1 hour ago, Bill said:

From what I heard the IL-22 limped back to land.

Crap.  So it can be salvaged by Russian engineering

Looks like the wind is coming out of the sails on this one

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12965767/President-Zelensky-asks-Switzerland-organise-high-level-peace-conference.html

President Zelensky asks Switzerland to organise 'high-level peace conference'

 

Shooting down Russia's overhyped missiles with Patriots is a win for more than just Ukraine. The war is an 'intelligence bonanza' for the West.

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Ukraine's made good use of its Western-provided Patriot air-defense systems, shooting down plenty of Russian missiles, aircraft, and drones, including some advanced, albeit overhyped, weaponry.

But the intercepts, while a win for Ukraine, are also gathering hoards of data for other Patriot operators, making the system smarter and better. It's just one example of how the war in Ukraine is, as one missile-defense expert told Business Insider, an "intelligence bonanza."

And as Ukraine defeats threats, there's also a growing recognition of the importance of robust air and missile defenses, vital for defending and deterrence and, in Ukraine's case, survival amid an increase in missile and drone attacks.

On Tuesday, Ukraine said it shot down all 10 of the new Kinzhals fired during a vicious air assault, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine praising the incident as "what heroism supplied with advanced systems looks like." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, too, hailed Western-provided air defenses like Patriots, IRIS-T, and NASAMS for saving "hundreds of lives."

The reported kills nearly doubled the tally of Kinzhals destroyed in the war. Just Sunday, Ukraine said it had shot down 15 Kinzhal missiles using Patriot batteries since the first recorded intercept last May, which was confirmed by the Pentagon.

A Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson, Col. Yurii Ihnat, praised the Patriot's ability to counter a variety of missile threats. The rate at which the Patriot may have intercepted Kinzhals indicates Ukraine has learned well how to operate its Western air defenses and developed a strong defense against the missile the Russians have touted as an unstoppable hypersonic weapon.

But Ukraine is not the only one benefiting from these engagements. For other Patriot operators, such as the US, new data about how to counter specific threats, such as the Kinzhal, is incredibly useful information.

"Every Ukrainian downing of Russian hypersonic Kh-47M2 Kinzhal with the Patriot missiles will improve the Patriot missile intercept algorithm — and increase accuracy for all Patriot systems, a benefit for the US, the rest of NATO, and other Patriot AD users," Jan Kallberg, a senior fellow with the Transatlantic Defense and Security program at the Center for European Policy Analysis who was a professor at West Point, posted on X.

That data is valuable for both the US and its NATO allies, giving them a rare opportunity to live test systems and learn more about how not only to engage but also defeat Russian weaponry.

"The larger point is the intelligence bonanza that we are capitalizing on by observing or capturing Russian systems" without actually having any troops on the ground, Tom Karako, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who's the director of the Missile Defense Project there, told Business Insider. He said the opportunity was giving the US valuable data on Russia for potential future conflicts. 

Russia's Kinzhal is an advanced air-launched ballistic missile that has been celebrated by Kremlin officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, for its "unique flight characteristics," high speed, maneuverability, and ability to "overcome all existing" and "prospective antiaircraft and antimissile defense systems," characteristics that supposedly make it unbeatable.

The MIM-104 "Patriot" air-defense battery, an older system that first entered service in the 1980s but has nonetheless been praised by the Pentagon as "one of the world's most advanced air-defense systems," arrived on the battlefield in April 2023. The system, once operational, quickly put an end to Russian narratives about the Kinzhal, shooting one down in early May.

Later that month, Ukraine said its Patriot air defenses eliminated six more of these missiles.

The Kinzhal is an advanced capability, but so far, it hasn't really lived up to its overhyped narrative of being an unstoppable hypersonic missile.

"The Kinzhal doesn't fit into the category of either a scramjet cruise missile or a hypersonic boost-glide vehicle," Karako explained.

He added that the term "hypersonic," when used to refer to the Kinzhal missile, tended to be in a more literal sense, as in it could exceed speeds of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.

But while the Kinzhal is going fast, "it doesn't really constitute sustained and controlled flight in the hypersonic flight regime," Karako explained, adding that "it's essentially a somewhat maneuvering ballistic missile."

Maj. Peter Mitchell, an air-defense officer who's an instructor at West Point, previously characterized Russia's Kinzhal as "more akin to a giant lawn dart loaded with explosives," saying it wasn't capable of sharp turns or quick changes in flight direction.

