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Fortunately there are many channels on Telegram that do a good job of providing useful “non-government controlled” information on the conflict.
I read about 25 of them from both sides of the conflict. Here is a link to the one I think does the best job in reporting and explaining in detail the military encounters, including successes and failures.
Rybar
🇬🇧🇺🇦Snake Island and the Keys to the North-West of the Black Sea
The events on Snake Island off the coast of Odessa are shrouded in the fog of war: in the scarce reports of the Ministry of Defense, there are only reports of destroyed UAVs, not a single military correspondent is on the spot, and Ukrainians constantly report wrecked ships and post videos of the injured “ Raptors” or “Cerne”.
▪️Now Bayraktar TB2 UAVs are working almost daily on the positions of the RF Armed Forces on the island . The ultimate goal is the landing of Ukrainian troops on the island : Mi-8 helicopters have been deployed to the Chervonoglinsky airfield in Odessa, ready to transfer personnel on command.
▪️American M777 howitzers with 155-mm M982 Excalibur guided active rockets were deployed to the Zatoka area . They will have to work at almost the maximum range - 60 km. But howitzers can also work on Russian positions on the island itself, and on the grouping of ships around it.
▪️Target designation and reconnaissance is provided by American reconnaissance aircraft, which practically do not leave the area of the mission.
Yesterday, through the collective efforts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and NATO allies, the Tor air defense system on the island was partially disabled. After that, the Ukrainian Air Force tried to make a massive raid on the island: in addition to unmanned aircraft, they attracted at least two pairs of Su-24 and Su-27 tactical aircraft .
The ship’s air defense systems and fighters worked out by air: two Bayraktar TB2 UAVs and one aircraft were shot down . The rest got away.
Why Serpentine?
The island is strategically important not only because of its location near the southern borders of Odessa. Without control over Serpentine, it will be much more difficult to conduct a potentially naval amphibious operation on the Ukrainian coast.
And for Ukraine and the allies, the restoration of control over the island is an opportunity to deploy stationary radar stations, control the air and sea space around Odessa and begin an operation to unblock it. This is important for the supply of weapons and military equipment from the West by sea.
No matter how much we make fun of the “mosquito fleet”, but it exists. And it is foolish to underestimate it - especially when all target designation and intelligence are provided by allies from the NATO bloc.
And also Serpentine is a symbol. Remember about the “dead defenders” of the island, who later turned out to be alive? Now imagine that the Ukrainians will recapture the island and begin to inflate the story of a heroic deed, recaptured lines and revenge for the fallen and prisoners?
Therefore, one should not assume that the grouping of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea “does nothing” near Odessa. This is a very important sector of the front. And the intensity of the fighting there will only increase.
#Snake #Odessa #Russia #Ukraine @rybar *Support us: | (ETH) | (BTC)
Rybar
🇬🇧🇺🇦 Today we wrote a detailed analysis of the importance of the Serpent’s Island for the Ukrainian command and their NATO allies.
Yesterday, the Tor air defense system was disabled on the island, which gave Ukrainians a sense of false superiority. Yesterday it didn’t reach the landing operation - only tactics flew and carried out reconnaissance in battle.
But today the Armed Forces of Ukraine made this attempt . And they miscalculated. To lose not only the landing craft, but also three helicopters with landing troops, as well as cover aircraft, is a lot of effort.
But something is definitely not worth relaxing. Because the Turks are pressing, the British and Americans are pressing. Everyone needs a big information victory.
Details of today’s UAF attack on Snake Island.
The island was used as a bait: the forces of the RF took off from it in the morning and retreated. Mi-8 army aviation transport helicopters and the Stanislav landing craft calmly reached the shores of the island and began to land.
After that, the RF Armed Forces struck. The helicopters and the boat were instantly leveled. The few survivors retreated in rubber boats.
Rybar
Rybar
🇬🇧🇺🇦Today we wrote a detailed analysis of the importance of the Serpent’s Island for the Ukrainian command and their NATO allies. Yesterday, the Tor air defense system was disabled on the island, which gave Ukrainians a sense of false superiority. Before the landing operation yesterday ...
🇬🇧🇺🇦Details of today’s APU attack on Serpentine .
The island was used as a bait: the forces of the Russian Armed Forces took off from it in the morning and retreated. Mi-8 army aviation transport helicopters and the Stanislav landing craft calmly reached the shores of the island and began to land troops.
After that, the RF Armed Forces struck. The helicopters and the boat were instantly landed. The few survivors retreated in rubber boats.
The surviving aircraft were covered at the Chervonoglinsky , Shkolny and Martynovka airfields during the day.
Here is the most recent Russian update which includes additional info on Snake Island
Briefing of the Russian Ministry of Defense (08.05.2022)
◽️ The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation in Ukraine .
💥 During the night, high-precision air-based missiles of the Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed the command post of a mechanized brigade in the Pyatikhatka area of the Kharkov region and the communication center of the military airfield “ Chervonoglinskoye “ in the area of the settlement of Artsyz . Also in the Odessa region, a project 1241 corvette of the Ukrainian Navy was destroyed .
💥 Operational-tactical and army aviation hit 130 military facilities of Ukraine. Among them : three command posts, 123 areas of concentration of personnel and military equipment, two artillery batteries in firing positions and two depots of rocket and artillery weapons and ammunition in the Bakhmut and Krasnopolye regions . As a result of the strikes, up to 420 nationalists were destroyed, 55 units of military equipment were disabled .
💥 During the night, Russian air defense systems destroyed two more Ukrainian Su-24 bombers and one Mi-24 helicopter of the Ukrainian air forces over Zmeiny Island, and a Bayraktar-TB2 unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down near the city of Odessa . In total, four Ukrainian aircraft, four helicopters, including three with landing troops on board, three Bayraktar-TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles and one landing assault boat of the Ukrainian Navy were destroyed in the area during the day .
💥 Rocket troops and artillery hit 56 command posts, 32 artillery firing positions, 415 areas of concentration of manpower and military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as two launchers of S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems near the village of Korotych , Kharkiv region.
📊In total , since the beginning of the special military operation, the following have been destroyed: 156 aircraft, 116 helicopters, 765 unmanned aerial vehicles, 297 anti-aircraft missile systems, 2927 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 335 multiple rocket launchers, 1393 field artillery and mortar guns, as well as 2746 units of special military vehicles.
#Ministry of Defense #Russia #Ukraine @mod_russia