The War in the Ukraine

[Fwiffo]

With Russia at war, fascism has taken hold of its young people, Canadian researcher finds

"Members of the Youth Army movement hold a large copy of the Soviet Banner of Victory during a gathering of members and supporters of the Russian Communist Party on the eve of Victory Day, in Moscow on May 8."

Ukraine war: Russians in Germany split over Putin's invasion

"Yevgenia was sporting the St George's Ribbon - a Kremlin-backed symbol often used by Russian troops fighting in Ukraine. Like many at the rally, she and her friend held aloft a Soviet flag, as Russian flags were banned."

 

[Fwiffo]

Ukraine war: Kyiv hit by 'exceptionally dense' missile barrage

It is the eighth time Ukraine's capital has been targeted by Russia so far this month.

www.bbc.com

"He added that Kyiv also destroyed six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which travel on a ballistic trajectory and are capable of reaching speeds of more than 11,000kmh (7,000mph). Russia has claimed in the past that these could not be taken out by any of the world's air defence systems."

Someone must have read those leaked documents closely and are betting the end of May is when the final Soviet anti-air missiles get depleted.

 

[Fwiffo]

Ukraine war: Russia launches ninth wave of missile attacks on Kyiv this month

All missiles over the capital were shot down, but falling debris caused some damage, Ukraine says.

www.bbc.com

"Overall, 29 out of 30 missiles launched by Russia overnight were shot down, Ukraine's Air Force said in a statement."

Improvements.

 

[Fwiffo]

Zelenskyy is headed to the G7 summit as Russia is hit with more sanctions

That's a pretty prolonged period of time not sitting at home making nightly addresses.

 

[Fwiffo]

U.S. and its allies plan to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, official says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly called on Washington to provide them, but President Joe Biden had so far refused the requests.

www.nbcnews.com

Next on the wish list..F-35.

 

[Fwiffo]

At some point Assad speaks at the Arab League after a near decade absence. What is the point of this especially when he wanted to make a deal with Israel for weapons and crap on Palestine?

 

[Fwiffo]

Ukraine war: Wagner chief vows to hand Bakhmut to Russian army by June

The chief of the mercenary group made the claim but Ukraine says it still controls parts of the city.

www.bbc.com

Wagner will leave Artemovsk by June after a period of pillage and plunder... Oh wait there is nothing left.

 

[Fwiffo]

Ukraine war: Fleeing Belgorod residents told to stay away

Ukraine says Russian paramilitaries are behind the fighting in the Belgorod border region.

www.bbc.com

The war taken to Belgogrod.

 

[Fwiffo]

Ukraine war: Russia destroys hospital in latest missile attack

More than 20 people were injured in the attack on a medical facility in the eastern city of Dnipro.

www.bbc.com

"Ukrainian authorities said they shot down 17 missiles and 31 drones launched from Russia overnight."

I thought they were running out of missiles.

 

[Dropbear]

15 months into the 72hr war to conquer Ukraine, Russian has just lost its 2,000th visual confirmed tank (so probably closer to 3k total).

 

[Fwiffo]

Drone attacks hit Moscow, stirring fury at the Kremlin

Two are injured in a rare attack on Moscow as more heavy Russian raids target Kyiv, killing at least one person.

www.aljazeera.com

Mykhailo Podolyak was asked about the strikes while appearing on a breakfast television show.

“'We have nothing to do with this,' he said, but added that Kyiv is 'watching with pleasure and forecast an increasing number of attacks'

He also joked that perhaps some Russian drones – fired at Ukraine – had decided to 'come back'."

 

[Dropbear]

 

[Fwiffo]

Kyiv residents killed in Russian missile strike may have died because of closed shelter at polyclinic

The residents of Kyiv’s Desnianskyi district were likely killed in a Russian missile strike overnight on June 1 because a bomb shelter in the local children’s polyclinic was closed, a NV correspondent has reported from the scene.

ca.news.yahoo.com

"Witnesses said that a security guard who works at the polyclinic happened to be drunk at the workplace and did not open the shelter. Last night, people knocked on the door for 15-20 minutes, but he was drunk again."

Another article (behind a pay wall) said he was arrested by the police.

