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Russian attack helicopters showed up in force on the front lines and have been putting dents in Ukraine's armored assaults
Business Insider via Yahoo ^ | June 22nd, 2023 | Ryan Pickrell

Posted on 06/22/2023 3:40:27 PM PDT by Mariner

Ukraine's armed forces are gaining ground and pressing ahead with counteroffensive operations, but the Russians are putting up a fight and deploying aviation assets to the front lines in ways they haven't been until recently to blunt Ukrainian efforts to retake captured territory.

Ukrainian forces are pushing beyond the protection of some of their fixed air defenses without the kind of mobile air defenses they really need, and Russian attack helicopters, like the Ka-52 Alligators able to do damage with its 30mm cannon or anti-tank missiles, are emerging as a threat to Ukraine's ground forces that must be quickly engaged with air-defense missiles before they can eliminate its heavy armor, such as tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.

Senior Ukrainian military officials have raised concerns about Russia's "aviation and artillery superiority" during the counteroffensive operations, which they have said are meeting "fierce fighting," and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told The BBC Wednesday the counteroffensive is currently moving "slower than desired."

In a recent intelligence update, Britain's defense ministry noted that "Russia has re-enforced its attack helicopter force in" southern Ukraine, giving the Russians an advantage in an area where tougher fights have been taking place.

A Ukrainian soldier told The Financial Times this week that Russian helicopter attacks on Ukraine's armored vehicles have proven to be a "very powerful technique" the Ukrainian forces have struggled to match with the capabilities available

(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 10percent4thebigguy; bidenswar; demsunitedforbribes; demsunitedforukraine; tothelastukrainian
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"It's a "tough drive" they said as US officials told Fox News that advancing without air support is "suicidal."

I could not have said it better myself.

1 posted on 06/22/2023 3:40:27 PM PDT by Mariner
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To: Mariner
I'm liking the "no-fly zone".

The NATurds aren't used to that. :)

2 posted on 06/22/2023 3:47:40 PM PDT by kiryandil (China Joe and Paycheck Hunter - the Chink in America's defenses)
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To: Mariner

Slow moving helicopters are vulnerable to ground attack.

The fact that they can fly unmolested means Ukraine air defence must be down to zero.


3 posted on 06/22/2023 3:48:34 PM PDT by Reverend Wright ( Everything touched by progressives, dies !)
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To: Reverend Wright
The fact that they can fly unmolested means Ukraine air defence must be down to zero.

There have been reports that Russia has been successful jamming Ukrainian communications as well as their radar sites get droned when found.

It's disgusting that NATO is letting the wholesale slaughter go on.

Well, at least some people are getting wealthy

4 posted on 06/22/2023 3:50:56 PM PDT by The Iceman Cometh (Casey DeSantis? No thanks. I've already voted for too many Bushes.)
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To: Mariner

What happened to the thousands of Stingers and Javs that we gave them?


5 posted on 06/22/2023 3:52:57 PM PDT by jimmygrace
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To: Reverend Wright

True. If their birds are running ops unmolested, that means a lot of bad things for whoever is on the wrong end.

Russians have some very beastly choppers too. Not as manueverable as or tech as, say, an AH64, but the armament will just fk your world up... badly.


6 posted on 06/22/2023 3:57:11 PM PDT by AAABEST ( NY/DC/CA media/political/military industrial complex DELENDA EST)
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To: jimmygrace
What happened to the thousands of Stingers and Javs that we gave them?

They were sold to Islamic Terrorists all over the world who promised to return them to the USA.

7 posted on 06/22/2023 3:58:45 PM PDT by Navy Patriot (Celebrate Decivilization)
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To: The Iceman Cometh

I think you meant: “ It is disgusting that NATO (Washington) is CAUSING the wholesale slaughter.”


8 posted on 06/22/2023 4:00:45 PM PDT by A strike ("The worse, the better."- Lenin (& Schwab & Soros)
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To: Navy Patriot

Yep, they prolly wound up for sale on the international arms market.


