NATO - The Ukraine

[Pelican]

With reference to:
by greendragon » Fri Apr 08, 2022 9:02 am
Mr Pelican has made great little study of past Italy "fascism" and today Russia.

Not my study GD but the Author was at - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/ukraine ... 7EjnWoJZWU
As indicated at the bottom of the post.

Re Italy in the past. Certainly photos of Putin and Lukashenko together brought back memories of Hitler and Mussolini together.

[Pelican]

Gazprom sale fumble triggers canny German pounce

Off thread but interesting - "allowing it to jump in and put the assets, which include large subsidiaries in Britain, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, under the management of Germany’s energy regulator until Sept. 30."
See - https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/g ... e=Facebook

[Pelican]

UAF claims damage to RF warship, AWACs plane


Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) managed to hit to two Russian military targets normally out of reach of Kyiv’s forces, news reports said on Monday.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet RBSF frigate Admiral Essen operating off shore from the port city Odesa overnight suffered damaged from a UAF naval attack and retired over the horizon, the Dumska news agency reported, citing UAF naval sources. There were no details.

For more than a month UAF forces have struggled to strike RBSF warships at sea, although a lucky missile strike sank the RBSF landing ship Saratov as it was unloading in the port Berdyansk.

The Admiral Essen was, according to news reports, one of several RBSF platforms that have fired cruise missiles at inland targets in Ukraine for more than a month.

News of the Admiral Essen’s alleged damage came shortly after overnight reports, first announced by the Odesa Defense Command, that at least four RF cruise missiles fired from the Black Sea approached civilian targets on the shore.

Two were shot down by the UAF and two more missiles struck civilian homes and businesses near a fuel storage site, the statement said.

Ukraine’s air defense command (UADC) on Monday announced it had damaged and possibly downed an RF air force Il-22 AWACS aircraft. The planes, used for air traffic control of RF air strikes, usually fly deep inside RF territory and far away from UAF air defenses.

The UADC statement said over the last 24 hours, aside from damaging the Il-23, UAF forces shot down an SU-34 fighter, an Su-35 attack jet, one helicopter, and two cruise missiles. It gave no details on how the RF AWACS plane was damaged.

Since the RF’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine the UAF has claimed it has shot down or destroyed 147 RF combat jets and 135 helicopters. Some international estimates have suggested that although those claims may be high by as much as 30 percent, past aircraft losses have been so severe as to force the RF air force to shift from attempted air strikes on well-defended UAF units, to bombing Ukrainian civilian homes and businesses.

For photo see - https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politi ... ItE4Yseubw

[Pelican]

Ukrainian naval ship ‘Donbas’ damaged by fire in the port of Mariupol - likely struck during Russian shelling of the city.
Former Soviet repair ship Krasnodon built 1969 and converted to accomodation and command ship.
4 Photos at - https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 7958686721

[Pelican]

Ukraine unleashes Turkey's Bayraktar TB2 drones on Russia: Is it a gamechanger?

Turkey's TB2 Bayraktar drones is 6.5 metres long and half the weight of its US counterpart, the Reaper, carrying four laser-guided munitions.

See - https://www.wionews.com/photos/ukraine- ... war-458254

[Pelican]

Inside the elite Ukrainian drone unit founded by volunteer IT experts: 'We are all soldiers now.'


Aerorozvidka is an elite Ukrainian drone unit founded by volunteer IT experts.
The unit custom-builds or modifies off-the-shelf consumer drones to bomb Russian tanks and armor.
The unit is a key part of the Ukrainian resistance against invading Russian forces.

Aerorozvidka custom-builds or modifies off-the-shelf consumer drones to work in a military context and drop bombs on Russian vehicles under the cover of night.
"Now, we are all soldiers, but our roots are very different," Mykhailo, a board member and head of communications for Aerorozvidka, told Insider.
"Some of us have PhDs. Some have masters. Some are from the IT industry and many other industries. The main thing which unites us is a desire to win this war."
The unit was founded in 2014 in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea and Russian-backed groups launching a separatist insurgency in the Donbas region.

Tech-savvy volunteers came together to design machines for drone-based aerial reconnaissance to support the Ukrainian army.
Aerorozvidka's founder, an investment banker, and father of four, Volodymyr Kochetkov-Sukach, was killed in action in Donbas in 2015.
"The invasion began not months ago. It began in 2014," Mykhailo said.

Aerorozvidka now operates as a non-governmental organization that closely supports Ukraine's military.
The unit uses a range of drones, many of which are commonly available store-bought drones that they modify and militarize, including Chinese DJI drones and Autel drones, French Parrot drones, and more.
Its most prized drone is the octocopter R-18, which they build from scratch. It has a range of 4km, a 40 minute flight time, and can drop 5kg bombs.
[See attached]

Continues, including photos, at - https://www.businessinsider.com/inside- ... &r=US&IR=T

[Pelican]

Golden Eagle quadcopters destined for Ukraine

See - https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/uv-o ... vW0wYOeOJw

[Pelican]

Can the UK supply anti-ship missiles to Ukraine?
The UK government says it will send further lethal aid to help defend Ukraine from invasion. Various media reports also say Britain will send anti-ship missiles, including the venerable Harpoon system. Here we consider how realistic that may be and other options to hold the Russian navy at risk in the Black Sea.

Ukraine’s southern flank continues to be menaced by the Russian Navy which is able to operate almost with impunity. Their naval forces can launch cruise missiles at their leisure and provide continuous threat of amphibious attack, tying down precious defensive resources. A few indiscriminate attacks on merchant vessels by the Russian navy early in the war shut down commercial shipping, chocking the Ukrainian economy and closing off a potential resupply route. The Russians are also using the Black Sea to provide logistic support to their forces ashore, so far only losing a single elderly landing ship to unknown causes.

Ukraine’s tiny navy was never able to get into the fight and land-based solutions to destroy or at least deter the aggressor are needed. On 4th April, Ukrainian military sources claimed they had struck the Russian frigate RFS Admiral Essen but this is impossible to verify and the Russians will never admit this if it were true. It has been speculated that a domestically-produced RK-360MC Neptune anti-ship missile was used but the availability and effectiveness of this weapon is uncertain. Whatever the actual capability, if the Russians come to believe there is a credible shore-based anti-ship missile threat then it will complicate their planning and further deter any amphibious operations.

As an island nation and a world naval power, for most casual observers it would be reasonable to expect that the UK possesses a large stock of modern anti-ship missiles. There are many tasks and competing priorities, but the ability to sink adversaries’ warships is, after all, core business for any navy. Mainly due to budget cuts and a degree of institutional complacency, the only heavyweight AShM are the RN’s small stock of obsolete US-made Harpoons which were due to leave service in 2018 (although extended until 2023). The UK does possess more modern lightweight weapons but these are intended to counter vessels of corvette size or smaller.

Continues at - https://www.navylookout.com/can-the-uk- ... o-ukriane/


FROM UKDJ

"Our editor spoke to The i Paper today about the Russian missile attack that hit the civilian-packed Kramatorsk train station in Ukraine. It was, very clearly, intentional."

See - https://inews.co.uk/news/ukraine-news-m ... 9ol4wkhOZE

[Pelican]

China makes secret delivery of anti-aircraft missiles to Serbia: Report

See - https://www.wionews.com/world/china-mak ... T_3vpOwdPQ

[Pelican]

RECENT TWEETS REGARDING VARIOUS CLAIMS ALSO PHOTOS

https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 5770008576
https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 5468333056
https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 7911798791
https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 4023296001