Posted on 02/28/2022 8:10:18 PM PST by Mariner
A Russian military convoy that was outside of Ivankiv, Ukraine, on Sunday has since made it to the outskirts of Kyiv, satellite images show.
On Sunday, the convoy was roughly 40 miles northwest of the Ukrainian capital, according to images provided by Maxar Technologies.
Maxar said that roughly 17 miles of roadway is chocked full of the convoy, which consists of armored vehicles, tanks, towed artillery and other logistical vehicles.
The private US company said the convoy was located on the T-1011 highway at Antonov air base around 11:11 a.m local time.
Antonov is roughly 17 miles from the center of the Ukrainian capital.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
The Ministry of Defense and the General Staff are furious with the results of the missile strike on Ukraine: “They thought they had destroyed the F-16 and Patriot.” And Sobyanin called Shoigu and shouted.
This morning we could not help but admire the results of the massive missile strike of our military on the territory of Ukraine. And they called their friends at the General Staff and the Ministry of Defense to congratulate them on their successful work. The military has disappointed us and, frankly, is now furious.
It turns out that a significant part of the attacks were unsuccessful. For example, this was the shelling of the Mirgorod airfield. “We spotted and destroyed six F-16s there. According to intelligence data, these turned out to be dummies. And now we don't know whether the enemy even has such planes, or whether we were misled. And the missiles have been spent, including rare missiles,” admitted the interlocutor at the Ministry of Defense. Models of Patriot air defense systems in Kyiv were also destroyed. “We hit them, burned them, and decided that they were real Patriots.” And they launched a new wave of missiles at Kyiv, which, in our opinion, was left unprotected. But it turned out that we didn't destroy anything, and our missiles were shot down. As a result, almost 30 missiles were wasted. I don't understand why our intelligence works this way,” complained a source in the General Staff.
According to the interlocutors, a number of military facilities in Ukraine were hit, but the effect of such a massive shelling “is much less than we would like.” Plus, the enemy received an important advantage - after the footage of burning civilian buildings, Ukraine will definitely receive new Western weapons, and a lot of them. Most likely more than expected. Sergei Sobyanin is also dissatisfied with the shelling of Ukraine, including Kyiv. “Sergei Semenovich called Shoigu. There was a difficult conversation with frequent shouting,” a source close to the Moscow mayor admitted to us.
Sobyanin fears that the response to attacks on Ukraine may be shelling of Moscow, which is possible, including on the New Year. And he doubts that the capital's air defense, with all its power, will withstand massive attacks. It's worth noting: the mayor knows what he's talking about. In November, he was already worried that after the strike on Kyiv there would be an enemy response to Moscow. That sad forecast of Sergei Semenovich came true: the capital was then struck by drones, as a result of which the city was almost left without electricity .
We will definitely be asked: why publish such information? It's simple. We are journalists and must speak honestly about the situation in our army. Both about her successes and failures. Moreover, we were asked to publish this post by those same acquaintances in the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. To draw attention to the systemic problems that exist in the army.
https://t.me/kremlin_secrets/3352
Read Russian rumors ab F-16: https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4042550/posts?page=5713#5713
Just saw another Russian has fallen from a 3rd story window. It sounds like more will follow after this mishap.
Notice to Russian people: be sure to look up if you are walking on the sidewalk next to buildings that are 3 stories or higher.
Yes, and that might be a well-intentioned call in response to the Putinists.
Can’t wait to see airstrkes on Moscow! Winter is a perfect time to hit electric plants and gas heating stations!
Air strikes in Moscow do not have to be large, as their main task is psychological, to make the Russians understand that they have a war and not a 3-day excursion with special forces.
For no reason at all, here is a link about Backfire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-22M ;-)
“Civilian facilities should not be attacked.”
That line was crossed by Russia in the first day of the war they started.
The Russians who support Putin should feel the same discomforts as the people of Ukraine. Let them find out what it’s like to be without heat or power on a cold night. Let them find out what it’s like to have their apartment destroyed. Let them find out what it’s like to be terrorized by random attacks.
Just the same as when World War Two started the initial conflict was between militaries and targets of military value. But once Germany bombed Rotterdam and Coventry then it was time for the German people to feel the same suffering their government was inflicting on others.
If the Russians don’t like the same suffering they inflict on others maybe they’ll get the idea not to start wars of conquest anymore.
The Backfire was a threat in its day. But like the rest of the outdated Russian military it is not a threat to NATO.
I agree with you opinion, but it is a tricky question:
Civilian power infrastructure has long been considered a valid military objective as long as it also supports an enemy army’s activities, military law expert Michael Schmitt wrote in the Articles of War blog run by the Lieber Institute at the U.S. West Point military academy.
