Posted on 05/16/2023 6:28:23 PM PDT by UMCRevMom@aol.com
Update from Ukraine | Was the Patriot system targeted? Did Ukraine stop in Bakhmut?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo3ZyZgCVAk
****NEW SUMMARY Military MAPS & COMMENTS here:
Invasion Day 446– Summary May 15 , 2023 Jerome News The summary of the situation of Russian re-invasion to Ukraine covering the last 48 hours, as of 2023 – 22:00 (Kyiv time).
https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-446-summary/
*** Greatly appreciate the viewer controlled Map magnification tool to use on each Front map!
Update from Ukraine | Was the Patriot system targeted? Did Ukraine stop in Bakhmut?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo3ZyZgCVAk
****NEW SUMMARY Military MAPS & COMMENTS here:
Invasion Day 446– Summary May 15 , 2023 Jerome News The summary of the situation of Russian re-invasion to Ukraine covering the last 48 hours, as of 2023 – 22:00 (Kyiv time).
https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-446-summary/
*** Greatly appreciate the viewer controlled Map magnification tool to use on each Front map!
VIDEO WITH COMMENTARY
16 May: Russian Most Potent Weapon MEETS UKRAINIAN IRON DOME | War in Ukraine Explained
Reporting from Ukraine
256K subscribers
May 16, 2023, 9:30 PM EDT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ircerwGC3uo
⚠️ Watch RFU in 18+ languages: https://www.youtube.com/@RFU/channels
I am Ukrainian. My country has been invaded by Russia. In this video I will tell you what happened on the four hundred and forty seventh day of the war.
Day 447: May 16 Today Ukrainians got hit by an exceptionally dense missile barrage. Usually, massive Russian missile strikes were spread out across the whole of Ukraine, which forced Ukrainians to spread out their air defense systems. By rapidly changing their tactic and concentrating all of their rockets on Kyiv, Russians expected to take advantage of the fact that Ukrainians may not have enough air defense systems in one place.
Unfortunately for the Russians, Ukrainians decided to allocate plenty of Patriot systems exactly to the Kyiv region, and as a result, Russians had the most unsuccessful missile strike because, for the first time in this war, Ukrainians managed to shoot down all Russian rockets. It was highly likely the merit of the Intelligence, which unveiled the Russian plans and ensured that Patriot systems showed up at the right place at the right time.
And such insight was indispensable for the 100% success rate because Russians used 6 hypersonic missiles, Kindzhal, and 3 yet unspecified ballistic missiles, which could only be intercepted with Patriot systems. As the Spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force stated multiple times, regular Ukrainian air defense, such as Buk, is incapable of intercepting hypersonic objects.
Russian sources reported that they targeted areas of forces concentrations, ammunition depots, and warehouses with equipment and that they achieved all their goals and destroyed all predetermined objects. Later local residents started publishing a lot of photos with different remnants of Russian rockets that they found on the streets of Kyiv, some of them even found whole missiles. Several hours later, a video was published with partially reassembled intercepted Russian rockets.
Russian sources also claimed they almost didn’t use hypersonic missiles and that they destroyed one Patriot system. Some sources circulated a video showing an explosion in the area where Patriot systems have been launching rockets. The Ukrainian side responded that Patriot systems are intact and that the explosion was caused by an intercepted missile that fell in the Soloviansk region and caused a fire in a bus station.
Some Russian military analysts also discussed the photos of the remnants of Ukrainian rockets. The remnants were identified as PAC-3 CRI, which means that Ukrainians are indeed capable of intercepting ballistic missiles and confirms that Ukrainians received the newest model of the Patriot air defense system.
When it comes to the Bakhmtu direction, Ukrainians seem to be opening another line of attack. If previously, Ukrainians were moving south from Ivanivske and northeast from Bohdanivka, then over the last several days, there was a visible activation of Ukrainian forces near Minkivka.
After Ukrainians successfully pushed Russians from the hill north of Bohdanivka, the Russian tactical position in the region started to deteriorate and made it much harder to protect the tree lines around Orikhovo-Vasylivka. In the aftermath of several assaults, Ukrainians managed to push Russian from one of the trench networks in a dense tree area.
