banquet/Event Hall
• Outside Catering Allowed
• Max Number of People for an Event: 300
• Special Features: Complimentary Ceremony on site, Two Separate Dressing Rooms, Separate Cocktail Lounge, Theater Grade Sound System, Screen, Projector, and Podium Available, Secure Parking Available, Catering prep space

5.0 ( 1 review )

Limited services venue

The venue will provide the space, plus a few extras.

Full wedding (ceremony and reception) pricing

Starting at $2,000

Guest capacity

Up to 200 seated guests

About this venue

Originally built in 1887 as The Ladies’ Literary Club, The Lit has hosted countless iconic events over the years. Located in the heart of Downtown Grand Rapids, guests at The Lit not only enjoy modern conveniences like professional lighting, a theater grade sound system,and close proximity to hotels, they also get to experience the historic charm of our unique space. With original antique chandeliers, hand painted gold trim, and a Tiffany stained glass window dating back to 1915, your guests will fall in love with the authentic historic character of this event space. With flexible floorplans, two dressing rooms on site, and a professional and friendly event staff guiding you through the planning process, The Lit is the ideal venue for your next event.

Seated guest capacity

• Ballrooms, Banquet Halls
• Historic Estates, Mansions
• Museums, Galleries
• Urban Locations

Venue setting

Our event spaces

Entire building.

A traditional feel without the traditions. Your wedding. Your way.

-Seating for up to 175 banquet style (magic number 150) -Open main hall with beautiful stage -Lobby complete with bar -Dressing Room, with additional space available for second dressing room. -Cocktail Hour space -Catering prep space -Bathrooms everywhere -Convenient downtown location easily walkable from many locations -House sound and lights -Connections with local vendors -Close parking for guests -Exclusive use of driveway for limo, escape car, or vendor parking -13 hours of Access

Up to 150 Seated

Up to 175 Standing

Wedding ceremony, Wedding reception, Rehearsal dinner, Wedding shower, Welcome party, Farewell brunch, Couples luncheon, Cocktail hour, Engagement party, Elopement, Other

Guests often feel this space is

“ Surprised and delighted ”

Friday $3500 Saturday $4500 Sunday-Thursday $2750 *ask about our 2021 price specials

Available services that can be provided by The Lit

Services & amenities.

• Dance floor
• Dressing room / Bridal Suite
• Event rentals
• Event staff
• Lighting/Sound
• Wheelchair accessible

5.0 out of 5

Would recommend 10/10!

The lit was beautiful and amazing and so well worth it. My husband and I loved it! Quincy was amazing and the bartenders were great with my guests.

More wedding services from The Lit

Frequently asked questions, what is your peak season, what is your off-peak season, can we bring our own alcohol, do you have on-site parking, do you have accessible facilities.

11 Zola couples have booked

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The Lit GR is a versatile and elegant event space in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. Combining historic charm with modern convenience, it hosts many types of events. The venue boasts beautiful handcrafted details, a top-notch sound system, and a rich heritage dating back to the late 1800s.

The Lit GR events

Candlelight spring: a tribute to adele, candlelight spring: the best of hans zimmer, candlelight spring: a tribute to beyoncé, candlelight spring: a tribute to coldplay on strings, directions to the lit gr.

61 Sheldon Boulevard Southeast, Grand Rapids

The Lit GR images

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Boasting an open floor plan, historic charm, a convenient location, and handcrafted detail, The Lit is not just any old event space. It is a canvas for you to paint your vision, celebrate with friends, and gather with family. The Ladies Literary Club has held events for the past 130+ years in this building. Their history is amazing so let’s keep the momentum going.

The Lit Website

Inquire about limited 2024 dates. Now booking 2025.

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The Rye Venues Collection

Stunning wedding, & event, venues in grand rapids.

For an unforgettable and contemporary wedding experience with a unique touch of Michigan charm, Rye Venues offers an exceptional selection of event spaces in the heart of Grand Rapids. Our collection boasts a wide range of authentic options to create the perfect gathering for your special day.

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Our curated selection of distinctive wedding venues each share its own rich story. Your love story is the missing chapter we’ve been waiting for, and we invite you to craft unforgettable moments within the captivating narratives of our diverse venues.

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"The GRAM was the perfect setting for our modern/classic wedding reception! The entire staff was incredible and so fun to work with! They are so detailed and knowledgable and helped the whole evening flow perfectly. Our guests loved the venue and it was the perfect place to showcase the town that we fell in love in!"

Makenzie F.

"We had our Ceremony and reception at the barn, we loved it! Everything from set up to teardown was beautiful. Everything they've got on site was so handy to have, they were super easy to communicate with and willing to let us walk through a second time as the plan was getting finalized. Thank you!!!"

"From the moment I first set my eyes on the Ballroom I knew my dream wedding was possible! I cannot even describe how gorgeous the venue is and how every little detail is so beautiful and elevated with the lighting options and color choices! They made every bit of my dream come true and helped cater to all my wishes and needs. I highly recommend the Mckay Ballroom to anyone wanting an elegant and stunning venue!"

"I will be telling everyone to use this venue. From the initial tour to the big day, they were wonderful to work with. They have multiple payment options, service packages, etc, and are happy to suggest amazing vendors. Beautiful venue, communicative and friendly staff. Our wedding was perfect."

"The Lit was amazing to work with! They communicated really well. Their staff and team were amazing and so helpful! We loved the venue. They are also inclusive and welcoming, which was very important to us! Also, shoutout to their bartender staff for being fun, big hearted, and so wonderful to our guests!"

We’ve Been Featured In ⟶

Library Elegance for Your Cocktail Hour at The Lit GR

Originally a 400-seat theater, this space has been transformed into a stunning event venue with towering ceilings, large windows, and a professional stage. It's a place where history and romance intertwine seamlessly.

Setting the Stage for Your Dream Wedding Ceremony at The Lit GR

Where timeless history meets modern elegance.

If you're searching for a place that beautifully combines history with contemporary comforts, The Lit GR is the ideal choice. Located in the heart of Grand Rapids, Michigan, this unique event venue offers the best of both worlds.

Find your Grand Rapids wedding venue.

New Vintage Place | The Lit GR | New Era Wedding Barn  | Ballroom at McKay | The Gram

400 Ann St. NW Ste. 214 Grand Rapids, MI 49504

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Photography Credit | Privacy Policy |  Accessibility Statement | Diversity & Inclusion Statement | Copyright 2024 | Snowmad

We proudly support the LGBTQ+ community and our venues welcome everyone 🏳️‍🌈.

Paris organizers take delivery of Olympic flame at Greek venue of first modern Games

ATHENS, Greece — The  Paris Olympics  flame was formally handed to French organizers on Friday in the all-marble stadium where the first modern Games were held in Athens in 1896.

