I've given it a couple days to be sure. But I know I'm not the only one who noticed the difference in the population's response when Ukraine invaded russia VS when russia invaded Ukraine. (Not to mention the reported behavior of the invading Army. Or the retreating one for that matter...)
Kursk:
For contrast:
(And still one of the baddest quotes of the war)
But also
In reply to Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) :
Even Russian soldiers won't mess with an angry Ukrainian woman 
"Please leave us alone... I don't want to get my ass kicked in front of these guys"
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
But seriously though, that was admirable the way he did *not* respond. I get she was pissed, and that's cool, but the guy showed the kind of restraint I associate with Western soldiers.
In reply to P3PPY :
That was also when the Russian soldiers believed that the Ukrainians were going to welcome them with open arms.
Interesting video to readers of this forum, teardown of Shahed drone engine
This event took place back in April, but the discussion is as relevant as it was then, and offers some very useful food for thought on what comes after Putin. (Video should start as he takes the stage; if not, he comes on about 17 minutes in.)
Some updates.
- Belerus has moved troops to the northern boarder of Ukraine (only a couple thousand). Seems highly unlikely they would jump into the war at this point.
- Russia launched a series are very large drone and cruise missile attacks on Ukraine primarily targeting energy infrastructure. The Kinzhals likely targeted air bases, likely looking for F-16's. The dam north of Kyiv was one of the things hit. Almost no chance of taking the dam down, they hit the power station which was likely the true target. Hard to say if this is a reaction to the Ukrainians Special Military Operation, or maybe all the Ukrainian drone attacks. Seems (as noted below) like Russia is highly unlikely to regularly do similar attacks.
Russia conducted one of the largest combined series of drone and missile strikes against Ukrainian critical infrastructure to date on August 26. Ukrainian Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk reported that Russian forces launched three Kh-47M2 "Kinzhal" aeroballistic missiles from Ryazan and Lipetsk oblasts; six Iskander-M or North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles from Kursk and Voronezh oblasts and occupied Crimea; 77 Kh-101 cruise missiles from Tu-95MS strategic bombers from Volgograd Oblast and the Caspian Sea; 28 Kalibr cruise missiles from both surface and underwater missile carriers in the eastern Black Sea; three Kh-22 cruise missiles from Voronezh Oblast; 10 Kh-59/69 cruise missiles from an unspecified number of Su-57 fighter aircraft and Su-34 fighter-bombers in airspace over Belgorod Oblast and occupied Mariupol; and 109 Shahed drones from Yeysk and Primorsk-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Krai, Kursk Oblast, and occupied Cape Chauda, Crimea.[1] Oleshchuk noted that Ukrainian forces shot down one Kh-47 "Kinzhal," one Iskander-M, one Kh-22, 99 total Kh-101s, Kalibrs, and Kh-59s, and 99 Shaheds, and that an unspecified number of Shaheds missed their targets and crashed elsewhere in Ukraine, while two more crossed into Belarusian airspace. Polish Armed Forces Commander Major General Maciej Klisz noted that at least one drone temporarily crossed into Polish airspace during the Russian strike series.[2] The massive Russian strike series damaged objects in 15 Ukrainian oblasts, largely targeting Ukrainian critical infrastructure and causing significant damage to Ukraine's energy grid.[3] Geolocated footage published on August 26 shows the aftermath of a likely Russian missile strike against the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) dam in Vyshhorod (just north of Kyiv City), although Kyiv Oblast Head Ruslan Kravchenko noted that the strike on the dam did not cause significant damage to Kyiv HPP infrastructure.[4] Ukrainian officials reported additional damage to critical infrastructure and energy disruptions as a result of Russian strikes in Lviv, Odesa, Volyn, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, and Zaporizhia oblasts.[5]
That oil tank fire noted previously is apparently still burning. New ones have started (Donetsk area) :
Ukrainians have captured the south side (across river) of Koreneva (a pretty important city, tactical wise) and seems to looking to circle around it from the north. Sudzha, shown in the video above, can be see in the lower right. The Ukrainians have not moved much westward, somewhat surprisingly (I suspect it's not a priority at this point).
