Confirmed, a US-built Patriot Missile shot down a Russian hypersonic missile. This is awesome news and proves the Russian, and the Chicoms' too, so-called "super weapons" can be dealt with.
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Confirmed, a US-built Patriot Missile shot down a Russian hypersonic missile. This is awesome news and proves the Russian, and the Chicoms' too, so-called "super weapons" can be dealt with.
Video from a unit in the Azov Brigade, whose commander speaks very good English. They showed off their new uniforms that bears a patch saying, "No Mercy." One soldier was wearing running shoes instead of combat boots, when asked why, he said, the Russians are retreating so fast we need such shoes to catch them. These Ukrans are in high spirits, sporting brand new stuff, including the latest weapons.
Kick some ass!
Latest report...
The Russkies are capturing empty buildings in The Citadel...of course the buildings can't put up much of a fight :icon_roll:...it has settled into a sniper's fight in The Citadel. The Putin propagandists celebrate every time another empty building is "captured." Meanwhile the real battle continues on both flanks of Bakhmut. As of this morning the lines have stabilized after the Ukrans achieved successes advancing 2 km in the south, and about 1 km in the north. Most importantly the Ukrans have retaken the southern highway in the vicinity of the city which is allowing them to use it to move supplies, reinforcements, and to ferry out the wounded.
Prigozhin got the ammo and supplies he demanded and as a result the Wagners are back in the fight. They are concentrated in the northern sector of Bakhmut and are putting up more resistance than the regular Russian army is in the south. Basically, there has been very little movement in the past 36 hours since the Ukrans launched their counter-punch.
Just in...
the Ukrans fired a Storm Shadow missile (a British-built cruise missile) and destroyed a key Russian supply depot and tank repair plant at Luansk, a Russian city 60 km inside of Russia. And, they also used an American-built decoy missile, one that is picked up on radar as an American jet fighter. We have not sold/given these to the Ukrans but have sold some to Great Britian, so it appears the Brits provided it to the Ukrans. Western military pundits have identified 50 key targets inside of Russia that the Ukrans need to destroy to win ultimate victory. The facility in Luansk was one of those. The Brits have announced they plan to provide the Ukrans with 80 of the Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
A Putin opposition leader who has been very out-spoken about the war was on a Russian TV network in a debate. The hostess of the show is a Russian, pro-Putin babe who tried to pull her best Kaitlan Collins impression by continually interrupting the opposition leader, but ultimately his relentless presentation of facts quieted her. In the end she was expressing fear for the safety of Russians and Russia itself. She made the point the Storm Shadow missiles have a range of 1,000 km and she started naming all the Russian cities that could be hit. Reality is slowly sinking in for Russians. They need to get rid of Putin.
The Azov Brigade has advanced another km south of Bakhmut, routing a Russian defensive position.
There is a funny video clip, shot by a Ukran drone of three truckloads of Russian soldiers. The 3 trucks are seen driving along the edge of an open field, along a tree line, then stopping. The soldiers, about 12 per truck, leap out and enter the woods which covers another open field. Ukran artillery shells start hitting...the drone was being used to target the Russians...the bursts are drawing closer as the artillery is finding the range. The drivers of the trucks panic and drive off to save themselves. Seconds later the 30+ Russian soldiers emerge from the woods chasing the retreating trucks. You can see by their arm motions they are yelling at the drivers to stop and not abandon them. But the trucks kept going. Eventually the 30+ Russians gather together and start walking, then running as Ukran artillery starts hitting near them. They are the Keystone Cops!
There is also some serious, graphic video, shot by bodycams on Ukran soldiers. One shows two Russians abandon their posts at the end of a trench. They ran off disappearing in some woods. This left the trench unguarded and about a dozen Russians were in a dugout, a cave supported by wood beams, eating lunch. The Ukrans sneak up and toss grenades into the cave, followed by a Ukranian soldier entering with a machinegun finishing off the wounded. The Ukrans then show about dozen Russian helmets as they stand around and laugh, one Ukran soldier kicks a helmet sending it flying, then shrugs and smiles for the camera. It is brutal, but the Russians are evil invaders and should not expect any quarter be given.
The Deputy Secretary General of NATO was asked about Ukraine's admission into NATO and a timetable for it. He could not give details, of course, but did say something profound, "Ukraine deserves a place in a civilized Europe, among other democracies, and they have earned it." By saying that he clearly casts Putin's Russia as being uncivilized.
Sweden is set to join NATO soon as well. Finland officially joined NATO last month, and that is a huge blow to Putin. The Finns are tough, no-nonsense fighters, and have a modern, well-trained military. Not to mention the geography of Finland makes it next to impossible to invade by force.
The good Russian people need to rise up and remove Putin from office, restore their country, and rejoin the civilized world. Political pundits are predicting Turkish voters are about to oust Erdogan in favor of more west-friendly leader. I pray that happens. Turkey is sitting smack in the middle of a key part of the world, and it would be huge for Turkey to become, again, a better ally. Erdogan has been all over the map, sometimes doing something beneficial to the US's and western interests, and sometimes going over the edge.