Greek water polo player Ioannis Fountoulis, the last in a long line of torchbearers, used the flame to light a cauldron at the Panathenaic Stadium. From there, it was delivered to Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet.

A few moments of suspense followed as assistants struggled to light the lantern that will carry the flame to France.

“It wants to stay in Greece,” Estanguet joked.

Safely in the lantern, the flame will depart for France on Saturday on a 19th century sailing ship across the Mediterranean Sea, to make landfall 12 days later in the southern port city of Marseille.

The flame was  kindled on April 16  at Olympia in southern Greece, where the ancient games were held for more than 1,000 years from about 776 B.C. to A.D. 393.

From Olympia’s ancient stadium, a relay of torchbearers carried it along a 5,000-kilometer (3,100-mile) route through Greece, which included several islands and  an overnight stop  on the ancient Acropolis.

The Olympic flame will be housed overnight in the French Embassy, to leave Athens’ port of Piraeus on Saturday on the  Belem , a French three-masted sailing ship built in the year of the first modern games in Athens.

The Belem is due in Marseille on May 8, ahead of a relay through France leading to the opening ceremony in Paris.

The Games run from July 26-August 11.

The Associated Press

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A Bronze Age Landscape in the Russian Steppes: The Samara Valley Project

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David w. anthony, dorcas r. brown, aleksandr a. khokhlov, pavel f. kuznetsov, and oleg d. mochalov.

“In all it is a thorough piece of reporting, efficiently compartmentalized, with all the evidence needed to support the discussion and conclusions clearly laid out. The editors and authors are to be congratulated in presenting such a range of complex data in so accessible a way.”   — Barry Cunliffe, European Journal of Archaeology , 2017

Table of Contents

Part I  Introduction and Overview of the Samara Valley Project 1995–2002

• Ch. 1 The Samara Valley Project and the Evolution of Pastoral Economies in the Western Eurasian Steppes by David W. Anthony
• Ch. 2 Archaeological Field Operations in the Lower Samara Valley, 1995–2001, with Observations on Srubnaya Pastoralism by David W. Anthony, Dorcas R. Brown, and Pavel F. Kuznetsov

Part II History, Ecology, and Settlement Patterns in the Samara Oblast

• Ch. 3 Historic Records of the Economy and Ethnic History of the Samara Region by Oleg D. Mochalov, Dmitriy V. Romanov, and David W. Anthony
• Ch. 4 The Samara Valley in the Bronze Age: A Review of Archaeological Discoveries by Pavel F. Kuznetsov and Oleg D. Mochalov (Translated from Russian by David W. Anthony )
• Ch. 5 Paleoecological Evidence for Vegetation, Climate, and Land-Use Change in the Lower Samara River Valley by Laura M. Popova

Part III Human Skeletal Studies

• Ch. 6 Demographic and Cranial Characteristics of the Volga-Ural Population in the Eneolithic and Bronze Age by Aleksandr A. Khokhlov
• Ch. 7 Stable Isotope Analysis of Neolithic to Late Bronze Age Populations in the Samara Valley by  Rick J. Schulting and Michael P. Richards                      
• Ch. 8 A Bioarchaeological Study of Prehistoric Populations from the Volga Region by Eileen M. Murphy and Aleksandr A. Khokhlov

Part IV Excavation and Specialist Reports for the Krasnosamarskoe Kurgan Cemetery and Settlement and the Herding Camps in Peschanyi Dol

• Ch. 9 The Geoarchaeology of the Krasnosamarskoe Sites by Arlene Miller Rosen
• Ch. 10 Excavations at the LBA Settlement at Krasnosamarskoe by David W. Anthony, Dorcas R. Brown, Pavel F. Kuznetsov, and Oleg D. Mochalov
• Ch. 11 Bronze Age Metallurgy in the Middle Volga by David L. Peterson, Peter Northover, Chris Salter, Blanca Maldonado, and David W. Anthon y
• Ch. 12 Floral Data Analysis: Report on the Pollen and Macrobotanical Remains from the Krasnosamarskoe Settlement by Laura M. Popova
• Ch. 13 Phytoliths from the Krasnosamarskoe Settlement and Its Environment by Alison Weisskopf and Arlene Miller Rosen
• Ch. 14 Dog Days of Winter: Seasonal Activities in a Srubnaya Landscape by Anne Pike-Tay and David W. Anthony
• Ch. 15 Archaeozoological Report on the Animal Bones from the Krasnosamarskoe Settlement by Pavel A. Kosintsev
• Ch. 16 Human-Animal Relations at Krasnosamarskoe by Nerissa Russell, Audrey Brown, and Emmett Brown
• Ch. 17 The Bronze Age Kurgan Cemetery at Krasnosamarskoe IV by Pavel F. Kuznetsov, Oleg D. Mochalov, and David W. Anthony
• Ch. 18 Bronze Age Herding Camps: Survey and Excavations in Peschanyi Dol by David W. Anthony, Dorcas R. Brown, Pavel F. Kuznetsov, and Oleg D. Mochalov

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Samara: the disappearing wooden city on the Volga

"H alf of Samara knows you're here," says a leading fixer in the city's property business. He adds, with slightly theatrical menace, that unnamed people are keeping tabs on my movements, and during my stay a mysterious yoga teacher and ex-jailbird called Bizon – bearded, like a cut-price Rasputin – keeps appearing and disappearing. It's not so very scary, except that this is an area where property politics is a serious business. In 2004 the chief architect in the next-door city of Togliatti was murdered, for getting in the way of the wrong people.

What is at stake is a city whose fragile beauty could, like the proverbial tree falling in the woods, soundlessly disappear. It is an extreme example of what is happening all over Russia, where historic cities are almost defenceless against development, corruption and obliging local governments. Most were hidden from view in Soviet times, but their heritage is the equal of better known cities in western Europe. The recent removal of Moscow's Mayor Luzhkov, under whom the capital's built fabric was ravaged , gives a glimmer of hope: Luzhkov's Moscow set a pattern which provincial cities followed and, if you were seriously optimistic, you might think that this pattern will now change.

The centre of Samara is a varied but harmonious ensemble made up of thousands of decorated wooden houses, of a unique and graceful variant of art nouveau and of brave and hopeful buildings from the early revolutionary years. The setting is magnificent, above a broad sweep in the Volga, one of the great rivers of the world. Much of it has gone already, burnt, bulldozed, blighted or left to rot. Pustular new towers erupt from the waterfront and skyline. Almost everything that's left could go too, thanks to local government that could most charitably be described as supine. With its wooden streets and waterside setting Samara could – still, just – be a Russian San Francisco. But it is heading rapidly towards being an assembly of developers' junk, like very many cities in very many parts of the world.

