Posted on 09/22/2023 5:34:16 AM PDT by SpeedyInTexas
BREAKING
“President Biden has told Zelenskyi, that the US will provide a small number of long-range missiles, 3 US officials and a congressional official told NBC.
The official said there is still a debate about the type and amount of missiles that would be sent”
https://twitter.com/GloOouD/status/1705239810376405070
“Ukraine also hit a fleet HQ bunker in another location in Sevastopol.”
These strikes are very significant, especially if they were successful in timing them to take out a lot of Commanders and key staff. I did see one report that claimed that the strike on the alternate HQ was timed to catch a high level meeting in progress.
Another reason they could be significant, is because of the part they could play in larger Operational Plans. Disrupting Command and Control is normally a priority before engaging in decisive combat operations (main attack).
Maybe Ukraine is preparing for a Turkey Shoot of Black Sea Fleet ships.
Alternatively, they may have just peaked with some high profile strikes during fundraising week, while the Ramstein Conference was underway, and Zelensky was lobbying in DC.
“That vid really shows that the majority of that building is toast.”
The top floor center, with the view of the bay, seems like the natural place for the Command Suite. Looks like it was ground zero. All hands lost.
“President Biden has told Zelenskyi, that the US will provide a small number of long-range missiles, 3 US officials and a congressional official told NBC.”
Maybe use is bing limited to a defined target list. Kerch Bridge is always popular.
Another consideration, is that maybe the Black Sea Fleet HQ was seen as a test of Russian response, before taking the risk of providing these weapons.
“Biden tells Zelenskyy that U.S. will send Ukraine ATACMS long-range missiles”
“Some in Washington had resisted supplying the weapons system, known as “attack-ems,” out of fear that it would widen the war with Russia.”
“President Joe Biden has told his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that the United States will provide a small number of long-range missiles to aid the war with Russia, three U.S. officials and a congressional official familiar with the discussions told NBC News on Friday.
The officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly, did not say when the missiles would be delivered or when a public announcement would be made.
For months, Ukraine has asked for the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, which would give Kyiv the ability to strike targets from as far away as about 180 miles, hitting supply lines, railways, and command and control locations behind the Russian front lines.”
The Atlantic Council reports (https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/russian-war-report-black-sea-military-operations-approach-nato-countries-waters/ ):
“On September 14, the United States imposed sanctions on more than 150 individuals and entities from Russia, Turkey, Georgia, and the United Arab Emirates. The US implemented the sanctions in response to Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, targeting various sectors of Russia’s economy and entities involved in crucial energy projects and infrastructure.
Among the sanctioned are Russian companies participating in developing energy projects, such as Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 liquefied natural gas project, and associated companies procuring essential materials and advanced technology. The United States also designated companies operating within the metals and mining sector as well as entities that offer repair and maintenance services to the Russian defense sector.
The sanctions also targeted Russian malign influence in Georgia. The United States sanctioned Otar Partskhaladze, a former prosecutor General of Georgia it described as a “Georgian-Russian oligarch,” alongside Aleksandr Onischenko, a Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officer. Partskhaladze has close ties to former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of the ruling party, Georgian Dream; the corruption monitoring organization Transparency International described Ivanishvili as “the informal ruler of Georgia.” In its sanctions announcement, the US Department of State noted, “Onishchenko and the FSB have leveraged Partskhaladze to influence Georgian society and politics for the benefit of Russia. Partskhaladze has reportedly personally profited from his FSB connection.”
The sanctions also included five Turkish ship repair and construction companies working on “vessels that have been blocked as property of entities operating or having operated in the defense and related materiel sector of the Russian Federation economy.” Additionally, the United States imposed sanctions against Pavel Shevelin, an individual affiliated with the Wagner Group, for facilitating the shipment of munitions from North Korea to Russia.”
South China Morning Post reports:
“Oleg Kryuchkov, an aide to Crimea head Sergei Aksyonov, said internet service providers on the (Crimean) peninsula were under an “unprecedented cyberattack”, leading to interruptions in service.”
according to the US members of Congress and government officials, the US will provide Ukraine with a LIMITED NUMBER OF ATACMS missiles, mostly with cluster munition since the US has most of these in stock.
close to a decision to provide 🇺🇦Ukraine with a version of ATACMS long-range missiles armed with cluster bombs, rather than a single warhead. It has a range of 45 to 190 miles.
>> That would reward illegal aggression, <<
Crimea was firmly under Russian control before the invasion of Ukraine.
>> and establish post war conditions that enable and embolden future Russian aggression, and substantially weaken Ukraine’s and Europe’s position.<<
Russia’s conduct during the war has already weakened it gravely. If that were not true, continuing the war would be suicidal. At what point will sufficient “punishment” be enough? Understand two things: (1) Ukraine will never get Crimea back, short of a direct U.S.-led land invasion of Moscow, and (2) There comes a point where the cost of Crimean revanchism increases to the U.S./NATO relative to the cost to Russia, and we start weakening faster than Russia.
>> Arguably <<
Means, “there’s no way in the world that I could possibly defend this ludicrous statement, but I’m going to make it anyway and just attach this so I can disavow it if I need to.”
>> Continued Russian occupation of Crimea would provide a base for future Russian land attack. It was the vector that was the most successful for them in their 2022 invasion, and best supports a potential future ground attack toward Odesa. <<
That is outright falsehood. They quickly captured Kherson because the treasonous mayor allowed them through the city’s defenses. The first serious resistance the invaders met was in Mikolaiv, where they lost. They also failed at conquering Zaporizzhia city, which is very far from the nuclear facility named after Zaporizzhia oblast, or any of the more populous northern end of Zaporizzhia oblast.
👀 Sevastopol: Missile hit Headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol right during a meeting of high-ranking officers.
After the war is over, the Kherson traitors will face justice.
Crimea Wind Telegram channel is reporting the Commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was killed in today’s strike in Crimea
Meanwhile the occupiers are still struggling to contain the fire at the Naval HQ in Sevastopol
Interesting the smoke turned darker too!
@twmcltd
Admiral Victor Sokolov, Commander of the Black Sea fleet had a run in with a Storm Shadow. He did not survive.
Thanks for the ping.
I saw a video of the building and the smoke was very heavy and very dark.
What could be causing the fire?
The missile hit the commander’s freaking office!
I bet the maid that emptied the trash and made the beds is somewhere in western Ukraine.
No joke. Ukrainian partisans in Sevastopol have been preparing for this day for months.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.