# data[].attributes.body
2018
Bomber could bring potential nuclear threat to US and Ukraine
Source: https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-945138875955

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Video of Russian bombers is from 2018 training exercise

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CLAIM: CNN footage shows that Russian President Vladimir Putin is on “America’s doorstep” with nuclear bombers in the Caribbean.  AP’S ASSESSMENT: Missing context.

# data[].attributes.body
February, 2022
Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/composed-of-tanks-infantry-and-artillery-russias-battalion-tactical-groups-will-tackle-war-with-ukraine/ar-AAUgqGW

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Composed of Tanks, Infantry, and Artillery, Russia's Battalion Tactical Groups Will Tackle War With Ukraine

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Governments and Russian military spectators around the world are counting Russian battalion tactical groups as they surround-and invade-Ukraine. The battalion tactical group is the basic military unit of the Russian Army. Composed of tanks, infantry, and artillery, battalion tactical groups will lead the invasion of Ukrainian territory.

# data[].attributes.body
February 8th, 2022
Source: 6 Russian Warships And Submarine Now Entering Black Sea Towards Ukraine - Naval News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Russia's military build-up around Ukraine is moving into a new phase. Emerging from under a veil of 'drills', 6 landing ships and a submarine are now sailing into the Black Sea. This brings them ever closer to potential operations in Ukraine.

The first part of a Russian Navy amphibious landing ship force, which can carry troops, tanks and supplies, has entered the Dardanelles, connecting the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. This is significant, representing a point of no return in their controversial voyage towards the Black Sea and Ukraine.

The narrow waterways running through Istanbul connects the Black Sea and Mediterranean. The first is the Dardanelles, followed by the famous Bosporus. Due to traffic regulation ships do not turn around. 6 amphibious warfare ships and a submarine are expected to pass north into the Black Sea over the next few days.

Entering these waterways removes any final ambiguity surrounding their mission. Their travel from the Baltic and Northern fleets are undeniably part of President Putin's Ukraine build-up. These ships are, due to their amphibious warfare role, suitable for offensive troop landings. Or vital logistics support to land operations along the coast.

Veil lifted On Strategic Ambiguity, Or Misinformation

The ships only recently arrived at Tartus, Syria, which is Russia's forward naval base in the Mediterranean. Their stop was brief and they were soon on their way towards the Black Sea.

Western observers have been tracking their progress since they left the Baltic. Many have been under no illusion that their voyage is part of the Ukraine buildup. Yet it has not been framed that way by Russian media. When the ships arrived in Tartus it was described as "part of the drills under the direction of Russian Navy" according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. While drills no doubt took place along the way, there really is no viable veil left to hide the movements behind.

The ships will pass north over several days. The first package will consist of the three Ropucha class ships: Minsk (127), Korolev (130) and Kaliningrad (102). Based on information shared with Naval News the second package is expected to follow on February 9th. This will consist of Pyotr Morgunov (117) and two Ropucha class ships Georgy Pobedonosets (016) and Olenegorsky Gornyak (012). The submarine, KILO Class boat Rostov-na-Donu (B-237) will follow on February 11th.

Russian Navy landing ship RFS Kaliningrad (102) Photographed by Yörük Işık, with permission.

The amphibious landing ships are made up of one Ivan Gren class, Pyotr Morgunov (017) and six Ropucha class ships. The 6,600t Ivan Gren class can carry up to 13 main battle tanks, or 40 armored vehicles, and 300 troops. It can also carry two helicopters for airborne assault and logistics. The smaller 4,080t Ropucha class ships can each carry 10 main battle tanks and 340 troops.

This gives the ships a combined capacity of up to 63 main battle tanks and about 2,000 troops. Of course the exact load of the vessels currently is unknown, and is likely to be more mixed. However, the massive cargo capacity will greatly add to Russian capabilities off Ukraine.

Kilo Class Submarine

The submarine, Rostov-na-Donu (B-237), is a separate variable, and is sailing independently on February 11th. But the timing of her return to the Black Sea after operations in the Mediterranean is inevitably seen as part of the Ukraine situation.

She had been sent for repairs in the Baltic, using the long sea route. This involved spending a lot of time in the Mediterranean along the way. This is controversial because the Montreux Convention limits the reasons submarines can transit the Bosporus. She returned to the Mediterranean in March 2021 and now, 11 months later, is heading back to the Black Sea.

