Posted on 02/24/2024 5:59:01 AM PST by SpeedyInTexas
The SBU's Sea Baby drone, are now equipped with GRAD multiple launch rocket systems and are actively targeting Russian forces. Recently, these drones, in collaboration with the Navy, successfully attacked Russian positions on the Kinburn Spit.
https://x.com/NOELreports/status/1793180923766198590
I would expect the rockets would have flechette warheads...anti-personnel.
Atta Boy!
“Today around 2pm, an ATACMS missile reportedly struck a Russian air defense complex near Mospino in the occupied part of the Donetsk region, likely targeting an S-300/400 system.”
https://x.com/NOELreports/status/1793295799192891569
Johnson is rising to the occasion.
“Speaker Mike Johnson joins the chorus of every sane person on earth calling for the Biden Administration to end its disastrous policy of preventing Ukraine from striking Russian launchers, troop concentrations and jets that sit just over the Russian border”
https://x.com/JayinKyiv/status/1793301338505216348
Russian Su-25 just promoted to fireball.
https://x.com/front_ukrainian/status/1793379427310793024
“Inside the White House, a Debate Over Letting Ukraine Shoot U.S. Weapons Into Russia”
“After a sobering trip to Kyiv, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is urging the president to lift restrictions on how Ukraine can use American arms.”
“Since the first American shipments of sophisticated weapons to Ukraine, President Biden has never wavered on one prohibition: President Volodymyr Zelensky had to agree to never fire them into Russian territory, insisting that would violate Mr. Biden’s mandate to “avoid World War III.”
But the consensus around that policy is fraying. Propelled by the State Department, there is now a vigorous debate inside the administration over relaxing the ban to allow the Ukrainians to hit missile and artillery launch sites just over the border in Russia — targets that Mr. Zelensky says have enabled Moscow’s recent territorial gains.
The proposal, pressed by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken after a sobering visit to Kyiv last week, is still in the formative stages, and it is not clear how many of his colleagues among Mr. Biden’s inner circle have signed on. It has not yet been formally presented to the president, who has traditionally been the most cautious, officials said.
The State Department spokesman, Matthew A. Miller, declined to comment on the internal deliberations over Ukraine policy, including Mr. Blinken’s report after his return from Kyiv.
But officials involved in the deliberations said Mr. Blinken’s position had changed because the Russians had opened a new front in the war, with devastating results. Moscow’s forces have placed weapons right across the border from northeastern Ukraine, and aimed them at Kharkiv — knowing the Ukrainians would only be able to use non-American drones and other weaponry to target them in response.”
Artillery Rocket-Firing Ukrainian Drone Boat Shown During Testing
Ukrainian officials claim that the drone boat, fitted with Grad artillery rockets, has already been used in combat.
https://www.twz.com/sea/artillery-rocket-firing-ukrainian-drone-boat-shown-during-testing
Reporting From Ukraine:
https://www.youtube.com/@RFU/videos
The complete transcript.
—
[ Ukrainian Forces Stop & Counterattack Russians in Urozhaine ]
—
Day 819: May 22
Today, there is a lot of news from the Velyka Novosilka direction.
Here, after months of relative inactivity, Russian forces have drastically increased the intensity of their offensive operations targeting the villages of Staromaiorske and Urozhaine.
These villages, located south of Velyka Novosilka, hold tactical and symbolic significance, as these are the last settlements that Ukrainian forces recaptured during their counteroffensive in the summer of 2023.
The low intensity of the fighting in previous months was based on the fact that both sides needed to advance a significant number of kilometers across open fields, in order to get close to the first defensive line, making these attacks highly dangerous.
However, according to analysts, in the face of this apparent inactivity, Ukrainian forces may have moved some of their personnel to other hotter spots on the front line.
This relocation, added to the lack of material suffered by Ukrainian forces in the past months, may have given the Russians an opportunity to make sudden advances to the borders of Staromaiorske and Urozhaine.
The primary objective for Russian forces in this area is Velyka Novosilka. This settlement serves as a vital stronghold surrounded from all sides by rivers, as well as a logistic node, supplying all southern settlements.
