Interestingly it’s being reported that Belarusian military vehicles have been spotted with “B” painted on them. What they’re for is impossible to say. Helping Russia to root out the Ukrainians? Threatening to cross over into Ukraine itself? Or just to give a headache to the Ukrainian strategists.
Where are these vehicles being spotted? In Russia?
Б or В ?
Here’s an article about it:
The article concludes that it’s probably the desire to send a message, which I agree with.
I’d love to be a fly on the wall in those meetings. President Zelensky looks exhausted in that photo.
Good lord. Trumps gonna get the plans too? Why not avoid the middle man and Fed-X them to Putin.
Nobody said the same plan
I like the way you think.
And if the Russian military end up in the completely wrong place at the wrong time. Trumps fingerprints would be all over it.
If it were me, and I were a country on the border with Russia and Ukraine, I might want to put my troops on my border as a deterrent to someone using my country to circumvent the other side’s defenses a la the NAZIs in Belgium. And if my military shared common heritage and the same equipment, I might want to visibly distinguish my stuff so that both other forces knew I was not the enemy but a “neutral” third party.
You’ve got that backwards. Trump was the President who put sanctions on Russian pipelines and Biden was the President who removed them.
ETA: Sorry, off topic and removed.
Have you ever seen The Falcon And The Snowman?
That is 1) a complete non sequitur, and 2) something that happened before the war (Biden dropped sanctions on Nordstream in 2021).
Back on actual topic: Kazan airport has been shut down for “safety reasons”.
Russia now has two oil depots on fire.
It’s incredible Ukraine reached over 900 miles to kick Putin’s buttocks.
Guardian live feed
That is indeed pretty wild. For reference, Paris is about 900 miles from Ukraine’s western border, and Denver is about 900 miles from Chicago (and San Francisco).
What is the range of the drones they’re using? More to the point, just how far into Russia have Ukrainian soldiers actually moved?
Hidden by WE?
More importantly, Moscow is only 500 miles from Kiev, or 300 miles from the Ukrainian border.
Could Zelenski be thinking of bombing Moscow?
Careful now: Moving out of Breaking News again. Stick to breaking news and not WAGs.
Moderating:
I suspect that Russia had a lot of air defenses emplaced along the border, to intercept attacks like this quickly… but that Kursk is behind that line, and so drone/missile attacks launched from there now face much less in the way of air defenses.
well, more than 900 miles ;o) … but UKR now is firmly situated 15 miles into RU, so that extends their practical reach by 1.6% (not meant as snark, just to put things into perspective)
its sheer size has been the best defense for RU in past wars (i think more than freezing temps)… obv. this has its disadvantages, too … there is no way in hell you can really cover all that terrain with air defense weapons …
IOW, RU “heartland” with very few strategic exemptions is pretty much undefended…
Intersting to know, how (if!) the F-16 play into that? … can they launch those UKR Cruise Missiles? … not suggesting they flew into RU, but rather if they provided a flexible high alt. launch platform to sidestep some of RU Air Defense …
having said that, here the latest from ISW:
Key Takeaways:
- Multiple reports from Western media indicate that the US government is prohibiting the United Kingdom (UK) from allowing Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles to strike military targets in Russia.
- Several Russian milbloggers claimed on August 28 that the tempo of Ukrainian attacks in Kursk Oblast has slowed and that Ukrainian forces are now attempting to dig in and hold select areas they recently seized.
- Ukrainian forces conducted drone strikes against oil infrastructure in Rostov and Kirov oblasts and reportedly conducted a drone strike against Voronezh Oblast overnight on August 27 to 28.
- Russia’s allies appear to be increasingly restricting their transactions with Russian companies and financial institutions amid ongoing concern about the impact of secondary US sanctions.
the last point I find interesting, and might turn into a longer term headache (one of those non-glorious weapons that are surprisingly effective?)
Are there any reports of the UKR army deliberately targeting air defense systems? It seems like they could maybe make quick strikes to take out missile launchers, radar facilities, and AAA sites and vehicles. This could leave a big hole in the RU air defense wall. This is turn could make Moscow feel very vulnerable to drones and missile attack.