UKRAINE WAR - 1 YEAR AND GOING.

[GrosseAdmiralFox]

It wouldn't be the first time Russia has lied about a particular target being destroyed.

US Official says Russia Lied about Patriot Missile Destruction

Source: CNN, citing an anonymous US official

Details: A US official told CNN that a Patriot system was likely damaged, with the extent of the damage still being assessed. This assessment will determine whether the system can be repaired on the spot, or needs to be pulled back.

On Tuesday, Russia’s Defence Ministry said that "a high-precision strike by the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system in the city of Kyiv hit a US-made Patriot anti-aircraft missile system." Ukraine did not comment on the Russian statement, but said that its forces intercepted all six hypersonic Kinzhal missiles that Russia had launched.

I'm sure Ukraine loves how the US is blabbing all these details.
TL;DR The Patriot System was Hit, but not destroyed, and maybe not even Mission-killed if the damage was mild enough.

Not the first time, people forget that during WW2, a US politician blabbed that the IJN were setting their depth charges too shallow, and Japanese spies/radio intercept officers managed to pass the information to the IJN, leading to countless needless deaths... and said politician wasn't even charged with sedition/treason for it.

[Solauren]

Now here's an interesting twist on things....

https://www-moscowtimes-ru.translate.go ... r_pto=wapp

Developers of Putin's hypersonic missiles arrested for treason

The wave of high treason cases that swept Russia after the start of the war in Ukraine has reached the largest scientific center of the domestic defense industry.

Three scientists from the Novosibirsk Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (ITAM), who were involved in the creation of hypersonic aircraft, were arrested in turn by the security forces under an article, the maximum punishment for which this year became life imprisonment.

On Tuesday, May 16, ITAM employees published an open letter in which they announced the arrest on suspicion of treason Valery Zvegintsev, Doctor of Technical Sciences and chief researcher, who founded the high-velocity aerogasdynamics laboratory at the institute.

Since April 7, Zvegintsev has been under house arrest. Its immediate supervisor, director of ITAM Alexander Shiplyuk, was placed in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center in August last year, a few days after the arrest of chief researcher Anatoly Maslov. Both were charged under the same article - 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Treason." According to Academ.info, Maslov was suspected of transferring data related to hypersonic technologies to China.

Shiplyuk and Maslov have been working on hypersonic missiles for over 10 years. They presented the experimental design of such weapons back in 2012 at a scientific seminar in France, Reuters notes . Four years later, a work jointly authored by two scientists appeared on aerodynamic research at hypersonic speeds.

Shiplyuk in recent years has also been involved in the protective coating of hypersonic missiles - his work, cited online, is devoted to this topic, wrote The Telegraph .

In total, in the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which is known for its strong potential in the field of physics and mathematics, 16 people were prosecuted , including the former head, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Aseev. One of the scientists, 54-year-old Dmitry Kolker, head of the laboratory of quantum optical technologies at Novosibirsk State University, died in a Moscow pre-trial detention center shortly after being arrested by the FSB.

On March 1, 2018, President Vladimir Putin announced the creation of hypersonic weapons in Russia during his address to the Federal Assembly. In an animated presentation demonstrating launches across the United States, Putin showed deputies, senators and officials the Zirkon anti-ship missile and the Avangard intercontinental ballistic missile with a glide block. The latter, according to Putin, develops speeds above Mach 20 and melts in flight, "like a popsicle."

In addition, Putin presented the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system, which, according to the president, "is guaranteed to overcome" not only existing, but also promising air defense and missile defense systems.

On May 4, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced that it had shot down the Kinzhal with the help of American Patriot air defense systems developed back in the 1970s, which Kyiv received from Germany and the Netherlands. Later, the information about the interception of the missile was officially confirmed by the Pentagon.

The Kremlin has not commented on the detention of hypersonic scientists on suspicion of treason, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a briefing on Wednesday.

“Russian special services are working, they are performing their functions, this is a very serious accusation,” he said, adding that only a court can find a person guilty.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

It wouldn't be the first time Russia has lied about a particular target being destroyed.

US Official says Russia Lied about Patriot Missile Destruction

Source: CNN, citing an anonymous US official

Details: A US official told CNN that a Patriot system was likely damaged, with the extent of the damage still being assessed. This assessment will determine whether the system can be repaired on the spot, or needs to be pulled back.

On Tuesday, Russia’s Defence Ministry said that "a high-precision strike by the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system in the city of Kyiv hit a US-made Patriot anti-aircraft missile system." Ukraine did not comment on the Russian statement, but said that its forces intercepted all six hypersonic Kinzhal missiles that Russia had launched.