Her return to the Black Sea will bring the Russian submarine force there up to 3 operational boats, all Improved KILO Class. Two more will be in the Mediterranean and two are undergoing maintenance.

The ones remaining in the Mediterranean provide capabilities against NATO carrier battle groups there.

The Big Picture

Russia is moving a lot of vessels around. While some movements have local purposes, the bulk are seen as part of the tensions with NATO. Russian warships have been particularly active in the Atlantic, focusing on Europe's western flank. The Northern Fleet's Slava Class cruiser, Marshal Ustinov, is forward deployed and has been active off Ireland. Then yesterday it slipped into the Mediterranean.

Meanwhile the Pacific Fleet's Slava, Varyag, transited the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean on February 2nd. So that is two Slava Class cruisers in the Mediterranean. Both cruisers are accompanied by other warships, many equipped with cruise missiles. Together with the Kilo Class submarines in Tartus, these may be seen as a direct counter to NATO carrier battle groups there.

Russian Navy nuclear submarines have not been reported for obvious reasons, but are also likely active.

The 6 amphibious ships now heading into the Black Sea will add to the already overwhelming military might facing Ukraine. They will increase the options open to the Russian military. Observers are still guessing President Putin's plans. But there is no doubt it looks like a pre-invasion build up.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
6 Russian Warships And Submarine Now Entering Black Sea Towards Ukraine - Naval News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Russia's military build-up around Ukraine is moving into a new phase. Emerging from under a veil of 'drills', 6 landing ships and a submarine are now sailing into the Black Sea. This brings them ever closer to potential operations in Ukraine.

# data[].attributes.body
February 14th, 2022
Belarus
Spotted moving into attack position
Source: Russian Artillery Moving Into "Attack Positions" Along Ukraine Border: Report (Updated) (thedrive.com)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Screen capture via Twitter

CBS News has reported that Russian artillery units have moved into "attack positions" in preparation for a new invasion of Ukraine, citing U.S. officials. At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that he has been informed that the Kremlin will launch this operation this Wednesday, February 16th, and that he has declared the day a holiday to demonstrate the country's unity in response.

"Some Russian units have left their assembly areas - the bumper-to-bumper formations seen in satellite photos - and are beginning to move into 'attack positions,' according to the [U.S.] official," CBS News' story said. "This movement marks a change since Sunday, when some of the units had left the assembly areas but had not yet taken what could be viewed as attack positions."

For weeks now, experts and observers have also been scrutinizing publicly available satellite images of areas of southwestern Russia and Belarus near those countries' borders with Ukraine, as well as pictures and videos taken by individuals on the ground, all showing a steady torrent of Russian forces flowing into those regions. Reports indicate that Russia has moved at least 60 percent of all of its battalion tactical groups, its primary ground combat formations, to locations near the country's borders with Ukraine, as well as into neighboring Belarus. Some of these elements have come all the way from the opposite side of the country. The Russian government says that this is all ostensibly for exercises, though it has long been understood that if a new invasion of Ukraine comes, it would most likely come during these drills or shortly after their conclusion.

These deployments have included air and naval assets, in addition to ground forces. For instance, just this weekend, a new image from Planet Labs emerged showing that the number of Su-25 Frogfoot ground-attack aircraft Luninets Air Base in Belarus had jumped from 15 to 32. It's not clear whether these are all Belarusian or Russian jets, or a mixture of aircraft from both countries. An S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile unit also now appears to be operational at that base.

American officials have declined to confirm or deny whether or not they believe that Russia will kick off this operation on this specific day. However, they, among others, have consistently said that the Kremlin is in a position now to launch such a military intervention at a time and place of its choosing.

"We cannot perfectly predict the day, but we have now been saying for some time that we are in the window, and an invasion could begin - a major military action could begin - by Russia in Ukraine any day now," U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN's "State of the Union" this weekend when asked about these reports. "That includes this coming week before the end of the Olympics."

