Russia Ukraine Update Thread - part 3

And this is why those who call for negotiations and to let ruZZia have what its taken all for a semblance of peace... are wrong.

ruZZia isnt going to stop with just Ukraine, how many times do you take a step back and redraw the line in the sand? you dont concede with the bully who started the fight, whos started the same fights many times before and who expects to always get away with it since they consider those they are bullying to be weak and that they have cart blanche to do as they want.

Anyone know what the words on the Marilyn Munroe graphic say? trying to figure out WTF they put that up lol... im assuming its some dig at America.

Maxx Pro Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAP) are in service with the Ukrainian Army. The Maxx Pro vehicles are left over from the U.S. military's inventory from the war in Afghanistan. (Also, the usual constraints concerning the availability of strategic airlift capabilities).

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Explosions in Sevastopol harbor last night. According to some sources, several Russian warships of the Black Sea Fleet were blown up - including a fregate and a landing ship.

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After a drone attack on Sevastopol, traces of black smoke were visible from the side of the Kozacha Bay. Russian media claim it’s just a “planned exercise” but still asks residents not to take images in order not to help the “enemy”

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28 October Update

Key Takeaways

* Russian forces are not making significant progress around Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast or anywhere else along the front lines.

* President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the end of partial mobilization.

* Putin may be attempting to rehabilitate Shoigu’s image in the information space to counter the growing influence of the pro-war siloviki faction.

* The growing influence of the siloviki faction is continuing to fracture the Russian pro-war community.

* Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces conducted counteroffensive operations in the direction of Kreminna and Svatove.

* Russian forces continued to deploy mobilized personnel to and establish defensive positions on the west bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast.

* Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces conducted counteroffensive operations in northwestern Kherson Oblast.

* Russian forces continued ground attacks in Donetsk Oblast.

* Russian occupation authorities completed their "evacuation” of parts of occupied Kherson Oblast.

* Russian occupation authorities reportedly plan to force Russian citizenship on Ukrainian civilians in occupied parts of Ukraine by October 30, likely in part to legalize the forced mobilization of Ukrainian civilians as part of the November 1 autumn conscription cycle.

* Russian occupation authorities are continuing their attempts to erase Ukrainian history, culture, and national identity in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.

More at URL above.

Cheers

Russia accuses British Navy of “terrorist attack” on Nord Stream gas pipelines.

Russia’s defence ministry on Saturday said that British navy personnel blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month, directly accusing a leading Nato member of sabotaging critical Russian infrastructure, Reuters reports.

The defence ministry did not give evidence for its claim.

“According to available information, representatives of this unit of the British Navy took part in the planning, provision and implementation of a terrorist attack in the Baltic Sea on 26 September this year – blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines,” the ministry said.

Britain’s defence ministry declined immediate comment.

Li nk

a reply to: WeDemBoyz
Last couple of days I have been reading that Putin alledgedley wants to blow the gas pipe between Norway and the UK(which delivers 20% of the UKs natural gas supply)..
If someone is telling him the UK is responsible for bombing the nord streams,maybe that is why.
news.yahoo.com...
Norway have already been seeing unknown drones doing recon in the oil fields,and have arrected some Russians doing the same on land.

The escalation train has no reverse gear it seems.

I wonder if he did blow the Norway/UK pipeline-would that constitute an attack on NATO infrastructure,potentialy triggering an article 5 response?

originally posted by: Silcone Synapse
I wonder if he did blow the Norway/UK pipeline-would that constitute an attack on NATO infrastructure,potentialy triggering an article 5 response?

They've already said that any nuclear fallout from Ukraine (such as that nuclear plant melting down) and hurting people in NATO countries is an automatic triggering of article 5, so the criteria for it - despite article 6 stating that article 5 only apply in the event of an attack upon NATO territory - is iffy.

The problem is of course that unless the pipeline blow and there just *happen* to be a Russian sub surfacing 2 minutes later at that location, how do you prove it was the Russians? That's already the situation with nordstream.

a reply to: Silcone Synapse

If the Russians attack that gas pipeline, I think Putin may become aware of some vulnerabilities he hadn't previously known about.

Cheers

Very epic footages from today's attack by drones on the Port in Sevastopol, Crimea

first video shows attacks from the drone's onboard cameras, second video shows russian helicopter shooting at the boat drone.

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I wish I had a better understanding of what's going on in Kherson.

The civilians are being evacuated, but the Russian military is not evacuating, they are apparently getting "reinforcements", if we can call the new conscripts that, or maybe "cannon fodder" would be more accurate. This video talks about a "trap" being set up by the Russians, but I don't think it's fooling anybody.



That civilians are evacuating but the soldiers are digging in seems to be understood, but how are the Russians getting all the supplies they need across the Dnipro river on ferries and pontoon bridges?

