Russia Ukraine Update Thread - part 2

Situation 4 September, ETA:

The "Ozerne" noted in the report is ca. 6 kilometers SE of Lyman.

Cheers

originally posted by: MidnightWatcher
Has the UN team left the facility?

I thought they were going to leave a small group behind.

It was the IAEA that wanted to leave people behind...

Two IAEA inspectors to stay at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant permanently

At first Russia didn't want a group left behind, but apparently they finally agreed to it.

First, Hawkei and Bushmaster vehicles are troop carriers, not tanks or infantry fighting vehicles. The Hawkei is the Australian equivalent of the U.S. Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV). The main design difference is the Hawkei weighs around 3 tons less than the JLTV.

Second, the war in Ukraine is shaping up as the testing ground for newer weapons platforms and related tactics. Historically, the Condor Legion's involvement in the Spanish Civil War (1936 -39). However, in line with their strategic and logistical limitations, the Germans found their experiences in Spain didn't upscale to meet the demands of fighting WW2.

Moreover, Australian national pride aside, I caution against reading too much into how a tiny number of Bushmasters and presumable Hawkeis fare in Ukraine. Although the opportunity to maintain the Hawkei production line, modify the design based on Ukrainian feedback and retain related employment are positives.

a reply to: xpert11

There's a lot of tech being tested behind the scenes this is a direct opportunity to see what Russia has to deploy and how well it works and if it can be fooled. A good example is Russian air defense we have discovered weaknesses and tech is being tested to counter it. This is the first time the west got to see what electronic tech the Russians have and discovered for example they cant block GPS signals like they claimed. I've also noticed that recently they started stealing Russian drones seen several reports so now they are hacking them as well.

Russia was always thought to have some serious tech they basically had everyone fooled in the defense industry. Though i suspect part of that was of course they want to claim Russia has super weapons because then they get more money to counter it. The reality is Russia is about 3 decades behind the US in almost everything throw in the corruption and they cant even get basic kits to their soldiers. Want to end this war in a month send night fighting gear to Ukraine they would take over Moscow.

originally posted by: Arbitrageur

originally posted by: MidnightWatcher
Has the UN team left the facility?

I thought they were going to leave a small group behind.

It was the IAEA that wanted to leave people behind...

Two IAEA inspectors to stay at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant permanently

At first Russia didn't want a group left behind, but apparently they finally agreed to it.

Have they said anything about the recent video showing russian artillery from within a half mile of the facility?

If this is true Russia is really desperate


Russia buying millions of rockets and shells from North Korea, US intelligence says

a reply to: Kenzo

If I was Russia and was going for a strike I would launch a thousand rockets at once , Then you would have to launch all yours, hoping you were going to get the ones with the payload. Mabey is not so desperate.

originally posted by: dragonridr
The reality is Russia is about 3 decades behind the US in almost everything throw in the corruption and they cant even get basic kits to their soldiers. Want to end this war in a month send night fighting gear to Ukraine they would take over Moscow.

One of the reason for that is the corruption there that has drained off a good amount of the money that would have gone into their military into rich private hands, so they are stuck with stuff that is 30+ years old now, and a population that really does not want to fight.

originally posted by: anonentity

If I was Russia and was going for a strike I would launch a thousand rockets at once , Then you would have to launch all yours, hoping you were going to get the ones with the payload. Mabey is not so desperate.

1000 rockets is nothing... lets talk 10,000s. Is Russia ready for that?

originally posted by: Kenzo

If this is true Russia is really desperate


Russia buying millions of rockets and shells from North Korea, US intelligence says

The only things NK has in that kind of quantity is stuff like grads and artillery shells.

Obviously not ideal if russia gets more ammo, but it won't change the outcome.

a reply to: anonentity

They wil have issues with wear and tear of artillery barrels also . During 6 Months 7 million shells fired in Russian side , the barrels are not going to last forever.


Artillery & rockets are the bloodline of Russian army, once it will start going down , their game is finito , they dont have enough boots on the ground, they rely artillery & rockets .

originally posted by: Kenzo
a reply to: anonentity

They wil have issues with wear and tear of artillery barrels also . During 6 Months 7 million shells fired in Russian side , the barrels are not going to last forever.