I'm sure Ukraine loves how the US is blabbing all these details.
TL;DR The Patriot System was Hit, but not destroyed, and maybe not even Mission-killed if the damage was mild enough.

Not the first time, people forget that during WW2, a US politician blabbed that the IJN were setting their depth charges too shallow, and Japanese spies/radio intercept officers managed to pass the information to the IJN, leading to countless needless deaths... and said politician wasn't even charged with sedition/treason for it.

About 800

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Major blow for Putin after Russian economy takes huge plunge

Russia's economy has shrunk by 1.9 per cent during the first quarter of 2023 according to Moscow's latest reports. The official Russian statistics office Rosstat reported the near two per cent fall in GDP compared to the same period in 2018 on Wednesday

Early predictions had pointed to a larger decline in 2022, but Western sanctions enacted in response to Moscow's deployment of troops to Ukraine in February caused the GDP to decline by 2.1 percent.

According to the economics ministry and central bank, the first quarter will contract by 2.2 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively, while Rosstat data show that the fourth quarter of last year saw a 2.7 percent decline.

The first quarter's dip was mostly caused by a decrease in retail and wholesale goods turnover, while the manufacturing, agricultural, and construction sectors all experienced increase.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast growth for Russia in 2023, but it has also issued a warning that for the foreseeable future, the country's economic growth would be constrained by its isolation from the rest of the world and its declining energy earnings.

The Russian government is reportedly able to continue its "special military operation" in Ukraine despite sanctions by increasing military production and making considerable public expenditures.

Despite the ongoing geopolitical crisis sparked by Putin's war on Ukraine, Russia's tourism board is actively promoting the country as a tourist destination, seemingly oblivious to the conflict.

The board regularly posts images of various tourist spots in Russia on its Twitter account, encouraging people to visit, despite the ongoing war

The tourism board posted a picture on Wednesday of Dzivgis Fortress in Ossetia, describing it as "the largest cave castle in the .region: it comprises seven defensive fortifications, built at the entrances to the natural caves".

[Rogue 9]

Now here's an interesting twist on things....

https://www-moscowtimes-ru.translate.go ... r_pto=wapp

According to Academ.info, Maslov was suspected of transferring data related to hypersonic technologies to China.

For selling the technology to China. For a second there I thought they'd been arrested because their supposedly unbeatable missile got shot down. Would be about par for the course.

[Solauren]

I call bullshit on the sales charge. Odds are, Russia already sold it to China, and now they're mad China wants their money back.

[Rogue 9]

Well, the thing about a hypersonic ballistic trajectory is that if you detect the launch and calculate its trajectory in time, the interception is just a math problem. It doesn't evade and it's not low observability, so if the Patriot site was the actual target, that actually simplifies the interception. That's why the NATO solution is low observability cruise missiles rather than hypersonic missiles of our own. Neither the Russians nor Chinese should be surprised that they don't have a 100% success rate.

[Jub]

Well, the thing about a hypersonic ballistic trajectory is that if you detect the launch and calculate its trajectory in time, the interception is just a math problem. It doesn't evade and it's not low observability, so if the Patriot site was the actual target, that actually simplifies the interception. That's why the NATO solution is low observability cruise missiles rather than hypersonic missiles of our own. Neither the Russians nor Chinese should be surprised that they don't have a 100% success rate.

Hypersonic weapons that have and end phase ballistic arc have been around for years as ICBMs. A hypersonic weapon worth the name should to be able to make active maneuvers in the terminal phase to avoid modern AMS.

[Lord Revan]

Well, the thing about a hypersonic ballistic trajectory is that if you detect the launch and calculate its trajectory in time, the interception is just a math problem. It doesn't evade and it's not low observability, so if the Patriot site was the actual target, that actually simplifies the interception. That's why the NATO solution is low observability cruise missiles rather than hypersonic missiles of our own. Neither the Russians nor Chinese should be surprised that they don't have a 100% success rate.

Hypersonic weapons that have and end phase ballistic arc have been around for years as ICBMs. A hypersonic weapon worth the name should to be able to make active maneuvers in the terminal phase to avoid modern AMS.

Honestly it wouldn't be out of possibility that someone sold the parts needed for the missiles to avoid interception and told no one, assuming said parts existed anywhere but in the plans submitted for the budget.

Time and time again Russian military shown themselves to be inept when it comes to actually prosecuting the wars and not just claiming to do so and a big part of that is some of their tech exists only on paper in the numbers they claim it to exist (or at all).

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Like in their sad little "Victory Day" parade in which the only tank was a single WWII-era T34?