Capturing Velyka Novosilka would enable Russian forces to inflict significant damage to Ukrainian logistics in the whole area, and overcome a major fortress along the southern line.
In addition, Russian forces aim to potentially link up with their operations in the southeastern Donetsk region, which aim to encircle Vuhledar following their repeated failures in frontal assaults.
The latest reports indicate Russian forces have escalated their use of loitering munition, targeting deep Ukrainian positions away from the immediate front line. Geolocated footage captured a Lancet strike carried out against Ukrainian artillery systems stationed near Velyka Novosilka.
In addition, Russian forces recently reported the destruction of a critical bridge over Mokri Yaly River in Velyka Novosilka, aiming to disrupt Ukrainian logistics operations between the main town and the southern settlements. The footage shows the impact of a Kh-38ML air-to-ground missile, causing the partial destruction of the bridge.
These two attacks indicate that Russian forces have taken advantage of the lack of air defense systems in recent weeks to increase their depth attacks, an issue that the Ukrainians are already trying to solve with the ongoing arrival of material from the American aid package.
In recent weeks, Russian forces have made progress west of Staromaiorske, advancing by around 1.5 kilometers.
If we look at the topographic map, we can see that this area is characterized by its relatively higher altitude. The main fight was actually for the control of the hill: as the hill is right above the village, losing it would mean direct access to the settlement.
A recent sudden Russian attack pushed Ukrainian defenses out from the hill, and for this reason, the latest reports indicate that heavy fighting is already inside Staromaiorske, although Ukrainian forces offer strong resistance.
In the area south of Urozhaine, heavy clashes have been reported, which started with extensive Russian aerial bombardments over the settlement aimed to set the conditions for the subsequent mechanized and infantry attacks.
Russian forces gained some marginal advances and reached the southern houses of the settlement.
Despite their efforts, these advances have failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough. Due to strong resistance, the Russian strategy has alternate probe attacks further east, seeking new vectors in an attempt to outmaneuver Ukrainian defenses.
Geolocated images reveal successful Ukrainian defensive operations in Urozhaine, including the use of FPV drones and artillery strikes to halt Russian medium-sized attacks.
Notably, Ukrainian forces managed to repel a Russian advance involving a tank and 2 armored infantry vehicles, with a single Ukrainian tank holding its ground effectively.
The footage shows how the Ukrainian tank makes a direct hit on the Russian tank, and moments later, the 2 armored infantry vehicles begin a rushed retreat. Additional geolocated footage shows Ukrainian infantry launching several successful counterattacks, targeting Russian positions in hangars.
In the aftermath of these counterattack, Ukrainians regained much of the ground and captured several Russian prisoners. These operations highlight the ongoing efforts of Ukrainian forces to disrupt and destabilize Russian advances, maintaining pressure and an active defense when possible.
Military analysts assess this recent Russian offensive activity in this area as part of a broader strategy to stretch the Ukrainian front line through diversionary attacks. These multiple probe attacks are a prelude to summer offensive efforts and aim at catching Ukrainian defenders off guard and forcing them to reallocate their limited personnel and resources.
The Russians continued to pursue a breakthrough that would compel Ukrainian forces to adjust their defensive resources balance.
However, the lack of strategic objective in this direction highlights that Russian forces will hardly be able to commit a comparable concentration of forces to that of points on the frontline with clear strategic and political objectives, which makes possible Russian advances in this direction likely to be contested and overturned in the short term by Ukrainian forces.
Overall, the situation in the area south of Velyka Novosilka remains highly dynamic and contested. Russian forces have increased the intensity of their attacks, making marginal advances, but failing to achieve a decisive breakthrough.
Ukrainian defenders continue to employ effective countermeasures, leveraging artillery, FPV drones, minefields and tactical maneuvers to maintain their positions.
The resilience and adaptability of Ukrainian forces in this region have been crucial in preventing a full-scale Russian breakthrough on this particular segment of the frontline.
