That's so weird, though -- if true, that seems like doing a tonsillectomy through the rectum -- especially when e.g. there are rail lines that run from Voronezh and Volgograd (both much, much larger than Belgorod) to Luhansk.
It's not really the lines, tho. It's where the supply depots are. I'd also assume there really isn't much incentive for Russia to move their depots since Ukraine can't really hit the supply depots inside Russia right now. The only weapons in Ukraine's arsenal that can hit and damage the depots are Western weapons and they have banned Ukraine from using them in Russia.
Deep State Radio's Michael Weiss has a good discussion with ISW Interesting thing on escalation. Ukraine really has no choice. The risk of getting nuked is somewhat meh when you look at what is being done to their cities anyway. Russia on the other hand has no army left over to fight NATO. So likely that escalation pathway is not a good one for Russia. It was also suggested Ukraine's strategic objectives lie in the south with Crimea in terms of being able to create conditions for a stable peace. Donbas is less attractive because it has been so trashed in the fighting
Between 10 and 30 drones seen over Moscow today. Russia claims they shot down 10/10, Ukrainian vloggers claim there were up to 30.
This is going to make some tankie heads go 'splodey Remember Tara Reade that pro-Putin grifter who falsely accused Biden of sexual assault, a story people like Ryan Grim ran with, whose links to Russia were dismissed as an outrageous smear against an alleged survivor of assault? Well she’s just announced she has defected to Russia pic.twitter.com/up6ECdBa9m— Oz Katerji (@OzKaterji) May 30, 2023
Of course , I think that if NATO sent them Tornados and Harriers they could find a use for them. Heck, send them f-4 Phantoms which are still in use in Greece.
Are you underestimating the national feelings of our Ukranian brothers and sisters who have been liberated and demand to be joined with the Ukranian motherland? I think the vote should be higher.
In the 5 second vid, one was shot down Drone attack on Moscow. #Russia #Moscow pic.twitter.com/5ZyYFq0yUq— Natalka (@NatalkaKyiv) May 30, 2023
It’s less the dragons teeth, bit more about the thousands of mines intermixed with the dragons teeth.
Yeah. comes down to fortified positions, mines, number of infantry, ATGMs, arty, mobile reserves etc But it does have strong Siegfried line vibes i.e more some concrete and lines on map
What's the use of it if you can simply bomb a stretch of let's say 100meters wide through that terrain to clear it of mines and teeth?
The teeth aren't appropriate set up. You could see that they are just put on the ground. If a 70 ton tank drives over them, they will just get pushed away.
According to the dragons teeth experts out there, those loose ones are basically useless. They need to be denser and fixed
Even in that case the enemy has managed to funnel your attack to that 100m wide stretch of land. Makes the defense easier, assuming you have the manpower and equipment needed. Just plopping the stuff down and walking away leaving a few grunts behind to watch it probably won't be that effective.
The Ukraine Navy may have lost their last large ship. https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-says-destroys-ukraines-last-110045500.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_ship_Yuri_Olefirenko
The short version is that it takes time to clear them and it funnels the enemy into a certain corridors that makes it a lot easier to defend. I'm also not sure the dragon teeth can be blasted out of the way like you could with mines. I also don't think the mine clearing charges are 100% effective. Basically, the Ukrainians are looking at needing to blast a path through the mine through, which lets the Russians know where they are going to be attacking, then send the mine clearing vehicles and vehicles to push the dragon teeth to the side through (which can be targetted and destroyed by Russian artillery), then the attacking vehicles have to go through, again, under fire from Russian artillery.
With the recent drone attacks on Moscow, here's another thread on the never ending question "What air defense doing?". https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1663967994781769730.html Again, the answer comes down to rampant corruption throughout the Russian military-industrial complex. One of the examples given is that the radar system associated with Russia's latest air defenses is supposed to detect and target objects as small as a football. That is obviously not happening and one of the root causes identified is low cost foreign chips that are not designed to spec.
The whole point of the drone attack was to terrorize Russia's elite who will either be on the next flight to Switzerland or putting pressure on Putin. The next attack could be with cruise missiles.
Sounds a wee bit optimistic to believe the elite will pressure Putin into doing anything. Unless it pressures them to serve him a specially spiced cup of tea.
Yep. Russia is not the normal oligarchic situation where the leader is a creation of the elite. In Russia's case the elite is largely the creation of the leader.