Russia Moves ‘Old’ St. Petersburg Missiles to Ukraine Front – Reports

Moscow Times ^ | 09/19/2022

[SeekAndFind]

Satellite images show that Russia’s military moved old anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine as it faced a shortage of advanced weapons this summer, inflicting heavy damage on civilians as a result, Finland’s Yle broadcaster reported Sunday.

At least four out of 14 anti-aircraft missile bases surrounding St. Petersburg were “emptied of equipment” in August and September, Finnish military expert Marko Eklund was quoted as saying.

"It is most likely that the equipment that has been removed is primarily from the old S-300 system," Eklund, who has monitored the Russian armed forces for over 20 years, added.

The remaining missiles that protect the airspace over Russia’s second-largest city near the Finnish border appear to be S-400 systems, which have twice the range of their Soviet-era predecessors, the S-300. 

Russia has likely moved some of its oldest equipment toward the Ukrainian battlefield and thus has not significantly weakened St. Petersburg’s air defenses, Eklund said.

Yle estimates the 14 batteries placed in a circle around St. Petersburg include more than 100 mobile firing platforms equipped with at least 450 missiles.

The latest transfer follows similar movements closer to Ukraine in southern Russia’s Voronezh region, where Yle reports half of its missile fleet had “vanished” by May, three months after Moscow launched an unprovoked invasion of its neighbor.

Russia has so far fired more than 500 S-300 missiles on Ukrainian targets and has three years’ worth of missiles remaining, or 7,000 items in total, Ukraine’s defense ministry intelligence chief said earlier this month.

S-300s are not originally intended for ground targets and their use is likely explained by the Russian military’s shortage of conventional ballistic missiles, according to Yle.

“These old missiles are used for ground targets in such a way that the greatest damage seems to be done to civilians,” it quoted Eklund as saying.

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Finland’s Yle broadcaster said in a lengthy investigative report issued Sunday that Russia's military has taken the unprecedented step of moving old anti-aircraft missile systems to its captured regions of Ukraine amid an ongoing shortage of advanced weapons.

Finnish military expert Marko Eklund was cited in the report as saying at least four anti-aircraft missile installations which surround St. Petersburg had been "emptied of equipment" as of August and early September.S-300 file image: EPA/EFE

The Yle report relies heavily on satellite imagery analysis which purports to show the transfers away from the Petersburg bases.

The Finnish expert explained "It is most likely that the equipment that has been removed is primarily from the old S-300 system." Eklund further said that St. Petersburg air defense capabilities are still in tact given that all or most of the equipment moved included older, or less advanced technology:

There has also been a significant transfer of equipment from a base southeast of St Petersburg—about 10 firing platforms as well as other vehicles.

According to Eklund, in this case, new missile equipment may also have been removed, as the Russian armed forces said, that this regiment was using the newer S-400 anti-aircraft missile system, introduced about 15 years ago.

This comes amid an avalanche of speculation in Western sources over the past months saying that after over a half-year of war in Ukraine, Russian defense ministry supplies - especially missiles - have been severely depleted.

Yle report: "The area of this 500th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment battery appears to be completely abandoned. Source: Google Earth Aug. 2021 and Planet Labs 2 Sept. 2022." Before...

After...

Last month, Ukrainian intelligence claimed that Russia had no more than 45% of its missiles left, but this is unverified and interestingly Kiev gave the same estimate as early as May.

There has also been much speculation that US and EU-led sanctions have had a great impact on disallowing Moscow from obtaining parts and necessary equipment needed to keep missile production on course.Via Yle

In the new Finnish report, Eklund warned that older systems being sent to the front lines in Ukraine doesn't bode well for civilians. "These old missiles are used for ground targets in such a way that the greatest damage seems to be done to civilians," he said.

[Cronos]

So the entire, “NATO is a threat at Russian borders” was bull.

If they really feared NATO they would not leave a frontier defenseless, especially one near the second most important city in the country

[logi_cal869]

What are you smokin’???

[BobL]

“Yle estimates the 14 batteries placed in a circle around St. Petersburg include more than 100 mobile firing platforms equipped with at least 450 missiles.”

I forget, how many missile batteries do we have protecting DC, or NYC?

[Paul R.]

Looks like Russia has expended 10% of their KA-52 choppers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNra7lhfPVU

[libh8er]

It’s not about Nato. It was never about Nato. There are Nato countries on Russia’s border already and that didn’t seem to bother Putin. The reason for his invasion is in a long rambling ‘manifesto’ he wrote and posted to the Kremlin website last year. It’s still out there. Basically Ukraine doesn’t exist. No such country as Ukraine. It’s all Russia. Ukrainians are Russians. Putin simply taking back what belongs to Russia.

[Widget Jr]

Europe and all the former Soviet states freed from Russia understand what Putin's manifesto means. Putin wants to restore Russia to its former glory of the CCCP/USSR, and is not going to take no for a answer.