Experts and observers had suggested that any new Russian invasion of Ukraine would come after the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, which are scheduled to conclude on February 20. The belief has been that Putin would be unlikely to do anything that would distract from that event and potentially embarrass one of his key international partners, Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

"We have seen over the course of the past 10 days a dramatic acceleration in the build-up of Russian forces and the disposition of those forces in such a way that they could launch a military action essentially at any time," Sullivan said during his recent interview on CNN. "They could do so this coming week, but of course, it still awaits the go-order [from Russian President Vladimir Putin]."

American citizens, in particular, have been warned that the U.S. government may be in no position to assist them in the event of an actual conflict. The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv has begun to drastically scale back its operations and relocate them to a consulate closer to the Polish border. Poland has announced it will allow Americans to cross into its territory from Ukraine without any advance notice and is preparing for a potential influx of refugees.

For his part, Ukrainian President Zelensky has sought to temper concerns about an impending Russian invasion, but he also appears to be increasingly swayed by the seriousness of the information he is receiving from the United States and other international partners.

"We don't stare at someone else's, but we won't give our own. We have an amazing army. Our guys have a unique combat experience and modern weapons. This is already times stronger than the army eight years ago," he said in a statement today. "We are told that February 16 will be the day of attack. We will make it a day of unity. The decree has already been signed. This afternoon we will hang national flags, put on blue-yellow ribbons and show the world our unity. We all want to live happily, and happiness loves the strong. We have never been able to give up and we are not going to learn it."

Ukrainian officials have since denied that Zelensky, who has been publicly skeptical of the February 16 date, was in any way confirming intelligence indicating that Russia would actually launch an attack in 48 hours.

At the same time, this follows comments from the Ukrainian President earlier today about his country potentially becoming a member of NATO that were almost certain to provoke the ire of Russia.

"It is understandable that we would like to join NATO," Zelensky said while speaking alongside Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz. "It would guarantee our security, our territorial integrity. This [the right of Ukraine to seek NATO membership] is also enshrined in the Ukrainian legislation, in the constitution of Ukraine."

Separately, Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom, clarified recent statements that seemed to suggest that his country would be willing to give up its NATO ambitions as a concession to Russia. Prystaiko's comments echoed those of Zelensky, reiterating that Ukraine has a legal right under its own laws to choose for itself whether or not to join an alliance like NATO.

"We are not a member of NATO right now and to avoid war we are ready for many concessions and that is what we are doing in conversations with the Russians," Prystaiko told the BBC. "It has nothing to do with NATO, which is enshrined in the constitution."

Over the past few weeks, NATO members, especially the United States, have also steadily deployed more of their own forces to bolster the alliance's force posture along its eastern flank. The stated objective of these deployments, which have included a slew of air, ground, and naval assets, including the arrival of eight additional U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagle combat jets in Poland just today, is to demonstrate the strength and unity of NATO, as well as deter potential Russian aggression. U.S. officials have declined to rule out the possibility that any new major conflict in Ukraine might have spillover effects in neighboring NATO countries.

The Kremlin has made clear that it sees preventing Ukraine from becoming a member of NATO as a "red line" issue. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a televised meeting today that the Kremlin continues to receive "unsatisfactory" responses from members of that military alliance in regards to this demand and other proposals it has offered for how to deescalate the situation regarding Ukraine.

Putin and other Russian officials have asked the alliance for concessions that seem all but impossible for it to comply with, politically and practically, even if it wanted to, including a call for a formal hold to be placed on the accession of any new members. The Russian government also wants the alliance to return to its force posture as it existed in 1997, to include a prohibition on the deploy any new long-range missiles in Europe and the removal of troops deployed to countries that joined after that date. NATO officials have flatly rejected these Russian "red line" demands, but have offered other arms control and confidence-building measures in return.

Still, Lavrov did seem to leave open the possibility, at least publicly that the Kremlin could find some kind of non-military solution to the brewing crisis.

"It seems to me that our [diplomatic] possibilities are far from exhausted," he told Putin. "At this stage, I would suggest continuing and building them up."

"We have already warned more than once that we will not allow endless negotiations on questions that demand a solution today," he added. "I must say there are always chances."

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who had his own televised meeting with Putin today, further insisted that the Kremlin has no plans to invade Ukraine and that its forces deployed in the country's western regions and in Belarus would return to their home stations following the conclusion of the currently planned exercises. "Some exercises are ending and others will be over in the near future," he said.

