Russia

[dawg80]

Learn something new every day...

Belgorod and that whole region around it, about 15 towns/villages, is historic Ukrainian land. Those people consider themselves part of Ukraine, not Russia.

Further reports cast doubt on whether that is actually Ukran armor at Belgorod, but rather make-shift armor provided by Putin to the pro-separatists in Donbas and captured by the anti-Putin forces. One video clearly shows a makeshift vehicle....a 106mm gun mounted atop the chassis of an old T-55 tank. This is the kind of equipment Putin supplied the militias in Donbas.

And now Putin's propagandists, having recovered from their shock and awe, are calling the FRL and RVC "terrorist" organizations. They claimed on their morning reports that the situation was under control, but then the regional governor of the Belgorod area went on live TV and painted a different picture. Fighting is continuing in the region.

Western sources say the Russians were able to secure and remove the nukes from the air base. The reports say the nukes are not in a state of readiness and would require two more "parts" be inserted to make them function. There were 40 warheads at this base, according to intelligence reports, all tactical nukes designed for battlefield deployment.

In case you didn't know, Ukraine has no nukes at all, as obummer made them give them up as part of the so-called "peace" settlement after the 2014 Crimea invasion. That was part of the appeasement plan to keep Putin from trying to invade more of Ukraine in 2014. Well, we see how that has worked out, eh.

[dawg80]

Russian propagandists (their lamestream media) is really having to reach to spin the latest setbacks.

They are making a big deal over the apparent capture of an "American-built" APC used by the anti-Putin forces fighting at Belgorod. The vehicle was hit in the tracks and disabled so the good guys abandoned it. Later Russian troops, which is mostly "border guards" what we would term as National Guard troops, came upon the vehicle and "captured it." Now the Putin media is focusing on this as if it's some big story or something. Good thing they didn't capture a Ford or Chevy pickup truck, wow! They are actually saying this shows how superior Russians are to Americans and American-built military equipment. Really? The APC is over 40 years old and appears to have been part of the Ukrainian army, held in surplus. When the Putin thugs invaded they overran some Ukran army depots/storage. This APC was put back into service for the use of the pro-separatists in Donbas, which they promptly lost to the anti-Putin Ukranian militias who have been using it for about a year now.

But now, images of Russian border guards all proudly standing by the disabled vehicle are being flashed on the Putin propaganda TV networks and hailed as some great victory. And you think CNN, MSNBC, et al are bad , this is really pathetic!

[dawg80]

Russian propagandists (their lamestream media) is really having to reach to spin the latest setbacks.

They are making a big deal over the apparent capture of an "American-built" APC used by the anti-Putin forces fighting at Belgorod. The vehicle was hit in the tracks and disabled so the good guys abandoned it. Later Russian troops, which is mostly "border guards" what we would term as National Guard troops, came upon the vehicle and "captured it." Now the Putin media is focusing on this as if it's some big story or something. Good thing they didn't capture a Ford or Chevy pickup truck, wow! They are actually saying this shows how superior Russians are to Americans and American-built military equipment. Really? The APC is over 40 years old and appears to have been part of the Ukrainian army, held in surplus. When the Putin thugs invaded they overran some Ukran army depots/storage. This APC was put back into service for the use of the pro-separatists in Donbas, which they promptly lost to the anti-Putin Ukranian militias who have been using it for about a year now.

But now, images of Russian border guards all proudly standing by the disabled vehicle are being flashed on the Putin propaganda TV networks and hailed as some great victory. And you think CNN, MSNBC, et al are bad , this is really pathetic!

Ya gotta love it!

In an obvious mocking of the Putin media, the anti-Putin militias published a video of them standing by a captured Russian vehicle at Belgorod. They posed themselves the exact way the Russian border guards had and made fun of all the commotion made about it. This was put out on a social media site and picked up by a YouTuber.

[dawg80]

The anti-Putin forces are still holding a large portion of the Belgorod region. The Russians have gotten so desperate they have un-retired a general who is some kind of hero from wars past, although I am not sure which wars that might be. The fellow is 75 years old and has arrived at Belgorod with a reserve "division" according to the pro-Putin TV networks. Comical video of the general and this vaunted division was shown and, well...in what is obviously a non-combat zone, video of the old general walking down the middle of a street with about 20 soldiers darting in and out of cover along a row of houses is shown. The old general bravely stands in the open shouting orders, "forward! advance!" A 1960's APC rumbles up the street behind them. There is no fighting, no signs of fighting, not even the distant sounds of combat. A YouTuber reviewing the video commented he's not sure that is even Belgorod as all Russian towns look pretty much the same as they were rebuilt during the Soviet era with limited imagination.

