Posted on 04/05/2023 4:50:30 PM PDT by UMCRevMom@aol.com
The question is whether Russia can supply Crimea in the face of GMLRS/GLSDB from HIMARS. No supply=no defense.
They couldn’t supply the Kherson bridgehead in the face of that, and all they had to do there is cross a river.
What a complete load of crap - I grew up in a Polish neighborhood and knew many Polish vets from WW II - some fought in the Warsaw uprising - every one of them despised the Ukrainians as their enemies - not one of those WW II vets ever thought of the Ukrainians as their friends or allies.
My dad fought Germans in WWII, being attacked by Luftwaffe planes, about 40 years later I was parachuting out of Luftwaffe planes and earning my Fallschirmjäger wings and considered the Germans among our top allies.
Trafficking. Just like the US - Mexico border. Hey, here’s a brilliant idea. Let’s spend $200 + billion to protect our own border. Maybe Zelvis can loan us some of his army engineers to fortify it.
“I am free to post my opinion.”
Absolutely!
Just don’t moan so when others comment in agreement on the posted article.
I am free to post on your Ukraine Propaganda thread.
When you post a thread, it is not limited to just your Ukraine Sycophants.
It is open to ALL Freepers who wish to comment.
“You might even conclude they’d consider loss of Crimea an existential threat.”
Some ordinary Russians are waking up. They are mad and not afraid to express their views on camera.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1642577167023210497
** ESPECIALLY COMMENT AT 0.31 TO 0:44:
“I am free to post on your Ukraine Propaganda thread.”
Duh! LOL
Welcome to Free Republic :D
“I don’t read any of her Ukraine propaganda.”
That’s your option.
“I am free to post my opinion.”
Yes, you are. And no one is questioning your right to post your opinion.
They're gonna lose a lot more than that...
Russians have used Bakhmut as bait and have been playing the same sort of game that farm kids play when they put a big piece of cheese in the middle of a barn floor and sit there with shotguns on the edge of the loft and shoot all the mice and rats...
Kazakhstan Seizes Russia’s Launch Facility at Baikonur
Matt Williams
Universe Today: Space and astronomy news
https://www.universetoday.com/160720/kazakhstan-seizes-russias-launch-facility-at-baikonur/
In February 2022, Russian military forces invaded Ukraine as part of what President Vladimir Putin described as a “limited military operation.” This operation quickly turned into a protracted war now in its second year. For Russia, the response from the international community has been anything but favorable, consisting of sanctions, embargoes, and the termination of programs.
This has been especially true for Roscosmos, which has had several cooperative agreements canceled and terminated its participation in the International Space Station (ISS).
On March 7th, 2023, Kazakhstan seized control of the Biaterek launch complex at the Baikonur Cosmodrome – Russia’s main launch site since 1955. According to statements by KZ24 News and The Moscow Times, the Kakazh government has impounded Russian assets at the Center for Utilization of Ground-based Space Infrastructure (TsENKI), a subsidiary of Roscosmos. It is also preventing Russian officials from leaving the country or liquidating Roscosmos assets. This incident is another example of how Russia’s space program is suffering collateral damage from the war in Ukraine.
According to The Moscow Times, the decision was made because the Russian state company failed to pay its debts to the Kazakh government, which are now over 13.5 billion tenges (2.258 billion rubles; $29.7 million). This debt is part of the “Baiterek” program, a Kazakh-Russian joint venture related to the development of the Soyuz-5 booster. This program was created in 2005 to speed the transition from launch vehicles that rely on highly-toxic unsymmetric dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) – aka. “heptyl” fuel (C2H8N2) – and adopting ecologically safe propellants and launch practices.
Other sources attribute this recent decision to “incorrect behavior” and harsh statements on behalf of Yuri Borisov, who became the head of Roscosmos in 2022 as part of an administrative shakeup. Last year, construction of the Soyuz-5 launch pad was pushed back by six months, leading Borisov to criticize the delay in general and Kasakhstan’s Minister of Communications (Bagdat Musin) in particular. Musin is directly engaged in Kazakhstan’s space industry and responded in kind, calling Borisov’s remarks a “diplomatic miscalculation.”
The travel ban and the hold on Roscosmos assets extend to the head of the TsENKI unit, who is under arrest pending the completion of the investigation. The purpose of Baiterek was to estimate the environmental impact of conducting regular launches with the Soyuz-5, which relies on a combination of kerosene and liquid oxygen (LOX). According to the KZ24 News report, this seizure has slowed the construction of a new launch pad at Baikonur and may jeopardize the rocket’s development.
“A ban on utilizing resources and conducting financial operations, as well as instability in negotiating positions as a whole are slowing down the priority direction of work at Baikonur, namely the construction of a new launch pad for the Soyuz-5 Booster,” says the report. So far, Russia has invested 62 billion rubles ($810 million) in the booster, the construction of the new launch pad, and related efforts.
All of that could become a total loss at this point unless Russia can come to an arrangement with Kazakhstan on how to service its debts.