This is, of course, not the first time Shoigu has insisted that Russia has no intention of launching military action against Ukraine, despite clear evidence of Russia already being engaged in such operations. In addition, after Russian officials announced a similar withdrawal following a buildup of forces near the country's borders with Ukraine for "exercises" last year, it became clear that some units, as well as large stockpiles of materiel, had actually remained in place.

Beyond this, Russia appears to have rejected recent efforts to use other confidence-building mechanisms to try to defuse concerns over its intentions. Ukrainian officials say that the Kremlin has not responded to formal requests made through Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) for additional information to prove that its "exercises" in western Russian and Belarus are what they are said to be. State-run Russian media outlet RIA Novosti reported that a top Russian diplomat, Konstantin Gavrilov, said the country has no intention of attending an OSCE meeting today to discuss its military movements in and around Europe.

All told, new reports and other developments surrounding Ukraine are now emerging at an extremely fast pace, and the overall situation continues to be extremely fluid. At the same time, if Russia is indeed poised to launch a new large-scale military operation against its neighbor, it will not be long before the entire world becomes aware of it.
Update 6:55 PM EST:
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has reiterated the Russian government's public position that it is open to further negotiations over the crisis. At the same time, he has also stressed that any resolution to the current situation has to address Russia's broader security concerns, such has those relating to NATO.

"First of all, President Putin has always been demanding negotiations and diplomacy. And actually, he initiated the issue of security guarantees for the Russian Federation," Peskov said. "And Ukraine is just a part of the problem, it's a part of the bigger problem of security guarantees for Russia and, of course, President Putin is willing to negotiate."

Separately, Politico has reported that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan outlined a number of key items regarding Ukraine during a call with members of the House of Representatives. This includes that the Pentagon is looking into ways to continue sending military aid to the Ukrainian armed forces via land routes in the event that it is no longer possible to make those deliveries via air.

Update 10:20 PM EST:
The U.S. State Department has issued updated travel advisories for the countries of Belarus and Moldova. American citizens are now advised not to travel to Belarus, as well as Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region, in part because of concerns related to the crisis surrounding Ukraine. U.S. citizens already in Belarus or Transnistria are advised to leave as soon as possible.

The advisory for Belarus now includes the following:

On January 31, 2022, the Department of State ordered the departure of family members of U.S. government employees from Embassy Minsk.

Due to an increase in unusual and concerning Russian military activity near the border with Ukraine, U.S. citizens located in or considering travel to Belarus should be aware that the situation is unpredictable and there is heightened tension in the region. On February 12, 2022, the Department of State ordered the departure of most U.S. direct hire employees from Embassy Kyiv due to the continued threat of Russian military action. Potential harassment targeted specifically at foreigners is also possible. Given the heightened volatility of the situation, U.S. citizens are strongly advised against traveling to Belarus.

The U.S. government's ability to provide routine or emergency services to U.S. citizens in Belarus is already severely limited due to Belarusian government limitations on U.S. Embassy staffing.

The advisory for Moldova now includes the following:

Do not travel to Transnistria due to an increase in unusual and concerning military activity around Ukraine. Transnistria is a breakaway region that is not under the control of the Moldovan government in Chisinau. U.S. citizens should depart immediately via commercial or private means. Visitors may encounter difficulties at checkpoints along roads leading into and out of Transnistria. Taking photographs of military facilities and security forces is prohibited and may result in trouble with authorities.

The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens traveling in Transnistria as U.S. government employees have restrictions on traveling to the area.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com

Don't forget to sign up

Your Email Address

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russian Artillery Moving Into "Attack Positions" Along Ukraine Border: Report (Updated)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Screen capture via Twitter CBS News has reported that Russian artillery units have moved into "attack positions" in preparation for a new invasion of Ukraine, citing U.S. officials. At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that he has been informed that the Kremlin will launch this operation this Wednesday, February 16th, and that he has declared the day a holiday to demonstrate the country's unity in response.

# data[].attributes.body
February 15th, 2022
Location?
Comment?
Source: www.politico.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Troubled: The Failed Promise of America’s Behavioral Treatment Programs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
‘Kill Your Commanding Officer’: On the Front Lines of Putin’s Digital War With Ukraine

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
For years, the Russians have used Ukraine as a proving ground for a new type of digital warfare. Is the West ready?