The Head of the Wagner Group, Prigozhin, recently predicted that this is going to be the next major Ukrainian line of attack because this way Ukrainians will also be moving along the tactical heights and pushing Russians back downhill. The latest reports indicate that Ukrainians have already started intense artillery preparation. Recent footage shows how a Ukrainian drone operator unveiled a Russian artillery position together with an ammunition depot and, in coordination with an artillery crew, destroyed the enemy forces, equipment, and ammunition.
When it comes to the city itself, there are a few important updates in the citadel. After penetrating Ukrainian defense orders along Levanevskogo Street, Ukrainian retreated towards the outer buildings. The Head of the Wagner Group claimed that Ukrainians set perfect conditions for a controlled fighting withdrawal. The Ukrainian Head of the Eastern Group Forces that arrived in the Bakhmut direction reported that he gave all the necessary information to the commanders, walked through all possible scenarios, and said that Ukrainians are ready for the next move.
ARTICLE
Ukraine has exploited Russia’s months long ‘Bakhmut fixation’ as it reclaims territory and sends Russian soldiers running from the ‘meat grinder,’ military expert says
Erin Snodgrass
May 15, 2023, 9:32 PM EDT
https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-bakhmut-casulaties-fixation-military-experts-say-2023-5
• Ukraine gained an advantage over Russia by doggedly defending Bakhmut, a military expert told Insider.
• “The Russians have had a Bakhmut fixation,” said Mick Ryan, a retired Maj. Gen. in the Australian army.
• The country reclaimed territory near the city last week after a series of surprise attacks.
Ukraine is gaining momentum and reclaiming territory in Bakhmut after months of brutal and bloody fighting in the country’s east that left thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers dead.
Ukraine looked to shake up the essentially stalemated frontline near the one-time mining town this month, which has been left a decimated shell of a city after months of attrition warfare so ruthless it has become known as “the meat grinder.”
Last week, Ukraine launched multiple surprise counterattacks, reclaiming several miles of territory around Bakhmut in the country’s largest land gain since its autumn offensive in Kherson.
Russia fought back and has managed to maintain uneasy control over most of the destroyed city despite Ukraine’s advances. Still, Ukrainian officials are touting the gains as proof of purchase of their monthslong approach to Russia’s attacks in Bakhmut — defend the city as long as necessary to exhaust and deplete Russian troops ahead of Ukraine’s much-anticipated counter-offensive.
Ukraine’s dogged defense of the strategically unimportant city prompted calls from Western allies and military strategists earlier this year to abandon the town, voicing concerns that the endless fighting could leave Ukraine’s troops wounded and unprepared for future attacks.
Russia, meanwhile, has dedicated the majority of its time, efforts, and resources this year to the fight in Bakhmut, though analysts are still uncertain why the former mining town became such a symbol for both sides, as the city’s location would not necessarily offer Russia a wide-open pathway to claiming the rest of the region.
“The Russians have had a Bakhmut fixation,” Mick Ryan, a retired Major General in the Australian army and a military strategist, told Insider earlier this month. “To their credit, the Ukrainians identified this and exploited it.”
“Exploiting it has led to Ukrainian casualties, but at the end of the day, war isn’t about absolutes,” he added. “It’s about relative advantages.”
The White House said last month that Russia suffered 100,000 casualties just this year, including 20,000 deaths.
“There’s no question that the fighting around Bakhmut has chewed up both sides,” Mark Cancian, a retired US Marine Corps colonel and a senior advisor with the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ security program, told Insider earlier this month.”
The Ukrainian military does not release casualty numbers, but military experts believe the country has suffered significant losses in Bakhmut, though notably fewer than Russia. The country has not had to expend any of its troops currently being trained for its coming offensive, Col. Serhiy Cherevatiy, a spokesman for Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine, confirmed to The Wall Street Journal this week.
“The Ukrainians saw that they could generate a relative advantage over the Russians by killing more Russians than they lost themselves in Bakhmut,” Ryan said.
Russia’s offensive in Bakhmut has been plagued by small, slow advances, as well as increasingly public infighting between Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group, which has shouldered the brunt of the fighting in Bakhmut, and Russia’s military brass.