It is either stop Russia in Ukraine now or wish we paid the price for it later. Putin made his choice to not allow any other choices.

[pepsionice]

These S-300 missiles....weren’t they originally deployed in 1979? The odds that they are maintained and in operational condition? Wouldn’t shock me if 20-percent blew up on the launcher, as they are fired.

[Justa]

Putin’s obsession with Ukraine is existential. Kiev Rus are the true Russians culturally and historically. The last leader of historical Russia was executed by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg in 1918. The current ‘Russian’ leadership is the descendent of the Bolshevik criminal gang that destroyed Russia in the civil war following the murder of its Czar.

This is why Putin is obsessed with Kiev. He knows his country, his progeny and his claims to Russia are moral, ethical and historical frauds.

[Justa]

He’s just the leader of 100 year old criminal gang. That’s all it ever was, that’s all he’ll ever be.

[Cronos]

Nothing. Don't smoke

What is hilarious is that Putin and his useful FrIdiots claimed that the war was about NATO

and now when there is a NATO ally just a few miles from the second most important city in Russia, the Russians move their missiles and aircraft away from the border.

Shows that NATO is not the danger that Putin falsely claimed it was.

[Cronos]

While I like the tone you have it's not completely correct.

Kievan Rus died in the 13th century - under the Mongol heel. It was obliterated.

One sub-division was Vladimir-Suzdal. V-S set up a small village Moscow which was too far north for the Mongols to bother about. The Duke (war-lord) of Moscow became the Great Khan's tax-collector and skimmed money off the top.

When the Mongols broke up you had 3 "daughters" of Kievan Rus

1. The Muscowites - who are inheritors of the Mongol khaganates - and since then have acted as Mongol khans - despots

2. The White Russian / Belarussians ("white" is from the Turkic-Mongol colors used to designate cardinal directions -- "Ukraine" was originally called Red Russia and Muscowy as Black Russia etc.

The Bialo ("white") Russians were the most literate -- they came under domination of the Lithuanians and for a while the administrative language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was Old Belarussian

3. The Red Russians/Ruthenians i.e. the Ukrainians - they came under the influence of Poland but were a frontier land between Poles-Muscowites-Turkic peoples. So they took on the Turkic freebooter lifestyle and called themselves by the Turkic word - "Kozak" or "Cossak"

Each of these are 3 "daughters" of Kievan Rus, but none are "pure blood Kievan Rus"

Kievan Rus was a messy oligarchy with different city-states set up by different Rurikid princes (the Ruriks or Rus were the Varangian/viking princes who created the East Slavic state

Muscow/"Russia" is more a daughter of the Mongol empire than K-R

Belarus was destroyed

Ukraine has the most "K-R"

[Dr. Franklin]

Putin’s obsession with Ukraine is existential. Kiev Rus are the true Russians culturally and historically. The last leader of historical Russia was executed by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg in 1918. The current ‘Russian’ leadership is the descendent of the Bolshevik criminal gang that destroyed Russia in the civil war following the murder of its Czar.
This is why Putin is obsessed with Kiev. He knows his country, his progeny and his claims to Russia are moral, ethical and historical frauds.

This all goes back to Muscovy appropriating the name Rus to claim the right to rule the lands of old Kievan Rus beyond its borders, in Poland or Hungary. That propaganda wasn't true then, and it's even less true now. It's all just Putin's fantasy and justification for restoring the Soviet Union.

[Justa]

“That propaganda wasn’t true then, and it’s even less true now. It’s all just Putin’s fantasy and justification for restoring the Soviet Union.”

Absolutely. Otherwise they have to confront the reality of what they are and have been for the past 100 years: a brutal, murderous gang of atheist thug criminals controlling people through a dictatorship of propaganda, imprisonment, exile, violence and murder.

People have had enough. Collapse of the Soviet Union was the first step. Collapse of the Russian Federation is the current step. Restoration of the historical Russian state, culture and religion is the end state.

Putin knows penance is due for 100 years of crime. He wants to eliminate any claimants to the historical Russia to remove competition and claim rightful ruler of Russia. It’s the only way the Bolshevik criminal “Russia” can avoid blame and penance of the its criminal actions.

[logi_cal869]

Then lay off the pills, DA.

[Widget Jr]

Russia hits Zaporizhzhia with S-300 missiles: one house destroyed, about 10 more damaged, Wednesday, 21 September 2022. Russia has used S-300 missiles in some sort of surface to surface mode since July. It is likely that these are to shore up Russian air defenses now that Ukraine is using HARM missiles, and terrorize Ukrainian civilians if that does not work out.

[Cronos]

unlike you, I don’t do drugs. you should stop dude and stop smoking the drugs too.

[logi_cal869]

Then if it ain’t the sauce, it’s worse...and I’m correct.