The Russian-Ukrainian War Thread

Feanor said:

And extended range fuel tanks never before seen on the type. It looks exactly like what he said - an attempt to probe Polish air defenses. And I agree with the conclusions from above too, NATO performance was piss-poor.

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The NATO response was awful. I cant believe no one expected this ?

vikingatespam said:

The NATO response was awful. I cant believe no one expected this ?

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It's obvious. The long range UAV threat in this war is completely new. Never before has long range strike on this scale and over this length of time been a thing. Nobody is prepared for it. Obviously NATO isn't. If I was Russia I would like NATO to remain unprepared for this as long as possible. Probing Polish airspace like this has the opposite effect, while I suspect providing information that isn't very useful.

So if N.A.T.O decided to shoot down any missiles or drones that could be assessed as a potential threat before entering Polish territory because Russian uav,s have not shown the ability to land only in Ukraine it could be interesting

seaspear said:

So if N.A.T.O decided to shoot down any missiles or drones that could be assessed as a potential threat before entering Polish territory because Russian uav,s have not shown the ability to land only in Ukraine it could be interesting

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Another great reason not to have done this. In principle this could open the door on NATO air defenses setting up across the border from western Ukraine and engaging anything that gets too close, giving NATO plenty of practice against these kinds of targets, and helping Ukraine.

This looks like an Intelligence operation.

If NATO deploys in Poland and starts spending its arsenal, "great" for Russia. If NATO starts getting live training over that sky and protecting (how far inside the country is that threat going to be shot down?) Ukraine, not that great.
What side is guessing right the move from his opponent?

T.C.P said:

This can also be a great way for the over panickers at NATO to send all AD systems earmarked for Ukraine to Poland. Now that angle makes sense.

I can easily picture, skyrangers, NSMs and even Patriot systems being diverted to Poland.

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Perhaps better for drones & missiles to be engaged first over Ukraine, rather than waiting until they reach the border.

NATO could also offer to defend Belarus's airspace against Russian drones & missiles.

swerve said:

Perhaps better for drones & missiles to be engaged first over Ukraine, rather than waiting until they reach the border.

NATO could also offer to defend Belarus's airspace against Russian drones & missiles.

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That last one is risky. Belarus would likely object, and is under Russia's nuclear umbrella, including apparently now being involved with Russian tactical nukes. The potatoes aren't worth it. On the other hand airspace in western Ukraine could be open.

It would also create problems for the future. What happens when Russia smacks a NATO SAM battery inside Poland, that's busy engaging Russian inbounds over Ukraine? Article 5 and straight down the path to a nuclear stand-off? One thing we can say confidently is this, if Russia wants to tickle or slap NATO SAMs in Poland, they absolutely can. Whether this would be wise is another question of course. But nobody is NATO is prepared to deal with an 800 Shahed wave, accompanied by 50-100 missiles. This would also be a good time for all airbases in NATO countries to make sure they have enough shelters for all their aircraft.

I wasn't being entirely serious.

But Belarus has claimed to have shot down some of the Russian drones that overflew it en route to Poland, so an offer could make the Belarusians look rather silly.

I didn't suggest NATO SAM batteries in Poland engaging Russian inbounds over Ukraine. I was saying it was better for them to be engaged over Ukraine, meaning better for the weapons earmarked for Ukraine to be used by Ukraine than diverted to Poland.

swerve said:

I wasn't being entirely serious.

But Belarus has claimed to have shot down some of the Russian drones that overflew it en route to Poland, so an offer could make the Belarusians look rather silly.

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Would it? There's no evidence they did anything really, other then put jets in the sky to accompany the drones, though I suppose they could have. I don't think anyone believes them either way. And I certainly don't think they would view Russian drones in their airspace as hostile.

I didn't suggest NATO SAM batteries in Poland engaging Russian inbounds over Ukraine. I was saying it was better for them to be engaged over Ukraine, meaning better for the weapons earmarked for Ukraine to be used by Ukraine than diverted to Poland.