You probably haven't heard of Samara, even if it is the sixth largest city in Russia, and architecturally unique. This spot, more than 500 miles east and south from Moscow, doesn't impinge much on western European minds. Great battles were not fought there, although in 1941 the Russian government evacuated to Samara, which was called Kuybyshev in Soviet times. After the war it became a centre of the rocket-building industry, and a closed city. Such foreign visitors as were permitted were transported in vehicles with curtained windows. A cluster of masts still stands on the outskirts, erected to jam transmissions from the BBC World Service and Voice of America. Samara hasn't fully recovered the habit of reaching out to the world.

Samara's greatest period, about a century ago, was cut short by war and revolution, giving little time for its identity to be shaped by art and literature. For a few decades people compared its growth rate to Chicago's, and its newly wealthy merchants built lavish houses designed with bravura and skill. These include the Kurlina House, which cost three or four times the going rate for luxury houses, and the Dacha with Elephants, a landmark famous for its sculptures of the beasts, built for the artist and entrepreneur Konstantin Golovkin. He, like others of his kind, only got to enjoy his property for a few years before the communist government forced it into collective ownership.

The communists exercised a certain brutality on the city's fabric, demolishing dozens of churches and monasteries, but they also left further monuments that inspire ambivalent admiration. Constructivism, the style of the 1920s and early 30s, is exhilarating for its daring and freedom, but you catch your breath when you find that a graceful and optimistic construction is called the Dzerzhinsky Club, after the founder of the KGB. Under Stalin the official style became more conservative, but its works still have a dignity that transcends the sinister politics behind them. These include the Krasnaya Glinka Sanatorium, built for the benefit of senior party members on a high bluff upriver, now a mesmerising ruin where a Fellini would love to film.

These works – millionaires' mansions and workers' clubs – sit among courtyarded wooden houses that are the stuff of Samara. Some are richly decorated and some are more simple, but collectively they create the special atmosphere particular to timber construction. It is a kind of peacefulness to do with the fact that the building's origins, as trees, are more evident than in masonry construction, as are the signs of the handiwork done to them. A street of wooden buildings seems more intimate and warm than a stone one; it is rare to find a city the size of Samara's old town made of them. Arranged according to a grid plan laid out under Catherine the Great, they are flexible and adaptable within an overall order, while the courtyards engendered communities of the families living round them. The same flexibility means they can respond to modern needs – the Samara-born architect Vitaly Stadnikov has demonstrated how the densities of the new tower blocks could equally be achieved by renovating the courtyards.

Wooden houses are primal – you can imagine building them yourself – but they are also, with their warpings and twistings and palpable proneness to rot and fire, vulnerable. They look as if they can vanish as easily as they came. Which is exactly what is happening in Samara, where thousands of historic houses have already disappeared. Last year the conservation groups Save and Moscow Architecture Preservation Society ( maps-moscow.com ) published a report on the city which said that "the devastating pace of destruction and decay" threatens "to remove its identity from the face of the earth". Architecture in Samara, says the report, "has been reduced to the role of handmaiden to semi-criminal business circles."

The ministry of culture for the Samara region agrees, saying: "The lack of acknowledged value of architectural and town planning heritage, including the economic aspect, and in the end, simply a lack of responsibility, brings damage to cultural heritage no less than enemy bombing." The regional government pins the blame on the next tier down, the city government: "Samara's architectural heritage does not have a reasonable and caring boss… as long as there is no deep-rooted change in the consciousness of the city's inhabitants and primarily in the consciousness of the municipal administrators, the threat to Samara's cultural heritage will remain."

Ownership of blocks, collectivised in communist times, is now often unclear, leaving residents insecure. Sometimes developers can acquire the right to rebuild an entire block, for a few tens of thousands of dollars. Sometimes site clearance is accelerated with arson, and burnt-out wrecks dot the city. Many are owned by the local government, and are often the worst maintained.

In place of the intricate tissue of courtyards, lumpen gimcrack multi-storey blocks appear, without the slightest pretence of assimilation, and fronted by arid, gated aprons of tarmac. Buildings other than the wooden houses don't fare much better. The art nouveau works are also crumbling and subject to fires, their carvings disintegrating and disappearing. On constructivist buildings clunky plastic-framed windows have replaced the elegant originals. A very few historic buildings have been subject to something called "restoration", whereby a glutinous simulacrum of the original facade is created, behind which you find standard suspended ceilings and fluorescent lights.

In other places you might look to local government to provide protection for the historic fabric, but here it appears to be destruction's main accomplice. In 2009 the city government cut the list of 2,000 buildings thought worthy of protection by several hundred. The list is in any case secret, so the public don't know what is protected and what is not.

It's not encouraging that, following the election of the current mayor Viktor Tarkhanov in 2006, the city appointed several associates of the company SOK, which since the mid-90s has aggressively taken over several businesses, to positions of influence. According to Vasili Sergeev, on the website kompromat.ru, "several members of the group specialised in murdering for money, drug trafficking, and extortion". Sergeev reports that the deputy head of property, the head of the department of architecture, the head of the department of transport and four others had SOK links. Such people are unlikely to let some old wooden houses get in the way of their plans.

Problems are exacerbated by the division of power between local city government, and regional government, which is appointed from Moscow. Each has responsibilities for historic buildings and planning, and their frequent inability to agree creates power vacuums which developers can exploit.

I visit Aliya Chebutaryova, main state inspector of the Administration of Russian Cultural Protection Committee in the Volga Region. She is young, seems serious about her work, and loyally refuses to criticise her bosses, but her many-worded job title disguises the fact that she runs a department of one – herself – which until 2008 had seven to 10 staff.

On behalf of the regional government, she must, alone, look after the 57 historic buildings in the Samara region (of which 50 are in the city itself) that are regionally listed – that is, on the middle tier below federal monuments and above those "protected" by the city. She must inspect their condition, and report on them, after which the ministry of culture may or may not impose a list of obligations on – if they can be found – the building's owners. If the owners fail to comply the ministry can go to court and have the building given to someone else who will take better care of it. At least they can do this in theory. In practice, despite the awful condition of many such buildings, such a seizure has never happened in Samara. Part of the problem is that owners willing and able to look after them responsibly can't be found.

Chebutaryova has, in other words, an almost impossible job, which does not speak volumes for the regional government's commitment to its heritage, but the main responsibility for Samara's fabric lies with the city government. So I seek an interview with the deputy mayor Sergei Arsentyev, the politician with most responsibility for planning. He has a reputation as a hard man, yet he seems afraid of meeting the man from the Observer : my meeting with him is twice rescheduled, then cancelled. He has, I am told, an urgent call to look at a hole in a road, of which Samara has many. A little while later Arsentyev abruptly leaves his job.