 

[Dropbear]

Blinken Says Russian Military 2nd Strongest in Ukraine

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken referred to Russia's military on Friday as "as the second strongest in Ukraine" in terms of its capabilities in a speech in Helsinki. (June 2) AP

www.military.com

 

[Fwiffo]

China's Ukraine envoy urges countries to ‘stop sending weapons to the battlefield,’ negotiate peace

Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government says it is neutral and wants to serve as a mediator but has supported Moscow politically.

www.nbcnews.com

Does that include Chinese drones that were sold to both Russia and Ukraine?

 

[Fwiffo]

The counteroffensive has started!



The counterattack has been repulsed.

....at least arms dealers will be getting more requests again since they don't look like they are rationing ammunition anymore.

 

[Dropbear]

Ukraine could receive 41 retired RAAF F/A-18A/B Hornet Strike Fighters - The Aviation Geek Club

Australia, the US, and Ukraine are discussing sending 41RAAF F/A-18A/B Hornet fighter jets to Ukraine, rather than scrapping them as planned.

theaviationgeekclub.com

 

[Fwiffo]

Ukraine army attacks Russian forces in southern Zaporizhzhia region

Military observers say Kyiv is trying to split the occupying forces in Zaporizhzhia.

www.bbc.com

Azov here we come...

 

[Fwiffo]

Iran helping Moscow to build drone factory in Russia, U.S. says

“This is a full-scale defense partnership that is harmful to Ukraine, to Iran’s neighbors, and to the international community,” White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.

www.nbcnews.com

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

 

[Fwiffo]

Ukraine claims first gains in its counteroffensive against Russia

Kyiv said its military had retaken four villages in the eastern Donetsk region as it seeks to push south and threaten the Kremlin's main defensive lines.

www.nbcnews.com

It's only a matter of time till.......................

 

[Fwiffo]

Russians Mourn ‘Best’ General as Ukraine Gains Ground

Sergei Goryachov was described as one of the Russian army’s “most effective military leaders.”

www.thedailybeast.com

Did Ukraine Just Kill the Chechen Leader’s Righthand Man?

“I am asking Ukrainian intelligence to provide information on exactly what place and what positions were hit, so that I can still find my dear BROTHER.”

www.thedailybeast.com

Next round of promotions under way.

 

[Dropbear]

Russia Doubles Trained Dolphins Defending Base Against Ukrainian Attacks - Naval News

The threat of Ukraine's elite special forces divers must loom large in the minds of the Russian Navy. As well as extensive anti-torpedo nets and rocket launchers, Russia has increased the trained dolphins guarding Sevastopol in Crimea.

www.navalnews.com

 

[Fwiffo]

Ukraine war: The challenges of training F-16 pilots

The BBC goes to a Nato air exercise to see the challenges in training Ukrainians on F-16 fighters.

www.bbc.com

"But it's still not clear which countries will be willing to provide the jets, how many, or even when."

"It took Pulse, a Belgian pilot, three years to master his F-16 fighter. We've been asked to use his call sign, not his real name."

It will take a Ukrainian less than half the time. 6 months.

 

[Dropbear]

Will we see Merkavas fighting Russian tanks in Ukraine, or will these allow someone to ‘donate’ their existing tank stocks to Ukraine? It sounds to me like Poland is striking a deal with Israel to allow them to give the Merkavas to Ukraine while maintaining the pretense of Israeli neutrality.

In first, Israel plans to sell vaunted Merkava tank to 2 countries, one in Europe

Potential sale comes as European nations seek to replenish stockpiles after supplying Ukraine with billions of dollars in arms to fight Russian invasion

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[Fwiffo]

Ukrainians asking for investment into oil extraction. Is there a different shade of the pink hue that shows the reach of Russian artillery and short range missiles?

 

[Dropbear]

Always a solid analysis:

Weekend Update #33

Counteroffensive--KA-52s and prepare for more destruction, Rykove (finally), St Petersburg and Why Sanctions Matter

phillipspobrien.substack.com

 

[Dropbear]

Nothing says "we have not committed anything close to our potential military power" like sending an immediate-post-WWII-era tank packed full of boom boom as a remote-controlled suicide bomber across an open field.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/19/europe/russia-tank-explosion-donetsk-ukraine-intl/index.html

Detonated my a mine or ATGM before reaching the Ukraine lines

 

[Dropbear]

Russia sets the war boundaries?