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It seems I misunderstood. However, would a former NATO SAM asset in Ukrainian hands prioritize light Gerbers heading for Poland over heavy missiles heading for Ukrainian industrial targets in Dnepropetrovsk or Krivoy Rog? I somehow doubt it. So if your goal is make sure nothing falls on your head, not even the small stuff, then you might want to hang on to the SAMs. Targeting priority is a big part of Ukraine's air defense efforts. It's part of why Russia's Gerber decoys normally carry a real payload.

Sikorsky finally saying publicly and loudly what I have been saying all along. And while they are wasting time discussing this “coalition of the willing” and security guarantees nonsense, they are distracted from looking for real solutions. Perhaps, this is by design, which I tend to heavily lean towards these days.

From Ukrainian via Google translate:

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said that he did not believe in the effectiveness of any guarantees for Ukraine, and proposed to abandon this deadline.

He said this in a speech at the annual meeting of the Yalta European Strategy in Kyiv, the correspondent of "European Truth" reports.

Sikorsky said that Ukraine, in his opinion, "already has guarantees, even if they are called "assurances" in the Budapest Memorandum." If other, more specific guarantees are provided, they will not work, he is convinced.

The minister recalled that the purpose of the security guarantees for Ukraine, which are being discussed, is to deter Russia from new aggression: "They say, if you attack the one who is given guarantees (i.e. Ukraine - EP), we will start a war in his defense."

That is, if we provide security guarantees to Ukraine, we say that we can start a war against Russia. And I don't think it's convincing that there's trust in it. Who wants to fight with Russia can start it right now. But I don't see anything willing," he shared his thoughts. "But there is nothing worse in international relations than providing guarantees that have no trust."

Sikorsky called for recognition that we are not talking about guarantees for Ukraine.

"Now we are not talking about guarantees, but about monitoring peace and strengthening Ukraine," he said.

Sikorsky also called for a focus on military assistance to Ukraine instead of negotiating security guarantees. "I am afraid that this self-absorbing discussion destroys and demobilizes politicians from the more urgent task of finding money for Ukraine for 2026 and 2027," he explained.

Sikorsky's speech forced the diplomat of the President of Ukraine, deputy head of the OPU Ihor Zhovkva to publicly oppose him. "Please, let's forget this shameful Budapest Memorandum. This is not the best example, or rather, it is one of the worst examples of agreements on Ukraine's security," he said, noting that he was confident in the effectiveness of the ideas about guarantees for Ukraine that are currently being discussed.


This also comes after the Russian drones flying all over Poland. I completely fail to understand wtf people are thinking.

Edit: Recommending this on the subject as well (by former Lithuanian FM):


Another add:

It makes (a perverse) sense to not use sparse and very expensive AIM-9 or AIM-120 to shoot down a single drone in Romania, especially if it moves over to Ukraine where they are much better equipped to deal with such a threat at the moment.

It demonstrates that European NATO countries urgently need to address the issue of long range drones.

My best advice: European NATO countries must urgently work with Ukrainian defense companies, invest heavily in them and help them open additional manufacturing lines in other countries. This will assist Ukraine in their fight against the invading war criminals, and will speed up European NATO countries adaptation to the drone threat.

I haven't had time to do another update, I will try to closer to the weekend, but things are moving. Russian forces are steadily gaining ground in Kupyansk, and it's starting to look like that town will fall. There's unconfirmed information of another gas pipeline being used as a transport artery to put troops into the town. In the Oskol front, on the southern portion, things are steadily moving towards cutting off logistics for Krasniy Liman from both sides, Russian forces approaching Novoselovka and Yampol'. The fall of those villages would leave one MSR open towards Slavyansk, canalizing Ukrainian logistics. This also impacts Seversk, where Russian troops are now approaching the town from the south and the north. Seversk itself lies in a lowland, so it might turn into a no-man's land for a while. In the Konstantinovka area Russian forces are continuing to slowly creep up on the town, but so far there's no clear threat of encirclement, though we do have extra Russian strikes coming down on Druzhkovka, which is now the logistics hub to that area. Around Pokrovsk Ukraine continues to counter-attack the salient north of the conurbation and is currently threatening to cut off the top of it at Nikanorovka. It remains to be seen how this plays out. Russian forces meanwhile continue to expand their area of control inside Pokrovsk itself, and assault teams are now entering Mirnograd outskirts, though no confirmed control as of yet. On the Dnepropetrovsk axis Russia's offensive is developing at an uncomfortable pace with Russian troops now holding about a dozen villages in the region, and pushing westward along a front north of Zaporozhye. This is coupled with a Russian push in the eastern part of Zaporozhye. It's interesting to see that the northern part of this combined push is roughty on line with the northern part of Zaporozhye region (the administrative border veers northward further west). Were one to project another several months of this, and Russia would be approaching Zaporozhye city along a wide front from the east. It's unclear if this is in fact the intent. Lastly around Stepnogorsk Russia seems to have overcome Ukraine's counter-attacks and is now storming the village with neighboring Plavni fully under Russian control.

