TheOldGuy @TheOldGuy@qoto.org
I am a Democrat who supports Ukraine in their battle against The Russian fascist invaders.
I am a 73 year old Covid hermit who
lives on 10 acres in a sparsely populated area of the Ozarks. I heat with wood that is leftover by the lumber industry. When cutting oak for lumber only the trunk is used.
The largest town is population 2993. The county is 13k people scattered over 713 square miles.
Joined Dec 2022
If Trump is too senile to hold a rally, isn't he far too senile to be president???
😡 US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin believes that Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries may affect global energy markets. It is allegedly "more profitable" for Ukraine to attack other targets
"These strikes (on Russian refineries - ed.) may have consequences for the global energy situation. It is more profitable for Ukraine to attack tactical and operational targets that can directly affect the current struggle," Austin said during a meeting of the Senate Armed Services Committee, reports Bloomberg.
Austin also repeated the US administration's request to Congress to approve additional military aid to Ukraine. He noted that such aid also provides jobs for American workers through increased US defense production.
Austin's remarks regarding the strikes on Russian refineries were condemned by Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who accused the administration of obstructing Ukraine's effective actions for political reasons.
https://t.me/EveryUkraineWarVideo Subscribe
They are looking for a certain Bobr Kurva in the damage to the dam in Orsk. According to the latest data, Beaver is driving a white Renault towards Ukraine to get a million rubles.
👨🦰 Notes of the Oppositionist.
It's important that people know the meme behind this, it all started with a drunk Polish guy videotaping an encounter with a beaver at night. He wants to get the beaver but it doesn't work: Bóbr kurwa (youtube.com)
Then this meme became so popular that Ukrainians made a song about it using the original voice over. Mюслі UA - KURWA BÓBR | MEGAMIX (youtube.com)
Slavaua2022 explains on Reddit.
🇺🇦@ukraine_report 🇺🇦🔱 Liz
“There may not be enough gasoline.” Russia asked for fuel in Kazakhstan after the collapse of production at the refinery
Russian authorities have turned to Kazakhstan for help due to the threat of gasoline shortages after Ukrainian drone strikes and floods crippled production at oil refineries. According to Reuters, Moscow has asked the Kazakh authorities to create a gasoline reserve in case there is a shortage in Russia. According to one of the agency's interlocutors, the volume of the request is 100 thousand tons. “We signed an agreement, everything was formalized within the framework of the indicative balance,” the source explained to Reuters.
At the end of March, Russia turned to Belarus for help with gasoline. According to the head of the State Duma Energy Committee, Pavel Zavalny, an agreement was reached on purchases in the amount of 100–150 thousand tons per month. Reuters sources note that the situation at Russian refineries promises a fuel shortage. Already “in May Russia may not have enough gasoline for the domestic market.”
⚔️ Complex and heavy battles continue in the Bohdanivka, Novomykhailivka and eastern Chasovoy Yar districts. The DeepState project writes that the russians are gradually advancing there, using scorched earth tactics with the help of aviation.
🇺🇦 The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports that there are the largest number of clashes in that direction, but indicates that the enemy is being held back.
🗡 Meanwhile, the 79th Airborne Assault Brigade showed a video of suicide attacks by russians in the Novomykhailivka area. In three days, 18 pieces of equipment were destroyed and disabled there.
The video shows airstrikes on Chasovoy Yar and russian attacks in the Novomykhailivka area.
@ukrainejournal
From "The Analyst":
RUSSIAN LOSSES STAGGERING DESPITE UKRAINIAN SHORTAGES
I can only imagine what Ukraine could have done with a full arsenal of artillery shells.
Average death rate so far this month for the Russians is 890 per day.
The total is just short of 450,000 since the war began.
Yesterday alone saw the loss of 24 APC’s, 13 tanks, 40 pieces of artillery and 39 fuel tankers and support vehicles. And they gained little more than a treeline.
This is happening without US aid. How much more could we have seen with it?
There now seems to have been 7 aircraft at the Yeysk airbase officially destroyed. At least 1 Tu-160 was said to have been damaged at Engels-2 airbase with possibly two more involved, but not badly.
The Russians lost a major piece of EW warfare in occupied Kherson, hiding under a petrol station awning, knocked out by a HIMARS strike.
Ukrainian artillery use dropped to a near all time low in late March but seems to have picked up again in the last week.
A fully operational Lancet-3 drone was captured intact so that will now be dismantled to find out how it works.