# data[].attributes.body
February 22nd, 2022
Donetsk
Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/best-military-tech-russia-us

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Who has the better military technology: Russia or US?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If an all-out war breaks out between Russia and Ukraine, Ukraine’s ability to fight back will depend in large part on the quality of its military equipment, much of which comes from the U.S.

# data[].attributes.body
February 24th, 2022
Kyiv
Ukrainian officials reports Russian helicopters attacked Gostomel airport
Source: Russian helicopters attack military airport near Kyiv - Ukrainian officials | Reuters

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
KYIV, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Russian helicopters on Thursday attacked Gostomel, a military airport near the capital of Kyiv, and Ukraine downed three of them, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukrainian border officials said that the Russian military was trying to penetrate into Ukraine's Kyiv region and its Zhytomyr region on the Belarusian border and that Russia was using Grad rocket systems.

Reporting by Natalia Zinets; writing by Polina Devitt; editing by Tom Balmforth

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russian helicopters attack military airport near Kyiv - Ukrainian officials

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
KYIV, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Russian helicopters on Thursday attacked Gostomel, a military airport near the capital of Kyiv, and Ukraine downed three of them, Ukrainian officials said.

# data[].attributes.body
February 24th, 2022
Crimea
Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russias-chaotic-and-confusing-invasion-of-ukraine-is-baffling-military-analysts/ar-AAUBkyr

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
CNBC 4 days ago Holly Ellyatt

One week into Russia's invasion of Ukraine and military and defense analysts are united on one front: Russia's invasion has not gone entirely to plan.

Analysts believe Russia had expected to make far more gains and, crucially, to face far less resistance from Ukrainian forces and volunteer fighters.

Russian forces have attacked various towns and cities in the north, east and south of the country.

A week into the invasion and Russian forces have claimed one major city - Kherson.

One week into Russia's invasion of Ukraine and military analysts are united on one front, at least: Russia's invasion has not gone entirely to plan, looking disorganized, uncoordinated and sluggish to observers.

Analysts believe Russia had expected to make far more gains and, crucially, to face far less resistance from Ukrainian forces and volunteer fighters as they attacked various towns and cities in the north, east and south of the country.

Russian forces have so far claimed one major city - Kherson - having heavily shelled and surrounded the port in the last several days.

Meanwhile, fighting continues around the other major cities of Kharkiv, Mariupol and Kyiv, although a huge column of Russian military vehicles which has been snaking its way to the capital this week has appeared to have stalled in recent days amid unconfirmed reports of logistical problems and food and fuel shortages.

Summing up Russia's challenges, senior military fellows at the Atlantic Council think tank said in an online post Wednesday that Russia had made key strategic errors in its first week of combat, particularly in its failure to establish air superiority and thus provide air support to its ground forces.

"During the first week of the war, Russian ground forces have become bogged down outside of the northern Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Kyiv due to their failure to establish air superiority (which has resulted in significant aircraft and helicopter losses), too few troops to execute three simultaneous thrusts (toward Kyiv and Kharkiv, and north from Crimea), poor coordination of fires and maneuver, significant logistical issues, and stronger than expected Ukrainian resistance," they said in an assessment published by the think tank.

The military experts acknowledged, however, that "Russia's naval superiority in the Black Sea has contributed to success in its southern area of operations, with Russian forces breaking out from the Crimean Peninsula and taking territory in southern Ukraine," the seizing of the port city of Kherson being its most major victory so far during the invasion.

They noted that "although Ukraine has fought well and disrupted plans for a quick and decisive Russian victory, the situation is still perilous. Russia is moving to encircle Kyiv and Kharkiv and appears to have switched to indiscriminate long-range fires - resulting in significant collateral damage in residential areas- and is making significant progress in the south."

Behind, or on, schedule?

Western intelligence officials have suggested that Russia's invasion is behind the Kremlin's schedule and there have been reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has become increasingly frustrated by Russia's military struggles in Ukraine, current and former U.S. officials briefed on the matter told NBC News.

They also warned that Putin may see his only option as doubling down on the violence Russia unleashes against the country and a number of analysts have questioned Putin's rationality when it comes to Ukraine.

Without access to Putin's inner circle, Russia's schedule for its Ukraine invasion is largely guesswork and on Thursday, Putin insisted everything is "going to plan," stating that "all objectives that were set are being resolved or achieved successfully."