The War in Ukraine youtube channel claims that the Ukrainians have been less than diligent in keeping the Dnipro river crossings from operating. If true, that would explain how the Russians are getting supplies, but why would Ukrainians do that? He says the HIMARs were moved to other battlefield areas for some time so that's why they stopped using them on the Dnipro river, but apparently they are back now. Anyway they had at least 16 of them so I don't know why they wouldn't leave some behind.

Could Ukraine be the ones setting up the "trap" to allow some supplies to cross the river so more russian troops can come to Kherson, so they can then redouble their efforts to cut off supplies across the river, and trap a larger number of russians there with inadequate supplies? War in Ukraine channel thinks it's just a matter of time before Russia loses that Kherson bridgehead, but he's also dismayed that the Ukrainians don't seem to know how to conduct proper offensives there and describes one recent Kherson oblast battle that was like a useless suicide attack by Ukraine where they just got mowed down by Russian defenses and didn't accomplish anything besides losing soldiers. If Ukraine can do a better job of cutting off the supplies across the river, then the Russians should run out of ammo to shoot with.

Oddly numerous dissent in this one, 3 people basically criticizing, and getting lip for it from the presenters... sure its more than likely all scripted for them anyway, ie allowed and controlled opposition, but still first time ive seen 3 people in the studio do this in these videos... interesting change, scripted or otherwise.

a reply to: WeDemBoyz

That was some epic video!

Thanks for sharing that.

You know, the US has been using drones for years, but not in an all out war where they become almost essential. There are some pretty psychotic drones being made, especially swarms. Kind of glad nobody has used those yet.

a reply to: Arbitrageur

I think the Russians want a grinding city fight, as payback for what they endured in the Donbas a few months ago. I assume the Ukrainian government is aware of the Russian's intent re: Kherson.

Cheers

29 October Update

Key Takeaways

* Likely Ukrainian forces conducted an attack against a Grigorovich-class frigate of the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) near Sevastopol with unmanned surface vehicles on October 29.

* The Kremlin reportedly relieved the commander of the Central Military District (CMD), Colonel General Alexander Lapin, of his position as the commander of the “central” group of forces in Ukraine.

* Russia is likely expediting efforts to forcibly depopulate areas of Kherson Oblast along the Dnipro River and repopulate them with Russian soldiers, some of them out of uniform in violation of the law of armed conflict.

* The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) is likely responding to pressure levied by milbloggers regarding its treatment of Russian prisoners of war (POWs) and the conduct of prisoner exchanges.

* Ukrainian forces consolidated gains and continued counteroffensive operations along the Svatove-Kreminna line.

* Ukrainian intelligence indicated that the highest quality Russian troops are still responsible for the defense of Kherson Oblast.

* Russian forces continued to establish defensive positions on the western bank of the Dnipro River.

* Russian forces likely slowed the pace of offensive operations in the Bakhmut area due to a Ukrainian strike.

* Russian sources claimed that Russian troops launched an offensive in the Vuhledar area.

* Russian troops likely made marginal gains around Donetsk City.

* The Kremlin reportedly instructed Russian judges to not grant prisoners parole but instead to direct them toward recruitment in unspecified private military companies (PMCs).

* The Kremlin is likely conducting an information operation to reduce tensions between Christians and Muslims in Russia to cater to religious minority groups within the Russian armed forces.

More at URL above.

Cheers

a reply to: Darkblade71

Many lessons to be garnered from the use of drones in this war.

I expect there to be a drive to develop drone counter-measures. Drone-hunting drones will be next IMO.

Cheers

originally posted by: F2d5thCavv2
I expect there to be a drive to develop drone counter-measures. Drone-hunting drones will be next IMO.

I'm not sure how credible this claim is, because apparently neither Ukraine nor Israel has officially admitted this, but the claim is that Israel has already provided very advanced drone hunting drone capability to Ukraine, which use AI-artificial intelligence.

Israel Reportedly Provides Ukraine With Smart Shooter Anti-Drone System

The Ukrainian Armed Forces are already using super-precision systems to intercept Iranian drones, according to an Oct. 26 article in the Israeli publication Debka...

According to Debka, the system is installed on light aircraft and drones to destroy Iranian drones in Ukraine. Ukrainian Command has not officially commented and the information currently needs to be verified.

I hope this is true, because a lot of people were annoyed by Israel not taking any stand and trying to maintain friendly ties with Russia. This is not the time to use that excuse for not helping Ukraine when Russia is being so "unfriendly", but since this isn't officially confirmed maybe Israel hasn't given up on keeping ties with Russia. Maybe Israel is really (unofficially?) helping Ukraine now, and if so, this is really the kind of help they desperately need.

CRUX made a video showing what this drone-killer drone might look like:


Is Kyiv Using Israeli ‘SMASH’ Systems To Counter Putin’s Iranian Drones?