So my threatening property development fixer remains the main voice of the planning and development community in Samara. "Corruption in Samara is nothing," he tells me, offering an alternative view to almost every other Samaran I meet. "Corruption only appears where there is big money, and there is no big money in Samara." The problem rather is with Russia's federal government, which should give tax breaks to owners of historic buildings, so they can afford their upkeep. He might have a point, but the prospect of slow-moving Moscow introducing this any time soon, in hard times, is almost zero. He knows this, and it's a convenient way of deflecting the issue away from the here and now.

He also gives many reasons why people will always prefer to live in new buildings. "What car do you drive? Do you like Skodas? How can you make people like Skodas if they don't want to? You can't force people to wear a pair of shoes they don't like unless you threaten to shoot them. Old buildings smell," he adds. I live in an old building and it doesn't smell, I tell him, but he doesn't want to know.

Now the struggle over Samara's heritage has crystallised round a single building, the canteen built in 1932 for the Maslennikov factory. This was idealistic in intention and design, the idea being that this culinary facility would liberate women from domestic chores. It was designed, unusually for the time, by a woman, EM Maximova. Its plan takes the form, when seen from above, of a hammer and sickle, and it was internationally famous in its day.

Its original delicacy and airiness was modified in Stalin's time and is now badly battered, but it remains underneath an extraordinary and restorable building, which would certainly be listed in Britain. For 17 years the federal ministry of culture has pressed the regional government to protect it, and is now threatening court proceedings. Despite their fine words about the importance of "cultural heritage", the regional government's minister of culture, Olga Rybakova, returns without reply letters written to her urging action, even from high levels. Meanwhile the city government has approved a somewhat ill-defined plan, proposed by SOK, to build 82,000 square metres of commercial space on the site.

The architect Vitaly Stadnikov and others have launched a campaign to save it, including protests, mass bike rides ( veloden.ru/ ) and a techno song. It seems quixotic, but they say they are amazed by the support they have received, especially from the young. "Young people see the city is turning into a rubbish dump," says one protestor, "and losing its variety with so many monotonous buildings."

Samara now is where San Francisco was in the 1960s, when its wooden houses were threatened with comprehensive development, or Covent Garden in the 1970s. In both cases local activists defeated the developers, and eventually demonstrated the economic value of old places. The buildings that had been scheduled for demolition became desirable and valuable.

There is a chance that this could happen in Samara, but the odds against are stacked higher. Shootings were not part of the Covent Garden debate. My fixer friend, meanwhile, is baffled by the support for the old canteen building, and asserts that it must have been financed by commercial enemies of SOK. Then the menace returns. "They should shut up about the canteen," he says. "Anything could happen to it. It could burn down."

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• Who are the Volga Germans?
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Mapping information provided by Sandy Payne germansfromrussiasettlementlocations.org

An independent Lutheran parish was established in Samara in 1904.

The Lutheran parish in Samara was served by the following pastors:

Eduard Heinrich Johannson, vicar (1868-1870) Eduard Gahlnbäck, vicar (1870-1878) Friedrich Wilhelm Meyer, vicar (1879-1903) Woldemar Baron Engelhardt (1903-1910) Ewald Allas, Vicar (1910-1915) Hermann Lezius (1913-1915) Nikolai Tomberg (1916-1917) Hermann Lezius (1917-1922)

Samara was founded between 1586 and 1591 for the purpose of protecting the Russian frontier against the Bashkirs, the Kalmucks and the Nogai Tatars. Samara is located on the left bank of the Volga River, 305 miles S.S.E. of Kazan. It is the capital of the Samara Province. Its population was 63,479 in 1883 and 91,672 in 1897. The Siberian and Central Asian railways meet in Samara. As of 1911, it a commercial depot for cereals and a center for flour-milling. In 1911, the city gave title to a bishop of the Orthodox Greek Church and had three cathedrals built in 1685, 1730-1735, and 1894 respectively. There were three public libraries and a natural history and archaeological museum. It is famous for its kumis (mare's milk) cures.

Samara was known by the name Kuybyshev from 1935 to 1990. It is the administrative capital of the Samara Oblast.

Amburger, Erik.  Die Pastoren der evangelischen Kirchen Rußlands  (Lüneburg, Germany: Institut Nordostdeutsches Kulturwerk, 1998): 139-140.

Encyclopaedia Britannica , 1911.

Schnurr, Joseph.  Die Kirchen und das religiöse Leben der Russlanddeutschen  – Evangelischer Teil (Stuttgart: AER Verlag Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Rußland, 1978): 351.

Samara, Russia  (Wikipedia)

Geographic card depicting the key feature of Samara Province (1856)  (World Digital Library)

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Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 16, 2024

Angelica Evans, Christina Harward, Grace Mappes, Riley Bailey, and George Barros

March 16, 2024, 5:20pm ET  

Click here to see ISW’s interactive map of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This map is updated daily alongside the static maps present in this report.

Click here to see ISW’s 3D control of terrain topographic map of Ukraine. Use of a computer (not a mobile device) is strongly recommended for using this data-heavy tool.

Click here to access ISW’s archive of interactive time-lapse maps of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These maps complement the static control-of-terrain map that ISW produces daily by showing a dynamic frontline. ISW will update this time-lapse map archive monthly.

Note: The data cut-off for this product was 1:30 pm ET on March 16. ISW will cover subsequent reports in the March 17 Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment.

The Ukrainian State Security Service (SBU) reportedly conducted a series of successful drone strikes against three Russian oil refineries in Samara Oblast on March 16.  Sources in Ukrainian special services told Ukrainian outlet  RBK-Ukraine  that the SBU struck the Novokuibyshevsky, Kuibyshevsky, and Syzran Rosneft oil refineries in Samara Oblast.[1]  RBK-Ukraine  reported that the three refineries process an estimated 25 million tons of oil per year, or 10 percent of Russia’s annual oil refinement output.[2] Geolocated footage published on March 16 shows a fire at the Syzran oil refinery following the drone strikes, and Samara Oblast Governor Dmytro Azarov stated that there was also a fire at the refinery in Novokuibyshevsky.[3] Russian outlet  Kommersant  reported on March 13 that Russian authorities recently strengthened anti-drone protection at the Novokuibyshevsky, Kuibyshevsky, and Syzran oil refineries following previous Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian oil infrastructure and reported on March 14 that Russian oil and gas and industrial enterprises are currently the main purchasers of anti-drone systems in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.[4]  Kommersant  also reported that Rosneft has not restarted operations at the Tuapse oil refinery following the January 25 Ukrainian drone strike against the facility, indicating that the January 25 strike likely significantly damaged the facility.[5] Russian milbloggers deliberated whether the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) or Rosgvardia are to blame for not protecting Russian oil refineries and criticized general Russian bureaucracy for delaying the deployment of anti-drone countermeasures and air defense systems to defend Russian critical infrastructure operators against Ukrainian drone strikes.[6] One Russian milblogger asked why Russia has not been able to implement even an “elementary decision,” such as copying Ukraine’s mobile fire groups, to defend against drone strikes.[7]

