Россия invades Україна | UPDATE (03 May 2024) - Drones now kill more soldiers than artillery or bullets

[CitizenVectron]

Video of Macron speaking to Zelenskyy on the day of the invasion as Zelenskyy implores Macron to create a coalition with Biden and others to confront Putin.

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

The amount of videos coming out of Russian POWs and overrun Russian positions (with all their gear, food, and equipment abandoned) is beginning to rival the route north of Kyiv. Russian/LNR/DNR troops are surrendering as the Ukrainians approach. I don't want to say Donbas overall is a route for Ukraine, but certain sections are turning into this. The trees are slowing down the armour more than Russian resistance, in many places.

[CitizenVectron]

Wow:

 

 

 

Note that this doesn't refer to the Moskva flagship (which was sunk using Ukrainian-designed Neptunes), but rather a later warship strike.

 

EDIT - It's been clarified that the Ukrainians were not trained in the United States, but rather than the United States trained them (in UK? Ukraine?).

[Jason]

I laughed so hard I nearly fell out of a window.

 

Russia says United States is behind Europe's gas supply crisis

WWW.REUTERS.COM

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Russia's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the United States had fomented Europe's gas supply crisis by pushing European leaders towards the "suicidal" step of cutting economic and energy cooperation with Moscow.

 

[CitizenVectron]

Ukrainian soldiers in newly-liberated Kharkiv area, fully kitted with what apparently is western gear:

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

 

If Ukraine blows the Kerch Strait Bridge, then Russia has no land connection to Crimea, and much of their overland route through Kherson-Zaporizhzhia-Donetsk is covered by HIMARS fire. Taking out that bridge would be an incalculable blow to Russia's efforts to hold Crimea. Who knows if Ukraine actually intends to do it (as it would be the largest strike to date on "proper Russia," (in Russia's eyes), but I think that Ukraine is 100% serious at this point about retaking Crimea and restoring the 1991 borders.

 

[CitizenVectron]

There is some guessing right now as to why so much more video is coming out from Kharkiv than Kherson, and I believe the main theory: Ukraine's main thrust is still Kherson, as it is where the majority of proper Russian forces are, and also where they are effectively trapped in the "blender," as Ukraine is calling it (between Ukrainian forces and the Dnipro river). But Ukraine is releasing a bunch of videos from the forests around Kharkiv of Russians being routed and overrun. Why? Because Ukraine wants Russians elsewhere to panic, and to overload Russian leaders' ability to make informed decisions about where to send reinforcements, etc. The reason I believe this is because Ukraine has shown itself from the start of the war as being S-tier level at managing psyops and other information warfare.

[CayceG]

Gonna do a conspiracy here for a moment. 

 

 

Ukraine has been trained and assisted by the CIA or similar on how to effectively use social media to move the propaganda needle. That's part of why the social media efforts have been so successful. 

 

/tinfoil

 

But even without that, and in a vacuum, Ukrainians are pretty good at memeing. They have a lot of young people in government and have a handle on how to effectively use the internet. Targeted release of specific info through social media channels is something they'd be able to pick up on reasonably well. 

[CitizenVectron]

 

[Greatoneshere]

6 hours ago, CitizenVectron said:

If Ukraine blows the Kerch Strait Bridge, then Russia has no land connection to Crimea, and much of their overland route through Kherson-Zaporizhzhia-Donetsk is covered by HIMARS fire. Taking out that bridge would be an incalculable blow to Russia's efforts to hold Crimea. Who knows if Ukraine actually intends to do it (as it would be the largest strike to date on "proper Russia," (in Russia's eyes), but I think that Ukraine is 100% serious at this point about retaking Crimea and restoring the 1991 borders.

 

 

Potentially dangerous implications, I know, but I want them to take Crimea back.

[Nokra]

17 hours ago, Spork3245 said:

Putin: Russia has not lost anything over actions in Ukraine

WWW.REUTERS.COM

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Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia had not lost anything as a result of its military campaign in Ukraine.

“Russia hasn’t lost anything… just around 100k troops dead/wounded… NOTHING LOST”.

 

Some real SHE here (small hands energy).  