[Zwinmar]

Shhhh, don't laugh, they might throw another temper tantrum. Though how its going to get worse when it is on going is a mystery. I firmly believe the angry little man-child would have tossed nukes already if they were actually in working order.

[Zaune]

I would post a link to a certain music video in which Mr Putin weaponises the power of Funk instead, but after the last year or so it doesn't seem very funny anymore.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Shhhh, don't laugh, they might throw another temper tantrum. Though how its going to get worse when it is on going is a mystery. I firmly believe the angry little man-child would have tossed nukes already if they were actually in working order.

The state of Russia's nukes is the billion-dollar question after all.

[madd0c0t0r2]

Like in their sad little "Victory Day" parade in which the only tank was a single WWII-era T34?

Interesting article in PopMech on the T54s.

They aren't being used as tanks, they're being used as hardened artillery with mixed tank and artillery teams. https://www.popularmechanics.com/milita ... s-ukraine/

Now, looking at the stats' Russia seems to have lost roughly twice as many tanks as artillery. The article suggests that using tanks as artillery is wasteful, as the barrels wear out much faster. One reason they suggest is that the 100mm ammunition may be more plentiful.

Other reasons come to mind:
1) T54s can't stand against modern tanks, OR infantry portable javelins. (See the losses). So they aren't any use as tanks any more. Get some other use out of them
2) Russia expects to be on defensive, and artillery capable teams can mutually 'support' each other over the front. It makes breakthrougsh harder.
3) I speculate that the artillery Russia has lost is due partly to convoy ambush and partly to drones bearing small gifts. T54s might be more resilient in that role.

[Solauren]

3) I speculate that the artillery Russia has lost is due partly to convoy ambush and partly to drones bearing small gifts. T54s might be more resilient in that role.

Alt - T54s might be what they have left.

[LadyTevar]

Shhhh, don't laugh, they might throw another temper tantrum. Though how its going to get worse when it is on going is a mystery. I firmly believe the angry little man-child would have tossed nukes already if they were actually in working order.

The state of Russia's nukes is the billion-dollar question after all.

NATO's been spending that much to try to find out, for what good it's done.

It's still going to come down to does PUTIN have the balls to fire them. Because soon as he does, it's Open Season on Russia.
The big question is will that trigger Pakistan and India, or Israeli Nukes to fire? Will China fire theirs? Will it be the "ALL FIRE" Nuclear War as in "The Day After" (1983 TV movie that scarred/scared my generation).

[Crazedwraith]

Ukraine war: US to support providing F1-6 fighter jets to Ukraine

Ukraine war: US to support providing F1-6 fighter jets to Ukraine
The US says it will support providing advanced fighter jets including US-made F-16s to Ukraine and also back training Ukrainian pilots to fly them.
A senior White House official said President Biden had told G7 leaders in Japan of the decision.

President Volodomyr Zelensky, who has requested fighter jets for months, said the decision would "greatly enhance our army in the sky".

The UK, Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark also welcomed the move.

The US would "support a joint effort with our allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s, to further strengthen and improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force", the official said.

"As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them."

The announcement by the US will be viewed as a major breakthrough for the air capabilities of Ukraine, which has repeatedly lobbied its Western allies to provide jets to help in its fight against Russia.

Mr Zelensky welcomed what he described as a "historic decision", adding that he looked forward to "discussing the practical implementation" of the plan at the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also backed the move, tweeting: "The UK will work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs."

US endorsement will allow other nations to export their own F-16 jets, as the US legally has to approve the re-export of equipment purchased by allies.

Denmark has announced it too will now be able to support the training of pilots, but did not confirm whether it would send any jets to Ukraine. Denmark's air force has 40 F-16s, around 30 of which are operational.

The US had repeatedly rebuffed Ukraine's pleas for the jets, instead focusing on providing military support in other areas.

The Ukrainian leader is due to travel to Japan to meet G7 leaders, with his office confirming on Friday that he was due to meet Mr Biden in Japan in the coming days.

Considering how long they've been asking for Fighters and people have been stalling, this seems like big news.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Ukraine war: US to support providing F1-6 fighter jets to Ukraine

Ukraine war: US to support providing F1-6 fighter jets to Ukraine
The US says it will support providing advanced fighter jets including US-made F-16s to Ukraine and also back training Ukrainian pilots to fly them.
A senior White House official said President Biden had told G7 leaders in Japan of the decision.

President Volodomyr Zelensky, who has requested fighter jets for months, said the decision would "greatly enhance our army in the sky".

The UK, Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark also welcomed the move.

The US would "support a joint effort with our allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s, to further strengthen and improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force", the official said.

