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Right...Putin is murdering women, children, the elderly daily, and China is building a large military with designs on Taiwan and the whole Pacific region, but let's concern ourselves with the Germans. Got it...:icon_roll:Quote:
Originally Posted by DawgyNWindow
Back in the real world...
Ukraine struck another Russian fuel train, this one in Crimea. They also attacked the Rostov oil refinery again, this time, using their brand new "Flamingo" cruise missile. It was the first use of this weapon, and it worked 100% perfectly!
However, Putin is 3 1/2 years and an estimated million dead soldiers into a military campaign to take over a smaller and lesser equipped corrupt nation to the east, but I'm supposed to believe if he succeeds in Ukraine because of the lack of NATO and US assets, he will just continue through the rest of Europe. He is going to do all this with an anemic economy that is almost completely dependent on oil and gas.Quote:
Originally Posted by dawg80
Got it....:rolleyes:
What’s Putin’s shortcomings have to do with the Germans?
The American company blown up is called "Flex." It manufactures mostly household electronics/appliances, like toasters. Hardly a threat to Russia. Has 3,500 employees in Ukraine, part of a worldwide staff of 200,000 employees. Putin did this to send Trump a message. We know this because Putin's henchmen are replaying Trump's remarks he made months ago that the presence of American businesses in Ukraine would serve as security because Putin wouldn't dare attack American interests. Bam!
Russia and Iran have just boldly announced they are putting an end to Trump's commerce corridor connecting Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Iranians thumbed their nose at Trump saying if he sends in his mercenaries it will end up as an American graveyard. Yeah, Iran has shot their mouths off before and ended up toast. This commerce corridor is HUGE! It will effectively cut Iran out of the O&G industry in the Caucasus and nullify their leverage which they have used to threaten those nations there. For Putin/Russia this is a direct challenge to their influence. It is Trump/US kicking sand in Putin's face. He has to do something to both save face and to maintain access to the O&G industry in that region. Russia is sending troops through Georgia into Armenia. Now Turkey, which just sent troops into Armenia, will be faced with a decision to either stand its ground or back off and withdraw.
So, now that Trump brokered this deal, which was quite the coup! What will he do should Russia and Iran introduce military intervention? Probably just say Putin is his friend.
Another Putin fuel train destroyed by Ukrainian drones. An oil pipeline feeding Hungary and Slovakia was hit and is burning.
There are extreme shortages of petro (gasoline) in rural areas of Russia. Putin has ordered all fuel trucks diverted to military installations and to civilian gas stations in "important" areas like St. Petersburg and Moscow. And too bad for the peasants out in the countryside. Can you say a revolution is coming!?
Big breakthrough for Ukraine, liberating about 40 square KMs, villages of Toltoy and Zenaphalia. Thanks to the 5th Motorized Brigade and the 37th Marine Brigade. A probing attack discovered light resistance and the Ukrainians gobbled up ground. In bad news, the Russians did advance northwest of Lyman. Lyman is one of five key cities still in Donetsk and have now been fortified. Russians seized some farmland and one farming community. The Ukran 3rd Army Corps (not the Azov Corps, which is now designated 1st Army Corps), which has the 55th, 60th, 61st brigades, have been deployed north of Lyman. They should halt further Russian advances.
Trump's response on the attack of the American company, Flex, is: "I'm not happy about it." Well...that'll show Putin who is boss! :icon_roll:
The past 24-36 hours have been very good to Ukraine. They have won battles, retook ground, in 5 different locations, while the Russians had no successes. The 5th Motorized Brigade has enjoyed tremendous success in particular. They found practically empty trenches, held by quickly surrendering Russians, and drove through on a 4-mile-wide front for over 7 miles, about 28 square miles. Along the way they liberated three farming communities and one small town.
And, this biggie! the Azov Corps, specifically the 24th Assault Brigade, crushed Russian resistance in the "neck" of the former "rabbit ears" salient and cut the only road suitable for supporting convoys. If the Ukrans can hold it this means about 3,000 Russians are now cutoff from resupply and reinforcements. As of this morning the Russians have made no effort to try to retake the area and reopen the road for their use. It is expected they will amass troops and give it try.
Finally, further up north, in the Lyman region, Ukrainian troops have surrounded and isolated the Russian-held town of Mynern. Two Russians, using their cell phones, sent out a facetime video pleading for help, else, they say, they will be forced to surrender. Then one of their commanders responded, ordering them to fight on else they will be shot as traitors.
Ukraine gave the EU one more warning last week to stop purchasing Putin's O&G or they would be compelled to take actions. After hearing crickets from the EU, Ukraine struck the large, important O&G (LNG) facility, at Luga, south of St. Petersburg. This port services about 65% of the O&G being bought by Europe. Well, it was hammered, and fires are raging. Earlier this week Ukraine utterly destroyed an oil pipeline switching/pumping station at Uredach. This effectively stops all movement of oil via pipelines in northwest Russia.