EDIT: Almost forgot, there are unconfirmed reports of a new Russian push between Melovoe and Stroevka, on the international border in Kharkov area. This is a logical step and personally I'm surprised it took this long for something like that to happen. It would make more sense to me for Russia to have pushed on Velikiy Burluk before assaulting Kupyansk, so they could threaten it with complete encirclement, but this isn't the case.

Feanor said:

I haven't had time to do another update, I will try to closer to the weekend, but things are moving. Russian forces are steadily gaining ground in Kupyansk, and it's starting to look like that town will fall. There's unconfirmed information of another gas pipeline being used as a transport artery to put troops into the town.

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I read that it is confirmed that the 3rd Assault Brigade (Azov) is being moved to Kupyansk to “put the fire” out. So we will probably see the Russian advances speed up elsewhere, as a rule, it seems.

I also read, unconfirmed, however, that Ukrainians flooded the said pipeline. Not sure what is true.

Feanor said:

Around Pokrovsk Ukraine continues to counter-attack the salient north of the conurbation and is currently threatening to cut off the top of it at Nikanorovka. It remains to be seen how this plays out.

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There is a lot of confusion there. No clarity whatsoever and everyone seems to make up their own stuff (the only RU sources I see nowadays is in your updates, so I don’t know what they are saying). This is a good post on the situation at the salient:


This one too (under 5/) and has a couple of maps:


This is excellent too (screens below, translated by Grok from Polish):






Of course, David D has his own ideas as well (one of the replies to the Molin’s thread (the first one) cited above):



EIGHT, I TELL YA!!! Laughing. The guy is insane. And has the biggest arrows (slapped on other people’s map).



An article on the Russian Rubicon drone unit worth reading:


Maybe some are interested in this conversation. It’s not bad. Some good points, but some rubbish as well, in my opinion. Worth a listen, nonetheless. Different (but the same) perspective on what is victory for Ukraine. Timothy Snider, Niall Ferguson, and Serhii Plokhii are the participants. It’s from Pinchuk Foundation, so don’t expect anything balanced, but I do not believe balance is of requirement in this particular discussion.


A fresh poll from Kyiv International Institute of Sociology:


The most interesting findings (bolding theirs):

Among Ukrainians (both men and women aged 18+), 54% respond that they are rather or definitely ready, if necessary, to join the Defense Forces and defend Ukraine with weapons in their hands. Of them, 23% are definitely ready, and another 31% are rather ready.

Rather not ready – 15%, definitely not ready – 23% (i.e. 38% are not ready in general, although only some of them categorically reject such readiness).

For comparison with other countries - according to Gallup (2023), for example, in Poland 45% are ready to fight for their country, in the USA - 41%, in Germany - 23%, in the UK - 33%, in the EU countries in general - 32% (although not all countries were surveyed) (for the same period in Ukraine, according to this formulation, it was 62%).

At the same time, it should be taken into account that for Ukrainians this question is not hypothetical and abstract, it is quite real, that is, from Ukrainians we can expect an answer that is closer to real behavior.

Imagine! I guess “if necessary” has different meaning for different people. The addition of “comparison with other countries” only adds to the legitimacy of the poll. I believe basically everything that is coming out from the Ukrainian institutions and absolute majority of media outlets is 100% propaganda that has nothing to do with reality. Everything is for the lemming consumption and no substance. The cited article is in English, by the way, so you can scroll through it yourself.

Update.

Sumy area.

Russian forces have retaken Bezsalovka and captured the rest of Yunakovka. Ukrainian forces have retaken Novokonstantinovka, and gained some ground around Kondratovka. Varachino is now in no-man's land following another Ukrainian counter-attack.


