Russia’s astronauts enter the space station in yellow and blue flight suits. From the article: "Three Russian astronauts launched to the International Space Station early Friday. A few hours later, their Soyuz spacecraft docked at the space station and, when they boarded the orbiting outpost, they were wearing flight suits of striking colors — yellow and blue, similar to the colors of Ukraine’s flag." Very interesting, symbolic protest?
This is a compelling format for describing Russia's ineptitude in Ukraine. Must share... How Russia’s mistakes and Ukrainian resistance altered Putin’s war
I don’t believe this will help Russia much tactically. If Russia’s armed forces are not strong enough and well motivated enough to beat down Ukraine, then what is Belarus going to contribute? What would troubling to me is the widening nature of the conflict. If Russia can bring in allies, then why not Ukraine?
Oh that Russian space agency guy's head is going to explode. Didn't he just say his "boys were ready for a fight"? LOL
Yeah that's part of Putin's thinking- he's got the world worried & hiding because of nukes and he feels he can get help from whomever he wants. To their somewhat credit, it looks like China is completely staying out of it militarily. Bottom line is it doesn't help China at all to help Russia. Belarus probably thinks it had nothing to lose, & they've already been staging there. Frankly wouldn't see an issue with Ukraine bombing into Belarus to knock out staging areas there. They want to get involved go for it.
A good article that sums up the point I was making yesterday with far more detail. Putin may be losing the information war, but Ukraine may be losing on the battlefield: BILL ROGGIO | Daily Mail Online
From what I've been reading, the biggest challenge for Ukraine is defending against Russian artillery which is out of range of their anti-armor weaponry. That might change when the US delivers Switchblade drones to the Ukrainian army. They're highly mobile, extremely accurate and can stay in the air for up to 40 minutes. Like the Stingers and Javelins, they require very little training. Unlike the Javelins, they're effective from up to 25 miles.
Cnn live "Mariupol residents forced to go to Russia against their will, city council says From Olga Voitovch in Lviv Residents of Mariupol, Ukraine, are being taken to Russian territory against their will by Russian forces, according to a statement Saturday from the Mariupol City Council. “Over the past week, several thousand Mariupol residents have been taken to Russian territory. The occupiers illegally took people from the Livoberezhny district and from the shelter in the sports club building, where more than a thousand people (mostly women and children) were hiding from the constant bombing,” the statement read. Captured Mariupol residents were taken to camps where Russian forces checked their phones and documents, the city council said, and then were redirected to remote Russian cities. The statement quoted Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko, who said, "What the occupiers are doing today is familiar to the older generation, who saw the horrific events of World War II, when the Nazis forcibly captured people.” "It is hard to imagine that in the 21st century people can be forcibly taken to another country," he added."
We’ve heard from the start that Russia has a much bigger army, more equipment, and more advanced; all which should equate to Russia prevailing.
Cnn live "Hypersonic Kinzhal missiles destroyed military warehouse in western Ukraine, Russian Ministry of Defense says Russia's Ministry of Defense said Saturday powerful hypersonic "Kinzhal" missiles destroyed a military ammunitions warehouse in western Ukraine on Friday. "On March 18, the Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse of missiles and aviation ammunition of Ukrainian troops in the village of Delyatin, Ivano-Frankivsk region," the ministry said." ..... This may seem like the absolute dumbest question. I've heard this mentioned regarding NK...so what are hypersonic missiles? If they're coming from a jet going the speed of sound isn't that already a thing? Is there a special load? It must be something different because apparently the US is trying to develop one...and I'm sorry I don't like the idea of the US being behind. So is this a big deal (other than it hit munitions that are desperately needed)?
As did the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. By the way the US estimate of Russians KIA is 7,000 in three weeks (the Ukrainian estimate is around 13,000). For purposes of comparison the Soviets didn't lose that many men in Afghanistan until over two years into that war. We lost roughly the same number of service personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq combined in a period of over 20 years.
Russia says it used a hypersonic missile in Ukraine for first time: report The hypersonic missile, called Kinzhal ("Dagger" in Russian), was used in an attack on a large underground warehouse in southwestern Ukraine, according to Bloomberg News, which cited that Russia's claim had yet to be independently verified. Hypersonic missiles are weapons designed to fly at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5, which is about 3,800 mph (6,100 kph). Their speed and ability to maneuver themselves to a target makes them extremely difficult to track and shoot down. The United States, Russia, China and North Korea have been developing hypersonic weapons, some of which are launched into space, in pursuit of long-range flight and maneuverability.
Having to resort to supersonic missils to reach high value target confirms that the airspace is still being contested by a combination of defenses. Something in this article new to me. Two of three documented armored pieces lost by Russia were still operational. Russian losses approaching or exceeding the 10% threshold where effectiveness becomes compromised due to losses Russian troops were selling fuel and communications equipment to locals along the border as they waited for their training exercise to conclude.. Russian military slog in Ukraine a ‘dreadful mess’ for Putin The U.S. assesses that the airspace over Ukraine remains contested, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the military assessments. The Ukrainian air force is continuing to fly aircraft and employ air and missile defenses. .... Russia’s number of dead and wounded in Ukraine is nearing the 10% benchmark of diminished combat effectiveness, Gorenburg said. The reported battlefield deaths of four Russian generals — out of an estimated 20 in the fight — signal impaired command, he said. Researchers tracking only those Russian equipment losses that were photographed or recorded on video say Russia has lost more than 1,500 tanks, trucks, mounted equipment and other heavy gear. Two out of three of those were captured or abandoned, signaling the failings of the Russian troops that let them go
