Any Ukrainian riders?

[Freeforester]

Some consequences of the ‘ambition’ of those seeking a protracted conflict:

 

[Paul A]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/26/russia-ukraine-war-news-putin-live-updates/#link-SLTJBKXUJVCTZLHRALQYWNQUFE

By Ellen Francis 5:33 a.m.

 

Poland sends tanks to Ukraine, prime minister says

Poland is sending tanks to Ukraine, according to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, as Kyiv appeals to allies for heavy weaponry to fend off Russian forces.

Morawiecki confirmed the move after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that his country could help “backfill” as Warsaw supplies Ukraine with tanks.

In an interview Monday with Polish channel Polsat News, Morawiecki declined to elaborate, including on the number of tanks Poland could send across the border.

 

Western governments including the United States have said they are delivering heavy weaponry such as howitzers to strengthen Ukraine’s military as Russia intensifies its assault in the east.

“We’re looking at sending tanks to Poland to help them as they send some of their T-72s to Ukraine,” Johnson told a news conference last week, referring to Soviet-era tanks.

[Paul A]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/04/25/russia-ukraine-east-ground-battle/

By Karen DeYoung

Today at 6:04 p.m. EDT

 

 

Looming ground battle is crucial phase in Ukraine, U.S. officials say

West speeding weapons to prepare Kyiv for long-distance conflict in the eastern part of the country.

 

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — U.S. military officials assess that a crucial, and perhaps decisive, phase of the Ukraine war is shaping up in the eastern part of the country, where Russian troops may surround Ukrainian forces in hopes of pummeling them in an epic, long-distance ground battle reminiscent of the last century.

 

New U.S. shipments of heavy artillery and counter-artillery radar, tactical drones, armored vehicles and other equipment are being rushed to Ukraine before tens of thousands of troops, amounting to up to half of the Ukrainian army, are caught in what is known as a “double envelopment” maneuver that would bring them under simultaneous attack from two sides.

The Ukrainians are located in a north-south crescent between deep Russian lines in the southeastern Donbas region, and a potential pincer movement to their west.

 

Russian success in the southern port city of Mariupol, where its forces have been battling Ukrainian resistance for weeks, would free up thousands of Moscow’s troops to head north and potentially meet up with additional Russian forces heading south from the area around Kharkiv, in the country’s northeast.

 

It is anticipated that the battle will be fought at a distance.

The Russians are using less armor than previously, without the blitzes that characterized some of their earlier forays into Ukraine, and returning to their more traditional doctrine of using artillery and other long-range fire.

 

The $800 million package of armaments announced by the Biden administration last week includes 72 155mm howitzers, whose range, under certain circumstances, is triple that of the Soviet-era 152mm artillery currently in the Ukrainian arsenal.

Trained artillery operators have been brought out of Ukraine in recent weeks to learn how to use the more advanced weapons, in classes reduced from the normal two weeks to an average of six days, U.S. military officials said.

 

The howitzers come with trucks to tow them and 144,000 artillery rounds.

The package also includes 10 AN/TPQ-36 counter-artillery radars, which have the ability to detect and track incoming artillery and rocket fire to counterattack it at its point of origin.

 

The United States is also sending at least 121 Phoenix Ghost tactical unmanned aerial systems, armed drones that have both reconnaissance and attack capabilities.

The newly developed aircraft also carry a greater weapons payload, and can fly farther, than the additional Switchblade drone attack systems that are also in the package.

 

Edited April 26, 2022 by Paul A
map

[Paul A]

[Paul A]

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3467802-germany-to-send-gepard-antiaircraft-tanks-to-ukraine.html

Tuesday, 26 April 2022

Germany to send Gepard anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine

The German federal government has agreed to allow the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine.

The Federal Ministry of Defence wrote this on Twitter, Ukrinform reports.

 

“Germany will send Gepard anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine," the statement says.

Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht announced this during a meeting of the military departments of the partner countries on assistance to Ukraine, which is being held at Ramstein Air Base in western Germany.

 

In addition, it became known that Germany would provide Ukrainian troops with training for the PzH 2000, a self-propelled, rapid-fire artillery system, which the Netherlands is sending to Ukraine.

 

Gepard anti-aircraft tank

 

PzH 2000

[Paul A]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/26/russia-cuts-gas-bulgaria-poland-gazprom/

Updated today at 3:44 a.m. EDT

 

Russia cuts off gas to Poland, Bulgaria, stoking tensions with E.U. over Ukraine

Russia’s state-controlled gas company, Gazprom, said Wednesday it had shut off the supply of natural gas to Poland and Bulgaria, a move that marks a significant escalation in the economic tension between Moscow and the West over the war in Ukraine.