He also again reiterated Russia's aims, being the "demilitirization and denazification" of Ukraine - a statement widely disputed and scoffed at and seen as Russia's attempts to vilify the Ukrainian leadership - and promised compensation for the families of dead and wounded servicemen.

Begging to differ with Putin's assessment (or propaganda) on Russian progress in the invasion, former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus said this week that Putin's war in Ukraine is "going terribly" for Russia, telling CNN on Wednesday that "at the strategic level, he has essentially united most of the rest of the world. ... And then on the battlefield, it's going terribly."

He said Russia was "stretched beyond its logistical and mechanical capabilities," its troops (some of whom are less-experienced conscripts) are likely to be extremely tired and inexperienced in the face of a determined opponent, as Ukraine is proving to be.

That point is agreed with by retired Col. Liam Collins, founding director of the Modern War Institute in New York, who said Thursday that Ukraine's army, and thousands of volunteers who have stayed in Ukraine to fight to save their homeland, would continue to mount a staunch resistance in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.

"Not only do the Russians have to fight through the Ukrainian forces that are there, they have to fight through all these armed volunteers that are just going to be conducting attacks on them the whole time," he told the BBC's "The Briefing Room" show, adding that Ukrainians were preparing to mount an insurgency against Russia.

"It's going to be worse than what the Russians had in Afghanistan, that's what the Ukrainians are going to do," he added, alluding to the then Soviet Union's drawn-out, bloody, costly and unpopular invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 that lasted 10 years and led to the loss of around 15,000 Soviet soldiers.

"It's not going to be the minimal resistance that the Baltic states put up in the Cold War. It's going to be extremely costly if he's [Putin] going to be an occupier and so ultimately he's going to have to leave whether it's in one year, or five years or 10 years," he said.

While Ukraine's forces and volunteer fighters appear determined to confront Russian troops approaching Kyiv in a huge military convoy, over a million people are now deemed to have fled the country. Civilian casualties in Ukraine have prompted some Western officials, like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, to accuse Putin of war crimes.

Accurate data on casualties and the injured, as well as the loss of military hardware, are hard to come by in war, with both sides having a vested interest in aggrandizing their own victories and accomplishments and belittling those of the opponent. Crucially, both sides have an interest in minimizing their losses too as they strive to maintain the morale of troops and their respective publics, alike.

As such, establishing an accurate death toll in the Russia-Ukraine crisis is difficult in the chaos of the conflict but Ukraine claimed on Wednesday that more than 5,000 Russian personnel had died in the conflict while Russia's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that 498 Russian soldiers had died and another 1,597 had been wounded.

Russia took several days to even acknowledge, and concede, that some of its personnel had been killed and wounded, with one military analyst telling CNBC on Wednesday that he believed Russia "thought it would be completely easy" to invade Ukraine.

"[They thought] they would roll right in and the Ukrainians would give up," Jack Jacobs, a retired colonel in the United States army, told CNBC's " Squawk Box Asia" on Wednesday, saying Russia had underestimated the tenacity of ordinary Ukrainian people.

Russia has not been able to swiftly achieve its military objectives, he said, because "the Russians are not nearly as well trained as they think they are or as we thought they were, they're not nearly as well equipped," he said.

Overall trend 'still unfavorable'

Ukraine is not a member of NATO, so the Western military alliance is not obliged to defend it, although a number of Western countries have sent weapons to Ukraine to help it defend itself.

Despite a resistance that has won hearts and minds around the world, the bigger picture does not look good for Ukraine, one analyst noted, and Ukraine needs more Western help if it is to stop Russia's slow but destructive and demoralizing advance.

"While the advancement of Russian forces appears to be slow, costly, and challenging, the overall trend is still unfavorable for Ukraine," Andrius Tursa, Central and Eastern Europe advisor at Teneo Intelligence, said in an emailed note Thursday.

"Unless the West significantly steps up its military support or if there are mass defections/disobedience in the Russian armed forces, the latter holds more chances to prevail in the longer term, given its considerable advantages in multiple domains."

"Control of the capital Kyiv and the survival of President Volodymyr Zelensky's administration are crucial for the morale and defensive positions of the Ukrainian side. And even if Russia's military advancement stalls, Putin could use increasingly powerful weapons systems or even nuclear threats to force Kyiv to capitulate," he noted.