The Baikonur Cosmodrome was built in the 1950s as a test range for the R-7 Semyorka, the Soviet Union’s first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and the basis of the Sputnik, Vostok, Voskhod, and Soyuz launch vehicles. The test range was transformed by 1957 to service space launches and became the site where the first artificial satellite was sent into orbit (Sputnik 1) on October 4th, 1957. It was also here that the first man (Yuri Gagarin) went to space on April 12th, 1961 (Vostok 1), and the first woman, Valentina Tereshkova (Vostok 6), on June 16th, 1963.
Since 1994, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has leased the site from Kazakhstan and continued to use it as its main space complex. In 2012, Russia began constructing a new launch complex to reduce its dependence on Kazakhstan called the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region near the Chinese border. However, the planning and construction of this complex have been delayed in recent years due to reports of embezzlement and fraud, leading to the arrest of many officials involved.
While Russia still has launch facilities throughout the country – like Kapustin Yar and the Plestsk and Svobodny Cosmodromes – they are either limited in terms of launch capacity, the types of launches they can support, or are no longer operational. As a result, the seizure of Baikonur’s facilities, Roscosmos assets, and the arrest of its officials have effectively grounded Roscosmos for now.
- Further Reading: KZ24 News, RFERL, The Moscow Times
VIDEO WITH COMMENT
07 Apr: Ukrainians Conduct a SUCCESSFUL COUNTERATTACK | War in Ukraine Explained
Reporting from Ukraine
217K subscribers
Apr 6, 2023 9:30p.m. DST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcaMHINrmlg
⚠️ Watch RFU in 18+ languages: https://www.youtube.com/@RFU/channels
I am a Ukrainian.
My country has been invaded by Russia. In this video I will tell you what happened on the four hundred and seventh day of the war.
Day 407: April 06
Today a lot of updates are coming from the Donetsk region. Here, after the recent massive wave of assaults along the whole Avdiivka front, Russians degraded their forces on the ground to the point where certain Russians positions became weak. Ukrainians took advantage of the situation and started from recapturing some of the most important trench networks on this front.
Last time I told you that a Russian assault battalion from the 5th Brigade was virtually annihilated in suicidal attacks from Vodiane and that their survival rate was 11%. I also told you that Russian forces started reinforcing this region with mobilized soldiers that are not even specialized in assaults.
The freshest reports indicate that Ukrainian forces took advantage of the decreased capabilities of Russian formations south of Avdiivka and conducted a counterattack. There are two important trench networks between Vodiane and Sieverne, and each of them is located on a hill. Russians had established control over one of them a while ago, but the second position turned out to be too strong. Recent footage shows that Ukrainian marines from the 36th Brigade launched extensive artillery preparation on the tree lines in font of Vodiane and then stormed the strongpoint and established total control over the trenches. The increased control over the elevated ground allowed Ukrainians to improve their tactical position significantly. Russian failure to hold this position complicates all their plans for this direction and dispels hopes of taking Avdiivka into a pocket.
In the meantime, after months of infantry fights in the fields between Pevomaiske and Nevelske, Russian forces decided to launch several tank assaults. This was the only area around Avdiivka where Russians had not yet tried a heavy attack during this new wave of offensive actions. Unfortunately for Russians, they did not achieve their objectives. Combat footage reveals that the first attack was stopped by artillery. Recent footage features another attempt to push Ukrainians out of Nevelske, however, this time Ukrainian 59th Brigade seems to have adjusted to the situation and brought in more ATGMs to this sector. This time Ukrainians allowed Russians to get much closer, so when Ukrainians opened fire, Russian tanks did not manage to run away.
When it comes to the northern part of the region, here Ukrainians made another counterattack. Ukrainian Spokesman for the Tavriisk Group of Forces reported on 3rd March that the Russian 200th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade withdrew from the Avdiivka area for recovery. Ukrainians took advantage of that situation as well and assaulted Russian positions in Novoselivske. Ukrainian soldiers from the 71st Hunting Brigade said that they were clearing these trenches so fast that Russian artillery did not manage to aim in time and was constantly firing at the already cleared trenches behind them. Such a move aims to undermine the Russian tactical position in Novobakhmutivka because these trenches are located on a hill, 90 meters above Novoselivka and Russian ground lines of communication.
In the Krasnohorivka area, Ukrainian drone operators from the 110th Mechanized Brigade continued to destroy Russian forces in the trenches in front of Avdiivka. Recently released combat footage indicates that they have cleared at least 5 shelters by dropping mines and grenades into the holes.
Since many sectors of the Avdiivka front line are inactive and Russians are either sitting in trenches or firing from mortars, there was too much work for one drone detachment. That is partly why Ukrainians have relocated the famous Madiar’s Birds Drone Battalion. Such news had a bad effect on Russian troops’ morale, which is why Russians even launched an information operation and circulated fake news that Madiar was killed. However, Madiar promptly dispelled the speculations and released a lot of videos with successful drone operations. One video shows how drone operators identified an enemy’s mortar crew, and once the crew went inside the house, they flew the drone through the door and blew it up. Russian sources also complained yesterday that Ukrainians started mining the grenade-dropping drones. This means that whenever Russians shoot it down, Ukrainians detonate it when Russians pick it up.
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.