P.S. Am I the only one who thinks of skynet in the terminator movies when seeing this technologically advanced AI drone weapon? The future doesn't seem so far away anymore.

Britain are once again getting blamed by Russia-this time they say the UK was involved in the recent Crimea drone strikes,and have had a whinge to the USA about it..

Russian ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov spoke after a drone attack at the Black Sea port in Sevastopol in annexed Crimea on Saturday.
According to the Russian state-backed outlet TASS, Antonov said: "We note the complete disregard for the identified signs of the involvement of the British military specialists in organizing today."

He added: "The situation has escalated even more.
But the United States does not intend to notice this.

www.newsweek.com...

What's that Anatoly-the Americans took no notice of your accusations it was the UK?
What a freaking surprise.
Stop making up BS Anatoly then people may listen to you.

Then we have Lavrov claiming Putin is ready to negotiate with "the west"if certain conditions are met..
www.pravda.com.ua...

Why not negotiate with Ukraine Serg?
Is it because Russia are trying to make this look like a wider war with the west for the home viewers?
Maybe so Russia doesn't look like its getting its ass beat by a relatively tiny country next door-Its the entire west they need to negotiate with..

Not a good look Serg.
Seems kinda desperate IMO.

a reply to: Silcone Synapse

Putin needs to negotiate things are far worse than hes letting on. At the current rate, Russia cannot keep the government payed i see a huge crash coming.

And Ukraine manages to hit the black sea fleet in port. Russians can't even stop attacks in a secured port. At this point its obvious why Putin has been trying to negotiate he knows hes losing too much and the collapse of the Russian Federation is imminent.




What scares me is in the pending collapse a lot of nuclear weapons will go up for sale.

30 October Update

Key inflections in ongoing military operations on October 30:

* Unconfirmed Russian reports claimed that Russian Lieutenant General Andrey Mordvichev (Commander of the 8th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District) replaced Colonel General Alexander Lapin as Central Military District (CMD) commander as of October 30. Russian sources continue to make contradictory reports about whether Lapin was fully relieved of command of the CMD or just relieved of command of the Russian operational “Central Group of Forces” operating in Ukraine.

* The Russian Ministry of Defense and Russian sources claimed that Russian forces repelled Ukrainian assaults on Pershotravneve, Tabaivka, and Berestove in Kharkiv Oblast.

* Ukrainian sources and geolocated reports indicate that Russian forces destroyed a bridge over the Krasna River in Krasnorichenske, Luhansk Oblast. Russian milbloggers accused Ukrainian forces of destroying the bridge.

* A Russian occupation official stated that Russian force are preparing to defend Kherson City by engineering defenses in Bilozerka and Chornobaivka. Ukrainian military official also noted that Russian officials continued to prepare defenses around Kherson City.

* Ukrainian military officials reported that Russian forces are preparing to withdraw artillery units from unspecified areas on the western bank of the Dnipro River to possibly reinforce other directions. Ukrainian military officials also reported that several hundred Rosgvardia servicemen deployed from the Republic of Chechnya to Kalanchak in southwestern Kherson Oblast.

* Russian forces continued to shell Ukrainian positions in Beryslav Raion, Kherson Oblast, and both Ukrainian and Russian sources provided limited information regarding the situation on the Kherson Oblast frontline.

* Russian sources claimed that Russian forces captured Vodyane, Donetsk Oblast, (4km northwest of Donetsk International Airport) on October 30. The Ukrainian General Staff’s evening report did not report repelling Russian attacks in this area as it usually does, potentially indicating that the Russian claims are accurate.

* Russian sources reported that Russian forces captured Pavlivka, Donetsk Oblast, (2km southwest of Vuhledar) on October 30. Some Russian sources claim that Russian forces control only half of Pavlivka as of October 30. The Ukrainian General Staff’s evening report did not report repelling Russian attacks in this area as it usually does, potentially indicating that the Russian claims are accurate.

* Russian forces launched Kh-59 cruise missiles at Ochakiv, Mykolaiv Oblast. Russian sources claimed that Russian forces targeted and destroyed military infrastructure in Ochakiv.

* Mobilized men from Republic of Komi appealed to Russian authorities with complaints of insufficient military equipment and body armor.

* Russia announced its intention to supply 500,000 tons of grain to the “poorest countries” following its withdrawal from the deal that allowed Ukraine to export its grain. Ukraine announced that it intends to export agricultural products to maintain global food security.

* Ukrainian military officials reported that Russian forces continued to create conditions in Nova Kakhovka to drive local inhabitants to evacuate.

* Occupation authorities in Kherson Oblast announced a dual currency system that allows the use of both rubles and hryvnya, unwinding a months-long effort to enforce rubleization in the oblast.

More at URL above.

Cheers