That doesn't mean Ukraine's reported wins aren't impressive — or that it's not a boon for the US and its partners to see Russia use the Kinzhal. Instead, it's quite the opposite.

Similar to just about any data collected in the war, whether it's information on how Russia's operating its Shahed one-way exploding drones, defending against Ukrainian strikes, or pounding Ukrainian defenses, the takeaway is a beneficial one for the West: By helping defend Ukraine, they learn more about how their enemy could fight them in the future.

Ukraine's successes with the Patriot and other Western systems also highlight the enormous importance of air and missile defenses.

While the drone war being fought between Ukraine and Russia has been eye-opening for many armies, including the US, the air campaigns have also reinforced the realization of how much armed forces need robust air defenses.

The successful engagement of "high-end missile threats from a major power like Russia is ratifying and bolstering the demand signal for both the Patriot family and other air defenses more broadly," Karako said.

During his December visit to Washington to plead for more aid amid Republican roadblocks in Congress, Zelenskyy expressed a dire need for more Patriot batteries in Ukraine. But the demand goes beyond that.

Take, for example, recent news of a handful of NATO nations' plans to buy 1,000 Patriot missiles or Japan's landmark decision to remove its self-imposed ban on weapons exports to transfer dozens of missiles to the US. Other air-defense systems, too, have been prioritized, as seen in the US aid packages to Israel in recent months.

"We're seeing an increased salience and demand for air and missile defense because missiles have become 'weapons of choice,'" Karako said. He said air and missile defense was not a peripheral concern but rather a central concern. 

 

Ukrainian soldiers say they've been having to abandon vehicles and hike for miles to the front lines because of exploding Russian drones

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Ukrainian soldiers say they're often being forced to move and fight on foot due to the ever-present threat of exploding drones.

They say Russia is turning up the heat, and no vehicle is safe from these devastating one-way attack drones. Russian forces have had similar problems.

Ukrainian soldiers told The New York Times that defending and supplying front-line forces was riskier than ever because of the increase in Russian first-person-view drone strikes.

These drones are used by both sides, tend to be very cheaply made using hobby-style drones equipped with an explosive, and are piloted by operators miles away from potential targets.

The drones can conduct one-way attacks resulting in devastating explosions or, in some cases, drop bombs on unsuspecting targets. A Ukrainian national guardsman told the Times that "it is extremely dangerous to go by car."

Men of his unit said that for the past few months, they had been leaving their armored vehicles behind and walking six miles to positions on the front line, the Times reported. "You can only go in on foot," the guardsman added.

Men of the 117th Brigade in the Zaporizhzhia region faced an unpleasant four-mile hike in the rain and mud, an intelligence commander told the Times. If they took their vehicles to drive ammunition or food to the front line, Russia's drones could attack from above.

That's not to say moving on foot is exactly safe, either. FPV drones have easily tracked and targeted soldiers on the ground, as documented by many videos and photos shared throughout the war.

Drones have significantly shaped the war in Ukraine, with both sides relying on unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned surface vehicles to conduct reconnaissance and attacks.

For Ukraine, which is facing dwindling ammunition stockpiles and drying US aid, drones are a cheap and easy alternative to firing artillery. Should one malfunction due to jamming or get shot down, skilled operators, often flying the drones from positions far away from the front line, can simply send another one out.

And in some ways, drones can be more effective than artillery. They are like improvised explosive devices that chase down the targets, which can be anything from a single soldier to tanks.

Russia reaps similar benefits from its arsenal of drones, some of which range from loitering munitions built to military specifications to cheaper options built by private defense outfits. Ukraine, likewise, has state-backed efforts and private operations.

Soldiers told the Times that while Ukraine was the first to really capitalize on the impacts drones can have on the battlefield, Russia had recently copied their tactics at a greater scale and to a lethal effect.

FPV drones can be produced in large quantities for asymmetric warfare against more expensive targets such as tanks. They can have an outsize effect on the battlefield, threatening anyone and anything that moves — effectively turning sectors of the front line into a kind of no man's land for vehicles, which make easy and large targets.

 

Russia is on course to lose 500,000 troops by end of 2024, after turning its forces into a 'low quality, high quantity mass army,' says UK intel

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Russia is on course to have lost more than 500,000 troops in Ukraine by the end of this year if casualties continue at their current rate, the UK Ministry of Defence has said.