All-Russian pro-Ukrainian volunteers continue limited cross-border raids into Belgorod and Kursk oblasts.  The all-Russian pro-Ukrainian Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) stated on March 16 that it is continuing a “limited military operation” in Belgorod and Kursk oblasts and denied previous Russian claims about the RDK, Freedom of Russia Legion (LSR), and Siberian Battalion suffering heavy losses in raids in recent days.[8] The RDK posted footage of alleged Russian prisoners of war (POW) that it recently captured and called on Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov to meet in order to negotiate the exchange of 25 Russian POWs.[9] The Russian MoD claimed that Russian forces repelled the cross border raids near Popivka, Sumy Oblast, and in the direction of Spodaryushino and Kozinka in Belgorod Oblast.[10]

Russian authorities appointed Boris Kovalchuk, the son of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reported “personal banker” Yuri Kovalchuk, to a position within the Russian Presidential Administration.  Russian news outlet  RBK , citing sources familiar with the matter, reported on March 15 that Russian authorities appointed Boris Kovalchuk the deputy head of the Presidential Control Directorate, a department of the Russian Presidential Administration that monitors how Russian federal and regional authorities implement Russian President Vladimir Putin’s orders and directives.[11] Russian outlet  Kommersant  reported on March 6 that Kovalchuk left Russian energy company Inter RAO, which he headed for 15 years, and that Russian authorities initially gave Kovalchuk four positions to choose from – head of Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom, head of Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft, Deputy Prime Minister for the Fuel and Energy Complex, or governor of St. Petersburg.[12]  Bloomberg  also reported on March 12 that Russian authorities were considering appointing Kovalchuk as Russian Minister of Energy.[13] The Kovalchuks are also longtime friends of Russian Presidential Administration Deputy Head Sergei Kiriyenko, who has gained increased influence with Putin since the start of the full-scale invasion.[14] Boris’ Kovalchuk’s new position within the Russian presidential administration suggests that both the Kovalchuk family and even Kiriyenko’s wider faction are gaining increased influence within the Kremlin and with Putin himself.

Russian authorities threatened Russian election disruptors and some Russian citizens’ continued attempts to disrupt voting in the Russian presidential election on March 16.  Russian opposition outlet  Sever Realii  reported on March 16 that Russian authorities have opened at least 15 criminal cases across Russia for attempts to disrupt the election and sent at least two people to pre-trial detention centers.[15] Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairperson Ella Pamfilova stated that “simple-minded people” tried to disrupt the voting process by committing arson or damaging ballot boxes at 29 polling stations in 20 Russian federal subjects.[16] Russian Security Council Deputy Chairperson Dmitri Medvedev claimed that Russian citizens who attempt to disrupt the election are “scoundrels” and “traitors” who can face criminal charges for obstructing the exercise of electoral rights.[17] Medvedev threatened that attempts at election disruption are a form of “direct” assistance to Ukraine and the perpetrators could face charges of high treason. Russian State Duma deputy Yana Lantratova told Russian state news outlet  RIA Novosti  on March 16 that Duma deputies are preparing a bill that would increase the sentencing severity for Russians who attempt to disrupt elections and are allegedly acting on instructions from a foreign state opposing Russia during wartime.[18] The bill reportedly imposes stricter sentences of five to eight years in prison for disrupting elections. Lantratova stated that Duma deputies are preparing the bill as quickly as possible so Russian lawmakers have time to adopt it before the 2026 Russian legislative elections. Isolated public protests against the Russian presidential election and Russian President Vladimir Putin are highly unlikely to impact the course or outcome of the choreographed Russian presidential election, but Kremlin officials may be quickly responding to these incidents out of concerns that continued disruptions will tarnish the Kremlin’s effort to portray the election as Russia unifying around Putin.

Group of Seven (G7) countries issued a joint statement on March 15 warning Iran against transferring ballistic missiles or related technology to Russia. [19]   The G7 stated that it is prepared to respond swiftly and in a coordinated manner should Iran provide Russia with ballistic missiles or related technology, including new and “significant measures” against Iran.[20] The G7 statement did not specify what those measures may be, but a senior US official reportedly told journalists that one option under consideration is an effective ban on Iran Air flights to Europe.[21]  Reuters  reported in late February 2024 that Iranian sources stated that Iran had begun ballistic missile transfers to Russia and that Russia has already received 400 Iranian short-range ballistic missiles.[22] Western media   reported on March 15 that the senior US official stated that the United States and its allies have not confirmed that Iran has transferred the missiles to Russia, however.[23] Russia and Iran have been reportedly negotiating transfers of the Iranian short-range ballistic missiles in recent months as Russia continues to increasingly rely on Iran for key components and weapons for its war effort in Ukraine.[24]

Key Takeaways:

• The Ukrainian State Security Service (SBU) reportedly conducted a series of successful drone strikes against three Russian oil refineries in Samara Oblast on March 16.
• All-Russian pro-Ukrainian volunteers continue limited cross-border raids into Belgorod and Kursk oblasts.
• Russian authorities appointed Boris Kovalchuk, the son of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reported “personal banker” Yuri Kovalchuk, to a position within the Russian Presidential Administration.
• Russian authorities threatened Russian election disruptors and some Russian citizens’ continued attempts to disrupt voting in the Russian presidential election on March 16.
• Group of Seven (G7) countries issued a joint statement on March 15 warning Iran against transferring ballistic missiles or related technology to Russia.
• Russian forces made confirmed advances near Avdiivka and in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area.
• A Russian insider source claimed on March 16 that Rosgvardia Director Viktor Zolotov revoked a reported agreement allowing former Wagner Group units to operate independently within Rosgvardia.

We do not report in detail on Russian war crimes because these activities are well-covered in Western media and do not directly affect the military operations we are assessing and forecasting. We will continue to evaluate and report on the effects of these criminal activities on the Ukrainian military and the Ukrainian population and specifically on combat in Ukrainian urban areas. We utterly condemn Russian violations of the laws of armed conflict and the Geneva Conventions and crimes against humanity even though we do not describe them in these reports.

