The count is now up to seven Russian generals and one Chechen killed in Ukraine. This last general hadn't been claimed previously by Ukrainian media sources but his death was confirmed by the Russians themselves who reported his funeral today.
And the Admiral of the Black Sea fleet is alive but out of action in prison.
—Bob
"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear." Thomas Jefferson
The Russians have been very tight lipped about admitting to casualties, but the daily figures that the Ukrainian defense department releases puts the number of Russian dead at 21,000. That would make the total number of casualties in the 40-50,000 range or about one-quarter of their original force. So, this tweet today from one of the more reliable international journalists provides some confirmation of that figure:
In a now deleted VK post, the pro-Kremlin media outlet Readovka claims that Russia’s Defense Ministry stated at a “closed briefing” that it’s lost 13,414 soldiers in Ukraine *plus* another 7,000 who are missing. 116 sailors killed aboard the Moskva, with 100+ still missing
The Ukrainians destroyed a Russian command center near Kherson yesterday. There were approximately 50 officers in the building of various ranks. Two more generals have been killed and one critically wounded. I'm sure there were correspondingly similar casualties among the lower ranking officers.
The Ukrainian intelligence services, probably with Western help, have done a remarkable job of staying on top of Russian operations and attacking when they can inflict the maximum military damage, as opposed to random bombings and shellings of urban areas as the Russians are doing. I have a hunch that they may have a surprise or two for Putin's May 9 victory celebrations.
Check out our website: http://www.silverscreenvideos.com
There were two major explosions last night at separate oil storage facilities in Bryansk, Russia, a city of about 400,000 almost 100 miles from the Ukraine border. Speculation is that Ukrainian air or missile strikes were the cause. Another possibility is sabotage, as there have been a number of fires and explosions in the last two weeks at facilities with significant military importance in Russia as well as a couple of unexplained train derailments.
Check out our website: http://www.silverscreenvideos.com
Another Russian general killed today, this one in charge of electronic warfare for the Donbas region (not an area that's going too well for the Russians). This time it was an artillery strike on a command post. As the Ukrainians get more of the high-end artillery from the West, they will be better able to carry out targeted strikes on command posts or military targets like ammunition dumps and fuel depots. The theory was that the Russians would have shorter supply lines because their army was closer to their supplies, but that also means that those supplies are closer to Ukrainian artillery.
For those counting, that makes 11 generals down. One more and the Russians match the entire US total lost in Vietnam in less than three months.
Check out our website: http://www.silverscreenvideos.com
Another Russian general killed today, this one in charge of electronic warfare for the Donbas region (not an area that's going too well for the Russians). This time it was an artillery strike on a command post. As the Ukrainians get more of the high-end artillery from the West, they will be better able to carry out targeted strikes on command posts or military targets like ammunition dumps and fuel depots. The theory was that the Russians would have shorter supply lines because their army was closer to their supplies, but that also means that those supplies are closer to Ukrainian artillery.
For those counting, that makes 11 generals down. One more and the Russians match the entire US total lost in Vietnam in less than three months.
This story has gotten even bigger. General Valeriy Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff, who was recently given overall battlefield command of the Ukraine invasion was also in the command center that got bombed. He is reported to be wounded, no indication of how serious. There were about 40 senior officers in the command post and 20 were killed, including the general I mentioned yesterday. The Ukrainians seem to know just when and where there will be a lot of high value military targets in one location.
Check out our website: http://www.silverscreenvideos.com
How the ‘jack-in-the-box’ flaw dooms some Russian tanks
The sight of Russian tank turrets, blown off and lying in ruin along Ukrainian roads, points to a tank design issue known as the “jack-in-the-box” flaw.
The fault is related to the way many Russian tanks hold and load ammunition. In these tanks, including the T-72, the Soviet-designed vehicle that has seen wide use in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, shells are all placed in a ring within the turret. When an enemy shot hits the right spot, the ring of ammunition can quickly “cook off” and ignite a chain reaction, blasting the turret off the tank’s hull in a lethal blow.