Latest..
Ukrans gain more ground on the northern flank of Bakhmut, as the vaunted Wagner Group units broke and ran under heavy pressure. On the northern front the Ukrainian 1st Assault Brigade, nicknamed the "Adam Brigade," is enjoying success, and has occupied a ridge about a 1/2 mile north of the city. One commenter on the blog says the name "Adam" was given because this brigade was the first to be rebuilt, rearmed, and reinforced with fresh troops, thus "Adam" in a reference to Adam & Eve, of course.
To the south of Bakhmut the 3rd Assault Brigade, the "Azov Brigade," has reached and is also holding a ridge. They have retaken 3 km of ground in 48 hours that it took the Russians 3 months to capture.
For the first time I saw a video that uses a 3D topographic map and shows the disposition of the opposing forces. The movements, the success and failures of both sides, makes more sense when viewed like this. You can also understand the planned tactics of the Ukrans in their counter-offensive, as they are seeking to retake hills and ridges affording them the advantage of the high ground. It also makes sense to see why the Russkies retreat like they do. They evacuate some high ground and race to the relative safety of the next topographic feature to their rear. There they try to dig in there. The terrain around Bakhmut is very hilly, with some of the hills and ridges as high as 500 feet above the flat farmland prevalent to the region.
Ahem...this is not a good idea, no matter the intention.
A battalion of the Ukran 1st Guard Brigade, fighting to the south of the Azov Brigade, has painted a symbol on their tanks and vehicles. It is the symbol of a Ukrainian unit that fought with the Germans in WW II and participated in the brutal battle for Crimea in 1942, when the Germans seized the peninsula after months of fighting. This was General Mannstein's Southern German Army sent to capture Crimea from the Russians. Entire corps of Russians were wiped out, only about 15,000 out of 400,000 defenders survived when they were able to be picked up by the Russian navy.
Now, I understand if they are doing this to tweak the Russians, but Come on, Man! any reference to the Nazi Germans is not helping with PR. Makes you just shake your head and mutter, "what the f**k!"
Ukrans have complete control of the southern highway in/out of Bakhmut, and have seized a portion of the northern highway as well. The Russians hold a sector of the northern highway further west so now neither side can use it. You may recall about a month ago the Ukrans lost both highways and were relegated to the use of a single road, called the Central Road. Now they are using the southern highway to move troops and supplies.
Meanwhile the Russkies continue their obsessive push on taking Bakhmut, focusing on the central city to the detriment of their flanks. One source says Wagner units now hold about half of The Citadel, as house to house, street to street combat continues. Other than being able to claim some lame "victory" I do not see what Putin hopes to accomplish by committing everything to taking the city, with no strategic value. Ten months of brutal fighting, 150,000 casualties lost by the Russkies, scores of tanks and other equipment...for what?
"All destroyed," is what the Azov Brigade spokesman told reporters when asked what happened to the trapped Russian forces at Ivanivske. Asked again about a breakdown in Russian casualties, KIA, wounded, captured, the spokesman repeated, "All destroyed." He then patted the patch on his uniform which reads "No mercy" and walked away. Sources are saying about 3,000 Russians had been encircled south of Bakhmut in what became the Ivanivske pocket, named for the small farming community that once existed there. Whether all the Russians were killed or not, clearly those forces are gone, wiped out.
Both sides have their "spin masters" so you have to be cognizant of that when watching all the YouTube sources, reading accounts in papers, and reading "official" press releases. But, right now, all the pro-Russian sources are singing the praises of their advances in Bakhmut...yippee! we captured another empty building in The Citadel. Meanwhile Ukrainian forces are gaining ground on both flanks and could, possibly, completely encircle Bakhmut, trapping all the Russkie forces there. But, sources say the Ukrans lack the necessary strength to pull that off and will be happy with the small gains they are making.
Confirmation of Ukran pilots being trained on the F-16 Falcon in the UK. American and British pilots are training the Ukrans in the operation/handling of the F-16. Number of such Ukran pilots being trained has not been revealed. The F-16 will dominate the sky over the battle zone once deployed. The Russians have nothing that can come close to matching the Falcons. This is also the reason the Chicoms will not attempt to invade Taiwan, as the Taiwanese have 160 F-16 Falcons and their pilots are trained and ready.
Reports claim a Russian supply train has been completely destroyed east of the Bakhmut region. Ukran commando units launched a surprise attack on the train, and they claim it was destroyed. It was carrying ammo, supplies, and about 400 Russian soldiers. Pro-Russian sources say the attack was beaten back, that the Ukrans attempted to destroy the train, but succeeded in only destroying the engine and causing the first 10 cars to derail. The Russian soldiers disembarked from the train and drove the Ukran commandos off. Another engine is being sent to get the train moving again. Nope! claim the Ukrans, the Russian soldiers who had been on the train ran away and the commandos planted charges on the ammo cars, destroying it all. Again, gotta filter through the "spin masters." Clearly, a Russian train was attacked as both sides admit to that.