• Russian Main Effort – Eastern Ukraine (comprised of two subordinate main efforts)
• Russian Subordinate Main Effort #1 – Capture the remainder of Luhansk Oblast and push westward into eastern Kharkiv Oblast and encircle northern Donetsk Oblast
• Russian Subordinate Main Effort #2 – Capture the entirety of Donetsk Oblast
• Russian Supporting Effort – Southern Axis
• Russian Air, Missile, and Drone Campaign
• Russian Mobilization and Force Generation Efforts
• Russian Technological Adaptations
• Activities in Russian-occupied areas
• Ukrainian Defense Industrial Base Efforts

Russian Information Operations and Narratives

• Significant Activity in Belarus

Russian Main Effort – Eastern Ukraine

Russian Subordinate Main Effort #1 – Luhansk Oblast  (Russian objective: Capture the remainder of Luhansk Oblast and push westward into eastern Kharkiv Oblast and northern Donetsk Oblast)

The Ukrainian General Staff reported on March 16 that Ukrainian forces repelled two Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups that tried to cross the international Russian-Ukrainian border into Sumy Oblast near Stara Huta and Brusky.[25]

Positional engagements continued along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line on March 16, but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline in this area. Ukrainian and Russian sources stated that positional engagements continued northeast of Kupyansk near Synkivka, southeast of Kupyansk near Tabaivka, west of Kreminna near Terny, and south of Kreminna near Bilohorivka.[26]

Russian Subordinate Main Effort #2 – Donetsk Oblast  (Russian objective: Capture the entirety of Donetsk Oblast, the claimed territory of Russia’s proxies in Donbas)

Positional fighting continued near Bakhmut on March 16, but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline. Positional fighting continued northeast of Bakhmut near Rozdolivka; northwest of Bakhmut near Bohdanivka; west of Bakhmut near Ivanivske and east of Chasiv Yar; and southwest of Bakhmut near Klishchiivka and Andriivka.[27] Elements of the Russian 58th Spetsnaz Battalion (1st Donetsk People’s Republic [DNR] Army Corps [AC]) are reportedly operating near Ivanivske, and elements of the Russian “Vostok” Volunteer Reconnaissance Assault Brigade (Russian Volunteer Corps) are reportedly operating in the direction of Chasiv Yar.[28]

Russian forces likely captured Tonenke (west of Avdiivka) and Nevelske (southwest of Avdiivka) no later than March 16. Geolocated footage published on March 15 shows that a Russian armored column recently advanced west of Tonenke, and additional geolocated footage published on March 16 shows elements of the Russian 110th Motorized Rifle Brigade (1st DNR AC) advancing into and raising a flag in Nevelske.[29] The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed on March 12 that Russian forces captured Nevelske.[30] A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces advanced in Berdychi (northwest of Avdiivka) and between Berdychi and Orlivka (west of Avdiivka).[31] A prominent Russian milblogger claimed that an armored Russian group advanced west of Tonenke and reached the outskirts of Semenivka (west of Avdiivka) but did not advance further.[32] The milblogger claimed that Russian forces are struggling on the northern flank of Berdychi near Stepove (both northwest of Avdiivka) because Ukrainian forces still control tactical heights and conduct counterattacks in the area, but that it is more difficult for Ukrainian forces to counterattack near Orlivka and Tonenke (both west of Avdiivka). Positional fighting continued west of Avdiivka near Semenivka and southwest of Avdiivka near Pervomaiske and Novokalynove.[33] Elements of the Chechen “Zapad-Akhmat” Battalion are reportedly operating near Orlivka.[34]

The commander of a Ukrainian battalion operating near Avdiivka stated on March 15 that Russian forces near Avdiivka are innovating and changing classical Wagner Group-style infantry-led “meat assaults” with assaults using armored vehicles to increase and maintain constant pressure on Ukrainian forces.[35] The Ukrainian commander stated that Russian forces are attacking with multiple “divisions” – likely referring to elements of divisions that are unlikely to be staffed and equipped at full end-strength – and that Russian forces aim to achieve a ten to one numerical superiority over Ukrainian forces in the Avdiivka direction. The commander stated that Ukrainian forces have slowed the Russian advance but cannot say confidently that the situation is stable. A Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian counterattacks near Avdiivka have lost momentum and suggested that Ukrainian forces either lack reserves or are withdrawing to lines further back, though ISW has not observed confirmation of these claims.[36] A prominent Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces recovered “quickly enough” following the fall of Avdiivka and asserted that Ukrainian forces achieved numerical superiority in the Avdiivka direction, however, ISW is unable to confirm this claim as the tactical situation west of Avdiivka remains dynamic.[37]

Positional fighting continued west and southwest of Donetsk City on March 16, but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline in this area. Positional fighting continued west of Donetsk City near Krasnohorivka and Heorhiivka and southwest of Donetsk City near Novomykhailivka and Volodymyrivka (southeast of Vuhledar on the T0509 Vuhledar-Volnovakha-Mariupol highway).[38] Elements of the Russian 39th Motorized Rifle Brigade (68th AC, Eastern Military District [EMD]) are reportedly operating near Novomykhailivka.[39]

Russian forces recently advanced southwest of Velyka Novosilka amid continued positional fighting in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area on March 16. Geolocated footage published on March 16 shows that Russian forces recently advanced to a windbreak west of Pryyutne (southwest of Velyka Novosilka).[40] A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces advanced one kilometer in depth north of Shevchenko (southeast of Velyka Novosilka), though ISW has not observed visual confirmation of this claim.[41] Positional fighting continued south of Velyka Novosilka near Staromayorske.[42] Elements of the Russian 5th Tank Brigade and 37th Motorized Rifle Brigade (both of the 36th Combined Arms Army [CAA], EMD) reportedly recently attacked west of Staromayorske and north of Novodonetske, respectively, and elements of the 60th Motorized Rifle Brigade and of the 127th Motorized Rifle Division (both of the 5th CAA, EMD) reportedly supported these assaults.[43]

Russian Supporting Effort – Southern Axis  (Russian objective: Maintain frontline positions and secure rear areas against Ukrainian strikes)

Positional fighting continued near Robotyne and Verbove (east of Robotyne) in western Zaporizhia Oblast on March 16.[44] A Russian milblogger claimed that elements of the Russian 247th Airborne (VDV) Regiment (7th VDV Division) advanced up to a kilometer in depth north of Verbove, although ISW has not observed confirmation of this claim.[45]

Positional engagements continued in the east (left) bank of Kherson Oblast, including near Krynky, on March 16.[46] A Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces also maintain positions near the Antonivsky Bridge, but did not specify whether he was referring to the Antonivsky railway bridge or the Antonivsky roadway bridge.[47]

Russian Air, Missile, and Drone Campaign  (Russian Objective: Target Ukrainian military and civilian infrastructure in the rear and on the frontline)

Russian forces conducted a limited series of drone and missile strikes against targets in Ukraine on the night of March 15 to 16. Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported that Russian forces struck civilian infrastructure in Konotop, Sumy Oblast with an unspecified missile on the evening of March 15.[48] Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration Head Oleh Synehubov reported that Russian forces struck critical infrastructure in Kozacha Lopan with an unspecified number of Shahed-136/131 drones and Zolochiv with an Iskander missile on March 16.[49] Ukrainian officials in Donetsk Oblast reported that Russian forces struck Slovyansk with an unspecified missile and Myrnohrad with four S-300 missiles.[50]