The average number of Russian casualties in Ukraine each day had risen by almost 300 during last year, the department said, citing data from the Ukrainian defense ministry.

Neither Business Insider nor the UK's MOD could independently verify the methodology used by the Ukrainian general staff.

But the MOD previously said the figures were "plausible" considering mounting casualty figures from Russia's attacks on Avdiivka, a small town on the edge of occupied Donetsk.

The department said the increased casualty rate reflected how the quality of the Russian military decreased following the partial mobilization of military reservists in September 2022.

The mobilization turned Russian forces into "a low quality, high quantity mass army," the department said.

Russia shows 'no regard for the lives of its own soldiers'
Analysts have said Russia is employing "human wave" tactics in Ukraine, in which large numbers of poorly trained soldiers are sent to the battlefield and die in high numbers.

One example of this tactic was a recent report of near-suicidal attacks on a section of the eastern front in which Russian forces repeatedly tried to commit identical tank assaults in the same part of a Ukrainian forest that was thwarted by Ukrainian forces seven times.

John Kirby, the spokesperson for the National Security Council, said the tactic demonstrated that Russia "continues to show no regard for the lives of its own soldiers, willingly sacrificing them in pursuit of Putin's goals."

The UK's defense department said it would most likely take Russia five to 10 years to "rebuild a cohort of highly trained, experienced readiness force."

Russia has been secretive about the numbers of its casualties, but US intelligence estimates that about 315,000 of Russia's troops have been killed or injured since the beginning of the war.

This is believed to be around 90% of the personnel it had when the war began.

 

Russia-controlled territory, likely because of poor training and tired crews, UK intel says1

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Russia has accidentally dropped bombs on territories it controls two times in the last week, and British intelligence believes the mistakes were likely "exacerbated" by poor training and exhausted crews.

The first incident occurred on Jan. 2, when a Russian warplane accidentally discharged a munition that damaged nine residential properties in Petropavlovka, in western Russia's Voronezh Oblast," the UK's Ministry of Defense wrote in a Wednesday intelligence update.

Not even a week later, a Russian fighter jet on Monday discharged an FAB-250 munition over a village in Ukraine's occupied Luhansk region, the intelligence update said. Both of the incidents took place while Moscow was carrying out combat missions. And incidents like this have happened before; a similar episode happened in April 2023 over the city of Belgorod.

"Russia's continued propensity for munition accidents is likely exacerbated by inadequate training and crew fatigue," the UK's update added, "leading to poor execution of tactics during missions."

Inadequate training has long been an issue for the Russian military, both air and ground forces, and problems have become exacerbated during the war in Ukraine.

In October, for instance, the US said that Moscow had resumed the use of bloody "human wave" tactics, which involve throwing unprepared and poorly trained troops into the thick of battle, often without the right equipment.

This gruesome strategy, which emerged amid a renewed Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, was widely employed by Wagner Group mercenaries during the infamous and months-long battle for Bakhmut.

Piling on to the issues reported by the UK's defense ministry, Moscow's troops are also growing increasingly demoralized and desperate to return home. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently dampened those hopes, however, when he squashed a proposed new round of mobilization that would allow beleaguered soldiers who have been fighting for a year or longer to come home, The Washington Post reported in late December.

"There's no Fing 'dying the death of the brave' here," one soldier in the Kharkiv region told his brother last January, according to a recording of a phone call obtained by the Associated Press. "You just die like a Fing earthworm."

 

Russia is adding bait to landmines in Ukraine, using cash and cans of Pepsi, report says

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Russia is devising new ways of tricking people into setting off the landmines it has hidden across Ukraine, a report said.

Ukrainian troops told the Agence France-Presse that Russia has developed new ways of tricking troops trying to clear the extensive minefields it laid.

"A banknote, a pack of cigarettes, a phone... It's definitely a trap," Sergeant Boller, a Ukrainian sapper, told AFP.

"We have even lost soldiers because of a booby-trapped pack of Pepsi cans."

Boller told the outlet that some minefields are connected, meaning that if one goes off then others blow up at the same time.

"If you try to remove them, you can kill your entire unit,"

Russia has lain miles-deep minefields in front of the defensive systems its built to protect territory it occupies in east and south Ukraine.

They are often densely packed. Ukrainian units trying to make their way through them come under intense attacks from artillery and attack helicopters.

