‘send every plane that will fly’
“SCOOP: The Biden administration is preparing a larger-than-normal package of military aid for Ukraine that will include armored vehicles, in addition to urgently needed artillery and air defenses, according to two U.S. officials.
DOD expects to move the package quickly as soon as Biden signs an expected bill providing $60B in new aid to Ukraine.”
“One source said additional Bradley Fighting Vehicles would be part of the shipment. Older Humvees and M113 armored personnel carriers, as well as missiles, could also be included, said another.”
https://twitter.com/laraseligman/status/1782472777578004661
We are in store for some fireworks.
Kyiv Independent reports (22 Apr):
“Ukraine “finalized” the agreement on long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles with the U.S., President Volodymyr Zelensky said after a call with his American counterpart Joe Biden on April 22...
...The (Ukraine Aid) bill also requires the Biden administration to deliver long-range ATACMS missiles when practicable “after the date of enactment of this Act.”
The U.S. first delivered ATACMS missiles to Ukraine in October 2023, following months of deliberation. The package included only the older models with a range of 165 kilometers. Newer variants of ATACMS have a maximum range of around 300 kilometers and have so far not been provided to Ukraine.
In late February, NBC News reported that the White House is ready to provide Kyiv with longer-range ATACMS missile variants if Congress approves a new funding package...
...U.S. Senator Mark Warner said on April 21 that shipments that include long-range missile systems could be ready to be delivered within days.”
Wrath of God.
OilPrice.com reports:
“Russia’s natural gas giant Gazprom had to shut down more than two dozen producing wells during the spring floods in the Orenburg region to keep the gas-producing wells from flooding, the local Gazprom unit said.
River and floodwaters rose early this month in the Orenburg region in southwestern Russia near the Ural River in the worst flooding in the area in 80 years. Water levels in the Ural jumped well above the river’s bursting point.
To avoid flooding of operating wells, Gazprom’s local unit, Gazprom Dobycha Orenburg, shut down over a dozen of these, the company said in an in-house publication cited by Reuters on Monday...
...The strong spring floods have also shut down one refinery near Orenburg in Russia as they compromised a dam in the area forcing the evacuation of thousands of people.
Russian media reported earlier this month that the dam breach had sunk the old part of the city of Orsk and the level of water in the Ural River is gradually rising, threatening Orenburg, the administrative headquarters of the Orenburg region in southwestern Russia, near the border with Kazakhstan.
Authorities have reported floods all along the length of the Ural, which flows across southwestern Russia and Kazakhstan and drains into the Caspian Sea.”
Kremlin snuff box, 05/02/24
https://t.me/s/kremlin_secrets
The enemy fired ATACMS missiles at our military in the LPR. Dozens of dead
As a result of the Ukrainian attack with ATACMS cluster missiles on a training ground near the village of Rogovo (LPR) , according to various estimates, from 29 to 42 military personnel were killed. More than 40 were injured.
This information was revealed to us by our interlocutors at the General Staff and the Ministry of Defense. Different sources give different numbers.
This may be due to the fact that not all fragments of the bodies of the dead have yet been identified, so the exact number of victims has not yet been established.
This may also be due (according to one of the interlocutors) to a reluctance to acknowledge the real consequences of “such a terrible failure.”
“Some idiot again gathered a mass of military personnel in one place and exposed them to missiles. Of course, I don’t want to talk about this,” admitted a source in the General Staff.
Who exactly set the soldiers up for missiles is now being clarified.
Reporting From Ukraine:
https://www.youtube.com/@RFU/videos
The complete transcript.
Great news! YouTube finally investigated the issue and restored all 16 channels! First of all, let me start by acknowledging and apologizing for the experience you have had so far.
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[ Epic Fail: Russian Flank Attack on Vuhledar Crumbles! ]
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Day 798: May 01
Today, there are a lot of updates from the Kurakhove direction.
Here, Russian forces resumed assault operations on Vuhledar, one of the main strong points in this direction that is still being held by Ukrainian forces.
Vuhledar additionally bears an important symbolic significance, because Russian forces repeatedly tried to attack Vuhledar from the south over the past 2 years and suffered catastrophic losses, including a devastating defeat in one of the largest tank battles of the war.