Russia has closed the Kursk-Rylsk highway (the highway the Russians where building defensive lines just south of) because of Ukrainian drone activity (they have been picking off vehicles there apparently). I guess they are going to loose some money from the speeding tickets (see story above). The nuke plant is at Kurchatov.
The Russians are still pushing in the the Avdiivka area and still making progress. Clearly going for that road intersection.
aircooled said:- Belerus has moved troops to the northern boarder of Ukraine (only a couple thousand). Seems highly unlikely they would jump into the war at this point.
Belarus is in an interesting place right now. Lukashenko gave an address last week that included the following statement:
“Some from the outside are giving us advice, throwing in ideas and urging us to back down here and give something up there. The idea is that we should forget about Russia and turn away from Russia. ‘Go fight against Russia together with Ukraine,’ they say, ‘and we will deploy NATO forces close to [the Russian city of] Smolensk.’ This is how far it gets. I’m receiving proposals from all sides, and 99% of them we cannot accept.”
That's not the sort of language that's going to give Putin the warm and fuzzies. I suspect that some words may have been exchanged to the effect of Putin suggesting that Lukashenko better put some troops on the border as a sign of good faith, lest he find himself suddenly unemployed. I also would not be even a little surprised if Putin then engineered a false flag effort on behalf of the Ukrainians and killed some of those Belarusian soldiers to draw Lukashenko into the war whether he likes it or not.
Lukashenko would probably like to have a lot more options than he does, which is to say more than one. His people don't want anything to do with the war, and there's enough simmering discontent there that if he pushes too hard a coup attempt is a real possibility; that, in turn, would be practically a written invitation for Russia to occupy Belarus with a "humanitarian peacekeeping force" to restore order (see East Berlin 1953, Hungary 1956, and Czechoslovakia 1968 for how this tends to work out). And if he rejects Putin's polite suggestions, he may find himself retiring to a lovely private villa near Moscow or his country the unwilling recipient of a Russian expeditionary force (or both of the above). He's a wily old bastard, but he's living in a dangerous neighborhood with two leaders who are willing to do some pretty drastic things to tip the existing balance.
In reply to 02Pilot :
He also might find himself on a plane to Moscow with a crew member that likes to play with grenades (that somehow attract anti-aircraft missiles).
Uh oh. A threat from Russia. I guess we all just have to do whatever they want us to do....
Russia is signaling it could take out the West's internet and GPS. There's no good backup plan.
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, issued a stark warning in June.
The undersea cables that enable global communications had become a legitimate target for Russia, he said.
https://www.aol.com/news/russia-signaling-could-wests-internet-145211316.html
In reply to aircooled :
Prigozhin's assassination was, in Lukashenko's words, “It was too rough, unprofessional work, for that matter” to be Putin's handiwork. I'm sure his will be more subtle and elegant.
Im seeing reports that Lukashenko ordered that a Russian drone be shot down.
If so, things might be getting extra spicy over there
One F-16 down, doing what it was expected they were going to be used for, chasing cruise missiles:
Top Ukrainian pilot killed when US-made F-16 fighter jet crashed
A top Ukrainian pilot was killed when a US-made F-16 fighter jet crashed on Monday, just weeks after the long-awaited planes arrived in the country, a Ukrainian military source told CNN.
The Ukrainian Defence Forces do not believe pilot error was behind the incident, the source added.
Pilot Oleksiy Mes, known as “Moonfish,” was killed in the crash while “repelling the biggest ever aerial attack” by Russia against Ukraine, said the source, adding that the pilot was buried on Thursday.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/29/europe/ukraine-f16-crashes-intl/index.html
A bit more info on this. Zelenskii noted that the F-16 very much did their part in taking down missiles in the attacks. I imagine that might result in some kill marks on the planes (historically, most anything you destroy could be shown).