Western sources say the Russians lack sufficient reserves to mount any kind of substantial counter-attack at Belgorod. Most of the fighting on the Russian side is being done by the Border Guards (National Guard) and police units, such as a SWAT team.

In other news, the Russians announced the formation of a new "elite" aviation corps, designed to combat the Ukrans with their F-16s. A retired Australian air force brigadier general was on Sky News offering analysis of this. He scoffed at the notion of an "elite" Russian corps. By their own admission the bulk of this new corps will be composed of the old SU-24 fighter-bomber, a 1960's Soviet era jet that has been mothballed for decades. There will be a squadron of later model SU-35 jets in the mix, but the Aussie pointed out the Russians have put out an appeal for former pilots, retired, to volunteer to come fly these planes. He said if the Ukran pilots are properly trained and can handle the modern F-16 Falcons, as experienced American and other allies' pilots could, they will make short-work of the SU-24s. It'll be a slaughter, he said. The key is the training of the Ukran pilots, and that will take some time.

Of course the propaganda continues. Pro-Putin YouTubers shamelessly put out lies. One claims the Russians have some new, magical electronics system that has shot down 20,000 Ukran drones just this month! Funny thing is, a neutral YouTuber showed Ukran drone footage of a Russian anti-drone missile battery being attacked by DRONES! Ooops!

[dawg80]

Speaking of drones! This time the marine drones. Very sketchy information thus far, but apparently the Ukrans launched 3 boat drones, small crafts packed with explosives, in an attempt to attack the Russian spy ship the Ivan Khurs. The Ivan Khurs was 40 miles out in the Black Sea when the 3 drones were launched from Odessa. There is video released by the Russians showing a Russian ship firing on an advancing marine drone hit by machinegun fire and exploding, blown to pieces. Not clear if it was the Ivan Khurs, which is lightly armed with six 14.5mm machineguns and four 75mm rapid fire cannons, or if it was a Russian gunboat. Whatever the case, only one marine drone was destroyed, and no indication what happened to the other two.

Two YouTube channels have shown the footage supplied by the Russians, which one commented: you can believe anything the Russians supply like you can footage of Bigfoot. But taken at face value, perhaps the Ukrans did launch a long-range attack on the spy ship, the Ivan Khurs. The Russians are really pissed at the Turks for it was they who alerted the Ukrans of the route of the Ivan Khurs, following it with a drone and reporting its coordinates, direction, and speed.

The Ivan Khurs is equipped with surveillance equipment to intercept messages/communication and to track what satellites an enemy might be using for jamming purposes.

[dawg80]

The Wagner Group has begun withdrawing from Bakhmut. No indication they are heading to Sudan, as that possibility seems to have faded.

The FRL and RVC groups are playing "catch us if you can" by moving quickly around the Belgorod region. The Russian propagandists claimed they drove the two anti-Putin groups out of Belgorod proper, but the truth is they left on their own, and released video of some of them standing in front of a post office in a town east of Belgorod. "We are here," the two soldiers say, "but won't be by the time you get here." There has been some exchanges of gunfire but few casualties thus far. It is not clear how many soldiers these groups have, but so far, based on expert analysis, it appears they number about 400 troops. At least, that is all that can be confirmed.

The Ukrans are being coy about their involvement in this Belgorod raid. One source surmises they saw an opportunity to piggyback on this insurgency by the FRL/RVC and use the distraction to try to capture some nukes at the nearby air base. NATO officials have admonished the Ukrainians for trying to escalate the conflict by adding nukes into the mix. The Ukran Ministry of Defense responded, "Who, us?" They have neither denied nor confirmed the commando raid. What is clear is they didn't get close to pulling it off. The air base is 5 miles northeast of Belgorod and the nuke storage facility is separate, another 3 miles beyond the air base. When alerted to the attack at Belgorod the Russians immediately began removing the warheads. There are still photos of the warheads being loaded on trucks and speeding away. It's interesting the Russians would react this way, they must have been tipped off or strongly suspected that was the intent of insurgency near Belgorod and that Ukran units were involved.

[dawg80]

Speaking of drones! This time the marine drones. Very sketchy information thus far, but apparently the Ukrans launched 3 boat drones, small crafts packed with explosives, in an attempt to attack the Russian spy ship the Ivan Khurs. The Ivan Khurs was 40 miles out in the Black Sea when the 3 drones were launched from Odessa. There is video released by the Russians showing a Russian ship firing on an advancing marine drone hit by machinegun fire and exploding, blown to pieces. Not clear if it was the Ivan Khurs, which is lightly armed with six 14.5mm machineguns and four 75mm rapid fire cannons, or if it was a Russian gunboat. Whatever the case, only one marine drone was destroyed, and no indication what happened to the other two.