 

Gazprom said in a statement Wednesday that it had shut off the gas supply to Poland’s PGNiG gas company and Bulgaria’s Bulgargaz because they had not complied with the mandate to pay in Russian currency.

The suspension would persist from Wednesday “until the payments are made” in rubles, Gazprom said.

 

The European Union is heavily reliant on Russian natural gas, which heats homes, cooks meals and generates electricity in most of the bloc’s 27 member states.

Officials and experts have long worried that the European Union is too dependent on Moscow and have warned that the relationship could be weaponized.

The two countries targeted Tuesday are especially vulnerable: Poland gets more than 45 percent of its natural gas from Russia and Bulgaria more than 70 percent, according to E.U. data.

 

“There will be no shortage of gas in Polish homes,” Poland’s climate minister, Anna Moskwa, said on Twitter.

Bulgaria’s government also said that it had secured alternate gas supplies and that there would be no domestic restrictions on consumption.

[Paul A]

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-society/3468523-three-in-four-americans-back-arms-supplies-to-ukraine.html

Wednesday, 27 April 2022

Three in four Americans back arms supplies to Ukraine

Seventy-three percent of Americans support U.S. efforts to supply Ukraine with weapons, the highest level of support since Russia started the large-scale aggression against Ukraine in February.

The poll was conducted by Reuters and Ipsos multinational research and consulting company, Ukrinform reports.

 

“Seventy-three percent of Americans support U.S. efforts to supply Ukraine with weapons, the highest level of support since Russia invaded its neighbor in February, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Tuesday,” Reuters informs.

 

A previous Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted in late March before global outrage erupted over the discovery of slain civilians north of Kyiv, found that 68% of respondents backed shipping arms to Ukraine.

[Paul A]

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3468501-ukraines-armed-forces-strike-russian-positions-on-zmiiny-island-hitting-command-post.html

Wednesday, 27 April 2022

Ukraine’s Armed Forces strike Russian positions on Zmiiny Island, hitting command post

The Armed Forces of Ukraine struck the enemy positions on Zmiiny Island, hitting a command post and destroying Strela-10 surface-to-air missile system.

 

'In the Black Sea operational zone, our forces inflicted damage on enemy positions on Zmiiny Island. A command post was hit, Strela-10 surface-to-air missile system was destroyed. The losses of ruscists are being clarified," the Operational Command "South" posted on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

Meanwhile, the naval group of the enemy fleet was reformatted and got smaller.

___________________________________________________

 

Zmiiny Island also known as 'Snake Island'.

Famous for the quote:  "Russian warship.  Go Fuck Yourself".

Located in the Black Sea, approximately 142 km to the strategic Ukraine port city of Odessa.

 

[Paul A]

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3468758-australia-to-send-ukraine-howitzers-ammo.html

Wednesday, 27 April 2022

Australia to send Ukraine howitzers, ammo

That’s according to Australian Associated Press, Ukrinform reports.

The $26.7 million package of military assistance will see Ukraine provided with six M777 lightweight towed howitzers along with ammunition as Russia steps up its offensive in the Donbas region.

It takes Australia's military assistance contribution to Ukraine to $225 million, with a further $65 million provided in humanitarian aid along with more than 70,000 tonnes of thermal coal.

 

The new support package comes as Australian representatives attended a meeting hosted by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Rammstein air base in Germany on the response to Ukraine.

 

[Paul A]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/27/russia-ukraine-war-news-putin-live-updates/

By Dan Lamothe 10:26 a.m.

 

Gleaning Russian military tactics as easy as ‘free chicken,’ U.S. official says

A U.S. defense official spoke of efforts that began last fall to assess Ukraine’s air defense capabilities and position its forces to best utilize sophisticated weaponry and tactics against a larger opposing force.

Ukrainian Stinger operators are continually being trained in Germany, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the Defense Department.

 

The U.S. defense official described a bonanza of information the American military has gleaned about Russian “tactics and procedures” by watching “how they perform in combat” since the Feb. 24 invasion.

“We call it ‘free chicken,’” the official said. “What would take years and years for the intelligence community to find out [about] how they do things, we’re getting free every day,” allowing the military to “create profiles that will help us for years and years.”

