Ukraine

[GoCubsGo]

Whilst the enemy are suffering supply problems and eating out of date rations the Ukrainians are having pizza delivered to their trenches

(video)

For real!?

Hope they tip well.

[Vrede too]

For real!?

Hope they tip well.

https://twitter.com/FraLazza78/status/1 ... 5843270671

What, no thermal bag? Send it back.


M982 Excalibur Causes Tor Surface To Air Missile To Fly Off

[Vrede too]

some Independence Day destruction:

Ukrainian Drone Target T-62MV Tank With Anti Tank Mines Placed On Top
There's a reason they're called "Anti Tank".

Ukrainain artillery destroys Russian Grad missile system and 2S5 Giatsint-S with Himars

The BM-21 "Grad" (Russian: БМ-21 "Град", lit. 'hailstorm') is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union....

The 2S5 Giatsint-S (Russian: 2С5 «Гиацинт-С», lit. 'hyacinth') is a Soviet/Russian 152 mm self-propelled gun....

The M142 HIMARS (/ˈhaɪmɑːrz/, M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) is a light multiple rocket launcher developed in the late 1990s for the United States Army and mounted on a standard United States Army Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) truck frame....

Full Ammunition Truck Gets Targeted By Ukrainian Artillery

GMLRS Rocket Hit Russian BM-21 Grad Spot On
GMLRS: Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System

Ukranian Drone Drop Hand Grenade Down At Zala-421 Drone
Nice shot.

Newly Loaded BM-27 Uragan Gets Hit By M982 Excalibur Rounds!

[Vrede too]

Massive explosion after Ukrainian forces destroy Russian ammo dump
Article

Ukraine blows up multiple Russian vehicles in devastating drone and HIMARS attack


Ukrainian forces blow up Russian vehicles in huge explosions on the frontlines

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T-72B3 With KMT-7 Anti Tank Remover Get Hit By Javelin Missile
You can see the Javelin's final approach and strike.

Close View Of GMRLS Strike On BM-21 Grad System With Kamaz Truck
The shock wave!

Javelin Missile Hit With Top Attack On BMP-2

Ukrainian FPV Drone Chase Down T-62 Tank With Cope Cage

[Vrede too]

Putin Has Lost An INSANE 2,000 Tanks in the Ukraine War
Last month, Oryx reported that Moscow’s total tank loss likely lingers around 2,000. According to the website, of the 2,000 losses, around 1,239 were destroyed, 106 were damaged, 113 were abandoned, and 544 were captured by Ukrainian forces.

... Some estimates suggest that more than half of Russia’s modern tank fleet has been destroyed, captured, or left behind by ill-equipped soldiers on the front lines.

In February, the International Institute for Strategic Studies indicated that 50 percent of Moscow’s T-72B3 and T-72B3M tanks have been destroyed, in addition to roughly two-thirds of the country’s T-80BV/U MBTs....

Why Have Russian Tanks Been So Easily Captured?

Lacking the fuel, logistical support, and maintenance information needed to sustain modern tanks, plenty of Russian soldiers have simply left behind armored vehicles to be captured. Various reports detailed instances of tanks running out of fuel (a logistical error), or running aground in the mud (lack of knowledge) in Ukraine. Other tanks, as detailed in a BBC report, have been left behind due to bad driving.

According to a professor of strategic studies at St. Andrews University, “Some have been driven off bridges. Others have been driven into ditches so that the tracks have come off. The ability of the troops to use their equipment has been lacking. But often, soldiers have simply abandoned their vehicles and fled.” ...

Ukrainian brigade obliterates Russian staging point with drone-deployed munitions

HEDP Grenade Hit BMP-2 At Trenches

[Vrede too]

Another perspective:

Chris Hedges: They Lied About Afghanistan. They Lied About Iraq. And They Are Lying About Ukraine.
The U.S. public has been conned, once again, into pouring billions into another endless war.

The playbook the pimps of war use to lure us into one military fiasco after another, including Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and now Ukraine, does not change. Freedom and democracy are threatened. Evil must be vanquished. Human rights must be protected. The fate of Europe and NATO, along with a “rules based international order” is at stake. Victory is assured.

The results are also the same. The justifications and narratives are exposed as lies. The cheery prognosis is false. Those on whose behalf we are supposedly fighting are as venal as those we are fighting against.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine was a war crime, although one that was provoked by NATO expansion and by the United States backing of the 2014 “Maidan” coup which ousted the democratically elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych wanted economic integration with the European Union, but not at the expense of economic and political ties with Russia. The war will only be solved through negotiations that allow ethnic Russians in Ukraine to have autonomy and Moscow’s protection, as well as Ukrainian neutrality, which means the country cannot join NATO. The longer these negotiations are delayed the more Ukrainians will suffer and die. Their cities and infrastructure will continue to be pounded into rubble.

But this proxy war in Ukraine is designed to serve U.S. interests. It enriches the weapons manufacturers, weakens the Russian military and isolates Russia from Europe. What happens to Ukraine is irrelevant.