Odesa Oblast Military Administration Head Oleh Kiper reported on March 16 that the death toll from a Russian Iskander missile strike on Odesa City on March 15 has risen to 20.[51] Russian sources asserted that Russian forces struck a sanatorium in Odesa City on March 15 and killed up to 550 Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) personnel, although ISW has not observed any evidence of these Russian claims.[52]

Russian Mobilization and Force Generation Efforts  (Russian objective: Expand combat power without conducting general mobilization)

A Russian insider source claimed on March 16 that Rosgvardia Director Viktor Zolotov revoked a reported agreement allowing former Wagner Group units to operate independently within Rosgvardia.[53] The insider source claimed that Zolotov disbanded the former Wagner base in Kazachi Lageri, Rostov Oblast, which Wagner reportedly retained control over when operating as part of the Rosgvardia Volunteer Corps. Rosgvardia authorities reportedly assured former Wagner personnel that there would be “a new gathering” following the Russian presidential election, but that their units would no longer be considered “separate and independent.” Russian sources widely speculated about a reported agreement between the Wagner Council of Commanders and Rosgvardia that would allow Wagner to retain its existing command structure and independence while subordinated to Rosgvardia following the death of Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin and founder Dmitry Utkin in September 2023.[54] Zolotov reportedly reneged on the purported agreement after learning that Wagner Commander Anton Yelizarov (call sign “Lotos”) severely overestimated his ability to convince additional former Wagner personnel to join Rosgvardia.[55]

Russian opposition outlet  Mobilization News  reported on March 15 that Russian officials are no longer providing combat veteran certificates for veterans of Russian “Storm Z” convict units in the Southern Military District.[56]  Mobilization News  reported that Russian officials refused to issue combat veteran certificates to “Storm Z” veterans in Krasnodar Krai, Kabardino-Balkaria Republic, and Astrakhan and Volgograd oblasts. This change, if confirmed, is likely a cost-saving measure to prevent ballooning costs related to providing Russian veterans service benefits.

Russian Technological Adaptations  (Russian objective: Introduce technological innovations to optimize systems for use in Ukraine)

Nothing significant to report.

Ukrainian Defense Industrial Efforts  (Ukrainian objective: Develop its defense industrial base to become more self-sufficient in cooperation with US, European, and international partners)

Note: ISW will be publishing its coverage of Ukrainian defense industrial efforts on a weekly basis in the Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment. ISW will continue to track developments in Ukrainian defense industrial efforts daily and will refer to these efforts in assessments within the daily Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment and other ISW products when necessary.

ISW is not publishing coverage of Ukrainian defense industrial efforts today.

Activities in Russian-occupied areas  (Russian objective: Consolidate administrative control of annexed areas; forcibly integrate Ukrainian citizens into Russian sociocultural, economic, military, and governance systems)

Note: ISW will be publishing coverage of activities in Russian-occupied areas twice a week in the Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment. ISW will continue to track activities in Russian-occupied areas daily and will refer to these activities in assessments within the daily Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment and other ISW products when necessary.

ISW is not publishing coverage of activities in Russian-occupied areas today.

Russian authorities continue efforts to portray the Russian presidential election as a popular and legitimate election and claimed that Western states are interfering in the election. The Russian Central Election Commission stated that 51.77 percent of all eligible voters had voted as of 1620 Moscow time on March 16.[57] Kremlin newswire  TASS  stated on March 16 that foreign observers from several dozen countries are reportedly observing the elections.[58] Russian sources have reported on cases of irregularities and voting violations, however. Stanislav Andreychuk, the Co-Chairperson for the Russian “Golos” Movement for Defense of Voters’ Rights, reported on March 16 that “Golos” had observed footage of ballot stuffing in Krasnodar Krai.[59] Russian opposition outlet  Vazhnye Istorii  ( iStories ) reported on March 16 that observers in Moscow Oblast reported differences between data on claimed and actual voter turnout numbers and that Russian authorities registered on average 100 more ballots than were actually cast.[60] Russian Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova claimed on March 16 that she appealed to the United Nations High Commission about the way Estonian authorities are allegedly obstructing Russian “compatriots” from voting there.[61] Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Spokesperson Maria Zakharova claimed on March 16 that some “unfriendly countries” are threatening Russian citizens and physically obstructing them from voting abroad.[62] Zakharova also claimed that the Russian MFA may summon the British ambassador to Russia if alleged, unspecified attempts to interfere in the election do not stop.[63]

Russian actors are reportedly attempting to exploit the relatives of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) to incite domestic discontent in Ukraine, likely as part of the wider “Maidan-3” Russian information campaign. Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated on March 16 that unspecified Russian actors are calling relatives of Ukrainian POWs and claiming that Russia is ready to return Ukrainian POWs but that the Ukrainian leadership is preventing this. The Russian actors reportedly encourage the relatives to protest about this issue. Lubinets stated that Ukraine has never stopped POW exchanges. These Russian information operations are likely part of the “Maidan-3” information campaign, which Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) previously reported intends to sow domestic discontent in Ukraine and drive a wedge between civilians and military and political leadership.[64] Russia has successfully used information operations, including direct correspondence via cell phone to Ukrainian civilians, to foment violent protests in Ukraine before.[65]

Significant activity in Belarus  (Russian efforts to increase its military presence in Belarus and further integrate Belarus into Russian-favorable frameworks and Wagner Group activity in Belarus)

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov stated on March 16 that Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone call with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and discussed bilateral issues and the regional situation.[66] Russian and Belarusian sources have yet to offer further details about the call.

Note: ISW does not receive any classified material from any source, uses only publicly available information, and draws extensively on Russian, Ukrainian, and Western reporting and social media as well as commercially available satellite imagery and other geospatial data as the basis for these reports. References to all sources used are provided in the endnotes of each update.

[1]  https://t.me/RBC_ua_news/87584

[2]  https://t.me/RBC_ua_news/87584

[3]  https://x.com/neonhandrail/status/1768873567549100245?s=20; https://x.c... ;  https://t.me/voenkorKotenok/54823 ; https://t.me/milinfolive/118386 ;... ;  https://twitter.com/bradyafr/status/1769007568456733178 ; https://t.me... https://mil dot in.ua/uk/news/u-rf-drony-atakuvaly-vidrazu-dva-naftozavody/ ;  https://t.me/news63ru/49396 ; https://t.me/admsyzran/11982 ; https:/...

[4]  https://www.kommersant dot ru/doc/6562980?from=63_top_main_1 ;  https://www.idelreal dot org/a/v-samarskoy-oblasti-usilili-zaschitu-neftezavodov-ot-atak-bespilotnikov/32859732.html ; https://www.kommersant dot ru/doc/6563929?from=52_top_main_3

[5]  https://isw.pub/UkrWar012524 ; https://www.kommersant dot ru/doc/6562980?from=63_top_main_1 ;  https://www.idelreal dot org/a/v-samarskoy-oblasti-usilili-zaschitu-neftezavodov-ot-atak-bespilotnikov/32859732.html

[6]  https://t.me/vysokygovorit/15008 ; https://t.me/rusengineer/3172 ; h...

