@Mops thank you
It’s good to see that Germany has stepped up support in so many ways.
I think Putin is gearing up for Election. He wants progress in the war at any cost. Also the opportunity is right while the world is distracted by Israel fighting Hamas.
The next few months will be even more difficult and costly for both sides.
Link Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November 14, 2023 | Institute for the Study of War
The Guardian has been one of the major sources of information about the war. It is a supporter of Ukraine and the articles generally report from the Ukrainian perspective.
The editors posted a very interesting discussion about the current status of the war. I’m not offering an opinion myself. People should draw their own conclusions. The future of the war is a complex question and even a 20 min blog can’t cover everything.
On a more hopeful note:
A foregone conclusion. Voters will be handed ballots pre-filled out. Fascist dictators dont allow real elections.
The Kherson front is going well. Pushing Russia back helps protect Kherson City from artillery fire.
Guardian blog
The fighting along the Dnipro river is getting intense. It’s no longer a scouting party to show the flag.
Snitching on Russian critics of the Ukrainian “special action” is in full swing. Just like the good old days!
That’s taking Karening to a whole new level.
Ukrainians should welcome Russians that previously moved to Ukraine before the war. I understand it’s hard accepting people from a country your fighting. It’s a unique problem for Ukraine because so much of the population has extended family in Russia.
The subject of this article has a husband in the Ukrainian military.
Deleted. Wrong thread.
It’s a real pity that Russia’s war hasn’t increased their weapon sales. It seems like such a good advertising opportunity. /s
And in more sensational news, I’m sure that having a “Satanic” killer in the ranks helped morale. Though he likely didn’t mention it.
This new tech could protect the US grid from cyber attacks. Ukraine is an important test.
Cisco makes very good Network equipment.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/21/politics/ukraine-power-grid-equipment-cisco/index.html
Free admission and a washing machine with every kidnapped child brought in…
surströming? hold my vodka and watch this …
Someone would start a kidnapping ring to profit off those sweet free washing machines.
I found two recent articles. Ukrainians won’t be attending Top Gun school. They are learning the basics to provide air support. The ones that live long enough will get better with experience.
I haven’t heard much about the current Russian pilots. I’d guess they’re very experienced. Russia has protected their air force from the most intense fighting. They’ve lost several planes from attacks on the ground. Russian air defense bagged several Russian planes & helicopters. That’s a reminder that Russian air defense is pretty lethal. Their own planes can’t defeat it.
The second link confirms Ukraine has established bridging across the Dnipro
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/21/europe/ukrainian-pilot-f-16-jet-intl/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/24/world/ukraine-russia-dnipro-river-intl-hnk-dst/index.html
Their own planes shouldn’t have to defeat it. Pure lethality is not something you want from military equipment. You want that lethality to be directed purely at the enemy. Which means that by real-world standards, Russian air defense sucks.
Well yes, but if it can shoot down EVERYthing with a fair degree of completeness, that means that nobody can fly in the area.
Stupid yes, as far as military doctrine goes. But it does mean that Ukraine pilots will be exposed to tough conditions if they fly sorties.
Yeah. What matters is your net score (enemy - friendly kills), not your total score (enemy + friendly kills).
I have not been following the air defense play-by-play closely, but as a general matter, your large SAMs and radar-guided AAA should be operating with IFF systems to (largely) prevent targeting friendlies. To the degree those air defense systems are delivering fratricide there is evidently a severe problem with IFF reliability for whatever reason.
Your MANPADs and visually aimed AAA tend to lack IFF receivers. If most of the friendly kills are from those systems that suggests poor training on the part of the firing crews. Or, more ominously for Russia, a desire to deliver fratricide.
Something else factoring into the over/under on enemy vs. friendly kills is the relative opportunity. As a friendly tactical aircraft I’ve got to overly my own air defenses going both ways just to get to enemy territory. If the other side isn’t bringing jets or helos over onto my territory much or at all, then nearly all the air traffic on our side of the lines is our own aircraft. Which fact ought to be figuring heavily into how blindly aggressive, or carefully discerning, is the firing doctrine for our air defense team.
Whatever is going on in the details, it seems the Russians don’t have the big picture working well for them.