Ukraine’s recent gains, while relatively small, appear to be already having a psychological effect on Russia. Ukraine shared a video last week of Russian soldiers running away from the city while being chased by armored vehicles.
On Sunday, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that two Russian commanders were killed in fighting near the city while repelling Ukrainian efforts to break through the frontline.
“We lured the enemy into a Bakhmut trap,” Cherevatiy, the Ukrainian spokesperson, told The Journal. “The enemy has lost an incredible amount of manpower. We’re continuing to bleed the enemy.”
“The Patriot system”
Perhaps, the Patriot system was not destroyed:
“Russian rockets. It was highly likely the merit of the Intelligence, which unveiled the Russian plans and ensured that PATRIOT SYSTEMS showed up at the right place at the right time.
And such insight was indispensable for the 100% success rate because Russians used 6 hypersonic missiles, Kindzhal, and 3 yet unspecified ballistic missiles, which could only be intercepted with Patriot systems. As the Spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force stated multiple times, regular Ukrainian air defense, such as Buk, is incapable of intercepting hypersonic objects.
RUSSIAN SOURCES REPORTED that they targeted areas of forces concentrations, ammunition depots, and warehouses with equipment and that they achieved all their goals and destroyed all predetermined objects.
Later local residents started publishing a lot of photos with different remnants of Russian rockets that they found on the streets of Kyiv, some of them even found whole missiles. Several hours later, a video was published with partially reassembled intercepted Russian rockets.
Russian sources also CLAIMED they almost didn’t use hypersonic missiles and that they destroyed one Patriot system. Some sources circulated a video showing an explosion in the area where Patriot systems have been launching rockets. The Ukrainian side responded that PATRIOT SYSTEMS ARE INTACT and that the explosion was caused by an intercepted missile that fell in the Soloviansk region and caused a fire in a bus station.”
Perhaps, the Patriot system was attempted to be TARGETED BUT not destroyed!
“Later local residents started publishing a lot of photos with different remnants of Russian rockets that they found on the streets of Kyiv, some of them even found whole missiles. Several hours later, a video was published with partially reassembled intercepted Russian rockets.’
VIDEOS
1. The only surviving Russian soldier in trench surrenders to Ukrainian fighters in fear
Kanal13
1.56M subscribers
May 16, 2023 1:00 p.m. EST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2p6ISN2lDM
1. Paratroopers of 79th Airborne Brigade eliminated occupier in close combat. VIDEO
Soldiers of the 79th Separate Air Assault Brigade eliminated an invader in Mariinka, Donetsk region.
Censor
16.05.23 22:03
https://censor.net/en/v3418844
VIDEO: https://storage2.censor.net/video/3/160523_kiki.mp4As reports
1/3 The end of Ukraine aid is rapidly approaching. Reupping it won’t be easy
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4153530/posts
2/3 Corsi: How Hillary Clinton Began the Ukraine War in 2013
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4153385/posts
3/3 The Durham report has shown, as others have said, that the FBI refused to investigate her crooked foundation and Clinton’s involvement in creating the controversy surrounding Trump’s collusion with Russia.
And as Yoland here at FR said:
The Hillary Clinton “Trump- Russia” hate hoax with the knowledge and encouragement of then President Obama, Vice President Biden, and the Democrat Party and corporate press has shaken our trust in our Government. The evil machinations of the FBI, CIA, DOJ, foreign intelligence agents is sickening. Worst still, nobody has faced consequences for their lies and sabotage.
Why should anybody support the Biden Administration’s Ukraine’s war against Russia. Why support corruption? We have ample proof our Government lies.
I for one do not support World War 3.
The pro-Hillary crowd lashes out when this is all brought up.
Thanks so much for your in depth updates. I really appreciate them.
RE-check your sources for: regarding Hillary. Also, Ukraine aid ending is false.