International law professor Marko Milanovic of the University of Reading wrote in a blog that the main issue in assessing the military validity of the attack on the Nova Kakhovka dam’s hydroelectric power station was whether it was making an “effective contribution” to military action.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-when-do-attacks-civilian-installations-amount-war-crimes-2023-08-03/
“There was information about the downing of a Tu-22M3 that had just launched missiles at Ukraine. It probably belongs to the 52nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment, which has been killing civilians in Kremenchuk, Uman, and Dnipro.”
The Kremlin's efforts to sufficiently mobilize Russia's defense industrial base (DIB) in support of its wartime objectives, including large-scale strike series, may been more successful than Western officials previously assessed due in part to Russia's ability to procure military equipment from its partners and the redistribution of Russia's resources for military production purposes. Head of the German Ministry of Defense's Special Staff for Ukrainian Issues Major General Christian Freuding stated during an interview on December 29 that the German Armed Forces did not expect that Russia would succeed in expanding its DIB and increasing its production capacity in the face of Western sanctions.[30] Freuding stated that Germany did not account for Russia's ability to circumvent Western sanctions by procuring materiel from North Korea, China, and other countries.[31] Ukrainian outlet Ekonomichna Pravda, citing data from Forbes, reported that Russia's December 29 strike cost Russia at least $1.27 billion, calculating that Russia spent over $720,000 to launch 36 Shahed-136/131 drones, over $5 million to launch five Kh-47 hypersonic missiles, and an estimated $1.17 billion on the over 90 Kh-101 missiles that it launched.[32] Forbes previously reported that Russian Kh-101 cruise missiles cost an estimated $13 million per missile compared to Kh-22 missiles that cost an estimated $1 million each and Iskander-M ballistic missiles that cost roughly $3 million each.[33] Russian forces notably appear to be using larger quantities of the more expensive Kh-101 cruise missiles to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses and increase the chances of striking targets in Ukraine with smaller quantities of cheaper missile variants.
Russian opposition outlet Meduza estimated on December 29 that Russia's economy will most likely grow by more than three percent by the end of 2023, largely due to the Russian DIB’s unprecedented levels of production that have bolstered Russian economic output.[34] Meduza, citing the Bank of Finland's Institute for Emerging Economies, reported that Russia's DIB generated 40 percent of Russian GDP growth in the first half of 2023 despite only accounting for six percent of Russian GDP.[35] Meduza credited the success of the Russian DIB to Russia's significantly increased, and still increasing, defense budget and the redistribution of Russia's civilian sector resources for military production purposes.[36] Meduza highlighted Russia's Tambov Bakery, a bakery that began assembling 230 to 250 combat drones per month in March 2023, as an example of the Russian economy's redistribution of money and resources towards military over civilian goods.[37] Meduza noted that the Russian DIB is unlikely to generate the same levels of economic growth in 2024, largely due to personnel shortages, already stretched production capacities, and its dependence on imported components and equipment.[38]
full report: https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-december-29-2023
However
Joe Blogs: RUSSIAN Ruble Collapse Has Damaged Economy - Oil & Gas Revenues Fall 63% as Russia Posts Huge Loss. In addition to this huge reduction in income Expenditure is continuing to increase due to the investment in the War, which means that the Russian Economy is now incurring massive LOSSES. In this video I provide more details of the figures and discuss the problems that Russia is now facing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1ZCbqKwgdM
Russia continues to set information conditions aimed at destabilizing Moldova by framing Russia as a protector of allegedly threatened Russian-language speakers in Moldova. Russian state news wire TASS reported on December 27 that 19.1 percent of school children in Moldova choose to receive educational instruction in the Russian language.[20] TASS claimed that the Moldovan government's refusal to recognize Russian as a state language in 1989 led to the war in Transnistria and the conflict with Gagauzia.[21] TASS further claimed that the ruling pro-European Moldovan Party of Action and Solidarity is exacerbating these alleged long-standing language divides by failing to grant Russian language the status of “a language of interethnic communication.”[22] Russian forces have occupied Transnistria since 1992, and Russia has continually supported pro-Russian actors in Moldova to promote political instability and division.[23] Claims that the Party of Action and Solidarity is threating Russian speakers in Moldova allow Russia to frame any potential Russian support for pro-Kremlin actors in Moldova as a humanitarian attempt to protect Russian speakers instead of an attempt to politically destabilize Moldova itself. The Kremlin used exactly this line of argument as one of the bases for its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.[24] Russia is likely attempting to justify any future actions in Moldova as an attempt to protect its “compatriots abroad,” a term that Russia has broadly defined to mean ethnic Russians and Russian speakers outside of Russia regardless of their citizenship. Russia continues to justify its invasion of Ukraine, in part, by claiming Russia is protecting its “compatriots” in Ukraine and their right to use Russian language and will likely continue to use this narrative when discussing any future Russian attempts at imperial reconquests.[25]
full report: https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-december-30-2023
https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1741190735787913257
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