There were two major explosions last night at separate oil storage facilities in Bryansk, Russia, a city of about 400,000 almost 100 miles from the Ukraine border. Speculation is that Ukrainian air or missile strikes were the cause. Another possibility is sabotage, as there have been a number of fires and explosions in the last two weeks at facilities with significant military importance in Russia as well as a couple of unexplained train derailments.
This week, there have been several explosions and fires at strategic facilities in Belgorod, 25 miles from the Ukrainian border.
The Russians have now confirmed that the Moskva has sunk due to an "ammunition explosion." They claim the crew was all evacuated safely, although if there's a major ammo explosion on a ship like this, it's hard to believe there weren't substantial casualties. The Moskva had a crew of 500 and was supposedly the best equipped of the three missile cruisers in the Black Sea (the largest Russian ships in that theater). Many of the cruise missiles that have hit Ukrainean targets since the war began came from the Moskva.
I have a feeling that the attack on the Moskva right after that stamp was issued was no coincidence.
It's now being reported that US intelligence sources gave the Ukrainians information about the location of the Moskva shortly before it was attacked. The Ukrainians first spotted the ship and asked the US for confirmation as to its identity and exact location. The Ukrainians didn't have many of those Neptune missiles they used, so they wouldn't have launched the attack unless they were very sure exactly where the ship was. (They have a lot more anti-ship missiles now thanks to Western aid packages.) This report follows by one day a similar report that the US has been aiding Ukraine with information about the location of generals and other high-ranking Russian officers in the war zone. The US is trying to maintain a degree of deniability that we didn't "know" just what the Ukrainians would do with the information provided, but that's purely for diplomatic purposes. You don't supply this sort of information to Ukraine without knowing just what they'll do with it.
This information should not come as a surprise. Most people familiar with the war already suspected that we've been sharing intel with the Ukrainians since the war started. They've got a very good idea where Russian military units are so they can launch highly argeted ambushes.
Check out our website: http://www.silverscreenvideos.com
This report follows by one day a similar report that the US has been aiding Ukraine with information about the location of generals and other high-ranking Russian officers in the war zone. The US is trying to maintain a degree of deniability that we didn't "know" just what the Ukrainians would do with the information provided, but that's purely for diplomatic purposes. You don't supply this sort of information to Ukraine without knowing just what they'll do with it.
Here's the Pentagon response:
Clearly the U.S,. and Ukrainian intelligence communities have developed a productive working relationship.
The Admiral Makarov, the newest and possibly largest ship the Russians have left in the Black Sea, was hit by Ukrainian Neptune missiles last night off Snake Island (yes, that Snake Island) and is now on fire. The Russians only made three frigates in this class, and the Admiral Makarov is the most recent. It has a crew of about 200 and is 400 feet long, carrying lots of surface-to-air missiles and cruise missiles.
Check out our website: http://www.silverscreenvideos.com
The solicitation to commit treason came to Oleksandr Vilkul on the second day of the war, in a phone call from an old colleague.
Vilkul, the scion of a powerful political family in southeastern Ukraine that was long seen as harboring pro-Russian views, took the call as Russian troops were advancing to within a few miles of his hometown, Kryvyi Rih.
“He said, ‘Oleksandr Yurivich, you are looking at the map, you see the situation is predetermined,’” Vilkul said, recalling the conversation with a fellow minister in a former, pro-Russian Ukrainian government.
“Sign an agreement of friendship, cooperation and defense with Russia and they will have good relations with you,” the former colleague said. “You will be a big person in the new Ukraine.”
The offer failed spectacularly. Once war had begun, Vilkul said, the gray area seeped out of Ukrainian politics for him. Missiles striking his hometown made the choice obvious: He would fight back.
Not as flashy or widely reported as the sinking of the Moskva, but equally damaging, the Russians suffered a major loss yesterday. They were trying to cross one of the many rivers in Ukraine that have held up their advances and built a pontoon bridge to cross. After a number of forces crossed the bridge, the Ukrainians destroyed it and later destroyed a second bridge adjacent to it that the Russians were trying to construct to rescue their trapped forces. Over 50 vehicles were destroyed and possibly 1000 or more troops lost (several of the vehicles were fully loaded armored personnel carriers). Many of the Russians may have fled into Ukranian territory and were captured while others may have tried to swim back in high currents and very cold water. This is the biggest single setback the Russians have suffered in the war.
