TheOldGuy @TheOldGuy@qoto.org

From "The Analyst":

KHARKIV UPDATE

The Kharkiv front is still the most active and the most fluid.
Russian forces have been concentrating for yet another attack on the Liptsy front.
Recognising this then Ukrainian air force along with attack helicopters,
The only way the Russians had been able to slow their withdrawal under Ukrainian pressure was by flooding the front with as many infantry as they could find from other sectors, but at best that was a short term fix that wouldn’t last long given their casualty rate and strategy of attack to defend.
Subsequently the Russians gathered their forces Huiliobke, a village they occupy north of Liptsy.
Infantry is their only option. Ukrainian drones massacre their armour even over the border in Russia itself, let alone near the front lines. Ukrainian drone operators are immensely skilled and deeply effective.
The Russians are also stuck with their choice of operating axis, as to the east the area is large open fields and patch woodland - flat and easily controlled and defended by Ukrainian drones, cluster munitions and other artillery.
The Russians had been pushed out of the suburbs of Liptsy once, and the new attack was clearly aiming for the dachas in those suburbs again, which are easier for the Russians to get a foothold in if they make it.
Realising the potential danger, the Ukrainians didn’t wait.
Helicopters and air strikes - possible only because the Russian air defences have been obliterated - targeting enemy positions and destroying advancing forces.
Using a single Ukrainian built BTR-4 they carried out a daring raid into Russian advanced lines shattering the houses they were holed up in and killing any stray Russians lurking around the outskirts of Huiliobke.
The Russians never launched their attack.
By the end of the day the Ukrainians
Had actually pushed the Russians back into the village and retook some ground. By yesterday morning the Russians had begun abandoning some of their advanced positions in the village.
One of the most interesting aspects of this is the lack of Russian tactical VKS aviation. They either can’t see the Ukrainian air strikes coming - and they travel some distance and use the LO-HI-LO strike pattern to drop J-DAM bombs, or they simply don’t want to risk getting close enough to fire their air to air missiles because they’re afraid of Ukrainian Patriots.
Overall then Ukrainians have control over the airspace - an extraordinary achievement without an effective air force - they have control over the drone and EW space, outnumber the Russians, have morale and firepower on their side, and the ability to use limited amounts of armour with relative impunity.
How stupid do the Russians have to be to see that this scenario is not going well for them and they’d
simply be best off abandoning the whole operation?
Ukraine is potentially on the cusp of a decisive victory here. Yet I can’t help but wonder if they think it’s best to attrit Russian forces as they struggle repeatedly to make something of their situation, rather than let them be defeated and retreat into Russia to become a problem somewhere else.
If this is their plan, then it’s some merit. It’s also ironic that the Russians haven’t so much distracted the Ukrainians as they have themselves.

Slava 🇺🇦!

Undoctored video of Biden at G7

https://youtu.be/3yrVOivW1z4?si=K2InNvHKnjcguUSi

https://open.substack.com/pub/twogrumpyoldmenonukraine/p/an-oldie-but-a-goody?r=70k1h&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

⚡️ SBU drones hit Russian oil depots in Rostov Oblast, source says.

Drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) hit two oil depots in Russia's Rostov Oblast overnight on June 18, a source in security and defense forces told the Kyiv Independent.

According to the source, the drone attack successfully targeted the oil depots Azovska and Azovnaftoprodukt, where 22 oil storage tanks were located. Powerful fires erupted following the reported attacks.

Photo: Telegram

⚡'Deliberate delays' to F-16 training will mean more jets than pilots, Ukrainian MP says.

The U.S. is "deliberately delaying" F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots, resulting in a situation where there will be "fewer trained pilots than fighter jets," Ukrainian MP Oleksandra Ustinova said to the Times in an article published on June 17.

⚡️Russia turns to blackmail and big money in effort to recruit German spies, Berlin officials say.

Russia is "working hard" to counter the expulsion of diplomats from Germany by turning to blackmail and the lure of big payouts to recruit spies, Berlin officials said on June 18.

⚡️Canada hits Russia with new sanctions for Navalny's death, human rights violations.

The new sanctions target 13 high-level officials in Russia who played a role in the abuse and death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/senile-donald-trump-thinks-he-was-on-criminal-trial-in-washington-dc-earlier-this-week/56656/

https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/tick-tock-6/56675/

Roger Stone? Who is that and what is his relevance in 2024???

https://www.palmerreport.com/politics/roger-stone-is-pulling-your-leg/56666/

About time
https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/house-ethics-committee-drops-the-hammer-on-matt-gaetz/56665/

Joe Biden and Joe Bride are both beating him.

https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/donald-trump-talks-about-fading-memory-while-claiming-hes-running-against-someone-named-joe-bride/56664/

Not many live people do though.

https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/senile-donald-trump-claims-to-have-the-support-of-long-deceased-joan-rivers/56663/

Stoltenberg: There should be consequences for China for supporting Russia

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that over the past two years, 90 percent of Russian microelectronics has come from China, and that China is working to improve the capabilities of Russian satellites.

"The threats are not regional," Stoltenberg said. - China is fueling the biggest armed conflict in Europe since the Second World War, and at the same time it wants to maintain good relations with the West. Beijing cannot have both. At some point – unless China changes course – allies must make it pay. There must be consequences."

Robert Reich
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/debunking-myth-3-the-rich-deserve?publication_id=365422&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-share&isFreemail=true&triedRedirect=true

Goodnight Resisters everywhere

Tymofiy Haydarzhi lived in Odesa with his mother Anna, father Serhii and sister Lisa. Anna and Serhiy were believers.

Anna is the daughter of the pastor of the Odesa Peresypsk Church.

Serhiy was engaged in repairing and restoring car security systems, and in his spare time he was fond of photography and videography.

Anna was a florist and decorator. Decorated large city institutions, weddings.

When the full-scale invasion began, the family left the city for a while to live with Serhiy's parents. They stayed there for several weeks, and later decided to return home.

On the night of March 1, 2024, the Russians attacked Ukraine with drones, one of which hit the house of the Haydarzhi family. Father Serhiy and daughter Lisa miraculously survived, while mother Anna and little Timofey died.

That night, 12 people, five of them children, died in an attack on an Odessa high-rise building.

Currently Serhiy lives with his wife's parents from Lizi. The girl never understood what happened that night. But after the shelling, she began to feel anxious. 

🫡 A mural in honor of the Hero of Ukraine Oleg "Malysh" Fadeyenko appeared in Pervomaisky, Kharkiv region

👤 The commander of the intelligence group Malysh in the ranks of the special unit of the GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine "Kraken", and later of the 3rd separate assault brigade, participated in many outstanding battles of the russian-Ukrainian war.

⚔️ Died on July 2, 2023 as a result of being wounded in a battle with the occupiers in the Bakhmut direction.

❗️ Awarded the Golden Star of the Hero of Ukraine (posthumously).

🤝 The mural was created on the initiative and with the support of comrades-in-arms and the wife of Oleh Fadeenko.

🫡 Honor and eternal glory to the Hero of Ukraine!

💔🕯️In Kyiv, they said goodbye to the pilot Valentin Korenchuk with the call sign "Bjodyar", who died on a combat mission.

He is one of the first defenders of the Kyiv sky, whose exploits, together with the actions of the Hero of Ukraine Vyacheslav Yerk, became the basis for the legend of the "Ghost of Kyiv".