Before Ukrainian troops can try to assault any such Russian positions, the mines have to be painstakingly cleared by teams of sappers.

So far, Ukrainian attempts to break through Russian defenses in its its summer counteroffensive came at a heavy cost and had limited success.

According to Ukrainian officials, around 30% of Ukraine has been laid with landlines as the conflict with Russia approaches its two-year anniversary.

 

This is like 2 boxers heading into the 27th rd, they're just flailing at each other at this point.  Both sides just hoping the other finally drops from fatigue.

Russians are calling for a 9-mile 'buffer zone' to stop Ukraine raiding their towns — but are unlikely to get it

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Some Russians want a 9-mile "buffer zone" along the border with Ukraine to protect them from raids, but it's an almost impossible request, military experts say.

Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War said in an update on Tuesday that Russians had called for that zone after the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov pledged to do everything to protect the region of Belgorod from further Ukrainian attacks.

The region has suffered from a series of cross-border raids, including as recently as last week.

Russian authorities have so far failed to announce plans to protect it.

The ISW said Russian sources were reviving calls for a large-scale Russian offensive in Kharkiv to create this buffer zone despite "the military's likely inability to conduct an operation to seize significant territory in Kharkiv Oblast in the near term." 

One Telegram account quoted by the ISW said the border must be pushed back significantly, while another said a large exclusion zone of up to 15 kilometers, or about 9 miles, deep inside Kharkiv Oblast was needed to prevent Ukrainian long-range attacks.

Russian ultranationalists urged something similar last summer, citing public dissatisfaction with cross-border raids by pro-Ukrainian forces, the ISW said.

But the ISW said building such a zone along several hundred kilometers of the border was probably doomed to fail.

It would require a "far larger" and "significantly better" equipped force than what Russia now had positioned along the front lines with Ukraine, it said.

The UK Ministry of Defence said in November that Russian forces, as well as their Ukrainian counterparts, were already struggling to make any significant breakthroughs because of how scattered they were along the 745-mile front line.

Russian forces are also yet to advance into Kharkiv, though a Russian grouping stationed there "appears more well-suited to conduct an intensified offensive effort than elsewhere in Ukraine or along the international border," the ISW said.

The ISW assessed that right now, Russian troops would only be able to carry out "tactical-level actions," meaning they could engage in battles in Kharkiv Oblast from Belgorod but with no guarantee of success.

 

Russia's use of North Korean missiles in Ukraine will help the US figure out how effective they really are

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Russia's use of North Korean missiles in Ukraine will help us figure out how effective they actually are on the battlefield, military analysts said.

South Korea's ambassador to the UN accused North Korea of using Ukraine as a "test site" for its nuclear-capable missiles on Wednesday.

Joonkook Hwang said Russia used them in attacks on December 30, January 2, and January 4.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also said Russia had acquired "several dozen" ballistic missiles from North Korea and used them in two separate attacks on December 30 and January 2.

Ramon Pacheco Pardo, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said Russia's use of these missiles presented a unique opportunity to gain valuable information on these missiles in a battle scenario.

"Obviously, that's very helpful in any case, because if there is a war in the Korean peninsula, North Korea will be using these missiles," Pardo told Business Insider.

North Korea has been testing a wide range of ballistic and cruise missiles since 2017, launching 68 missiles in 2022, according to the North Korea Missile Test Tracker maintained by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

The US, South Korea, and Japan have been sharing intelligence on these missiles, but have never seen them deployed in a conflict.

Now that Russia is launching them in Ukraine, the US and North Korea's neighbors will be able to assess their accuracy, range, hit rate, launch failure rate, and Ukraine's ability to intercept them in a real-world battle scenario, Pardo said.

"If Ukraine, for example, proves more successful in shooting down North Korean missiles compared to Russian ones, then we can assume that North Korean technology is not as advanced," he said.

David Albright, president of the non-profit Institute for Science and International Security in Washington DC, echoed those comments.

He added that missile wreckage will provide information on the origin and quality of components and their designs.

"If parts and/or raw materials can be identified and assessed, it will be significant," he told BI.

That could also help improve Western-made air defense systems, including the US's Patriot, to counter North Korea's missile threat, said Fabian Hinz, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank.

"Having a chance to look at them up close would be really valuable," he told Newsweek.

Ukraine has already started analyzing what it believes to be debris from a North Korean missile.

