Russia Invades Ukraine

[RTH10260]

some info in favor of the Russian side

[RTH10260]

a Youtube channel that carries Russian point ofview

[RTH10260]

Ukraine drone strike reportedly destroys Russian flagship supersonic bomber
The TU-22 - used extensively in missile strikes on Ukraine - was seen burning in images shared on social media

Helen Sullivan and Reuters
Tue 22 Aug 2023 03.53 BST

Ukraine has destroyed a supersonic Russian jet in a drone strike, according to reports from the BBC and Ukrainian media.

The reports were based on images posted on social media which appear to show the long-range bomber, the Tupolev Tu-22, on fire. The images were analysed by the BBC, but have not been independently verified by the Guardian.

The burning plane appeared to be located south of St Petersburg, the BBC reported, using visual clues and historical satellite images of the airbase.

Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday that a Ukrainian drone had targeted a military airfield in Russia’s Novgorod region, causing a fire and damaging one warplane. Ukraine has not acknowledged the strike and rarely comments on attacks on Russian territory.

The Russian ministry said nobody was hurt in the attack and the fire was quickly extinguished. The Novgorod region lies northwest of Moscow, hundreds of kilometres from Russia’s border with Ukraine.

“As a result of the terrorist attack on the territory of the airfield, a fire broke out in the parking lot of aircraft, which was quickly eliminated by fire fighters. One aircraft was damaged,” the ministry said in a statement.

According to the BBC, the jet was situated at the location of the attack, and had been used extensively to launch missiles on Ukraine during the war.

“Images posted on the social media platform Telegram showed a large fire engulfing a jet with the distinctive nose cone of the Tu-22,” the BBC reported.

The New Voice of Ukraine reported that Ukrainian drones had damaged five planes in recent days.

Citing Ukrainian intelligence, known as the GUR, it reported that the Tu-22 M3 was “destroyed” on 19 August and that two other aircraft were damaged. Two days later on 21 August, two bomber planes in Kaluga were damaged, “as a result of an attack by drones controlled by GUR saboteurs.”



https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... nic-bomber

[John Thomas8]

[John Thomas8]

[Dr. Ken]

"Crash"


Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin presumed dead after Russia plane crash

Earlier, Wagner-linked Telegram channel Grey Zone reported the Embraer aircraft was shot down by air defences in the Tver region, north of Moscow.

The jet, which was flying from the capital to St Petersburg, was carrying seven passengers and three crew.

Prigozhin led a failed mutiny against the Russian armed forces in June.

Grey Zone said local residents heard two bangs before the crash and saw two vapour trails.

[W. Kevin Vicklund]

ETA :nevermind, was added to original post

[Suranis]

Video that claims to be of his Jet crashing. Claims that it was shot down seem to be borne out in the video. It looks to me like it was missing a wing and was tumbling.

[W. Kevin Vicklund]

Video that claims to be of his Jet crashing. Claims that it was shot down seem to be borne out in the video. It looks to me like it was missing a wing and was tumbling.

For me, there's no video, just a still image with a Russian voice-over. (I believe you, just annoyed at technology failing)

[Suranis]

Also on board the plane was the other founder of Wagner, former GRU Lt. Col Dmitry Utkin.

According to several news outlets, Utkin is an admirer of Nazi Germany and has multiple Nazi tattoos, including Schutzstaffel (SS) insignia. Utkin also reportedly called himself Wagner after German composer Richard Wagner, because his work was greatly admired by Adolf Hitler and was appropriated by the Nazis.

Members of the Wagner Group have said that Utkin is a Rodnover, a believer in the Slavic native faith.
Good thing Russia is fighting against all those Nazis in Ukraine

Seems like a stand up guy. Those tattoos were... uh... Buddhist and Hindu symbols.

Utkin.jpg (14.09 KiB) Viewed 13901 times

In totally not related news, Putin sacked the general in command of Russian aerospace today.

[Suranis]

For me, there's no video, just a still image with a Russian voice-over. (I believe you, just annoyed at technology failing)

Ok, there's a Xhitter video

[RTH10260]

Looks like Putin will sleep better tonight.


Including the rest of the world as the Wagner empire collapses with all its local organizations. Except one can expect organized crime to raise when the foot soldiers look for new employment.

[Frater I*I]

And he though Putin was just gonna let that munity shit slide...