Why the crash? No idea, but those cruise missiles are flying very fast and very low, and at night! You can imagine some of the dangers that could be encountered! Unfortunately, one of those issues is local air defense who has been very used to shooting at almost anything in the air. IFF (Identify Friend of Foe) is certainly present on the planes (which should keep friendlies from shooting friendlies) but with the mish-mash of air defense systems they have, you could see how that might not have worked perfectly. E.g. probably works fine with a NATO sourced system, but a Soviet era BUK SAM system?
Someone in Ukraine is saying it was a Patriot system, but not sure that is reliable (and you would think it would be the best at identifying targets).
The pilot, Oleksiy "Munfish" Mes is one of the pilots who came to the US to request the F-16's (I believe he is the one on the right). Andriy "Jus" Pilshchikov (left?) died while training in F-16's.
Some updates:
Ukraine did another large drone attack on Russia (hundreds of drones), including targets in/near Moscow. Russian air defense of course shot down all the drones...
I am not sure if this speaks to the Ukrainians ability to sustain large drone waves. I highly suspect the Russian will not be able to respond with another missile barrage. The cost difference between the two is certainly massive!
IN COMPLETELY UNRELATED NEWS:
Many fires and explosions in Russian power plants and refineries...
At night, UAVs attacked two Russian Hydroelectric Power Stations Kashirsk in the Moscow region and Konakovsk in the Tver region, and the Moscow oil refinery was also attacked
Ukraine handed the US a list of targets in Russia for ATACMS missile strikes, Defense Minister Rustem Umyerov said in an interview with CNN.
According to him, the list includes airfields that the Russians use to attack Ukrainian cities. Umyerov noted that these targets are within the reach of ATACMS missiles, and emphasized that Ukraine insists on lifting restrictions on the use of these missiles to protect its population and infrastructure.
Earlier, Politico reported that Umerov and the head of OP Andriy Yermak plan to visit Washington and hand over a list of potential targets for strikes on Russia.
- Belarus sends more troops to the boarder of Ukraine ("see Putler, we ARE doing something")
The deliveries of artillery shells on the Czech initiative are going according to plan - the head of the Czech Foreign Ministry Lipavsky
Delivery of 100,000 shells is expected during July-August. A total of 500,000 artillery shells should be delivered by the end of the year.
Rumor is that the Ukrainians are using highways for runways for the F-16's. This makes a lot of sense since, as noted previously, there are only maybe two airports suitable otherwise. This of course has some historical precedence since the German autobahn and the US freeway system had similar requirements (straight stretches) and intended uses. Also, I suspect there are a number rubbery air filled F-16's at those air bases.
Another interesting F-16 thing:
Ukraine Looking for Retired F-16 Pilots
Ukraine is now recruiting retired F-16 pilots to bolster its ranks, according to a senior U.S. lawmaker.
Senator Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) said this week that ex-Viper pilots can likely get a combat job if they want one.
"If you're a retired F-16 pilot and you're looking to fight for freedom, they will hire you here," Graham told reporters after a meeting with Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskyy. "They're going to look throughout NATO nations for willing fighter pilots who retired to come help them until they can get their pilots trained. So we're going to get these jets in the air sooner rather than later."
Ukraine received its first few F-16s in late July, and there should be about 20 ready for combat by the end of the year, but training pilots is a slow process.
Only about 20 Ukrainian Air Force pilots will be qualified by the end of the year, and that's about half the number needed for the available aircraft. The Vipers are expected to act as a deterrence to long-range attacks from the Russian side of the line by forcing it to release weapons from a greater distance.