The British have taken the lead on identifying and tracking Putin's shadow fleet. According to a report from the Brits, Putin has 1,100 ghost oil tankers and another 900 ghost supply/cargo vessels. They tracked one of Putin's shadow fleet oil tankers, documented as it changed its transponder ID three separate times as it traveled from the Baltic Sea, through the English Channel, into the Atlantic where it met a tanker flagged under Malaysia. The oil was pumped to the Malaysian oil tanker and then the Brits tracked it to Greece where the oil was sold to a Greek oil company. This Greek oil refinery then sells gasoline, diesel, and other lubricants to Italy, Germany and a couple other European nations. Hypocrites.
This occurred back in June in the Pokrovsk area; the video has just been released. But it still points out the difference between western armor and Russian crap.
A column of Russian armor is approaching a farming village, just a few miles northeast of Pokrovsk. This was during the big Russian buildup designed to capture the key city of Pokrovsk, the battle continuing for it today. An advanced scout team of Ukrainians are in the village, about 12 soldiers. They radio the approach of a large Russian column, they had no idea just how large it was. They soon learn though when a Ukran recon drone videos the column and relays the information. It was 30 armored vehicles, including 8 Russian T-90M tanks, their very best. There were also several T-80s and a few T-72s. In addition were 16 Russian APCs and IFVs. Accompanying this armor in makeshift "armored" trucks (civilian trucks fitted with some type of armor plating) was an entire battalion of Russian infantry, 500+ soldiers. There were another 80 infantry in the APCs and IFVs. The 12 Ukrainians lingered too long and were soon cutoff as the lead vehicles of the Russian column passed their hidden position. Some attack drones were sent in by the Ukrainians which halted the column, but did nothing to help the 12 soldiers trapped behind enemy lines now. Acting on their own initiative three Ukrainian tank crews decided to help. This was two Leopard II tanks and one Abrams tank. The Leopards approached from the northwest across open fields and attacked the middle and rear of the Russian column. The lone Abrams tank approached from the south toward the head of the column. In about an hour of combat the Russians lost all 14 tanks and 10 of the other armored vehicles, the trucks were abandoned and later destroyed by drones, and the Russian battalion quickly gave up the fight and retreated on foot, attacked by grenade-dropping drones. At one point the lone Abrams tank found itself in a very precarious position. It entered the village to provide covering fire for the 12 trapped soldiers who retreated safely back to Ukrainian lines. But the Abrams was soon cutoff by the maneuvering Russian armor. Realizing they had no choice but to fight it out, and expecting to die for their efforts, the brave Ukrainian crew decided to charge. In the matter of mere minutes, the Abrams on a parallel road to six Russian tanks (4 T-90s, 2 T-72s), attacked with its main gun firing armored-piercing rounds. All six Russian tanks exploded in fireballs and two IFVs also were destroyed. Seeing an opportunity to escape this trap and not wishing to press their luck, the Abrams tank crashed through a barn and across an open field safely back to the Ukranian lines. A Ukran recon drone recorded the whole massacre.
All three Ukranian tanks survived the fight, with one of the Leopards sustaining damage from a Russian drone strike as it retired from the scene. No injuries and the tank was repaired. All three tanks had been hit during the battle with the Russian shells bouncing off the armor. In the after-battle scene, the Ukran tank crews seen drinking adult beverages and celebrating, one of the mechanics pointed to marks, scrapes on the Abrams tank where Russian shells had hit it. He gave a thumbs up and said in his best English, "we love the American tank!"
Russians advance toward Kupanisky (sp? have to check that spelling). This is one of the fortress cities holding the line in Donetsk. It's a small group of Orcs using motorcycles, ATVs, and one pickup truck carrying supplies. Probably about 20 Russians only. Now the race is on to see who can get reinforcements in there first. This has become the Russian tactics, send in small units, usually "sabotage" troops who then ambush Ukranian troops trying to respond. This incursion occurred north of the city (Kupanisky sp?) along a river bottom. They advanced about 4 miles reaching the outskirts of the city. How they managed it is being investigated by Ukrainian intelligence, but it appears the Russians timed it perfectly, either by design or luck, advancing during a change of Ukrainian defenders. On a map this seized ground is now a long, over 5 miles, and narrow, less than a 1/2 mile, salient. Those Russians have no armor, just the light vehicles, and hand-held weapons. This occurred earlier today.
Kupyansk...is the simple spelling of the city. I'll use this.
A Ukrainian drone struck an important water pump building at Russia's Kursk nuclear power plant. This caused the reactor to be taken offline for several hours while an emergency pump was brought in. There are no reported injuries, no radiation leaks, and the plant is fully operational again. Now...the blame game. Ukraine has made no official statements, only some of their bloggers saying the drone was not targeted at the nuke plant but was destined for the nearby army barracks, when it was struck by an anti-drone rocket and it crashed into the nuclear power plant facilities. But the Kremlin is blaming Ukraine, accusing them of a "war crime." Others are saying there was no drone(s) operating in the area and the fire at the pumping building is nothing but a "false flag," a hoax conducted by the Russians, which they have already done once at this very same nuclear plant. What we do know is there was a fire, of some kind, inside the plant campus, not in either of the reactor towers.