[Jswizzy84]

16 minutes ago, Paul A said:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/27/russia-ukraine-war-news-putin-live-updates/

By Dan Lamothe 10:26 a.m.

 

Gleaning Russian military tactics as easy as ‘free chicken,’ U.S. official says

A U.S. defense official spoke of efforts that began last fall to assess Ukraine’s air defense capabilities and position its forces to best utilize sophisticated weaponry and tactics against a larger opposing force.

Ukrainian Stinger operators are continually being trained in Germany, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the Defense Department.

 

The U.S. defense official described a bonanza of information the American military has gleaned about Russian “tactics and procedures” by watching “how they perform in combat” since the Feb. 24 invasion.

“We call it ‘free chicken,’” the official said. “What would take years and years for the intelligence community to find out [about] how they do things, we’re getting free every day,” allowing the military to “create profiles that will help us for years and years.”

This is just ironic. This is exactly what happened in the Middle East with the United States. Everyone knows everything about how the United States fights wars.

[Freeforester]

 

[Paul A]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/04/27/us-spies-helped-ukraine-know-exactly-russian-bombs-would-fall/

27 April 2022

 

US spies helped Ukraine know exactly when and where Russian bombs would fall

 

US revealed the coordinates of Russian forces and aircraft in an unprecedented information sharing operation that helped repel Kyiv assault.

 

Washington: America helped foil Moscow’s efforts to take Kyiv and repelled its advances elsewhere by sharing such detailed intelligence that Ukraine knew exactly when and where Russian bombs would fall, it has emerged.

 

In an unprecedented information-sharing operation, US spy agencies divulged the co-ordinates of Russian forces and aircraft to Ukrainian troops, allowing them to pre-empt attacks.

 

The intelligence led Ukraine to shoot down a Russian aircraft carrying troops to Hostomel airport in the Kyiv suburbs in the early days of the war, according to NBC News. The downing of the plane helped thwart Moscow’s hopes of flooding the area with troops and equipment.

 

Earlier reports suggested several Russian helicopters were hit by missiles before they reached the airport. An effort to take control of a military airbase in Vasylkiv, south of Kyiv, also met stiff resistance.

 

Although Russian forces captured the airport for a short time, they were unable to use Hostomel as an airbridge to replenish their resources and ultimately capture Kyiv.

 

American intelligence has also helped Ukraine to protect its own aircraft on several occasions by pre-empting Russian missile strikes.

 

US officials believe the level of sharing - unprecedented for a non-NATO partner - has been critical to Ukraine’s success in repelling Vladimir Putin’s advance, despite Russia’s superior forces. In particular, the US assistance has blocked Russia from gaining dominance over Ukraine’s skies.

 

In some instances, American intelligence meant Ukraine repositioned its air defence systems or planes just before they were targeted.

 

“The Russian military has literally been cratering empty fields where air defences were once set up,” one US official told NBC. “It has had an enormous impact on the Russian military’s ability on the ground.”

 

The CIA is also devoting “significant resources” to protect Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president and a top target for Moscow.

The agency is working with Ukrainian officials on “how best to move him around” and making sure he is not located with the rest of his chain of command, an American official told NBC. The network said it had other examples of US intelligence that had provided a boost but that it was not publishing them for fear of jeopardising the information channels.

 

The White House National Security Council did not comment on the incidents where the US is thought to have helped foil Russia, but said: “We are regularly providing detailed, timely intelligence to the Ukrainians on the battlefield to help them defend their country against Russian aggression and will continue to do so.”

 

Ukrainian officials were more muted in their praise of US intelligence co-operation. “It’s got better,” one government source said.

It began in the aftermath of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, but has increased since the war in Ukraine began in February.

 

At the onset of the invasion, US intelligence officials had barred information sharing that could lead to lethal strikes on Russians, fearing it would put Washington into direct conflict with Moscow. But as the extent of Russian atrocities became clear, those constraints were removed. It has allowed the US to share exact co-ordinates for the positions of Russian forces so that Ukrainians could fire on them.

 

Lieutenant General Scott Berrier, director of the Defence Intelligence Agency, said: “I would say where we are at is revolutionary in terms of what we have been able to do” as he described the co-ordination with Ukrainian counterparts to Congress last month.

 

Others have noted that it is not just the strength of US intelligence that must be credited, but the Ukrainians’ agility in acting upon it.