"As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them."

The announcement by the US will be viewed as a major breakthrough for the air capabilities of Ukraine, which has repeatedly lobbied its Western allies to provide jets to help in its fight against Russia.

Mr Zelensky welcomed what he described as a "historic decision", adding that he looked forward to "discussing the practical implementation" of the plan at the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also backed the move, tweeting: "The UK will work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs."

US endorsement will allow other nations to export their own F-16 jets, as the US legally has to approve the re-export of equipment purchased by allies.

Denmark has announced it too will now be able to support the training of pilots, but did not confirm whether it would send any jets to Ukraine. Denmark's air force has 40 F-16s, around 30 of which are operational.

The US had repeatedly rebuffed Ukraine's pleas for the jets, instead focusing on providing military support in other areas.

The Ukrainian leader is due to travel to Japan to meet G7 leaders, with his office confirming on Friday that he was due to meet Mr Biden in Japan in the coming days.

Considering how long they've been asking for Fighters and people have been stalling, this seems like big news.

It is, they want them for their spring offensive. Denying Russia air superiority is a game changer.

[Jub]

I hope that Ukraine gets what they need and not just a trickle of what the west thinks it can spare without escalating things.

[Eternal_Freedom]

I would note that this is a comment from one unnamed official, not any official announcement - and at the moment it's just them saying "we'll train pilots in cooperation with other countries and then in future maybe give them jets."

It's a move in the right direction, but it's nothing solid or definite yet.

[Broomstick]

Shhhh, don't laugh, they might throw another temper tantrum. Though how its going to get worse when it is on going is a mystery. I firmly believe the angry little man-child would have tossed nukes already if they were actually in working order.

The state of Russia's nukes is the billion-dollar question after all.

Trillion dollar. Or more.

If there were definitive proof Russia's nukes are useless or just on paper then that's a game changer the likes of which haven't been seen for nearly a century. Or more.

If they aren't useless and wind up being used... well, I may not have to worry about anything ever again. Or perhaps Mad Max will look like an optimistic piece of fiction.

I try not to dwell on the question since there's not a goddamned thing I could do either way and mundane shit like getting to work on time and paying my bills is a more immediate concern.

[Zwinmar]

Honestly, at this point it seems to me that the world needs to gather their sphincter, walk up real close to Russia, look them in the eye and go "do it ..I dare you" and be ready to hammer down because Russia is not going to quit unless they have their metaphorical teeth kicked in. Their government is a runaway train and we are going to have to deal with it regardless.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Ukrainians just need to keep doing what they're doing and they will bleed the Russians dry.

[Ralin]

and at the moment it's just them saying "we'll train pilots in cooperation with other countries and then in future maybe give them jets."

It's an actual war. Not like we should assume they're going to give a detailed and accurate summary of their plans.

[LadyTevar]

Ukraine war: US to support providing F1-6 fighter jets to Ukraine

Ukraine war: US to support providing F1-6 fighter jets to Ukraine
The US says it will support providing advanced fighter jets including US-made F-16s to Ukraine and also back training Ukrainian pilots to fly them.
A senior White House official said President Biden had told G7 leaders in Japan of the decision.

President Volodomyr Zelensky, who has requested fighter jets for months, said the decision would "greatly enhance our army in the sky".

The UK, Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark also welcomed the move.

The US would "support a joint effort with our allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s, to further strengthen and improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force", the official said.

"As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them."

The announcement by the US will be viewed as a major breakthrough for the air capabilities of Ukraine, which has repeatedly lobbied its Western allies to provide jets to help in its fight against Russia.

Mr Zelensky welcomed what he described as a "historic decision", adding that he looked forward to "discussing the practical implementation" of the plan at the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also backed the move, tweeting: "The UK will work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs."

US endorsement will allow other nations to export their own F-16 jets, as the US legally has to approve the re-export of equipment purchased by allies.

Denmark has announced it too will now be able to support the training of pilots, but did not confirm whether it would send any jets to Ukraine. Denmark's air force has 40 F-16s, around 30 of which are operational.

The US had repeatedly rebuffed Ukraine's pleas for the jets, instead focusing on providing military support in other areas.

The Ukrainian leader is due to travel to Japan to meet G7 leaders, with his office confirming on Friday that he was due to meet Mr Biden in Japan in the coming days.

Considering how long they've been asking for Fighters and people have been stalling, this seems like big news.

It is, they want them for their spring offensive. Denying Russia air superiority is a game changer.

Russia is already throwing a hissy saying "NOOOOOO DON'T GIVE THEM JETS!!!!"