In possibly related news, Ukrainian sources are reporting that the general in charge of the Ukraine war, Valery Gerasimov, who was conspicuously absent at the Victory Day celebration, has been "suspended" and other top generals and admirals have been fired or arrested following recent setbacks.
Check out our website: http://www.silverscreenvideos.com
Not as flashy or widely reported as the sinking of the Moskva, but equally damaging, the Russians suffered a major loss yesterday. They were trying to cross one of the many rivers in Ukraine that have held up their advances and built a pontoon bridge to cross. After a number of forces crossed the bridge, the Ukrainians destroyed it and later destroyed a second bridge adjacent to it that the Russians were trying to construct to rescue their trapped forces. Over 50 vehicles were destroyed and possibly 1000 or more troops lost (several of the vehicles were fully loaded armored personnel carriers). Many of the Russians may have fled into Ukranian territory and were captured while others may have tried to swim back in high currents and very cold water. This is the biggest single setback the Russians have suffered in the war.
In possibly related news, Ukrainian sources are reporting that the general in charge of the Ukraine war, Valery Gerasimov, who was conspicuously absent at the Victory Day celebration, has been "suspended" and other top generals and admirals have been fired or arrested following recent setbacks.
Putin needs to watch A Bridge Too Far.
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
- Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)
Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to drive in New Jersey.
Francis Starr wrote:In an extremely rare moment of candour on Russian state TV today, defence columnist Mikhail Khodaryonok gave a damning assessment of Russia's war in Ukraine and his country's international isolation. It's fairly long but worth your time so I've added subtitles.
Khodaryonok: "We shouldn't take information tranquilisers." Good advice for every country.
Russia today released a list of 963 prominent Americans who are now barred from entering the country. They include President Biden, Vice President Harris, Sec. of State Anthony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and actor Morgan Freeman. But not Donald Trump. Putin knows who his friends are.
They also include ex-Senators John McCain, Harry Reid, and Orrin Hatch. None of them have plans to visit Russia any time in the foreseeable future. They are all dead.
Check out our website: http://www.silverscreenvideos.com
Russia today released a list of 963 prominent Americans who are now barred from entering the country. They include President Biden, Vice President Harris, Sec. of State Anthony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and actor Morgan Freeman. But not Donald Trump. Putin knows who his friends are.
They also include ex-Senators John McCain, Harry Reid, and Orrin Hatch. None of them have plans to visit Russia any time in the foreseeable future. They are all dead.
This time it's a retired Russian major general who's been permanently retired by Ukranian forces. Ex Air Force Major General Kanamet Botashev was flying a combat mission for Wagner Group (a private military contractor used by the Russians, similar to the former Blackwater. His plane was shot down by a Ukranian missile.
Check out our website: http://www.silverscreenvideos.com
This time it's a retired Russian major general who's been permanently retired by Ukranian forces. Ex Air Force Major General Kanamet Botashev was flying a combat mission for Wagner Group (a private military contractor used by the Russians, similar to the former Blackwater. His plane was shot down by a Ukranian missile.
Blackwater is now named Academi; they're still doing the same stuff.
You misspelled Ukrainian.
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
- Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)
Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to drive in New Jersey.
Two more Russian generals were killed over the weekend when their convoy was ambushed by Ukrainian troops in the Donbas region. Again, it's a case of the Ukrainians knowing when and where the generals would be. They were supposedly the two most senior officers in the Donetsk area. However, the BBC has also confirmed that one other Russian general previously reported as dead is still alive. That brings the total to 11, counting the retired general fighting with the Wagner Group.
Check out our website: http://www.silverscreenvideos.com
Russian combat deaths in Ukraine have gone over the 100,000 mark according to the Ukrainian defense ministry. Last night, buildings in Kyiv were lit up with the numbers 100K. These figures can't be confirmed, of course, but previous estimates have been reasonably accurate when compared with other analysts. Much of the combat now consists of assaults by Russian infantry (many of them poorly trained replacements, including convicts) in fairly open terrain and little artillery support. That lends itself to high casualties when the Ukrainians launch counterattacks.
Check out our website: http://www.silverscreenvideos.com