Multiple nations continue to vow to firmly stand with Ukraine:
-Germany Announces Its Biggest Military Aid Package Yet for Ukraine! Germany announces nearly $3 billion military aid package for Ukraine - 2 days ago
-UK considers ‘fighter jet coalition’ with Ukraine as Zelenskyy meets with prime minister -11h ago
etc, etc
This is the Patriot PAC-3 Launcher. The PAC-3 program started in 1995, after the Gulf War when the first generation Patriots had problems. It can hold sixteen missiles per launcher where the first generation held four. Two PAC-3 launchers can hold thirty two PAC-3 missiles. Together with all other Ukrainian air defense that is about right for current Russian missile attacks.
Russia just spent tens of millions of Rubles proving US air defense work. Then Russians wonder why their arms sales are plummeting. Having their best weapons taken out by weapons older than most of the soldiers fighting is hard for marketing to overcome.
“The evident strength of western unity and commitment that has transpired over the past few days is as much a message of support to Ukraine as it is one of deterrence for Russia and caution to China”
Zelensky’s European tour has won critical support for Ukraine’s counter-offensive
Published: May 16, 2023 10.19am EDT
https://theconversation.com/zelenskys-european-tour-has-won-critical-support-for-ukraines-counter-offensive-205703
As the war in Ukraine intensifies, President Volodymyr Zelensky has concluded a series of successful visits to Rome, Berlin, Paris and London to shore up support from key allies.
The timing of Zelensky’s visit is critical for Ukraine’s efforts on the battlefield and beyond. It has allowed the Ukrainian president and his main European allies to coordinate their approach on the economic and diplomatic fronts of the war as well, which will be equally decisive in determining how this war will end, and when.
Military support from his allies has been on top of Zelensky’s agenda during his whistle-stop tour of Europe. And finally, it seems that Ukraine’s European allies are following in Washington’s footsteps and moving beyond their earlier hesitation to provide Kyiv with more equipment for its upcoming counter-offensive in Bakhmut.
On Saturday, May 13, ahead of Zelenskiy’s arrival in Berlin, Germany announced a further €2.7 billion (£2.35 billion) of support, including much-needed quantities of artillery ammunition. In addition, German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall confirmed a joint venture with Ukraine’s Ukroboronprom to build and repair tanks in Ukraine.
Read news coverage based on evidence, not tweets
On Sunday, May 14, Zelensky secured promises in Paris from the French president, Emmanuel Macron, for new armoured vehicles and air defence systems.
On Monday, May 15, British prime minister Rishi Sunak agreed to provide Ukraine with hundred of attack drones, in addition to the Storm Shadow cruise missiles that have already been delivered to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences.
These commitments are important for providing Ukraine with the ammunition, equipment, training and repairs the country needs against a Russian adversary that has significant manpower advantages.
This does not guarantee a sweeping success of the anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive, but it will make serious gains on the battlefield more likely for Kyiv. And it signals a commitment by its western partners to back this offensive with more than encouraging noises.
The sanctions game
The war in Ukraine is not only fought, and can not only be won, on the battlefield. From the beginning, the western approach was twofold: strengthen Ukraine and weaken Russia.
The latter was achieved through unprecedented sanctions, with the EU now on its tenth sanctions package since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. The EU is now discussing the eleventh sanctions package, this time with a focus on enforcing existing sanctions and closing loopholes by imposing secondary sanctions against countries, companies and individuals deliberately circumventing the existing sanctions against Russia.
Sanctions will also be discussed at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, from May 19 to 21. Further measures are expected to target the Russian energy sector and place more limitations on exports to Russia.
The four European countries Zelensky visited in the past few days – France, Germany, Italy and the UK – are all members of the G7, while the EU attends as an observer. Including other members the US, Japan and Canada, the G7 represents some of Ukraine’s most powerful partners who will send an unambiguous message to Russia concerning sanctions and their enforcement.
This will not break the Russian war machine, but it will make it more costly, including for Russia’s few remaining allies, to sustain the war effort in Ukraine at the current level. Seen from this longer-term perspective, it also makes Ukrainian gains in any counter-offensive more sustainable by limiting Russia’s capabilities to mount any offensives in the future.
The third front: diplomacy
Meanwhile, Chinese envoy Li Hui is beginning his tour of European capitals, including Moscow and Kyiv, to explore a political settlement for the war in Ukraine. This made it important for Zelensky to be sure that his red lines are clearly understood, accepted and communicated by Rome, Berlin, Paris and London. The support from these European capitals is no longer in doubt.
