Yes, you know NATO heads of government meet for three days beginning on the 29th, in Madrid.The US says it has purchased a medium-to-long range surface-to-air SAM missile defense system for Ukraine. Known as a NASAMS system, it has a range of 160km.
NASAMS - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Other military assistance is also likely to be announced this week, including additional artillery ammunition and counter-battery radars.
www.sandboxx.us
I no longer hear threats of use of chemical or nuclear weapons as the main threat from Russia. I am very concerned about the blockade of the Black Sea and Ukrainian ability to export grain. I have always worried about Mikolaiv and Odesa. I do not think their fate rests on a threat but on which country has the upper hand in war, but the action on the Black Sea does (in my opinion). I think Russia uses that as a bargaining chip.
www.nbcnews.com
Russian strike hits shopping center with over 1,000 people inside, Ukraine says
“The number of victims is impossible to imagine,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The Russian military and the North Korean military are indistinguishable.
Scenes of Horror as Putin Hits Mall With ‘1,000 People’ Inside
Ukrainian authorities have reported 11 deaths from the devastating Russian assault so far.www.thedailybeast.com
Russian strike hits shopping center with over 1,000 people inside, Ukraine says
“The number of victims is impossible to imagine,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The Russian military and the North Korean military are indistinguishable.
Scenes of Horror as Putin Hits Mall With ‘1,000 People’ Inside
Ukrainian authorities have reported 11 deaths from the devastating Russian assault so far.www.thedailybeast.com
NATO considers that a distinct possibility the Kremlin is publicizing the deadly nature of the rocket systems is that the Kremlin wants justification for taking extreme measures to defeat these weapons, such as attacking supply routes through which they reach Ukraine. Alternatively, it could be seeking justification for retaliating against the West – such as through cyberwarfare, or restricting oil and gas exports – for sending the rocket launchers to Ukraine in the first place.
Good news for the good guys...
RUSSIAN OFFICER FEARS AMERICAN ROCKET LAUNCHERS SUPPLIED TO UKRAINE
Ukraine’s new American-made rocket launchers are the deadliest weapons in Ukraine’s arsenal.
The expert specifically cited the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), delivered to Ukraine by the U.S., and the U.S.-made M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) delivered by Britain. “Of all possible armaments supplied by the collective West, the M270 MLRS and M142 HIMARS are the most dangerous and capable weapons available to the Ukrainian armed forces that can influence combat operations,” said Alexey Sakantsev, whom TASS identified as a reserve officer in Russia’s missile and artillery forces. Sakantsev echoed the Biden administration’s fears that Ukraine might use these rocket launchers, which can fire guided and unguided munitions at ranges of up to 50 miles, to hit targets inside Russia.
Because many of these munitions are GPS-guided, they “feature low circular error probability and, therefore, require no adjustment fire: the target will be hit suddenly and accurately and, in case of cluster munitions, massively,” Sakantsev said. Interestingly, while Russia has invested heavily in GPS jamming systems, Sakantsev doesn’t believe that the American rockets can be stopped by jamming GPS guidance signals. Sakantsev argues that Russia’s best defense against MRLS and HIMARS is to destroy the launchers before they can fire.
Russian officer fears American rocket launchers supplied to Ukraine
Kyiv is in dire need of advanced artillery pieces. So now, the West is supplying Ukraine with deadly rocket launchers.
And bad news for the bad guys...
In other words Russian forces are screwed against these systems. Especially if their only hope is to destroy the systems "before they can fire." While these systems in their limited number aren't going to win the war, they will cost Russian forces even more and move 'em closer to their point of exhausting their force strength as the invader who bears the burden of victory that in Ukraine has already been too great for Russia to realize.
www.forbes.com
1. The Kerch Bridge is no longer the only connection between Crimea and the rest of Ukraine, supplies can still be moved via Melitopool.It appears that if the Ukrainians have any chance of "winning" (i.e., retaking the Donbas), it would be to cut the Russian resupply arteries. Apparently, the most notable and strategically significant chokepoint the Russians have is the gigantic rail line that runs from Russian onto the Crimean Peninsula known as the Kerch Strait Bridge, which opened in 2018. Russia right now relies almost entirely on railroads for the logistics, especially since we saw what a dog's breakfast their truck fleet was when they tried to advance on Kiev from Belarus, and the Crimean rail line over the Kerch Strait is the most important for their advance into the Donbas.