As the Russians tried this stunt once already, when Ukraine created the Kursk salient, I think it is nothing but a repeat attempt to turn world opinion against Ukraine.
The "Murder Birds"
Early on when Ukraine began perfecting FPV drones they said it was "murder" since they were so effective, and the Russians were helpless against them. At times it does appear that way. By now thousands of Russians killed cowering in a trench, hiding behind a tree in a vain attempt to avoid being killed. The drones were dubbed "murder birds." Well, there is an elite unit of drone operators who have adopted that name for themselves, they call their unit "The Murder Birds." They are NOT officially part of the Ukrainian army but rather independent contractors working under a contract to provide "services." And, here's the real kicker, the oldest member of this group is all of 23. The youngest is now 19...and her story is remarkable.
Known as "Debbie" and yes, some have made the statement "Debbie does Donbas" only not in the way that one did Dallas. Her entire family was murdered by the invading Russians back in early 2022, she was only 16. She escaped her town with the help of neighbors. Immediately she swore to get revenge on the Orcs. She joined a group of young "gamer" Ukrainians who began mastering drone operation in a garage. Today the "Murder Birds" are considered one of the elite drone units, called on to undertake some of the most challenging missions. Watched a video documentary on them and their knowledge and skills are second to none. In one mission they tracked Russian drones which were wreaking havoc with Ukranian artillery batteries. It took several days but they finally pinpointed the location of the Russian drone base, housed in a wrecked school building over 50 miles behind Russian lines. The building had been carefully protected, but in a way not to attract attention. Sure enough, for weeks Ukran recon drones had videoed that school building searching for the Russian drone base, but it appeared to be abandoned. One of the "Murder Birds" got a hunch that was the base, so he flew a recon drone through an open window and landed the drone on a rafter, videoing the activity inside. Within a couple of hours the "Murder Birds" had six kamikaze drones on their way. The video documentary recorded the attack in real time, focusing on Debbie at the controls of one of the drones. From their location the school building was over 70 miles away, yet all 6 drones arrived on target and one by one entered via that opened window. On command all six were sent to attack the Russians inside. The building also was a warehouse of Russian drones with tons of explosives. Debbie, saw through the camera the stockpiled drones and explosives and struck it...kaboom! A Ukran recon drone hovering nearby recorded the explosion, but it was knocked out of the sky by the force of the explosion. Fortunately, the Murder Birds had a second recon drone about 1/2 mile away which survived the explosion and recorded the rest of the event. Later, based on Russian reports, they learned that 40 Russian drone operators had been terminated and all those drones and tracking equipment destroyed.
Back to the real-time video, Debbie takes off her viewing goggles, which is how they guide the drones using the camera, pushes back in her chair. Around her the Ukrans are high-fiving and celebrating. She sits quietly...crying. She mutters, "damn bastards...I do this to revenge my family." It is very personal for most Ukrainians. Later, her composure regained, she speaks with the documentary crew. She is now 19, an orphan, and not sure what the future holds for her. She has a future in drone operation for sure as a career. But, in the bigger picture, she has no clue what her life will be like when the war is over. This is the reality Ukrainians are having to deal with.
Iran said Ukraine would not be so bold as to attack one of their flagged ships, a cargo vessel, in this case carrying parts for the Shahed drones. The ship left an Iranian port and headed for a Russian port on the Caspian Sea. The Iranians even had a network TV cover the departure of the ship, due to arrive in the Russian port in broad daylight so Russian TV could cover it and to show the world they did fear a Ukrainian attack. That ship is presently listing and will sink in a matter of hours...after being struck by Ukrainian long-range drones. No injuries reported among the crew and the Russians are using tugs and barges to offload as much of the cargo (drone spare parts) as possible, but the ship itself is doomed. And it's sinking in relatively shallow water inside of the port will now block larger vessels accessing the port, until the wreckage can be cleared away.
Ukrainian sources say it was not a "perfect" mission as they had hoped to utterly destroy the ship and its cargo. But it does demonstrate Ukraine has NO FEAR of Iran and will target their vessels again and again if bringing military-related cargo to Russia. The Ukrainians monitor world-wide TV and followed the progress of the ship as it crossed the Caspian Sea.
In related news, the Ukrans also struck one of the larger Shahed launch bases, on the eastern shore of the Azov Sea, and also struck the huge Shahed assembly plant/storage facility at Yaluga. A warehouse containing 200 ready-to-go Shahed drones was destroyed and all the drones lost to the raging fire. Cha ching!
The Trump administration has reinstated the Biden administration's edict of forbidding Ukraine using any weapons, with US parts, in attacks against Russia's O&G infrastructure. The Pentagon has also stopped sharing satellite intelligence with Ukraine of Russian movements inside of Russia. It is reported the Pentagon is still cooperating sharing intelligence of Russian troop movements inside of Ukraine itself. But, at this point, that is of little help or consequence as Ukrainian recon drones have their own territory covered and they know what the Russians are doing.
Trump/the US is on the wrong side of history on this one. Nobody's perfect...