And neither is support from Brussels. Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg was clear in his message at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on May 15: he expects the alliance to commit to a multi-year support programme to help Ukraine move towards Nato military standards. This will be discussed at the Nato summit in Vilnius in July.
The EU is considering a new China strategy, including how it can engage with China on the war in Ukraine. The union is open to such an engagement and has cautiously welcomed China’s position paper in this respect. But it is a major win for Zelensky that the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, backed Zelensky’s peace plan which, among other things, rules out any territorial compromises.
Zelensky’s visits to Rome, Berlin, Paris and London are part of an ongoing positioning of the major allies in this war. For the Ukrainian president, it was critical to make sure that he keeps the west united behind his efforts to defeat Russia. His apparent success in doing so indicates that he presented his European counterparts with a credible plan and realistic requirements for support.
Yet it is also clear that Kyiv and its partners in Europe and beyond realise that there will eventually come a point at which they will have to negotiate an end to the war with Russia.
The evident strength of western unity and commitment that has transpired over the past few days is as much a message of support to Ukraine as it is one of deterrence for Russia and caution to China. The way it will be received there will determine how soon a negotiated settlement will be possible that restores Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
A Patriot missile battery is a group of vehicles and launchers spread out over dozens of kilometers. Nothing short of a nuclear weapon can take out the entire battery in one hit.
This is Russian Standard Propaganda Procedure when they get a bloody nose. They lie and get in the last word by saying actually, it was really the Russians who gave the other guy a bloodier nose. Which means Russia got a broken nose and their feelings are really hurt by it.
“Thanks so much for your in depth updates. I really appreciate them.”
Thank you for your kind words. You are very welcome.
I am motivated as it is of utmost importance to share valid resources information to counteract so much conjecturing “fake news” generated by Putin, Kremlin, comrades & cronies! LOL
“THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE PATRIOT AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM .
Alex Hollings | January 19, 2023.”
I am so appreciative of your comment. Thank you so much for informative resource!!!
VIDEOS
1. U.S: NO, THE RUSSIANS DID NOT DESTROY THE PATRIOT AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM IN KIYV || 2023
Warthog Defense
533K subscribers
May 15, 2023 7:00 p.m. EST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zylCttp2tE
2. Russian soldiers forced into surrender ‘after oversleeping’ in trenches
The Sun
3.97M subscribers
May 16, 2023 7:00 a.m. EST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvsmT3i15js
MOMENT Russian soldiers forced into surrender ‘after oversleeping’ in trenches and getting caught by Ukrainian ground forces. This footage was released by the 72nd Mechanised Brigade named after the Black Zaporozhians is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, and appears to show a number of Russian troops being captured.
Mark Wauck, a retired FBI special agent: From this perspective we can see that the Russia Hoax play two roles. On the one hand, it would help put Hillary—an indifferent campaigner and shrewish personal presence at best—over the top. But the claim of Russian interference in a presidential election could gin up righteous outrage among the American public and lend support for the coming war with Russia. In the event, of course, Hillary lost. The Russia Hoax ended up being used by the Neocons mostly to tie Trump’s hands on foreign policy with regard to Russia. A Hillary regime might have seen a sanctions war to the hilt, such as we now see, before Putin had prepared Russia for that eventuality. Trump’s presidency, despite his own sanctions regime, put that plan on hold—thus the undying Neocon hatred for Trump.
The American Thinker's Thomas Lifson: So, here we are, engaged in a proxy war with Russia, holding the world’s largest nuclear arsenal. Putin is in a war that he can’t afford to lose, and he is forced into China’s embrace, triggering a geostrategic realignment whose consequences are already nearly catastrophic, and risking a nuclear war if Putin gets desperate.
I see it’s time for the last installment from CIA Asset Denys Davydov, living in Poland and treated as the ‘gold standard’ of impartiality, to be uploaded to FR!
The same people trying to destroy Trump are the same people who are pushing for the endless Ukrainian war and the lies about their supposed impending victory, in order to keep taxpayer money flowing into the hole in the ground staffed by the Deep State.
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.