There’s a little talk that the Lancet’s cross wings have actually proved to be less than ideal. The system caused drifting and a number have been seen missing targets badly.
In other bizarre Russian news, their own incompetence is now regarded as the cause for the collapse of the Omsk dam. Obviously someone is being investigated and prosecuted because there has to be blame - but not who is really responsible. That shut down another oil refinery.
Saboteurs blew up another oil pipeline from Siberia.
In other news, there is confirmation that Russian missile targets are being supplied by Chinese reconnaissance satellites. Chinese satellite positioning and use suggests this is now ongoing.
There’s now belief that Kharkiv is now the subject of a Russian culture war offensive. They know they can’t take it but it’s been the subject of much speculation on Russian TV. They see the city as a cultural, scientific and educational centre - which it has long been. Erasing it and everything that makes it part of Ukraine is entirely in line with Putin’s weird philosophy and views on Ukrainian non-existence as a separate people, with their own language and culture.
This is why Ukraine needs air defences and others.
Culture and identity matter, destroy the buildings and infrastructure that maintain it is their way of saying you don’t exist.
They can say it but it’s not true. Culture is people and people have memories. Look how fast Russia reinvigorated its own imperial past and religions when communism collapsed 70 years after its supposed destruction of that culture.
You don’t break people so easily.
Especially Ukrainians.
Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦!
From "The Analyst":
JET DRONE DEBUT
Perhaps one of Ukraine’s most interesting drone developments made its debut in daylight yesterday.
A sleek black carbon fibre drone powered clearly by a micro jet engine - similar to those model jet enthusiasts use. If you’ve never seen on of these they’re quite remarkable. The power to weight ratio is ridiculously high - probably ten times that of the real life equivalent. I’ve seen scale models of Concorde and 747’s take off in a handful of metres and then fly at extraordinary speeds for long periods.
Well yesterday this long range version of an armed drone was filmed
on its way to a target in Belgorod, clearly jet powered its high pitched whine gave it away, its jet black body moving far to quickly to be shot at by men with guns.
Yet another step up in the technology of war drones.
The Russians have been boasting of their jet powered shaheed which has yet to appear - and Ukraine is clearly past the stage of developing this version.
The lightweight carbon fibre and wood body - which also makes it harder to see on radar, apparently contains a sizeable fuel tank, a single rear central engine and a front end warhead and guidance package. The Delta wing configuration is efficient and ideal for speed as well as providing the lift needed to carry the payload.
Russia brought these drones on itself. They moan and complain about how unfair it is yet seem oblivious to the fact they were doing this to Ukraine for years now - and largely against civilians. They just don’t seem to grasp this is all their own fault.
It’s only going to get worse. Ukraine lacks artillery so it’s making up for it in ever more innovative ways with drones. The laws of necessity and supply and demand inevitably lead to innovations. War has always accelerated developments that peace time would never create the conditions to have happen.
Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦!
From "The Analyst":
ITS DO OR DIE IN CONGRESS THIS WEEK
Speaker Mike Johnson has done his best to delay and obfuscate anything to do with aid for Ukraine.
This week he has promised to put down a bill that will aid Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
Lend-lease style funding is more palatable to republicans but a core group who are basically conspiracy theorists and beholden to Russian propaganda, want zero - ever again. It will have to pass with a mix of republicans who have a brain - an increasingly rare phenomena, and Democrats. However if Israel aid is included 39 Democrats won’t vote for it either because of what’s happened in Gaza.
Meanwhile the Senate is saying it’s not interested in anything but the bill it’s already passed and the House should vote on that. It would struggle to pass as it contains aid for Israel and most republicans are opposed to it.
And if the Speaker didn’t have enough to contend with, Marjorie Traitor Greene has set a motion to vacate, forcing him out of his job if he brings any of these options to a vote. Now he may not lose this vote for his job. Republicans can’t find anyone else to do it, and democrats could rescue him if he agrees to the aid bill going forward.
And if that wasn’t complicated enough the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act expires on April 19th and is a must pass piece of legislation. Many republicans want to see it watered down - Traitor Greene amongst them.
Even if the House eventually passes a lend money based bill to Ukraine, with Russian funds used to pay for it, it’s still got to pass a senate that doesn’t want to go down this route, and would struggle to get 60 votes.