Russian drone strike on a Ukrainian M1.


Russian drone strike on a tank in Sumy region. The label calls it a S-tank, or the Strv-102 but this seems highly unlikely. I suspect it's a Leopard.


Russian Iskander strike on allegedly elements of the 95th Airmobile Bde in the woods of Sumy region. Note, we have reports of the brigade present in both Sumy and Donetsk regions. The brigade could be split up, or the reports could be wrong.


Russia hit a gas distribution station in Nad'yarnoe, Sumy region.


Russia hit a small rural airfield near Konotop, Sumy region.


A destroyed 2S22 in Sumy region.


Kharkov area.

Russian forces inch forward in Volchansk, south of the river. They've taken the forest west of town, and advanced in the western part of Volchansk across the river.


Russian Kh-38 strike and FAB strikes in Volchansk.


Kupyansk area.

Russian forces continue to gain ground inside Kupyansk, and a large grey zone has developed along the river on the left shore. Personally I suspect a similar grey zone exists on the right shore in the city center, but isn't being documented. Russian forces also recaptured the forest near Sin'kovka, north-east of Kupyansk. Along the state border Russian forces have broken through and taken Otradnoe. The intent seems to be to connec the salient at Melovoe with Russian forces along the Oskol. This is a logical step. Along the river Russian forces have advanced out of Krasnoe Pervoe, westward. Russian forces have also gained ground on the left shore of the Oskol north of Tabaevka, and towards Peschanoe.


Russian Kh-39 strike in Podoly, Kupyansk area.


Russian FAB-250 strikes in Kupyansk.


An interesting piece of information, Russia's commander in the Kupyansk area is a former Ukrainian officer. Lt-General Storozhenko was a Ukrainian officer in the 36th Coastal Defense Bde.


Ukrainian sources indicate that Russia has been using a pipe to enter northern Kupyansk. Given the geography of the area, and the line of contact, it's likely that Russia is also using other routes. Russian sources have put out picture of what appear to be mobility devices, and photos inside of a pipe but it's unclear if they're related to Kupyansk or just illustrate the situation.

Военный Осведомитель

Oskol front.

Russian forces continue to advance in Shandrigolovoe, and now have most of the village. They're also pushing into Derivloka. They've also crossed the Nitrius river west of Srednee. Ukrainian forces have counter-attacked west of Grekovka, retaking some ground but has withdrawn from Novomikhailovka, likely due to the difficulty of consolidating there. In Zarechnoe Russian forces continue to gain ground. Ukrainian forces attempted a counter-attack towards Kolodezi, but failed to break into the village.


Seversk salient.

Ukrainian forces have pulled out of the Serebryanskaya woods completely. Russian forces also crossed the Zherebets in a new spot and are attacking towards Yampol'. Some reports indicate the village is contested. This definitively cuts the route from Seversk to Krasniy Liman, and canalizes Ukrainian logistics through Slavyansk. Meanwhile in the center of the salient Russian forces have pushed out of Ivano-Darievka towards Seversk. North-east of Severk Russian forces have gained ground, solidifying their salient, and Russian recon teams have pushed forward. Meanwhile Ukrainian forces are counter-attacking into Serebryanka, turning the village into no-man's land. This counter-attack is likely to support an organized withdrawal from the woods north of there. In the southern part of the salient Russian forces have restarted attacks in the Pereyezdnoe and Fedorovka area, gaining ground in those villages, and pushing north near Vyemka.


Konstantinovka area.

Predtechino remains contested with minor Ukrainian gains. Meanwhile Russia has developed a new push towards Konstantinovka our of Aleksandro-Shul'tino. While maps don't show Russian control in the pocket west of the channel, it's an open question whether the area has any remaining Ukrainian presence. If they do, it must be small and supplied by drone drops. Ukraine has counter-attacked out of Kleban-Byk into Katerinovka. Russian forces are trying to close the last physical route into the pocket south of the reservoir, and have gained some ground east of the Krivoy Torets river.


A Ukrainian Roshel Senator somewhere in the area of Toretsk. Given the current configuration of the front, this is almost certainly the Kleban-Byk area.