Ukraine's prosecutor-general, Andriy Kostin, told the Ukrainian state broadcaster Suspilne that a preliminary examination confirmed a missile fired at central Kharkiv on January 2 was developed in North Korea, per a translation provided by Meduza.

A joint statement by the US and 50 of its allies condemning their use said Russia's use of North Korea's ballistic missiles in Ukraine "provides valuable technical and military insights" to the regime.

 

Russia's Heavy Losses Could Scupper Golden Opportunity

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Russian forces have the chance to press westward in the coming weeks, but they are unlikely to be able to capitalize on a brief window of opportunity to snatch more territory from Ukraine.

On Thursday, the U.K. Defense Ministry said Ukraine was experiencing a spell of cold weather that would likely last for several weeks. The freezing conditions will harden the ground and make cross-country maneuvers easier, it said.

Frozen ground makes using tanks and armored vehicles in operations much easier compared with muddy conditions and rainy weather. Ukraine's notorious muddy season, also known as the rasputitsa, has complicated the fighting several times during nearly two years of war.

"Cold weather doesn't really make you happier," Ukraine's Major Viktor Tregubov told Newsweek back in October as the rainy, muddy season set in for the fall. "If we're talking about combat readiness, autumn rains and winter cold changes everything, and limits the offensive potential for both sides."

Despite recent Russian advances in certain sectors of the front line, Moscow will likely fail to make the most of the more favorable weather conditions before a thaw in March, experts have suggested.

After Ukrainian forces retreated to the northern flank of the Donetsk village of Marinka, southwest of the embattled town of Avdiivka, in late December, the Institute for the Study of War said the capture of the settlement was only a "limited tactical gain for Russia."

Moscow would only be able to capitalize on the gain if "Russian forces have dramatically improved their ability to conduct rapid mechanized forward movement, which they show no signs of having done," the think tank said.

The same principle applies to the brief stint of more favorable winter weather conditions currently settling in across Ukraine. Russia could mount a concerted push against a tired Ukraine, but it lacks the resources to do so.

Russia could push on the Ukrainian front lines, and there have been some rumors of large-scale attacks in the works, according to Frederik Mertens, a strategic analyst with the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. But if they did launch a series of attacks, Moscow would likely hope to whittle away at the support Ukraine is receiving from its Western backers, he told Newsweek.

The intelligence published by the British Defense Ministry is accurate, but both Russia and Ukraine have "exhausted their offensive maneuver potential" for the moment, added Ed Arnold, research fellow at the London-based Royal United Services Institute think tank. It is unlikely there will be much movement along the front lines during this period, as Moscow and Kyiv are focusing on reconstituting their forces, he told Newsweek.

The problems weighing down on Russian forces will weigh on Ukraine, too. Snowfall will restrict both sides' ability to maneuver, and fewer daylight hours means Ukrainian and Russian troops need to rely more on night vision and cold weather equipment, the U.K. Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

Kyiv knows this.

"Snow and frost will affect the nature of hostilities in the near future," Dmytro Lazutkin, spokesperson for Ukraine's 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade, told Newsweek.

The 47th is currently fighting around the embattled town of Avdiivka, the site of the bitterest fighting so far this year, more than three months after Russia launched an offensive around the town.

Snow will restrict vehicle movement, particularly for wheeled vehicles and off-road, Lazutkin said. The biting cold can also affect infantry morale, he said.

It is hard to predict the impact of the coming weather conditions, Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Tavria grouping of forces covering Avdiivka, told Newsweek.

Mertens said Ukraine is likely using the colder months to rebuild and train their mobile forces ahead of the inevitable summer fighting.

"It seems that the Ukrainians might be better prepared for winter, but I think they will refrain from major operations," he said.

 

Two Dozen Russian Helicopters Downed in One Day with 'Secret Weapon'—Kyiv

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Ukrainian forces destroyed 26 Russian helicopters in a single day using an unknown long-range weapon supplied by Kyiv's allies, Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed.

During a press conference with journalists in Latvia on Thursday, the Ukrainian president remained light on details when discussing the use of the mystery weapon, not disclosing which country had provided the system, how long it had been in operation or when it had been used against the helicopters.

"Partners have provided us with some long-range weapons," he said, according to a translation by Ukrainian news outlet RBC. "I won't say what, but our partners will understand.

"With it, we destroyed 26 helicopters in a day, and 12 planes that took off and attacked with missiles, against which these systems were working. We destroyed 12 at once."