Russian propaganda...
latest releases, Bakhmut will fall today! This makes the 10th straight day that was the headline on their YouTube video release. Eventually they will probably be right, as Putin seems hell-bent on capturing the whole city to the neglect of everywhere else.
The Ukrans struck some targets inside of Russia with drones, aimed at supply depots, a police station, and an army base. If there were any civilian casualties it was unintentional, and very few. Putin propagandists proclaim it to be a criminal act...YET, the Russkies have killed many thousands of Ukrainian civilians, including women and children, and last night randomly dropped missiles into Kyiv without caring what they struck. Then a western source, unnamed, said the Ukrans are refraining from using their cruise missiles to strike Moscow, specifically Red Square/Kremlin, out of fear of harming the protestors there. Russia has exploded with protests, anti-war, anti-Putin crowds who have engaged with police in scuffles, have burned police cars and an army staff car. Have thrown rocks, and in one case, a video shows two young men running for their lives, beer cans and rocks pelting them, as they had turned up in support of Putin and the war and the crowd turned on them.
Putin is losing...
...even as he presses forward trying to take Bakhmut. (as of 6PM CDT, the Ukrans are still hanging on).
The Ukrans are still holding parts of Bahkmut. And now one of their more reasonable propagandists is predicting "Bakhmut will fall" by Sunday. But then he got back aboard the delusional train by demonstrating how the Ukrans in Bahkmut will be totally routed as they try to retreat to prepared defenses west of the city. He also says Putin is very cleverly allowing the Wagner Group to do the dirty work in the city, losing hundreds of soldiers, while he prepares his "massive, well-equipped, motivated" regular army of 200,000 soldiers to ward off the Ukran counter-offensive soon to come.Quote:
Originally Posted by dawg80
Not much changed today. The Wagner group occupied a couple of more vacated buildings in Bakhmut, and the Ukrans gained a little ground on the flanks.
The only big story is in dispute with the sides making opposing claims, namely two Russian brigades, about 5,000 soldiers, reportedly surrendered to the Ukrans south of the city, if true, this is a huge news for the Ukrans as it also opens a big chunk of ground. But the Russkies are denying it saying that only a dozen or so soldiers surrendered in a forward trench when they failed to post sentries and they were captured while sleeping.
This is typical of the SPIN both sides put out and it is difficult to get to the real truth.
Fighting has intensified in Marinka, Ukraine, a city along the Dnipro River in the southern sector of Ukraine. This city was captured by the Russians and some pro-Putin local militia in February, 2022 and except for some long-range missile exchanges, it has been very quiet. But now the Ukrans, having gained a foothold east of the Dnipro River have launched attacks against the outer defenses of the city. RUMORS, and that's all they are at this time, are flying from Pro-Ukrainian sources that the garrison commander, a Russian colonel, has sent word to the Ukrans to cease their attacks as they wish to surrender and avoid needless bloodshed. If true, this is awesome news. But like the release of the surrender of the 5,000 Russians close the Bakhmut, it remains unconfirmed by neutral/outside sources. What is true however, and confirmed, is that combat is occurring near Marinka, for the first time in 15 months.
The fighting between the Ukrans and the Wagner Group has become absolutely brutal as the Ukrans are giving no quarter to the paid mercenaries. They say they will accept the surrender of regular Russian troops as they have been conscripted and forced to fight, but the Wagners are paid thugs, who themselves have not practiced restraint with Ukran POWs and Ukranian citizens. The one surrendered Wagner soldier who saw a 5 yr old girl murdered, along with dozens of other women, children, and elderly has been shown on Ukrainian TV many times, a reminder about who the evil enemy is.
Two news sources with YouTube channels are kanal13 and The Sun, if you can stomach the images and the brutality shown, you can see for yourself as the Ukrans always have at least one soldier with a bodycam documenting the combat. Recently, yesterday I believe, the Ukrans overran a Wagner trench line north of Bahkmut where about 15 thugs were dug in a woods line. You can hear the Ukrans shouting to each other, "kill them all, do not let any escape, do not take prisoners." The Sun is a British news service and their imbedded reporters speak enough of the language to translate what is being said into English.
Meanwhile as of this moment, the Ukrans are still clinging to a small portion of Bakhmut. Last night a pro-Russian source gleefully reported that all of the city has been captured, but this morning that same source reporting combat still going on there.
Warthog is another good YouTube source, here's an example. In this one there is some brand new news, the arrest of the engineers who built the failed Russian hypersonic missiles, another excerpt from the captured Wagner soldier, this is about a month old, some video of captured Russian soldiers, one says to a Ukran soldier, "brother, I have not eaten in four days..." the Ukran quickly cut him off, "I am not your brother!" Some Russian network propaganda, and some idiot in the Russian parliament suggesting training dogs to be used to trip mines to save the lives of soldiers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKH_Rr444WA