Russian strikes on a Ukrainian boat on the Kleban-Byk reservoir. We do know that some Ukrainian forces have been pinned against the reservoir there, with their retreat effectively cut off by Russian forces.


Russian Iskander strike in the Druzhkovka area, targeting allegedly personnel and vehicles of the 95th Airmobile Bde.


Russian Iskander, Shahed, and bomb strikes on Druzhkovka.


Ukraine now has a huge anti-drone net corridor from Kramatorsk down to Konstantinovka.


A destroyed Pbv 302 near Yablonovka.

Pokrovsk area.

Inside Pokrovsk Russian forces have pushed northward along the western side of town, and have taken the highway west out of town. They've also taken Muravka, west of Pokrovsk, on the border with Dnepropetrovsk region. North of Pokrovsk, back and forth fighting continues as Ukraine tries to cut the base of the Russian salient. So far at the narrowest point the salient is barely open through Nikanorovka. Ukrainian forces have broken into Nikanorovka from the west. From the eastern side Russian forces are trying to advance on Sofievka, to force a Ukrainian withdrawal from the Shakhovo area, but so far unsuccessfully with Russian gains, followed by a Ukrainian counter-attack. On the east side of the cauldron Russian forces are trying to enter Mirnograd even as Ukrainian forces counter-attack into Novoekonomichnoe. A large grey zone has developed.


Russian infantry ambush Ukrainian soldiers deep in the north-western part of Pokrovsk, revealing Russian penetration.


Russia hits a Ukrainian MaxxPro west of Pokrovsk.


Russian drone operators interrupt a Ukrainian troop rotation in the Pokrovsk area.


Russian drone operators catch a rare Archer howitzer in the Pokrovsk area.


Russian Tornado-S submunition damages a Ukrainian Grad, an FPV drone then finishes it off.


Russian TOS-1 fires in the Pokrovsk area.


Several destroyed Ukrainian vehicles in Pokrovsk at a deadly intersection. 3 are Novator armored cars, one is a Humvee, and one appears to be a pickup truck or civilian SUV.


A destroyed Stryker in an anti-drone corridor near Pokrovsk.


Russian 2S7 firing, Pokrovsk area.


Ukrainian gliding bomb strikes near Mirolyubovka.


Russia hit a community hall belonging to the mine complex in Dobropol'ye.


Some aerial shots of Mirnograd.


Dnepropetrovsk axis.

South of Novopavlovka Russian forces have made some gains. In area north-west of Velikaya Novoselka Russian forces have completely overcome the results of Ukraine's counter-attack, recapturing Andreevka-Klevtsovoe, Zeleniy Gay, and have crossed the river entering Ivanovka. Russian forces have recaptured part of Dachnoe. On the southern part of Dnepropetrovsk region Russian forces have made a major advance, capturing the villages of Sosnovka, Voronoe, Ternovka, Berezovoe, Novonikolaevka, and Novoselovka.


Russian forces in Berezovoe, Novonikolaevka, and Sosnovka.


Russian strikes on Ukrainian logistics near Ivanovka.


Russian drone strike hits a locomotive in Chaplino, Dnepropetrovsk region.


Zaporozhye area.

Russian forces have crossed along the bridge by the Dnepr into the western part of Stepnogorsk, and into the eastern part of the village. In eastern Zaporozhye Russian forces have taken Berezovoe, Otradnoe, Novoivanovka, Ol'govskoe, and begun advancing towards Poltavka.


Russian forces raising the flag in Ol'govskoe, eastern part of Zaporozhye.


A short video of a Russian CASEVAC team in the Zaporozhye area. They're using an open-topped Bukhanka van.


Ukraine lost an Su-27, with the pilot KIA, in Zaporozhye, reportedly near Dobropol'ye, not the Dobropol'ye near Pokrovsk. Circumstances are unclear.


Russian vehicles with new tactical markings have been spotted in Berdyansk heading in the direction of Zaporozhye region.


Dnepr front.

Ukraine hit an ambulance in Aleshki again. Ukraine has targeted medical facilities in towns and villages along the Dnepr before, but this time it appears the ambulance contained an armored capsule inside. Two medical personnel were wounded.


Black Sea/Crimea.

Russian Lancet drones striking Ukrainian unmanned boats in the Black Sea.