According to the Ukrainian Armed Force's own tally, they have not taken out any Russian helicopters since October 19, when they say they destroyed one—so it is unclear if the 26 referenced by Zelensky were destroyed recently but were previously undisclosed, or if they were destroyed over three months ago.

Despite the information in the Ukrainian Armed Force's tally, Kyiv's forces said they took out a Russian Mi-8 transport helicopter in early December.

The Ukrainian president went on to stress that the weapons system he was referring to was part of the nation's air defense systems, rather than being used to attack Russian targets, according to a translation by news agency Interfax. Ukraine has been accused by Russia of carrying out attacks within Russian territory.

Kyiv has been able to make deft use of long-range missile systems donated by Western allies, such as the U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and British Storm Shadow missiles—which Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently said were "raising the stakes" of the conflict.

In mid-October, Ukraine used ATACMS missiles to destroy nine helicopters in a nighttime raid on two military airfields in eastern and southern Ukraine.

The U.K.'s Royal Air Force said that Moscow had 899 helicopters at its disposal at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Some of its aerial loses have seemingly been at its own hands, as analysts and military bloggers paint the Russian military as disorganized and prone to tactical mistakes.

In May, Russian air defenses were thought to be responsible for shooting down three helicopters and two fighter jets near the Ukrainian border. At the time, Russian officials told state media that engine malfunctions had been to blame.

 

10 hours ago, paco said:

 

Ukraine's successes with the Patriot and other Western systems also highlight the enormous importance of air and missile defenses.

While the drone war being fought between Ukraine and Russia has been eye-opening for many armies, including the US, the air campaigns have also reinforced the realization of how much armed forces need robust air defenses.

The successful engagement of "high-end missile threats from a major power like Russia is ratifying and bolstering the demand signal for both the Patriot family and other air defenses more broadly," Karako said.

 

 

This articles misses the boat, at least partially.  One of the most noteworthy aspects of the conflict is the inability of either side to mount a sustained SEAD or air to air campaign.  That's not surprising for Ukraine but it is quite surprising for Russia.  If that was a NATO air force, instead of Ukraine, they would be rampaging over and behind Russian lines, attacking Russian airbases and missile launchers, shutting down the Russian missile strikes at the source.  That's the advantage of a competent air force versus relying on SAM coverage; airpower can operate both offensively and defensively and at much greater ranges.

Paco folded all the laundry and now so bored posted a pages worth of articles lol

8 minutes ago, DaEagles4Life said:

Paco folded all the laundry and now so bored posted a pages worth of articles lol

I have been meaning to share these for a few days, yes. 

Just give up Ukraine! 

Putin claims war would have ended long ago if it hadn't been for Ukraine 

Vladimir Putin has expressed his dissatisfaction over Ukraine's reluctance to engage in negotiations and condemned the Ukrainian side, saying that but for them, "it would all have been over long ago". The president of the aggressor state made the comments at a meeting with the heads of the municipalities of the constituent entities that make up the Russian Federation.

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/01/16/7437505/

On 1/16/2024 at 11:03 AM, paco said:

Russia is on course to lose 500,000 troops by end of 2024, after turning its forces into a 'low quality, high quantity mass army,' says UK intel

 

Russian Military Sees Surge in Soldiers Surrendering: Kyiv

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An increasing number of Russian soldiers are purportedly surrendering or deserting their posts as the war in Ukraine stretches towards the two-year mark.

A Ukrainian military spokesperson claimed that over 100 Russian troops have surrendered near the embattled town of Avdiivka over the past month due to a dip in morale and harsh cold weather conditions, according to a report published by The Kyiv Post on Friday.

In Ukraine's southern Kherson region, Ukrainian troops were reportedly observed firing shells loaded with leaflets that urged their Russian counterparts to wave the white flag, prompting at least some Russian military commanders to order that the leaflets be thrown away.

Ukrainian Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Kyiv's ground forces, shared a video to Telegram on Friday that purports to show one of the Russian troops who surrendered to become a prisoner of war.

The prisoner, identified as Sergeant Sergey Saranchin, came to the conclusion that he "had been abandoned without food, shelter and water" after being deployed to the battlefield and quickly surrendered, alongside the rest of his unit, according to Syrskyi's post.