[Sam the Centipede]

Looks like Putin will sleep better tonight.


Including the rest of the world as the Wagner empire collapses with all its local organizations. Except one can expect organized crime to raise when the foot soldiers look for new employment.

I saw some comments that Wagner "employees" are/were loyal to their bossman. I don't know if it's true, nor do I know how that will map into their future activities. But it might be uncomfortable for the Putin regime. Perhaps another insurrection? Maybe Putin will get what he deserves, and meet his mentor in a fiery afterlife?

[shannon]

Well, to "Falling out of a window" and polonium smoothie, we can add "lawn darting" to the list of how unca vlad gets rid of problems.

[neeneko]

Looks like Putin will sleep better tonight.

I doubt he ever sleeps well. Killing the guy off this quickly suggests he is not expecting to have a long set of opportunities to do so.

[Ben-Prime]

Look, I'm just going to pile on the humor and add that the plane should not have been flying so close to a window.

[p0rtia]

[John Thomas8]

[shannon]

Some Russians are upset because they can't vacation in the region their country stole from Ukraine, and Ukraine fighting their country's unjust war is making it difficult for them to go elsewhere.

Crimea River....

Putin’s war is forcing Russians to ditch a favorite holiday destination

'Crimea suddenly became one of the few sunny beach destinations Russian tourists could still visit without having to spend a lot of money.

“People come to Crimea because Europe is closed and prices are very expensive in Turkey now. Where else can we rest? Sochi (a resort city in Russia) is crowded, (and has) crazy prices. We have nowhere else (to go) so people go to the Crimea,” Svitlana told CNN."

[RTH10260]

[John Thomas8]

[Suranis]

Honestly, the lesson of the Ukraine war is that its the $500 drones that are the game changers in warfare now, rather than $130 million flying egos.

[johnpcapitalist]

Honestly, the lesson of the Ukraine war is that its the $500 drones that are the game changers in warfare now, rather than $130 million flying egos.

The rise of cheap drones is indeed a big development. However, it does not mean that expensive equipment is obsolete. When the Ukraine war started a year and a half ago, the large number of Russian tanks destroyed by cheap handheld systems (Javelin, only slightly cheap at $100,000 per round or others for $10,000 per shot or below) caused many to say that tanks were immediately and forever obsolete. More knowledgeable observers dug up stories going back decades predicting the same thing in nearly identical language.

It's important to note that much of the success Ukraine is enjoying comes because they're up against an incompetent opponent. One of the basics of tank warfare is that you have to have a well-trained infantry component protecting the tank from people with handheld missiles. You also need air support to prevent airborne threats like missiles and now drones. Russia has not competently employed either. The US is very skilled at "combined arms operations," exactly what one needs to succeed. Cheap drones are indeed a concern for the US military, but we wouldn't do as badly as the Russians. Yes, we would have losses, but nothing like what Russia is seeing.

Within a few years, anti-drone defenses will become quite effective, just as MRAPs and many other technologies have reduced the effectiveness of buried improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that Taliban and others used against the US. At that point, the temporary advantage of cheap drones will diminish significantly.

Finally, don't forget that expensive aircraft can do jobs that no drone will ever do. For example, if NATO were dragged into the Ukraine conflict as a result of missiles accidentally killing dozens of innocent civilians in a border town in Poland, one important mission would be to shatter Russian central command and control. In other words, they would level "the Towers," the Russian equivalent of the Pentagon. Even 100,000 drones would never be able to accomplish that. You'd need a couple of Stealth bombers dropping precision guided 2,000-pound bunker-buster bombs in extremely specific locations within each building to cause it to collapse. You'd also need to reduce the Russian Navy and their long-range bomber force to smoldering scraps of twisted metal. Again, drones would never be able to pull this off.

[RTH10260]

Honestly, the lesson of the Ukraine war is that its the $500 drones that are the game changers in warfare now, rather than $130 million flying egos.

The other lesson from the small drone warefare is that infantry is now totally exposed to the view from the air. No longer hiding in bushes or forrests or behind berms in front of trenches. Shelter entrances on trenches are visible and a good point to drop explosives. Stretches of trenches are now exposed to explosives dropped into them. Simple branch roofs over shelters will blow apart when hit by a drone dropped explosive, manpower needs to be invested to build them blast proof. Air observation is deadly to any troops moving, and also to dug in positions, like artillery.