Ukraine hit a Russian civilian rescue vessel in the Black Sea with drones. The vessel likely survived, the visible strike was aimed at the superstructure.

Strikes.

Russia hit Kiev with apparently an undetonated Kalibr-K missile landing in the top floors of the cabinet building. Other targets include energy infrastructure and storage facilities.


Russian strikes around Kiev. Targets include allegedly munition storage near Borispol', the airbase in Vasil'kovo, and the Epicenter storage facility. I recall there being an Epicenter mall near Kiev, perhaps, this storage facility is associated with them, or perhaps this is being misreported, and it's the mall that got hit.


Russia hit Chernigov with an Iskander.


Russia hit allegedly an S-300 btln in Chernigov. We can't really make out what they hit, though there appear to be secondary explosions after the strike suggesting they did hit something.


Russia repeatedly hit targets in Chernigov region, near Nezhin. The airbase there may have been the target, other suggest fuel storage. The last link shows a separate strike.


Russia hit Sumy, a large explosion was followed by blackouts. Targets include the government building.


Russia hit Doroshenkovo, northern part of Sumy region. Allegedly the target was a Ukrainian UAV operator staging area.


Russian Shahed landing in Kharkov.


Russia hit a substation in Balakleya, causing blackouts.


Russia hit a gas station in Poltava.


Ukrainian sources report train delays in Poltava due to Russian strikes on rail infrastructure. Details on the strikes themselves are lacking.


Destroyed vehicles are starting to accumulate on the Izyum-Slavyansk road. This is likely being done with larger UAVs carrying smaller FPV drones under their wings. This kind of long range interdiction isn't stable enough to shut down logistics, but it will make it more difficult.


Russian strikes on Golubovka, west of Kramatorsk, north of Dobropol'ye. Targets are allegedly UAV operators and launch area.


Battle damage from Russian strikes on Novodonetskoe and Belozerskoe, in the north-western part of Donetsk region. These towns sit along a highway running northward along the western part of Donetsk region.


Russia has been targeting gas stations in Kramatorsk with strikes, as well as trying to hit Ukrainian supplies and troops in the city. Power outages are also reported, suggesting energy infrastructure got hit.


Russia has hit the Kryukov bridge across the Dnepr, in Krivoy Rog. This appears to be a trial run to see what they can do. In this case they used Shahed drones to precisely target machinery for raising the rail portion of the bridge and providing power to the bridge. The automobile portion of the bridge was covered in debris but essentially undamaged, allowing it to reopen quickly.


Russian strikes on Krivoy Rog.


Russia hit Dnepropetrovsk, targets include storage facilities, energy infrastructure, and some sort of chemical facility. Drones and missiles were used.


Russia hit Pavlograd.


Russian MLRS strikes hit Zaporozhye city.


Russia also hit Zaporozhye with normal drone and missiles strikes. Targets include a factory complex.


Russia hit Nikolaev.


Russia hit an aircraft repair plant in Vinnitsa.


Russian strikes landing in Berdychev, near Zhitomir. Russia did hit a factory and a warehouse complex in the Zhitomir area, but it's unclear if this is the strike we're talking about here or a previous one.


Ukrainian air defenses engaging Russian targets over L'vov.


A Ukrainian F-16 intercepts a Russian drone and Kh-101 missiles. Despite some initially speculating that these jets would challenge Russian air superiority over the front line, they have essentially done little more than replace lost Soviet-era jets, flying similar missions.

Ukrainian UAVs hit the Saratov oil refinery causing a fire, and also hit a couple of residential buildings in Saratov, wounding one civilian.


Ukraine hit a Russian gas condensate processing facility in Bashkorostan. The facility was previously protected by anti-drone constructions. It's unclear if they had any effect.


Ukraine hit an oil facility belonging to Bashneft' in Bashkorostan.


Ukraine hit an oil refinery in Leningrad region, in Kirishi. This is one of the largest refineries in Russia. The extent of the damage is unclear.


Ukraine hit the Ryazan' oil refinery.


Ukraine hit an oil refinery in Novo-ufimskoe area with Aeroprakt A-22 Foxbat-based UAVs.