"He believes that it is better to go to prison, to mow, than to go to war again," Syrskyi wrote. "I would strongly advise the Russians not to enter Ukraine, because Russians do not live long in a war. I would like to ask [Russian President Vladimir] Putin why he killed so many Russians."

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Russian Ministry of Defense via email on Friday night.

Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Tavria grouping of forces, claimed during an appearance on Espreso TV earlier this week that a full platoon of almost 40 Russian troops recently fled the battlefield, according to The Kyiv Post.

Shtupun said that the troops made the decision to "flee towards Crimea," the Ukrainian peninsula that Russia has occupied since its illegal annexation in 2014, before being "hunted down" by their own army.

"Nearly 40 invaders left their trenches and tried to flee toward Crimea, while remaining armed," Shtupun said. "I'm talking about an entire platoon of the Russian army. There were reports that they were being hunted down in an attempt to bring them back."

While reports of demoralized Russian troops surrendering have been somewhat commonplace throughout the war, Moscow's military may now be increasingly feeling the strain due to heavy losses suffered in a conflict that has lasted far longer than initially predicted.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has indicated that Kyiv will not consider ending the war without a victory, or even pausing hostilities, having ruled out a ceasefire with Russia during a press conference in Estonia on Thursday.

"A pause on the Ukrainian battlefield will not mean a pause in the war," said Zelensky. "A pause would play into [Russia's] hands. It might crush us afterward."

 

Bradley fighting vehicle destroys Russia’s most advanced tank

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According to the Militarnyi, the engagement, coordinated through reconnaissance drones, unfolded in the village of Stepove, where Ukrainian troops engaged the Russian tank at an extremely close range.

Utilizing precise tactics, Ukrainian forces disrupted the Russian tank’s onboard combat system, causing the turret to rotate uncontrollably. Subsequently, the tank collided with trees, bringing it to a halt. The Russian crew abandoned the incapacitated tank, which was later confirmed by a military source who had observed the footage from a reconnaissance drone.

An eyewitness military account revealed that the majority of the operation was executed by two Bradley armored vehicles. The combat footage depicted the effective neutralization of the T-90M tank.

The T-90M is the latest main battle tank to enter frontline Russian service.

Russian state media as making the T-90M Proryv the most advanced armored vehicle in the world, well-suited for modern warfare. In an interview with pro-Russian military bloggers, Putin also said that the so-called "special military operation” in Ukraine has confirmed that the T-90M Proryv is the world’s best main battle tank.

This fragment of the war between Ukraine and Russia will be remembered in history and underscores the impactful support provided by the United States to Ukraine, with the provision of 109 M2A2-ODS Bradley and four B-FIST variant combat vehicles.

The Bradley fleet is part of a comprehensive aid package, including tanks, other armored vehicles, howitzers, and additional equipment, fortifying Ukraine’s defensive capabilities against Russian aggression.

 

The Russians Have Lost So Many Vehicles Around Krynky, They’ve Assigned A Tank Regiment To Fetch The Wrecks

Thirteen Russian warships combat ready in Black Sea, missile carrier among them

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Russia’s naval group in the Black Sea has expanded to 13 vessels, including one missile carrier with eight Kalibr-type cruise missiles on board.

The relevant statement was made by Ukraine’s Southern Defense Forces on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Despite the storm, the enemy’s naval group in the Black Sea has expanded to 13 vessels, including five large landing ships and one surface missile carrier,” the report states.

Russia’s frigate Admiral Makarov entered combat duty with eight Klaibr-type cruise missiles on board.

Ukraine’s Defense Forces called on civilians to pay attention to air raid sirens, stay calm and alert.

A reminder that, on the night of January 13, 2024, Russia launched another missile attack against Ukraine, involving cruise, air-launched ballistic, ballistic, surface-to-air guided missiles, and combat drones. Eight enemy missiles were intercepted by Ukrainian defenders.

 

Somebody (Russia) keeps fabricating BBC/Bellingcat stories to tout anti-Ukraine propaganda

 

As a note, the T-90M is the most advanced tank that Russia fields, and it’s getting shot to ish by a thirty year old  infantry fighting vehicle used by guys who got them nine months ago. 

14 hours ago, Bill said:

As a note, the T-90M is the most advanced tank that Russia fields, and it’s getting shot to ish by a thirty year old  infantry fighting vehicle used by guys who got them nine months ago. 

Non stop accurate fire.  Incredible.  I spotted one miss.  LOL.