Russia warns Ukraine against striking Crimea with US, British missiles

Kyiv says it wants to reclaim all of its territory, including the Crimean peninsula

www.jpost.com

 

[Fwiffo]

Russia sets the war boundaries?

Russia warns Ukraine against striking Crimea with US, British missiles

Kyiv says it wants to reclaim all of its territory, including the Crimean peninsula

www.jpost.com

Haven't you been in one of those fights where the other bloke says I have to go to a wedding tomorrow so don't hit me in the face...

 

[Fwiffo]

Ukraine war: Zelensky admits slow progress but says offensive is not a movie

Speaking to the BBC, Ukraine's leader stresses that the counter-offensive is not a Hollywood movie.

www.bbc.com

"I also asked for his reaction to President Putin telling an international conference in St Petersburg last week that he was a disgrace to the Jewish people. Mr Zelensky lost many of his relatives in the Holocaust, including his grandfather, and it was clear that he was taken by surprise by the question.

He took a deep breath, put his head down and a few seconds later said he wasn't quite sure how to answer the question.

'It's like he doesn't fully understand his words. Apologies, but it's like he is the second king of antisemitism after Hitler.'"

I like this Hitler guy. Both victims continue to use it on each other. What a lasting legacy...

 

[Fwiffo]

Ukraine strikes Chonhar bridge to Crimea, says Russia

The bridge linking the peninsula to Kherson in the south was hit by British missiles, say officials.

www.bbc.com

No, not the Kerch bridge.

 

[Fwiffo]

Yevgeny Prigozhin: Wagner chief blames war on defence minister

Yevgeny Prigozhin claims Vladimir Putin and the country have been deceived by Sergei Shoigu.

www.bbc.com

"The war was needed... so that Shoigu could become a Marshal, so that he could get a second Hero Star… the war wasn't for demilitarising or de-nazifying Ukraine. It was needed for an extra star."

The war isn't because of some return to Soviet Union ideology of Putin and his own personal ambition - it was because Shoigu needed a star on his uniform. Now it makes sense. Crystal clear.

"Prigozhin also blamed the war on oligarchs, condemning 'the clan which in practice rules Russia today'."

....isn't he an oligarch too? Or is he in the military now looking for a star?

 

[Dropbear]

Coup attempt in progress now

 

[Fwiffo]

Coup attempt in progress now

25K paramilitary equivalent to Blackwater driving from the south where they are closer to Russian palm trees than the capital against a 1M active armed forces plus 1M in reserves notwithstanding the countless domestic security who are better armed than your usual enlisted man. I am going to say this is a distraction from the real conflict.

 

[Dropbear]

25K paramilitary equivalent to Blackwater driving from the south where they are closer to Russian palm trees than the capital against a 1M active armed forces plus 1M in reserves notwithstanding the countless domestic security who are better armed than your usual enlisted man. I am going to say this is a distraction from the real conflict.

They have some support in the army leadership and especially in the reserves. I agree that the coup is doomed, but this could get messy over the weekend - a blessing for the Ukraine forces.

 

[Dropbear]

The Prigozhin Coup seems pretty damn well organized

OK we are about 12 hours into what is clearly an attempt by Yevgeny Prigozhin to topple the leadership of the Russian military (and very possibly the Russian government). This all started with an announcement by Prigozhin yesterday that the Russian army had launched a missile attack on a Wagner...

phillipspobrien.substack.com

 

[Dropbear]

 

[doghouse]

Well time for popcorn

 

[Dropbear]

Well time for popcorn

 

[Dropbear]

Some FSB border guards and the entire 22nd Special Forces Brigade have sided with Prigozhin. Lots of military convoys converging on Rostov-on-Don - with Russian mil bloggers claiming they are army and national guard units joining Wagner. So far they haven’t faced much resistance, but taking Moscow will be a lot harder.

At this rate, they could reach Moscow by this evening.