[7]  https://t.me/rusengineer/3172

[8]  https://t.me/russvolcorps/910 ;

[9]  https://t.me/russvolcorps/910

[10]  https://t.me/mod_russia/36675

[11]  https://www.rbc dot ru/politics/15/03/2024/65f46d159a79474774463907 ;  https://udprf dot ru/content/glavnoe-kontrolnoe-upravlenie

[12]  https://www.kommersant dot ru/doc/6559757?tg

[13]  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-12/russia-elections-no-s...

[14]  https://meduza dot io/en/feature/2022/06/10/the-viceroy;  https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign... https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign...

[15]  https://t.me/severrealii/23770

[16]  https://t.me/tass_agency/237016

[17]  https://t.me/medvedev_telegram/466

[18]  https://ria dot ru/20240316/gosduma-1933436741.html

[19]  https://www.reuters.com/world/g7-warns-iran-not-give-russia-ballistic-mi...

[20]  https://www.reuters.com/world/g7-warns-iran-not-give-russia-ballistic-mi... ; https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/15/politics/g7-iran-russia-missile-warning/i...

[21]  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-15/g-7-allies-warn-iran-... https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/15/politics/g7-iran-russia-missile-warning/i...

[22]  https://www.reuters.com/world/iran-sends-russia-hundreds-ballistic-missi...

[23]  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-15/g-7-allies-warn-iran-... https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/15/politics/g7-iran-russia-missile-warning/i...

[24]  https://isw.pub/UkrWar030824 ; https://www.understandingwar.org/backgr...

[25]  https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0wnuE1gj2oefHym4w8Ex...

[26]  https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0HLHSnxdB1tENwMYGDKh... ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0FH2YCt6P5MrfW6adhyq... ;  https://t.me/mod_russia/36675 ; https://t.me/mod_russia/36683 ; http...

[27]  https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0wnuE1gj2oefHym4w8Ex... https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0HLHSnxdB1tENwMYGDKh... ;  https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0FH2YCt6P5MrfW6adhyq... https://t.me/DnevnikDesantnika/8353

[28]  https://t.me/RVvoenkor/63818  (Ivanivske);  https://t.me/dva_majors/36972  (Chasiv Yar); https://t.me/dobrovolecvostok/73

[29]  https://t.me/creamy_caprice/4772; https://t.me/PUMBAZSU19/169; https://x.com/moklasen/status/1768748375531241774?s=20; https://x.com/moklasen/status/1768751685969539558?s=20; https://t.me/creamy_caprice/4773?single; https://t.me/nm_dnr/11977; https://x.com/DrazaM33/status/1768911490843640118?s=20; https://x.com/DrazaM33/status/1767281700231434314?s=20 ; https://t.me/RVvoenkor/63816

[30]  https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign...

[31]  https://t.me/z_arhiv/26297

[32]  https://t.me/rybar/58209

[33]  https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0wnuE1gj2oefHym4w8Ex... https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0HLHSnxdB1tENwMYGDKh... ;  https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0FH2YCt6P5MrfW6adhyq... https://t.me/mod_russia/36675 ;  https://t.me/mod_russia/36685; https://t.me/rybar/58209

[34]  https://t.me/z_arhiv/26297  (Orlivka)

[35]  https://suspilne dot media/706672-rosijski-vijskovi-namagalis-zaihati-na-tankah-v-orlivku-na-avdiivskomu-napramku-komandir-bataljonu/

[36]  https://t.me/wargonzo/18767

[37]  https://t.me/rybar/58209

[38]  https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0wnuE1gj2oefHym4w8Ex... https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0HLHSnxdB1tENwMYGDKh... ;  https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0FH2YCt6P5MrfW6adhyq... https://t.me/mod_russia/36676 ; https://t.me/mod_russia/36686

[39]  https://t.me/voin_dv/7520; https://t.me/voin_dv/7526  (Novomykhailivka)

[40]  https://t.me/WarArchive_ua/12355; https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1522968731599822

[41]  https://t.me/dva_majors/36950

[42]  https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0HLHSnxdB1tENwMYGDKh... ;  https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0FH2YCt6P5MrfW6adhyq... https://t.me/zvizdecmanhustu/1710

[43]  https://t.me/zvizdecmanhustu/1710  (Staromayorske and Novodonetske)

[44]  https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0wnuE1gj2oefHym4w8Ex... https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0HLHSnxdB1tENwMYGDKh... ;  https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0FH2YCt6P5MrfW6adhyq... https://t.me/SJTF_Odes/7219

[45]  https://t.me/DnevnikDesantnika/8337

[46]  https://t.me/dva_majors/36950 ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.... https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0HLHSnxdB1tENwMYGDKh... ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0FH2YCt6P5MrfW6adhyq...  

[47]  https://t.me/dva_majors/36950

[48]  https://t.me/Sumy_news_ODA/24951

[49]  https://t.me/synegubov/8738 ; https://t.me/synegubov/8738

[50]  https://t.me/VadimFilashkin_donoda/1380 ; https://dn.npu.gov dot ua/news/voroh-atakuvav-11-naselenykh-punktiv-donechchyny-ie-poranenyi

[51]  https://t.me/odeskaODA/4462

[52]  https://t.me/dva_majors/36950 ; https://t.me/DnevnikDesantnika/8334 ;  https://t.me/boris_rozhin/116640 ; https://t.me/dva_majors/36941 ; https://t.me/dva_majors/36955 ;  https://t.me/boris_rozhin/116628; https://t.me/tass_agency/236932 ; https://t.me/boris_rozhin/116738

[53]  https://t.me/vchkogpu/46642

[54]  https://isw.pub/UkrWar092623 ; https://www.understandingwar.org/backgr...

[55]  https://t.me/vchkogpu/46642 ; https://t.me/vchkogpu/46355

[56]  https://t.me/mobilizationnews/17962

[57]  https://t.me/tass_agency/237020

[58]  https://t.me/tass_agency/237006 ; https://t.me/tass_agency/236993

[59]  https://t.me/sandreychuk/474 ; https://meduza dot io/news/2024/03/16/dvizhenie-golos-poluchilo-pervoe-video-vbrosa-golosov-na-vyborah-prezidenta-rf

[60]  https://t.me/istories_media/5516

[61]  https://t.me/tass_agency/236936; https://t.me/tass_agency/237052

[62]  https://t.me/tass_agency/236929

[63]  https://t.me/tass_agency/237002

[64]  https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign...

[65]  https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/viral-disinformation-kreml...

[66]  https://t.me/pul_1/11701 ; https://t.me/belta_telegramm/239951 ; https://t.me/tass_agency/237054