https://www.flyingmag.com/military/ukraine-looking-for-retired-f-16-pilots/
Some not so good news (north eastern area, west of Kharkiv):
Russian forces struck civilian infrastructure and a military educational facility in Poltava City with two Iskander-M ballistic missiles, killing and wounding a significant number of people, as part of a wider strike series on the night of September 2 to 3. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched three Iskander-M/North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles from occupied Crimea, a Kh-59/69 cruise missile from Kursk Oblast, and 35 Shahed-136/131 drones from Kursk Oblast and occupied Cape Chauda, Crimea.[1] The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 27 Shahed drones over Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Poltava, Chernihiv, and Sumy oblasts, that six Shaheds did not strike their target, and that two Shahed drones flew toward Belgorod Oblast and occupied Donetsk Oblast.[2] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that two Iskander missiles struck a military educational institution and a nearby hospital in Poltava City, partially destroying a building at the Poltava Military Communications Institute.[3] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated the strike killed at least 51 and injured at least 271.[4] Zelensky highlighted Ukraine's need for more air defense systems and interceptors and called on Western countries to lift restrictions on Ukrainian forces conducting long-range strikes against military targets within Russia as such restrictions inhibit Ukraine from defending against long-range Russian strikes.[5] Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CNN on September 3 that only Patriot and SAMP/T air defense systems are capable of intercepting Russia's ballistic missiles.[6] Russian milbloggers celebrated the strike and amplified footage of the strike and its aftermath.[7]
And this is pretty horrible. (But so is targeting apartment complexes with missiles and drones.)
Dropping thermite on or around the occupiers.
Noddaz said:And this is pretty horrible. (But so is targeting apartment complexes with missiles and drones.)
Dropping thermite on or around the occupiers.
Nah. It's just their way of saying "as per our last e-mail...."
It's tough because Ukrainian and russian languages aren't as close as we think they are,so you have to use visual cues. I just found out yesterday that Ukrainian and Polish have more in common than either does with russian.
If anyone's down there, they should be pickin up what Ukraine's puttin down.
In reply to Noddaz :
I saw a video of that. They are using drones for this It's amazing how much thermite a drone can drop (must be the larger ones). You can see the where the drone is in the first shot. It's pretty low, so not likely useful in areas that don't have good tree cover (to easy to shoot at), so not likely useful in any of the older front line areas, since they are effectively de-forrested (moonscape).
It is pretty amazing how creative humans can be when it comes to figuring out innovative ways to kill each other.
Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) said:It's tough because Ukrainian and russian languages aren't as close as we think they are,so you have to use visual cues. I just found out yesterday that Ukrainian and Polish have more in common than either does with russian.
I can't imagine why...
Circa 1616 (overlaid on modern borders):
18th Century:
Another item, that seemed to hit the general news. It should be noted (as might be obvious) these are of course generally more the fringe type commentators. If you are wondering, no, I don't think Colonel Oftruth is one of these. He seemed to come up with his bizarre observations all on his own! There is a video running around of one of them (likely the most extreme), where he is pounding his desk saying the "Ukraine is our enemy...every since they started the war by blowing up the Nordstream pipeline!". Lot's of dumb going on there. RT of course is a Russian backed (essentially) propaganda news network.
To add a bit more to this: I am not sure there is any evidence that RT actually provided talking point, where a direct influence to commentators etc, but certainly was trying to support things that went with their narrative (or just a want to stir things up). Similar to contributing to a political candidate. This of course is not normally illegal, but very much not allowed by a foreign entity.
U.S. says Russia funded media company that paid right-wing influencers millions for videos
Washington — Two Russian nationals working for a news network controlled by Vladimir Putin's government funneled millions of dollars to an American media company that paid right-wing influencers for videos pushing narratives favorable to the Kremlin, U.S. prosecutors alleged on Wednesday.
An indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York charged Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, both based in Moscow, with conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment came as the Justice Department unveiled sprawling allegations accusing the Russian government of meddling in the 2024 U.S. elections.
The two defendants worked for RT, a media outlet formerly known as Russia Today that is funded and controlled by the Russian government, the indictment said.
Federal prosecutors said RT oversaw a series of "covert projects" that included funneling $10 million through a series of shell entities to a Tennessee-based company launched in 2023 that publishes videos on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and X, formerly known as Twitter.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-tenet-media-right-wing-influencers-justice-department/
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