Ukraine Threatens Russia’s Vital Bridge To Crimea (UPDATED: Bridge Downed, Still Partly Operational)
A website is showing a countdown to the supposed destruction of the strategically vital Kerch Strait Bridge connecting Russia with Crimea. Does Ukraine now have the capability to destroy it?
If the Kerch Strait Bridge was destroyed or at least severely damaged to make rail travel impossible (and care was taken to kill railroad workers trying to repair the bridge via drones, etc.), then the Russians cannot quickly bring up new soldiers, fuel, food, equipment and armaments, and light and heavy ammunition to the front. If their big guns do not have enough ammunition on hand to fire upon the Ukrainians or their tanks enough fuel to roll over their lines forward, the Russians are dead because without their prized artillery or tanks, Russia's regular ground forces seem to be about as good as Iraq's were in 1990.
Bottom line: Destroy the Kerch Bridge before Winter, the Russian Army dies in Ukraine. And if the Ukrainians are able to turn around and kill enough Russians in Ukraine, just from a point of sheer demographic decline that Russia is undergoing, the Russians will never be able to threaten a major land war in Europe again for the next two quarters of this century. They just do not have enough young men to send to die to do so. Or even enough healthy middle-aged men for that matter.
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/B7GP4JSGOBIYBLXHWG6GBV3J2Q.jpg)
www.reuters.com
Every step of the way, the media you are consuming has been proven wrong. Over and over you have to ignore what took place the week before because the week before you said it was false and then it ends up true. You ignore being wrong over and over.
Go Ukraine Go! Keep pounding away at Russia in Kherson!Kherson:
Ukraine Army eliminates 39 invaders, destroys tank, 4 armored vehicles in Ukraineâs south
The situation in the southern operational zone remains dynamic and tense, but under the control of the Ukrainian defense forces. Over the past 24 hours, 39 invaders were eliminated, and an enemy tank was destroyed along with four armored vehicles. â Ukrinform.www.ukrinform.net
It would still be symbolic if Ukraine was able to destroy the Kerch Bridge. It would show that Russia is losing it's mojo in Ukraine & that the Ukrainian forces are stronger.
It appears that if the Ukrainians have any chance of "winning" (i.e., retaking the Donbas), it would be to cut the Russian resupply arteries. Apparently, the most notable and strategically significant chokepoint the Russians have is the gigantic rail line that runs from Russian onto the Crimean Peninsula known as the Kerch Strait Bridge, which opened in 2018. Russia right now relies almost entirely on railroads for the logistics, especially since we saw what a dog's breakfast their truck fleet was when they tried to advance on Kiev from Belarus, and the Crimean rail line over the Kerch Strait is the most important for their advance into the Donbas.
Ukraine Threatens Russia’s Vital Bridge To Crimea (UPDATED: Bridge Downed, Still Partly Operational)
A website is showing a countdown to the supposed destruction of the strategically vital Kerch Strait Bridge connecting Russia with Crimea. Does Ukraine now have the capability to destroy it?
If the Kerch Strait Bridge was destroyed or at least severely damaged to make rail travel impossible (and care was taken to kill railroad workers trying to repair the bridge via drones, etc.), then the Russians cannot quickly bring up new soldiers, fuel, food, equipment and armaments, and light and heavy ammunition to the front. If their big guns do not have enough ammunition on hand to fire upon the Ukrainians or their tanks enough fuel to roll over their lines forward, the Russians are dead because without their prized artillery or tanks, Russia's regular ground forces seem to be about as good as Iraq's were in 1990.
Bottom line: Destroy the Kerch Bridge before Winter, the Russian Army dies in Ukraine. And if the Ukrainians are able to turn around and kill enough Russians in Ukraine, just from a point of sheer demographic decline that Russia is undergoing, the Russians will never be able to threaten a major land war in Europe again for the next two quarters of this century. They just do not have enough young men to send to die to do so. Or even enough healthy middle-aged men for that matter.