[Ricofoley]

 

Weeb fighting against weeb

[Chris-]

Imagine being in a foxhole and seeing an enemy grenade land near you with a waifu sticker on it. What an embarrassing way to go.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Blinken, in Kyiv, unveils $2B in US military aid for Europe | AP News

APNEWS.COM

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unscheduled visit to Kyiv on Thursday as the Biden administration announced major new military aid worth more than $2 billion for...

 

Quote

 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unscheduled visit to Kyiv on Thursday as the Biden administration announced major new military aid worth more than $2 billion for Ukraine and other European countries threatened by Russia.

 

In meetings with senior Ukrainian officials, Blinken said the Biden administration had notified Congress of its intent to provide $2 billion in long-term Foreign Military Financing to Ukraine and 18 of its neighbors, including NATO members and regional security partners, that are “most potentially at risk for future Russian aggression."

 

Pending expected congressional approval, about $1 billion of that will go to Ukraine and the rest will be divided among Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, the State Department said.

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

Ukraine's ministry of defense putting out some batshit numbers today for Russian casualties and destroyed equipment:

 

 

Also, it's been suspected for a while, but recent photos confirm: M982 Excalibur artillery rounds have been given to Ukraine.

 

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

WWW.BLOOMBERG.COM

 

[CitizenVectron]

11 minutes ago, Chris- said:

Imagine being in a foxhole and seeing an enemy grenade land near you with a waifu sticker on it. What an embarrassing way to go.

 

Appropriately, more than just NATO is helping Ukraine...also NAFO:

 

NAFO (group) - Wikipedia

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

 

[CitizenVectron]

Reports of fighting in Hrushivka, only 7km from Kup'yansk. Russian telegram channels indicate that Shevchenkove (which Ukraine began assaulting last night) has fallen. Also word from Russian telegram that soldiers have begun abandoning Kup'yansk before the Ukrainians get there. That city is a very important logistics point. If Ukraine takes it, then Izyum (which is the most important point in Donbas right now that the Russians hold) loses its primary GLOC and rail supply route from Russia.

[CitizenVectron]

 50km in effectively two days:

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

Ukraine has retaken more land in the last two days than Russia took in all of August:

 

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

ISW analysis for 07 September 2022:

 

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, September 7 | Institute for the Study of War

WWW.UNDERSTANDINGWAR.ORG

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Ukrainian forces in southeastern Kharkiv Oblast are likely exploiting Russian force reallocation to the Southern Axis to conduct an opportunistic yet highly effective counteroffensive northwest of Izyum. Ukrainian forces likely used tactical surprise to

 

 

 

Quote

 

Click here to see ISW’s interactive map of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This map is updated daily alongside the static maps present in this report.

 

Ukrainian forces in southeastern Kharkiv Oblast are likely exploiting Russian force reallocation to the Southern Axis to conduct an opportunistic yet highly effective counteroffensive northwest of Izyum. Ukrainian forces likely used tactical surprise to advance at least 20km into Russian-held territory in eastern Kharkiv Oblast on September 7, recapturing approximately 400 square kilometers of ground. Russian sources claimed that Russian troops began deploying reinforcements to the area to defend against Ukrainian advances, and the Russian grouping in this area was likely understrength due to previous Russian deployments to support ongoing efforts to capture the remainder of Donetsk Oblast and support the southern axis.[1] Ukraine’s ongoing operations in Kherson Oblast have forced Russian forces to shift their focus to the south, enabling Ukrainian forces to launch localized but highly effective counterattacks in the Izyum area.[2] Russian milbloggers voiced concern that this Ukrainian counterattack seeks to cut ground lines of communication (GLOCs) to Russian rear areas in Kupyansk and Izyum, which would allow Ukrainian troops to isolate the Russian groupings in these areas and retake large swaths of territory.[3] These milbloggers used largely panicked and despondent tones, acknowledged significant Ukrainian gains, and claimed that the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south may be a distraction from the ongoing actions in Kharkiv Oblast, which they name as the main Ukrainian effort.[4] The level of shock and frank discussion of Ukrainian successes by Russian milbloggers speaks to the scale of surprise achieved by Ukrainian forces, which is likely successfully demoralizing Russian forces. While it is unlikely that the southern counteroffensive and effort to attrit Russian forces in southern Ukraine is a feint for renewed operations in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrainian forces likely took prudent advantage of a reallocation of Russian troops, equipment, and overall operational focus to launch localized counteroffensives toward critical points in Kharkiv Oblast.  