(long elaboration on these points)

... The Russian invasion of Ukraine would not have happened if the western alliance had honored its promises not to expand NATO beyond Germany’s borders and Ukraine had remained neutral. The pimps of war knew the potential consequences of NATO expansion. War, however, is their single minded vocation, even if it leads to a nuclear holocaust with Russia or China.

The war industry, not Putin, is our most dangerous enemy.

Some know-nothing RW apologist for Putin? Hardly, Chris Hedges was born to LW parents, was a progressive activist in high school and university, and has solid progressive and MSM professional credentials.

Whoa, I may have to reconsider my cheerleading for Ukraine. There's nothing I can disagree with in the essay, and the cluster munitions don't help. Crap.

Since I already had these lined up:

Newsweek: Ukraine Has More Tanks Than Russia For First Time Ever
Boom. That's almost hard to believe.

Ukrainian forces blow up Russian tank in a ball of flames with air strike

[GoCubsGo]

Shower thought without the shower, qualified with my almost total ignorance.

We're sending cluster bombs to Ukraine because of a shortage of artillery shells from us and NATO.

Does anyone find it strange that what really amounts to a large regional war could deplete both sides relatively quickly and the military industrial complex cannot ramp up production sufficiently?

Granted it's one type specific ammo but still..

[Vrede too]

Shower thought without the shower, qualified with my almost total ignorance.

We're sending cluster bombs to Ukraine because of a shortage of artillery shells from us and NATO.

Does anyone find it strange that what really amounts to a large regional war could deplete both sides relatively quickly and the military industrial complex cannot ramp up production sufficiently?

Granted it's one type specific ammo but still..

It's the first war between developed nations since WW2, and so far only Russia and Ukraine have fully committed their industrial capacity.

Perhaps unrelated aside: Some of the US artillery shells are so high tech that they cost more than the equipment they're targeting.

[Vrede too]

Mines strapped to ground drone vehicle may be the new frontier in Ukraine's war

Two huge (marine drone) explosions hit Kerch bridge connecting Crimea and Russia

How long before war is mostly fought between drones?

[Vrede too]

(50!) Russian soldiers sent their families a desperate video, saying they were being led by a 'drunk' commander and without the supplies to survive

Wow. Sucks to be you, Putin.

[Vrede too]

Successful Ukrainian drone attack on Russian warship

Aug 4, 2023
Ukrainian forces carried out a successful drone (USV) attack on the Russian Ropucha-class landing ship RFS Olenegorskiy Gornyak off Novorossiysk in the Black Sea 3/8/2023.

The hit can be verified as she has was subsequently pictured limping (towed, actually) into harbour with severe list to port.

Ukraine hit a Russian warship in an audacious attack with sea drones, videos show

Ukraine appears to have hit a Russian warship in an audacious attack involving sea drones deployed in the Black Sea.

Footage shared on social media Friday appears to show explosions at the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

A Ukrainian source told CNN a sea drone with 450 kilograms of TNT had attacked a Russian ship that had around 100 servicemen aboard.

It is the first time that a commercial Russian port has been targeted by Ukrainian drones since the start of the war 18 months ago.

Novorossiysk is far from Ukrainian-held territory, on the far side of occupied Crimea, making it a tall order for the Ukrainians to reach so far with an attack.

Russian officials acknowledged that an attack took place, though they claimed it had done no damage.

"Tonight, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with the use of two unmanned sea boats, attempted an attack on the Novorossiysk naval base of the Russian Armed Forces," the Russian Ministry of Defense said on Telegram on Friday, according to a translation by AFP.

... A video taken later seems to show the ship appears to be badly damaged post-attack, listing to one side as it is towed away....

Veniamin Kondratiev, the governor of the Krasnodar region where the base is located said there were no casualties.

Not possible given the violence of the attack and the proven damage.

... Last week, Ukraine showed off its new sea drone for the first time, which packs hundreds of pounds of explosives and is faster than anything in the Black Sea, CNN reported....

Comments:

They intercepted the drone. They just neglected to mention it was intercepted by the port side of the target ship. You see, the Ukrainians were aiming for the starboard side. Big time miss!

they meant they rammed it with the side of their ship

[Vrede too]

Pictures emerge of damaged Russian submarine Rostov-on-Don

Photos have emerged of the damage caused to the Russian submarine Rostov-on-Don, which was hit in an attack on the night of 13 September....

Details: The images depict large holes in the submarine's bow and the hull's centre.

... More details: At the same time, its theoretically possible repair will require the submarine to be transported to the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg. CIT's source reports, repairs of this scale are unprofitable, and it would be easier to build a new boat of the same class.

Totaled?

Background:

* On the night of 13 September, the Russian proxy occupying "authorities" of Sevastopol reported a fire at a shipyard in the Kilen-Balka area, and the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed an attack with missiles and uncrewed vessels.

* OSINT researchers reported that two vessels were damaged at a shipyard in occupied Sevastopol: a Ropucha-class large landing ship and a Kilo-class submarine. The Russian Telegram channel Baza said the attack damaged the large landing ship Minsk and the diesel-electric submarine Rostov-on-Don, which was launched only in 2014 and carries Kalibr cruise missiles used by Russia to attack Ukrainian cities.