Traitor Greene faces a credibility problem - if these votes pass she has no choice but to force a vote on the speakership. That may well backfire on her big time, potentially risking the one last instant retirement from the republican majority of one, that hands the House to the Democratic Party. Then the senate bill will be passed and aid will flow.
The Analyst has not been heard from for awhile. Today he or she reappeared with a vengeance.
From "The Analyst":
UKRAINE CRUSHES RUSSIAN ASSAULT
The Russians have been persistently trying to reach the Sherevets River as part of their attempts to advance on the key town of Lyman they were driven from in September 2022.
If they can cross the river - which is more of a lake at this point, Lyman will be wide open.
As with so much else in the last couple of weeks, they have been using large amounts of armour, usually carrying an overload of soldiers. They get them as close to their objective as they can and then whoever survives the journey takes control of it and it’s then down to Ukraine to try and remove them while Russia steps up trying to add more soldiers using another armoured column to get them there.
Yesterday the Russians deployed a TOS-1 thermobaric launcher to ensure there was nobody waiting for their troops. Fortunately, Ukrainian drones spotted it, as they have to get close to the front line due to their short range, and it was destroyed before it could do anything.
Russian communications being what they are, failed to inform their advancing column they were heading into an unsuppressed position. What with the mines, ATGM’s, artillery and drone strikes laying in wait, things would soon get nasty.
The Russian column headed by a pair of T-90 assault tanks started to advance.
One of them had a ‘Bolk’ EW jamming device on its turret which had been strapped on to a wooden pallet with ropes, in turn roped on to the tank. Ever professional the Russians!
It didn’t help. The tank was quickly damaged and the crew fled. It was later recovered by the Ukrainians. The other one was soon destroyed - within moments the entire 6 vehicle column attack was obliterated. They clearly had zero discipline as some started to bolt for the exit and some the target, but it did no good.
Over the course of the day several other single tank attacks were crushed - one bizarrely carrying 24 infantrymen standing on every part of it. Another TOS-1 was also found later by night vision drones and eliminated.
Their target in these attacks is the village of Terny on the east bank of the river. Ukraine holds it and doesn’t want to lose it because they have to keep Russia from crossing the river.
Russia managed to create a salient here that pushed right up to the village outskirts, but it’s open and flat and they can be seen coming for over 2km. This latest attack has taken the very same route the last two had. In fact the captured tank was abandoned next to one that had been destroyed in a previous attack. The Russian tactics seem to be even now, just repeat the same thing regardless and eventually you’ll get through. The cost in men and material just doesn’t concern them, as long as they are doing something, however insane.
The attacks are stupefying in their naivety.
Russian drones and artillery seem in short supply here and they have little back up before these attacks and virtually no preparation.
They drive into an area that’s covered by six separate Ukrainian units who have exceptional views of the incoming attacks.
The units the Russians have been using here were transferred from the Kupiansk sector further north. They’re mostly from the 1st Guards Tank Army (once a semi-elite force and much feared when stationed in the DDR during the Cold War), but that reputation was wiped out in 2022.
The question is why so many of these armoured assaults? They’ve been incredibly frequent and mostly disastrous.
It seems they are trying to take advantage of the solid ground before the traditional spring rains turn the area to mud again. They know Ukraine has little artillery and are trying to take advantage of that too. The EW device roped on to the tank (also now in Ukrainian hands), suggests they are aware of the reliance on drones to make up for shells.
The Ukrainians do have the advantage of quality drones and extensive reconnaissance capability which gives them the time to prepare their trap for incoming attacks. Add to that the geography which favours the defence and the slapdash way the Russians behave.
Another good day for Ukraine!
🤡 The Kremlin threatened Lithuania due to the deployment of German troops
Russia will take “special measures” in response to the sending of about 20 German soldiers to Lithuania and Germany’s plans to open a military base in the country, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“This is a continuation of escalating tension, creating pockets of danger for us at our borders, which, of course, requires us to take special measures to ensure our own security,” Peskov said.
Lithuania agreed with Germany to send a German military brigade of about 4,800 soldiers to the country until 2027 late last year. This measure was needed to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
I am a Democrat who supports Ukraine in their battle against The Russian fascist invaders.
I am a 73 year old Covid hermit who
lives on 10 acres in a sparsely populated area of the Ozarks. I heat with wood that is leftover by the lumber industry. When cutting oak for lumber only the trunk is used.
The largest town is population 2993. The county is 13k people scattered over 713 square miles.
Joined Dec 2022
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