Vuhledar’s key role is based on two main factors.
Firstly, Vuhledar is of high operational importance because it is located at a dominating height.
If we look at the topographic map, we can see that Vuhledar is situated at a significant elevation over the area further south.
However, areas to the east are at a similar elevation, and the Russians have indeed tried to take advantage of this by launching attacks along the hill ridge.
Secondly, from the point of view of logistics, Vuhledar has been a key supply hub from the beginning of the war, due to its proximity to two important roads: the 0509 road from Velyka Novosilka to Novotroitske, and the 0532 road that goes up from Vuhledar to Marinka.
However, because of the current front-line situation, its most significant importance lies in the fact it constitutes a formidable barrier that the Russians have not been able to overcome for months.
Over the past several days, Russian forces began preparing for assault operations from the south and the east.
Russian forces released dramatic videos of extensive artillery preparation on Vuhledar and the Ukrainian strong points around it. As can be seen in the images, the city is now utterly destroyed, although Ukrainian forces still control valuable positions on high buildings.
Ukrainian forces responded to the heavy Russian fire by trying to undermine the preparation of Russian forces in Russian-controlled settlements to the south.
Geolocated footage shows Ukrainians hitting Russian forces concentrations in the village of Pavlivka, southwest of Vuhledar.
One geolocated video shows how Ukrainians located a position with a hiding Russian machine gun operator, which they subsequently attacked with high accuracy with an FVP kamikaze drone.
The drone operators managed to literally enter the house through the front door and detonate the explosive charge.
Another video demonstrates how Russian soldiers were seeking shelter in a workshop area right after the first attack.
Once they got inside, they suffered consecutive attacks by kamikaze and grenade launcher drones.
Finally, a video released by Ukrainian counter-battery teams, shows how Ukrainians hit a Russian D-30 howitzer north of the village of Kyrylivka as a part of broad counterbattery operations.
After the first hit damaged the shell, the whole stock of Russian ammunition ended up exploding.
As the surprise frontal attack was unsuccessful, Russian forces applied an encirclement tactic in its next step and tried to envelop the stronghold.
This time, apart from the southwestern vector of attack, Russian forces also tried to advance from the Soldeke area.
Geolocated footage released by the fighter from the 72nd Mechanized Brigade and 79th Separate Assault Brigade shows a Russian mechanized advance with 4 armored infantry vehicles, which the Ukrainians managed to disrupt with artillery and drone fire.
As can be seen from the footage, the Russians initially set out along the tree lines running parallel to a railway track, however, at one point, they are forced to advance right through the open fields with hardly any cover, likely due to the higher density of Ukrainian mines in the area, which inevitably facilitated the work of the Ukrainian defenders.
Russian armored vehicles were attacked by a succession of kamikaze drones until they were immobilized. The crew tried to get to the shelter, but they were eliminated by drone-launched grenades.
Interestingly, as can be noted in all FPV drone recordings, there is no loss of video signal, until the very moment of impact with many, which indicates that relatively old models of Russian tanks and armored vehicles, like T-62 tanks, are not equipped with electronic warfare equipment.
Moreover, several of the Russian vehicles were fitted with basic anti-mine equipment, which is another indicator that the area was heavily mined by the Ukrainian army.
However, the images do not show any mine detonations, so it seems like the Russian vehicles and tanks were neutralized by the Ukrainian defenders even before they reached the minefields.
Based on the available images and videos from the combat zone, the estimated number of destroyed equipment and personnel amounts to 2 tanks, 3 armored personnel carriers, 2 light-armored vehicles, and 44 personnel losses, namely, 29 dead and 15 wounded.
Overall, Ukrainian forces continue to hold the line in front of Vuhledar and have recently repelled both infantry assaults from the south as well as mechanized advances from the east.
Russian forces, favored by unusually dry spring weather, are trying to increase the pace of their operations with mechanized and infantry assaults, before the imminent arrival of the Western military aid, while the Ukrainians are already organizing assistance distribution and will soon attempt to retake the initiative.