138 Combat Engagements March 21; ISW Confirms Russia's Spring Offensive Is Underway

Ukraine's General Staff recorded 138 combat engagements on March 21, 2026 (Day 1,487). Russia conducted 48 airstrikes, deployed 3,512 kamikaze drones, and fired 2,375 artillery shells. Russian losses for the day: 940 personnel killed or wounded. Active combat zones: Pokrovsk direction (28 attacks), Kostiantynivka direction (17 assaults), Kupyansk direction (5 attacks toward Petropavlivka and Kurilivka), Lyman direction (3 repelled assaults near Stavka and Dibrova), South-Slobozhansky (5 assaults near Starytsia and Okhrimivka). ISW formally assessed that Russia had likely initiated its anticipated Spring-Summer 2026 offensive against Ukraine's 'Fortress Belt' — the 50-km fortified chain from Sloviansk through Kramatorsk to Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka. ISW assessed Russia is unlikely to seize the entire Fortress Belt in 2026 and any gains will come at significant cost.