Two YouTube channels have shown the footage supplied by the Russians, which one commented: you can believe anything the Russians supply like you can footage of Bigfoot. But taken at face value, perhaps the Ukrans did launch a long-range attack on the spy ship, the Ivan Khurs. The Russians are really pissed at the Turks for it was they who alerted the Ukrans of the route of the Ivan Khurs, following it with a drone and reporting its coordinates, direction, and speed.

The Ivan Khurs is equipped with surveillance equipment to intercept messages/communication and to track what satellites an enemy might be using for jamming purposes.

One of the marine drones did hit the Ivan Khurs. Clear video of an impact on the port side, back by the stern. No information on damage, but if the drone exploded as designed there has to be substantial damage to the ship. Naturally the Russians are doing as they always do, they are lying about the incident. One YouTuber remarked it will become obvious soon when satellite imagery is released and studied. Is the Ivan Khurs still afloat? Has it been disabled and now needs the services of tugboats? Will it show up on satellite pics in dry dock back in port? They can only lie so much and try to cover up some things, but eventually the truth will come out.

[dawg80]

Russia has moved a bunch of tactical nukes to Belarus. Pundits surmise these are the warheads removed from Belgorod and are now under the charge of Belarus for "safe keeping."

[dawg80]

Lots of sparring along the main front in Donbas, but neither side is gaining any kind of advantage. Ukrans are probing for weaknesses in the Russian defenses.

In Russia itself anti-Putin forces are growing in numbers and boldness and there are no less than 40 reported attacks on infrastructure: railroads, highways/bridges, the Russian military needs to move troops and supplies. One video was a live network TV broadcast with a Russian colonel and an official, probably some thug of the Communist Party, and a reporter from a propaganda network, they were saying the public should remain calm for the situation is under control....then boom! a military truck explodes, followed by a series of explosions in other nearby areas, like on the other streets. The colonel and the commie official dove under a truck. Yep, all is well

[dawg80]

Video released by the Ukrans of their military leader, General-in-Chief Zaluzhnyi, giving a pep talk to some soldiers in ranks, but it was sent out to all Ukrans units everywhere. He offers words of encouragement, like a football coach in a pregame speech, vows to drive out the Russian invaders, then asks for everyone to join him in prayer concluding with the Lord's Prayer. By contrast the Russians have some lunatic "priest" as they refer to him advocating genocide of the Ukrainian people. He says "we must exterminate them, every man, woman, and child, else there will always be the risk of retaliation." Hmmm....I know which side I am on.

Russian political leaders have a weekly debate...this would be like Repubs and democraps leaders, Schumer, McConnell, McCarthy, etc...having a weekly, telecast debate on the issues, with a moderator. On this week's debate one Russian hardliner advocated for immediately using nukes, attack England with Poseiden missiles, these are Russia's most powerful nukes, hydrogen bomb warheads. He also said to use them against all Russia's enemies, such as Germany and any and all nations supplying Ukraine. Another member of this panel says..

"The Americans will not tolerate us using nukes."
The hardliner replies, "The Americans will do nothing as long as Biden is their leader"
"Biden will not always be their leader."
Hardliner, "Exactly! that is why we need to strike now."

Then opposition leaders on the panel spoke up saying the use of nukes would forever separate Russia from Europe, we will never be allowed to coexist peacefully with Europe again. He said the better solution is to vote out Putin and his regime, end the war in Ukraine, and mend relations with Europe and the rest of the world.

[dawg80]

One of the marine drones did hit the Ivan Khurs. Clear video of an impact on the port side, back by the stern. No information on damage, but if the drone exploded as designed there has to be substantial damage to the ship. Naturally the Russians are doing as they always do, they are lying about the incident. One YouTuber remarked it will become obvious soon when satellite imagery is released and studied. Is the Ivan Khurs still afloat? Has it been disabled and now needs the services of tugboats? Will it show up on satellite pics in dry dock back in port? They can only lie so much and try to cover up some things, but eventually the truth will come out.

Update...

satellite photo of the Ivan Khurs back in port at Sevastopol in its regular berthing place. No damage is obvious, but the image was from the angle from the starboard side while the Ukran marine drone struck the port side. So it is possible it did sustain some damage. Directly across the port is Russia's dry docks for making repairs on ships, so if the Ivan Khurs is moved there then we will know it was damaged in the attack. In either case the damage is minor, if there is any at all. One YouTuber surmises the drone failed to detonate when it struck. It malfunctioned. There is video from a Turk drone that caught the attack from a distance of about a mile, from the starboard side. It clearly shows the drone catching up to the Ivan Khurs then a few seconds later there is a huge explosion. But the Ivan Khurs does not rock or appear to be impacted. An explosion of that magnitude into the side of the ship would have caused the ship to visibly be lifted and rocked sideways. So, the best guesses are the drone did hit the ship as the drone's video clearly shows, but it did not detonate on impact, but rather bounced off then exploded at a distance of about 50 yards away. The Russians got lucky.