Analysts have noted that in addition to covert intelligence, Ukrainian officials have effectively used other tools at their disposal - such as satellite imagery and intercepting walkie-talkies used by Russian soldiers.

[Paul A]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/27/russia-ukraine-war-news-putin-live-updates/#link-OHYXZYORWJD7BJNDPXFGQ4WKDM

By Evan Halper 9:55 p.m.

 

Shell steps up elimination of Russian oil from its supplies

As the European Union scrambled to bolster alternatives to Russian energy supplies, Shell stepped up its break with Moscow.

The company had earlier vowed to withdraw from involvement with all Russian oil and gas, a move that will cost it $5 billion. The pace of this transition, though, has frustrated critics. The Ukrainian government earlier this month accused Shell of using an “accounting trick” to continue doing business with Russia, noting it was still selling refined products with significant amounts of Russian oil in them.

Shell on Wednesday said it is immediately cutting out of its business any refined products, such as blended fuels, that have any Russian content in them.

[Paul A]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/27/russia-ukraine-war-news-putin-live-updates/#link-OHYXZYORWJD7BJNDPXFGQ4WKDM

By Rachel Pannett 8:21 p.m.

 

 

Satellite photos indicate Russia placed dolphins at Black Sea naval base entrance

Satellite photos show Russia has placed trained dolphins at the entrance to a key Black Sea port, possibly to help protect a significant naval base there.

The images, provided to The Washington Post by Maxar Technologies, show two dolphin pens at the entrance to Sevastopol harbor in Crimea — which Russian forces annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

 

H I Sutton, a submarine analyst who first reported on the dolphins for the U.S. Naval Institute on Wednesday, said the pens were moved there in February, around the time of the invasion of Ukraine.

He said the dolphins could be used to counter specialist Ukrainian divers attempting to enter the port to sabotage Russian warships — a role he said the United States and Russia have previously trained marine mammals for.

Some Russian warships are based at the port, out of range of Ukrainian missiles. The warship Moskva — the flagship of the Russian Black Sea fleet — sank this month after being hit by two Ukrainian missiles, delivering a significant blow to Russian naval capacity, U.S. and Ukrainian officials said.

 

Russia reportedly used the Sevastopol base during the Soviet era to train dolphins for military purposes such as planting explosives on ships or searching for mines. Whether they were ever deployed for military operations is disputed.

 

 

Satellite photos by Maxar Technologies indicate Russia is using dolphins to protect a Black Sea naval base. (Maxar/“Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies.”)

 

[Paul A]

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/3469300-us-house-passes-legislation-to-seize-russian-assets-to-help-rebuild-ukraine.html

28.04.2022 

U.S. House passes legislation to seize Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine.

 

That’s according to a statement by the Act’s co-author Abigail Spanberger, Ukrinform reports.

“A bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives today voted to pass the Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act legislation,” the statement reads.

It would encourage the seizure and sale of Russian oligarchs’ assets “to support Ukraine’s continued fight for freedom.”

[Paul A]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/27/mystery-fires-sensitive-facilities-compound-russias-war-challenge/

Updated today at 5:12 p.m. EDT

 

Mystery fires at sensitive facilities compound Russia’s war challenge.

 

A series of unexplained fires and explosions at strategic locations in Russia, including storage depots, a sensitive defense research site and the country’s largest chemical plant, have raised suspicions that at least some may have been caused by sabotage or Ukrainian attacks.

 

At least two other fires well out of the range of Ukrainian missiles and drones can’t easily be explained.

 

Last Thursday, a blaze tore through the upper stories of the Defense Ministry’s Second Central Research Institute in the town of Tver, northwest of Moscow; at least 17 people died, according to Russia’s state-run Tass news agency.

 

The institute is known as a center for highly sensitive research on key missile systems, including Russia’s most advanced stealth programs, as well as the Iskander missile, extensively used in Ukraine, and the S-400 air defense system.

 

Hours later, Russia’s biggest chemical plant burned down, also for unknown reasons. The Dmitrievsky Chemical Plant, located about 208 miles northeast of Moscow in Kineshma, was a major supplier of propellants essential for the production of the precision-guided missiles Russia needs for the war.

 

Hours later, Russia’s biggest chemical plant burned down, also for unknown reasons. The Dmitrievsky Chemical Plant, located about 208 miles northeast of Moscow in Kineshma, was a major supplier of propellants essential for the production of the precision-guided missiles Russia needs for the war.