Artillery & rockets are the bloodline of Russian army, once it will start going down , their game is finito , they dont have enough boots on the ground, they rely artillery & rockets .

russia is so out ranged now, and still so inaccurate, that their artillery and MLRS no longer pose a significant threat to Ukraine's armed forces.

Ukrainians can spot and get first round hits from well out of russian range for accuracy any better than targeting something the size of a neighborhood.

The only real challenge for Ukraine right now is doing that for each of the massive number of pieces already on Ukrainian territory, though that part has been getting much easier around Kherson now that russia seems to have stopped using air support, which had been a constant threat to M777 and HIMARS until a few days ago.

Nothing says those NK goodies will not be aged. Sounds like a good way for NK to get rid of old inventory.

Old propellant in rockets does strange things to strike accuracy.

Cheers

5 September Update

Key Takeaways

* The Ukrainian counteroffensive is tangibly degrading Russian logistics and administrative capabilities in occupied southern Ukraine.

* Putin publicly praised DNR and LNR forces (and denigrated the Russian military) on September 5, likely to motivate proxy recruitment and reframe Russian coverage of the war.

* Ukrainian military officials maintained their operational silence regarding the progress of the Ukrainian counteroffensive but reported on the further destruction of Russian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) in Central Kherson Oblast.

* Russian forces conducted ground attacks east of Siversk, northeast and south of Bakhmut, and along the northwestern outskirts of Donetsk City.

* Ukrainian special forces conducted a limited operation against a Russian FSB base in the Enerhodar area.

* Power unit No. 6 of the ZNPP became disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid.

* Russian authorities continue to seek unconventional sources of combat power and are increasingly turning to ill and infirm individuals.

* Occupation authorities set a 1.25 ruble/1 hryvnia exchange rate in Zaporizhia Oblast in order to facilitate the economic integration of occupied Zaporizhia into the Russian Federation.

More at URL above.

Cheers

a reply to: dragonridr

Wartime circumstances drive innovation and scientific advancements faster than in peacetime. The Manhattan Project is perhaps the most well-known instance of those professions. Also, the U.S. spend Billions of dollars on that project.

But developments in Aviation accelerated in WW1 and WW2. Notable, the B-29 aircraft, including those that dropped the atomic bombs on Japan, fit into that category.

Moreover, balancing the notion of just good enough/mass production-friendly designs with meeting battlefield demands is a challenging task.

Unfortunately, a proper assessment of these matters falls beyond the scope of this topic.

So far, Ukraine is innovating with pre-existing platforms. For our discussion purposes:

The Bushmaster and Hawkei vehicles are the best of their type available to Ukraine. But there aren't sufficient numbers to affect the war's outcome before factoring in vehicles lost in combat and unavailable due to maintenance and repair.

Although the same issue applies to the trickle of international military assistance to Ukraine, including older armoured Humvees, the Ukrainians will have access to more Humvees than Hawkeis.

Lastly, for the foreseeable future, the limited rate of supplies and equipment flowing to Ukraine is determined by the availability of strategic airlift capabilities and assets.

first drones from iran, now rockets from north korea. doesn't say much for russia being able to build their own sh@@ now does it.
these purchases show how sh@@brid countries turn to one another and stick together in their oppression of others.

a reply to: MidnightWatcher

sorry didn't see your post. will edit it.

a reply to: BernnieJGato


Pretty sure russia is gonna send the drones back to iran once they figure out the 'technical problems' they're having.

Folks here are gonna have a few chuckles over that one.

originally posted by: BernnieJGato
a reply to: MidnightWatcher

sorry didn't see your post. will edit it.

Never a problem, you should have left yours up - it was better.

a reply to: BernnieJGato

It's the quality of Russia's allies that should be the biggest worry.

- Russia gets Iran and North Korea, with Venezuela in the wings to provide the flag waving.
- Ukraine gets every developed nation and access to a great deal of hardware, training and intelligence.

I know which country I would prefer to be on the side of.