Karma.

* UK Defence Intelligence reported that the Rostov-on-Don submarine and the Minsk landing ship had been critically damaged in the Ukrainian strike. Analysts believe any effort to bring the submarine back into service will likely take many years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

* On the afternoon of 13 September, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, thanked Ukrainian pilots for their efficient work in temporarily occupied Sevastopol.

* Special Operations Forces informed that attacks on the Russian submarine Rostov-on-Don and the landing ship Minsk on the night of 13 September were carried out by the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

[Vrede too]

True to life but without the price tag: The decoy weapons Ukraine wants Russia to destroy

Creative.

[billy.pilgrim]

True to life but without the price tag: The decoy weapons Ukraine wants Russia to destroy

Creative.

They should have known. Stupid Russians

As part of ‘Fortitude South’, the Allies created the fictitious First US Army Group (FUSAG), an imaginary force ‘based’ in south-east Britain. This also helped give the impression that the invasion force was larger than it actually was. Fake radio traffic and decoy equipment – including inflatable tanks and dummy landing craft – mimicked preparations for a large-scale invasion aimed at the Pas de Calais.

Double agents delivered false information to reinforce this deceit both before and after the Normandy landings. The most famous of these agents, Juan Pujol Garcia (‘Garbo’), invented a network of imaginary agents who were supposedly supplying him with information on Allied preparations.

[Vrede too]

They should have known. Stupid Russians

As part of ‘Fortitude South’, the Allies created the fictitious First US Army Group (FUSAG), an imaginary force ‘based’ in south-east Britain. This also helped give the impression that the invasion force was larger than it actually was. Fake radio traffic and decoy equipment – including inflatable tanks and dummy landing craft – mimicked preparations for a large-scale invasion aimed at the Pas de Calais.

Double agents delivered false information to reinforce this deceit both before and after the Normandy landings. The most famous of these agents, Juan Pujol Garcia (‘Garbo’), invented a network of imaginary agents who were supposedly supplying him with information on Allied preparations.

Further duping the Germans was putting Patton in charge of this fake Army, though it was a humiliation in the wake of the soldier slapping incident. It was only after the Normandy battle that Ike decided that he couldn't afford to have his best general on the bench.

[Vrede too]

Russian officers who hadn't been paid by Moscow sold key intel on the Black Sea Fleet to Ukrainian resistance fighters. Then the headquarters blew up.

Opps.

... Kyiv's forces on Friday bombarded the Black Sea Fleet's headquarters in Sevastopol, located on the southwestern edge of Crimea, with several Western-made Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles. Videos and photographs of the attack showed the moment one of the missiles slammed into the building, as well as the major structural damage that the facility suffered as a result.

The Ukrainian military later said that it timed the strike to coincide with a meeting of Russia's naval leadership. On Monday, Kyiv's Special Operations Forces said 34 people were killed — including Adm. Viktor Sokolov, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet (or not) — and another 105 were injured....

The strike on the Black Sea Fleet's headquarters marked the latest in a string of Ukrainian attacks over the past few weeks targeting high-value Russian positions and assets around Crimea, which Kyiv has vowed to liberate from nearly a decade under Russian occupation.

These incursions include the destruction of multiple S-400 air-defense systems, attacks on an air base and on a command post belonging to the Black Sea Fleet, and a massive missile strike on a shipyard in Sevastopol. Western intelligence assessed that the assault damaged two ships while also delivering a long-term blow to Moscow's maritime logistics and operations, and Ukraine's military claimed dozens of Russian sailors were killed.

"Crimea will definitely be demilitarized and liberated," Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote on social media after the Friday strikes on the headquarters. "Merchant ships will return to the Black Sea. And the Russian warships will eventually take their rightful place, turning into an iconic underwater museum for divers that will attract tourists from all over the world. To a free Ukrainian Crimea."

Free Crimea Scuba Park

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GRAPHIC WARNING: ‘Masterpiece Video’ Shows Ukrainian Drone Hunting Russian Soldier
Commenting on the video, one Reddit user said it was “the stuff of nightmares,” adding: “Your last moments are minutes long and the entire time you’re scared sh**less.”



“Russians should not run away from Ukrainian drones – they will die tired.”

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Russia has lost 87% of troops it had prior to start of Ukraine war, according to US intelligence assessment

Russia has lost a staggering 87 percent of the total number of active-duty ground troops it had prior to launching its invasion of Ukraine and two-thirds of its pre-invasion tanks, a source familiar with a declassified US intelligence assessment provided to Congress told CNN.

... Of the 360,000 troops that entered Ukraine, including contract and conscript personnel, Russia has lost 315,000 on the battlefield, according to the assessment. 2,200 of 3,500 tanks have been lost, according to the assessment. 4,400 of 13,600 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers have also been destroyed, a 32 percent loss rate.

“As of late November, Russia lost over a quarter of its pre-invasion stockpiles of ground forces equipment,” the assessment reads. “This has reduced the complexity and scale of Russian offensive operations, which have failed to make major gains in Ukraine since early 2022.” ...

Still, Putin won't give in

[GoCubsGo]

That is crazy.