Ukraine hit a hospital in Donetsk with an MLRS strike, allegedly HIMARS. At least one missile also hit a nearby residential building. There's no word on casualties, suggesting this might have been a near miss. There are also unconfirmed reports of a Storm Shadow or SCALP strike on Donetsk, though this might be the new Peklo Ukrainian munition. A residential building did get hit by something relatively large collapsing two floors with 2 civilians reported dead, and 16 wounded.

AMK mapping cites the Topaz factory, a metallurgical plant, and a research institute as being hit. Note industrial buildings and large building complexes are often used to house troops by both sides, so research institute might be the original purpose of the buildings but it could be a staging area for Russian troops.

In a separate strike it appears Ukraine hit the Gulliver children's park in Donetsk. Wounded civilians are reported but details are lacking.


Ukrainian FP-2 drones strike targets in Ukrainsk, south of Selidovo.


Ukraine hit a gas station in Pervomyaskoe. This is a village south-west of Avdeevka, west of Donetsk, being a suburb of it.


Ukrainian drones being intercepted over Smolensk.


Ukraine hit infrastructure in Bryansk region associated with the Druzhba pipeline again.


Ukraine hit Klimovo in Bryansk region, targets include a substation.


Ukraine hit the Belgorod regional government office. The damage appears to be minimal suggesting it either wasn't the intended target or almost all of the inbounds were shot down.


Russian drone defense teams in Belgorod region.


More videos of Russian drone defense teams in action.


Russian National Guard drone defense teams in Donetsk region.


Russian BARS-Sarmat with a Yak-52 copying Ukrainian experience in UAV defense.

Interesting bits.

Russian drone strike on a Ukrainian FrankenSAM. We've seen relatively few Ukrainian SAMs getting hit, and there's been little talk about Ukrainian SAM activity. I'm of the opinion that they've pulled their SAMs back from the front line and given up on attempts to engage Russian jets dropping gliding bombs, and insetad have focused resources on protecting rear areas.


Some images of a new Russian drone launching facility in Bryansk region, 35kms from the Ukrainian border.


A rare Russian BREM-L with a shed over it. I was under the impression that production of all BMP-3 variants stopped, with all focus given to basic IFV variants during the war, so this could be a pre-war example. I could also be wrong.


A newly built Russian display tank, after the arms show, is heading to the front lines.


Russian forces testing a wire-guided Molniya-2 loitering munition. Reportedly it carries 40kms of cable.


A look at high quality Ukrainian decoys that have devices to heat up the barrel and imitate fire.


Ukraine has begun deploying EW teams for drone defense at airfields.


Ukraine's 152nd Jaeger Bde riding Kirpi MRAPs.


Ukraine's 5th H-Mech Bde with a Leo-1.


Ukraine's 141st Mech Bde has received M-84A4 tanks from Croatia.


Ukraine's 60th Arty Bde with a new 2S22 variant on a KrAZ chassis.


Ukraine's 6th Ranger Rgt has been spotted with Bogdana SP howitzers. Note Ukrainian units designated as some sort of SOF often aren't, and instead are just elite mechanized infantry formations.


Ukraine has removed the commanders of the 17th and 20th Corps due to failures on the battlefield.


Another exchange of bodies took place with Russia returning 1000 Ukrainian dead for 24 of their own.


Ukraine's lone An-70 has apparently left the country, even as Ukrainian Il-76s are slowly returning.


Italian VCC-1s (M113 upgrades) were spotted on the road, likely being prepared for handover to Ukraine.


Latvia has handed over the second batch of Patria APCs to Ukraine.


Reportedly Sweden will send another 18 Archer howitzers to Ukraine.


Putin has stated that there are approximately 700 000 Russian troops on the front lines in Ukraine. I suspect this includes forces in the rear being rotated in and out.


Interesting data from Russian sources indicating that in 3 years of war Russian courts have handled ~20 000 cases of AWOL, desertion and insubordination in the military. The absolute bulk ~18k are AWOL cases. Note there's a distinct possibility that military units are handling AWOL cases outside of the court process. But I'm not aware of any extra-judicial systems in place for desertion.

Feanor said:

Ukraine hit Chernigov with an Iskander.

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PS: Thanks for the update!

KipPotapych said:

PS: Thanks for the update!

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Fixed. Thanks for catching that.