9 posted on 06/22/2023 4:01:44 PM PDT by Starboard
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To: The Iceman Cometh

NATO lags in electronic warfare.

This has been a known issue for years. Here is Phillip Karber talking about it five years ago.

https://youtu.be/_CMby_WPjk4?t=2081

Yup, $800 bil per year military, and they lag behind “primitive” Russia in, ..uh, .. electronic warfare.


10 posted on 06/22/2023 4:02:48 PM PDT by Reverend Wright ( Everything touched by progressives, dies !)
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To: Mariner
"Ukraine's armed forces are gaining ground"

Measured in yards, not miles.

11 posted on 06/22/2023 4:08:04 PM PDT by Trump20162020
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To: The Iceman Cometh
It's disgusting that NATO is letting the wholesale slaughter go on.

It's disgusting that RUSSIA is making this slaughter go on. Russia could end it now by just going home. NATO is just supporting the Ukrainians in defending themselves. It is also disgusting how there are some who place no moral responsibility on the Russians, the ones who started and are continuing this war by their invasion.

12 posted on 06/22/2023 4:08:30 PM PDT by Petrosius
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To: Mariner

The last thing you want to be is a soldier in a war which your side is operating primarily as a money-laundering scheme.

Your corrupt government will have more profitable ways to disposition incoming money and weapons, than sending it to save your sorry ass.


13 posted on 06/22/2023 4:10:03 PM PDT by JustaTech (My mind is the weapon. Everything else is tools.)
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To: Reverend Wright

Attack helicopters deployed sensibly are hard to target from the ground. They use stealth techniques like hiding at low altitude behind a tree line, or smoke, only to pop up, fire off some anti tank rockets, and disappear back into the woods. It seems ukraine did not think through this “counterattack” very thoroughly.


14 posted on 06/22/2023 4:11:12 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard ( Resist the narrative.)
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To: The Iceman Cometh

> It’s disgusting that NATO is letting the wholesale slaughter go on.

That presumes NATO has a choice.


15 posted on 06/22/2023 4:12:01 PM PDT by glorgau
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To: Mariner
Ukraine's armed forces are gaining ground and pressing ahead with counteroffensive operations


16 posted on 06/22/2023 4:15:09 PM PDT by Jim Noble (Make the GOP illegal - everything else will follow)
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To: jimmygrace
What happened to the thousands of Stingers and Javs that we gave them?

Most of the surviving Ukes wouldn't be trained on them.

Also, deploying them properly takes intel, lots of training, support, parts, institutional knowledge, dedicated units etc. Can't just hand them gazillions worth of $**t, pat them on them ass and expect any results.

Morons and evil clowns are in charge.

The people vying for F16s make me laugh. It's hard rnough for an AMERICAN squadron to keep F16s in the air. When foreigners try them it less than 50% in the air and terrible execution... even for ground ops.

17 posted on 06/22/2023 4:17:23 PM PDT by AAABEST ( NY/DC/CA media/political/military industrial complex DELENDA EST)
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To: Petrosius
NATO is just supporting the Ukrainians

NATO's goal was expansion and they care very little about the Ukrainian lives that will be served up for that goal.

18 posted on 06/22/2023 4:18:52 PM PDT by The Iceman Cometh (Casey DeSantis? No thanks. I've already voted for too many Bushes.)
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To: The Iceman Cometh
NATO's goal was expansion and they care very little about the Ukrainian lives that will be served up for that goal.

Take another look at the history. It was Ukraine that was petitioning to join NATO, and it was NATO that repeatedly said "no."

19 posted on 06/22/2023 4:21:51 PM PDT by Petrosius
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To: jimmygrace

Expended or sold. Also, a lot of the AA/MANPADS munitions supplied to the Ukranians with much fanfare turned out to be out of date and more dangerous to their users than the targets - look into the German-donated Strela MANPADS; the ones they gave to Ukraine were ones that they had stored pending disposal as being far too dangerous to fire even as training munitions.


20 posted on 06/22/2023 4:34:30 PM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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