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to deny the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) September 6 report on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). Putin claimed that there is no Russian military equipment on the grounds of the ZNPP other than Rosgvardia elements.[5] Rosgvardia elements have carried out both occupation functions and frontline combat operations during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Putin’s admission that there are Rosgvardia elements on the plant’s grounds further confirms that Russian forces have militarized their presence at the ZNPP despite constant Russian denials. Putin also accused the IAEA of acting under Western pressure to not directly blame Ukraine of shelling the plant. As ISW previously assessed, the IAEA report was a coded yet damning condemnation of Russian activities at the ZNPP.[6]

 

Key Takeaways

• Ukrainian forces are skillfully exploiting Russia’s deployment of forces away from the Izyum-Kharkiv area to retake territory and threaten Russian GLOCs in the area, prompting demoralized responses from Russian milbloggers.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to deny the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) September 6 report on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).
• Ukrainian forces continued strikes on Russian logistics nodes, manpower and equipment concentrations, transportation networks, and command and control points in Kherson Oblast.
• Russian and Ukrainian sources reported kinetic activity in northern Kherson Oblast and in western Kherson Oblast along the Kherson-Mykolaiv border.
• Russian forces conducted ground attacks north of Kharkiv City, northwest of Slovyansk, northeast of Siversk, south and northeast of Bakhmut, and northwest of Donetsk City.
• Ukrainian forces gained 400 square kilometers of territory northwest of Izyum on September 6-7 as part of an opportunistic and highly effective counteroffensive in southeastern Kharkiv Oblast.
• Russian occupation authorities announced November 4 as the potential date for annexation referenda in occupied areas of Ukraine.

 

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

Jesus. Charge of the light brigade.

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

If word on the ground (from both Ukrainians and Russians) is to be believed, Ukraine's push in Kharkiv has been an unconditional success for Ukraine, and total disaster for Russia. Something like this:

 

 

The hatched area on the top-left is possibly not all under Ukrainian control. The arrow in the top-right indicates the goal of this push, to take Kup'yansk.

[PaladinSolo]

 

[CitizenVectron]

No doubt in my mind now that Ukraine is asking its soldiers to put these videos out in order to terrify and demoralize Russian defenders.

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

Ukrainian forces may now be on the outskirts of Kup'yansk. 

[CitizenVectron]

 

lol. Yes, ceding 700km square over two days (and critical junctions, and entire weapons storage depots) was part of the plan.

[silentbob]

3 hours ago, CitizenVectron said:

 

lol. Yes, ceding 700km square over two days (and critical junctions, and entire weapons storage depots) was part of the plan.

Russia just straight up using Hot Shots Part Deux strategy now. Hopefully it plays from the spot but if not, just skip to 15:16 in the clip show.

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

7 minutes ago, silentbob said:

Russia just straight up using Hot Shots Part Deux strategy now. Hopefully it plays from the spot but if not, just skip to 15:16 in the clip show.

 

 

 

Russia appears to be massing their tank forces in Donbas towards a push towards Bakhmut, the only remaining area they are gaining ground. To do this, they are sacrificing all other fronts.

 

Also:

 

 

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

Ukraine has captured a fully intact command and control vehicle in Kharkiv, the first time in the war.

[CitizenVectron]

Emotional civilians thanking liberators in Kharkiv:
 

 

In true baba fashion, one woman is offering the soldiers leftovers, even though she's been hiding in a basement for two days as fighting raged.

[CitizenVectron]

To show how much further the Ukrainians have advanced than the media keeps up with:

 

[PaladinSolo]

This is gonna be over with by winter isn't it?

[CitizenVectron]

Here is the translation of the video. An important thing to understand is that these women are speaking Russian, and prior to the war likely even considered themselves to be a sort of Russian. The Kharkiv area is a Russian-speaking region, but this war is unifying the Ukrainian identity and poisoning Russia's image. Polls show that since the war started, much of the Russian-speaking population is voluntarily switching to Ukrainian as their primary tongue.

 

 

 

[Jwheel86]

 

[CitizenVectron]

41 minutes ago, Jwheel86 said:

 

 

As generals go (since everyone in Russia is a general), how high is this in American terms?