Kremlin snuff box, 05/22/24
The military asks to release General Popov and send him to the front
This appeal was made by General Mikhail Teplinsky and more than ten other high-ranking military personnel. The request “to facilitate the release of Major General Ivan Popov, to stop the persecution of the military and allow them to smash the enemy, and not sit behind bars” was transferred to the Ministry of Defense.
“General Popov has proven his effectiveness, including in repelling the so-called counter-offensive of the Ukrainian army. We ask you to allow him to atone for his guilt with blood at this difficult and responsible moment.
“If this guilt exists, of course. After all, nothing has been proven yet, and we suspect that Ivan Ivanovich could have suffered for his statements. It is not right to keep one of the heroes of our time behind bars,” the appeal says, in part.
According to General Teplinsky, Popov could seriously strengthen our army in the Zaporozhye direction of the front or help liberate Krynki from the enemy. His experience in planning serious operations in the area of the Northern Military District would also be useful.
By the way, Teplinsky has not yet received a response from Andrei Belousov to his appeal, which we published.
“The situation at the front is changeable, so Mikhail Yuryevich is really looking forward to the minister’s response. We need to act quickly,” a source close to Teplinsky told us.
Kremlin snuff box, 05/23/24
https://t.me/s/kremlin_secrets
Is it true that the president has agreed on arms supplies from China?
The day before, a lot of discussion was caused by a statement by the British Minister of Defense, who saw signs of the supply of lethal weapons from China to Russia. We want to answer these rumors.
Firstly, at the time of publication, no weapons had been delivered directly from China to Russia. This is an irrefutable fact.
Secondly, Vladimir Putin was really received with honors in Beijing, there was a lot of talk about the war, including in the context of the supply of not only components for assembly, but also the weapons themselves.
At this time, there are no final agreements on the start of deliveries. By the way, even the Americans admit this.
Vladimir Putin brought a list of desired weapons to Beijing, but the PRC leader is in no hurry to begin deliveries. As in the case of the shelling of Crimea, he did not express deep interest in the issue.
At the same time, Moscow is convinced that deliveries will begin, and they hope that soon.
The West is afraid of the rapprochement between Russia and China, which is inevitably happening. At the same time, on a number of issues between the partners there are indeed issues that have not been fully discussed.
In particular, in Africa. It is also worth taking into account the economic downturn in China, which in the future, even 3-6 months, could hit the elites of the local Communist Party.
This, in turn, may affect the position on Russia in the direction of tightening the conditions for assistance from China.
Couple of things jump out at me for this
The first was the use of the phrase irrefutable fact,, I doubt that.
The second was was REALLY received with honors, no seriously folks he was the wonan not xi, was super super important……/s
Lastly, Putin brought a list of desired weapons
Where to begin. From
The beginning of this war all I have heard from the usuals is that Russia has an inexhaustible supply of weapons, and their manufacturing is second to none. Have you heard their GDP is growing at 5+ percent….
Going from 2nd largest exporter of weapons to massive importer of weapons and going on a begging trip to China seems to support that narrative, again /s
Very interesting times
Is there any chance that Russians have the necessary reserves of men and equipment to do anything close to “exploiting “ a breakthrough?
The definition of a breakthrough and massive attacks(1 tank 2 bmps…) seems to have changed over the past 2 years
A video recently posted with great excitement showed a train full of equipment heading somewhere, yet the trains cargo consisted of mainly trucks and I think one tank and a few towed artillery pieces. Are these the “breakthrough “ reserves? If so get out the welding equipment and corrugated metal
What is the projection coming out of the front of the aircraft?
Ask FtrPilot. I’m not an airplane guy
A beautiful aircraft.
Pitot boom. It will be used during flight test to compare with the other pitot booms on the aircraft. Pitot booms are used to determine indicated/calibrated airspeed.
That makes sense, we had some pitot tube issues on the 135, not good
The B-21 is fly-by-wire and will have 3 or 4 pitot tubes. The pitot boom that you see in the picture is use to provide an accurate reading. This is then compared to the readings provided by the other pitot tubes. This will correct for “installation error” yielding calibrated airspeed.
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