[Paul A]

Russia cannot replace its lost cruiser Moskva in Black Sea - British intelligence

28.04.2022

"The Bosporus Strait remains closed to all non-Turkish warships, rendering Russia unable to replace its lost cruiser Moskva in the Black Sea," the ministry said.

 

 

[Paul A]

Russia’s Shifting Military Strategy for Ukraine’s Donbas, Explained | WSJ

236,548 views

Apr 28, 2022

Wall Street Journal

3.52M subscribers

 

[Paul A]

Russian submarine launches Kalibr (or Caliber) missiles to destroy Ukrainian cities & infrastructure

12,259 views

Apr 28, 2022

Krishnaraj Rao

181K subscribers

 

'This is how rashists let Caliber through hospitals, residential buildings and civilians.'

 

*Rashism or Ruscism, also known as Russism, is a Ukrainian term used for alleging Russia to have been transformed into a fascist country and is also used for referring to the ideology of Russian military expansionism.

 

 

 

[Jswizzy84]

US giving 33 billion to Ukraine which is more than the defense budget of most nations. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/28/ukraine-funding-request-congress-biden-00028552 this is proxy war at this point. At least I'll get a pretty good raise and bonus this year from my defense contractor employer. 

Edited April 28, 2022 by Jswizzy84
Adding info

[Paul A]

Russian tank column destroyed after Ukrainian drone hunt & artillery blitz

876K views · 12 hours ago

The Sun
2.84M subscribers

 

Ukrainian troops have revealed how they used a drone to hunt out a Russian tank column and then blast it to bits with artillery fire. Footage of the strike released by Ukrainian forces shows a drone being launched by Ukrainian Surveillance Systems Operators (SSO) while troops set up a mobile artillery piece.

 

The next images show the smoking ruins of what are said to be Russian tanks and armoured vehicles.

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement on 27th April: “For the past eight years, we have been preparing around the clock to repel full-scale armed aggression by the Russian Federation. "The skills we have acquired now help us to effectively destroy the enemy.

 

“The video shows the top work of the SSO units of the Special Operations Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Together to victory!”

The Command of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also said in a statement: “Behind the scenes of this video is the skilful and difficult work of the SSO group of Ukraine.

 

“After all, at the very moment when our operators were pinpointing the fire of Ukrainian artillery, they themselves came under fire from Russian artillerymen.

 

 

[Paul A]

Ukraine commander at Azovstal makes plea for evacuation - 'Mariupol is our Dunkirk'

55K views · 5 hours ago

The Sun
2.84M subscribers

 

[Paul A]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/28/russia-ukraine-war-news-putin-live-updates/

Updated today at 8:30 p.m. EDT

U.S. backs NATO membership for Sweden and Finland.

 

The United States will “strongly support” NATO membership for Sweden and Finland if they choose to join the military alliance, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday, underscoring how Russia’s invasion of its neighbor has reverberated far beyond Ukraine.

 

The United States has long backed an open-door policy for NATO that allows any nation to apply for membership.

But it has been more careful about spelling out what comes next, and the top U.S. diplomat’s remarks are likely to prompt an angry response from Moscow.

 

“The world has changed pretty dramatically, and one of the ways it has changed is in the very strong interest of both countries to become members of NATO,” Blinken told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

 

The Biden administration is also urging new aid to Ukraine, looking to provide long-range weapons expected to play a crucial role in the next phase of the war.

 

Biden on Thursday asked Congress to approve a $33 billion spending package with military and humanitarian assistance; he also proposed escalating America’s financial war with Moscow by letting U.S. authorities liquidate the assets of Russian oligarchs and donate the proceeds to Ukraine.

[Paul A]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/29/russia-ukraine-war-news-putin-live-updates/#link-DOKRAPN3XZBSTEMXOWP2HGZTD4

By Amy Cheng 1:54 a.m.

 

NATO will seek to bolster security for Sweden, Finland as they apply to join

NATO will look to bolster security for Sweden and Finland in the period between the Nordic countries’ potential application to join and the ratification of their membership, the bloc’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Sweden and Finland have expressed interest in joining NATO — a significant shift from their official stance of military nonalignment, and a reflection of the elevated threat Moscow poses to their security environment.

“The reality is that Finland and Sweden are already very close to NATO. … And as soon as we take the decision to invite them, that will send a strong political message that the security of Finland and Sweden matters for all NATO allies,” Stoltenberg said at a news conference.

 

He added that both countries have robust democratic systems and already send their troops to train with NATO forces.