[dawg80]

Prigozhin is nothing if not honest, much to the chagrin of Putin and his goofy followers.

The leader of the Wagner Group has admitted that he lost 80,000 casualties out of a total of 85,000 soldiers he has had for the duration of the invasion, thus far. About 35,000 of those are wounded that could recover and rejoin the group in the coming weeks/months. The Wagners are depleted, which is the real reason they are withdrawing from the combat zone.

Prigozhin also said he has yet to encounter a single Nazi he/they were told were in Ukraine. It was a big lie, he said, and many Russian soldiers and most of the populace only supported the invasion because of the lie. Looks like it wasn't just the Russians who bought the lie, eh.

[dawg80]

Putin propaganda TV has made the claim that Belgorod is completely under Russian control. Hmmm, someone forgot to tell the anti-Putin forces that. Heavy fighting there today with the good guys gaining the upper hand.

Yesterday two Russian SU-34 fighter-bombers made a run on the air base there, but because they have lousy pilots and still use dumb bombs, they missed. Four bombs hit an open field near a hangar/buildings. The base is under the control of Russians, at least for now. You might recall that Russian heavy bombers struck Belgorod about a month ago, with the official word being it was a mistake...they only missed the intended target by 100 miles.

[dawg80]

Hmmm, strangely all the pro-Putin YouTube channels have grown very quiet in recent days. Not one of them has posted a new video in over 72 hours. The pro-Ukrainian YouTubers are tripping over themselves putting out multiple videos daily. Most of it, however, is older news simply repeated or presented in a different way.

The neutral channels, the ones I lean on for better clarification, have also grown somewhat quiet as there appears not to be much in the way of actual "news." Based on a summation of four of these neutral channels, here's the latest...

The 4th Battalion of the Azov Brigade was moved to the northern flank near Bakhmut to help achieve a break-through in the stalemate in that sector. After initial success by the 4th Btl. taking a low ridge, they were forced to retire in the face of a very heavy Russian counter-attack. Now, apparently that low ridge, once held by the Russians, is now in no-man's land with neither side able to hold it. Most of the fighting and moderate gains by the Ukrans continue to be south of Bakhmut. But not really much to report on.

One observer notes that the fact the Ukrans were able to shift an entire battalion from one flank to the other, while the Russians can't even move troops/supplies miles in the rear without sustaining losses shows who has control of the combat theater. The US-made HIMARS missiles together with advanced drone scouting has made any movement by the Russians deadly. This morning a 10-vehicle Russian convoy was completely obliterated east of Bakhmut. One tank, one APC and eight trucks carrying troops and supplies were wiped out. From the drone footage it does not appear there are any survivors. If there are they are wounded and so far, no other Russians have dared tried to approach the site to render assistance.

Speaking of the HIMARS, in unconfirmed reports the HIMARS missiles were used to attack and either sink or badly damage two Russian ships in the Black Sea. One pro-Ukran channel is claiming two Russian warships, probably frigates, were engaged and sunk. Something did occur but given there has been no independent reports(confirmation) and not even lies of cover-up by the Russkies, I have my doubts about the optimistic report. YES, the HIMARS are capable of delivering hits on ships at sea and would cause substantial damage, but two things: 1) ships at sea tend to be moving targets and even with good drone assistance in targeting, it would be tough to zero in on moving ships, and 2) the Russians have already lost several ships, including a frigate, when they got too close to shore and have learned their lesson. They have kept all their ships far away from Ukran-held territory. But, we shall see,

Oh, one thing is certain: PUTIN IS LOSING!

[dawg80]

Commander of a unit in the anti-Putin freedom fighters was interviewed about their operations. He said they can come and go across the border with no trouble. Says there is only rusted barbwire fences, broken and with gaps and all the outposts were abandoned by the Home Guard assigned to man them. Heck! this fellow should visit our southern border if wants to see a porous one!

Also shown was the artillery commander of the 3rd Assault Brigade, the Azov Brigade, and he demonstrated how they are able to be so accurate. Using an app on cell phones connected to the drones they get accurate coordinates of targets and can view it all live via the camera on the drones. One of his gunners showed how it works...says, look here, there's a Russian truck parked by those trees, watch this...takes just about 30 seconds for the drone to hover and relay the data, then the gun, a 155mm Howitzer, fires. Takes the shell about 15 seconds to travel the distance, then boom! no more truck. The gunner laughs, says "Easy."

The Azov soldiers call the Russians "Orcs" after the bad guys in Lord of the Rings. They are just Orcs, they say, made for killing.