Agreed with both these points, but (at the risk of a mod note for injecting politics) I feel compelled to say I’m glad we have a president who’s able to see this clarity and act accordingly.
Made me think of how they zapped Johar Dudayev in 1996 by homing in on his satellite phone signal with a guided missile. Ukraine today has got to have better signal defenses than were available to Dudayev then!
I didn’t realize the Ukrainian drone operators (air reconnaissance unit) were this well organized. They had prepared for several years before disbanding in 2019. They were restarted a few months before the war began.
It seems unbelievable that their success has not resulted in financial support and equipment.
If this details in this article are true then this small brigade of operators may have turned the war and saved the Ukrainian capital. I’m slightly dubious but you never know. Either way it would make for a great movie one day.
Eyes in the sky are an advantage in war.
Observation balloons were still used in WWII. Maybe even later? I’d hate to be the guys in the basket.
Do you have a citation for that? The only balloons I’ve seen in WWII were barrage balloons.
I thought the German Cross was from WWII. I just went to the article and it’s about WWI equipment. I shouldn’t have relied on only the photo.
Seems like a balloon would be cheaper and more expendable than sending a plane to direct artillery fire. A plane runs out of fuel. A balloon stays up much longer. But, I’m not in the military.
The Iron Cross predates modern Germany, let alone WWII.
However, the point about observation balloons in World War II is surprisingly valid, if Wikipedia is accurate.
Which brings it back to the Russians. And perhaps the Ukranians.
Today’s miniature cameras would work well with a tethered spy balloon not much bigger than your fist.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the ingenious Ukrainians have rigged something up. Paint it bluish-grey and it wouldn’t easily be seen.
This HD camera has night vision for $29. .
How would you overcome the wind factor?
Hmm, it would have to be a camera on a telescoping mast.
Your right. A cable wouldn’t hold a small balloon stable enough.
I’ve read reports of cameras strapped on birds. Not sure if it’s believable. The camera’s stability would be an issue.
Ukraine is admitting to 100-200 KIA a day. Very ugly.
Mines went off in transport. It must be nerve-racking putting them in the ground and arming.
Seems like it should be easier for Ukrainian forces to disarm mines from the 1950’s. The tech is well known and there should be a lot of information available. There are organizations that have cleared old Soviet minefields all over the world.
ISW June 9
[side note]
In aircraft and vehicle markings, the “Iron Cross”-style pattern with the arms flaring out is from WWI and post-WW2. The pattern for WW2 was with straight rectangular arms.
[/side note]
Balkenkreuz – beam cross or bar cross.
“The strategic impact is, it totally destroyed [Vladimir] Putin’s information campaign,” said Brig. Gen. Steve Butow, director of the space portfolio at the Defense Innovation Unit, the Pentagon’s Silicon Valley tech outpost. “He never, to this day, has been able to silence Zelenskyy.”
The situation in Ukraine is getting desperate . They’re using up a lot of artillery shells. I haven’t seen any reports of new production in NATO countries. I would expect that cold war stockpiles are still available.
Imho Russia has to be in a similar situation. They’re burning through a extreme amount of their stockpile. No one really knows how much is left.
The article says a NATO meeting is scheduled for June 15. Ukraine will offer a list of weapons and defensive equipment that is needed.
The Russian stockpile is purported to be absolutely huge.
Putin reveals his plan to emulate his hero Peter I of Russia by conquering lands not recognised by anyone else as Russian.
Zelenskyy mike drop.
In response to the plans of the Russian Parliament to revoke Russia’s recognition of Lithuania’s Declaration of Independence from the USSR in 1991, the Kyiv City Council has cancelled the decree by Kyiv Rus Grand Prince Volodymyr of the founding of Moscow in 1147.
Moscow is gone