Looking further ahead, analysts agree that even if Russia "wins" in Ukraine, that will be the easy part, and holding the country - whose population predominantly has a pro-Western attitude and will be even more anti-Russian after the invasion - will be much harder.

"The extremely strong resistance from the Ukrainian army and local population reaffirms expectations that long-term occupation of large parts of the Ukrainian territory would be extremely challenging," Tursa said, noting that any new administration installed in Kyiv (as many analysts believe is part of Russia's plan) "would lack legitimacy and struggle to remain in control."

Other analysts agree. Tim Dowse, senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said Wednesday on Twitter that "despite all the visible failings, realistically it is hard to see how Russia will not eventually prevail militarily in Ukraine. The imbalance of forces is simply too great.'

"How will Russia - indefinitely - occupy, control and administer a very large country of 40m [million] overwhelmingly hostile people, with a ruined economy, a need for major reconstruction of damaged infrastructure and probably a serious humanitarian crisis?," he said.

Even if Russia was able to find Ukrainians willing to constitute a new administration, Dowse questioned whether civil servants, the police and other public officials would be willing to take orders from such people. He concluded, "Won't military victory be the start, not the end, of Putin's problems?"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russia's chaotic and confusing invasion of Ukraine is baffling military analysts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CNBC 4 days ago Holly Ellyatt One week into Russia's invasion of Ukraine and military and defense analysts are united on one front: Russia's invasion has not gone entirely to plan. Analysts believe Russia had expected to make far more gains and, crucially, to face far less resistance from Ukrainian forces and volunteer fighters.

# data[].attributes.body
February 24th, 2022
Kyiv
Source: Video of Alleged Downed Russian Ka-52 Helicopter in Ukraine Goes Viral (newsweek.com)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Photos and videos have flooded social media following Russia's attack on Ukraine. One video that shows what appeared to be a downed Russian helicopter in Ukraine has been widely shared on a few different social media platforms.

In addition to being shared on Twitter, where it was viewed nearly 300,000 times on one account, the video has also been published on numerous subreddit threads. On the subreddit r/interestingasf**k, the post received more than 60,000 votes.

"Ka-52 Hokum B attack helicopter in apparent forced landing after suffering damage, reportedly North West of [Kyiv]," Joseph Dempsey, a research associate for defense and military analysis for the International Institute for Strategic Studies, wrote in his tweet that featured the video.

The Guardian reported that Ukrainian officials said one Russian Ka-52 helicopter and three helicopters near Hostomel were shot down in the Kyiv region.

The video pans over the helicopter, and the person filming gets closer to the aircraft. The door is open and there is no sign of the previous occupants.

"Note the Ka-52 has had #Russia national markings and bort number removed-replaced with a white 'V,'" Dempsey pointed out in a follow-up tweet that is accompanied by several images.

One commenter on Reddit wondered where the pilots went.

"Probably [ditched] on foot and now they try to make a run for it," r/MikeAndBike wrote.

Responding to that comment, r/henkeBF2Rc theorized that the pilots may be trying to get back to Russia.

"This is on Ukrainian territory," r/MikeAndBike pointed out. "They are most likely doomed if they come across Ukrainian soldiers, or even civilians."

Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs released a statement Thursday morning asking citizens to report "suspicious people" they might see on the streets, while reminding civilians not to go outside in uniform or tactical clothing.

Another commenter wondered about the state of the helicopter and asked if there were bullet holes in it.

"Could be shrapnel," r/Arthur_9090 offered as a possible explanation. "A lot of surface air missiles explode on proximity so the missile may not have directly hit the heli and exploded in close proximity to it."

One commenter shared their hope that Ukraine may soon be better equipped.

"Is it bad that I am hoping that NATO has secret operatives on the ground training and equipping Ukraine with state of the art military equipment?" r/jvgeli62321 wrote.

Other videos have been shared on social media that appeared to show Russian military aircraft in Ukraine's airspace, as Newsweek reported.

One video, for example, showed a Russian attack helicopter in the Ukrainian airspace over Luhansk, per Twitter user Thomas van Linge.

Western leaders have since condemned the invasion. President Joe Biden has been applauded by lawmakers for imposing economic sanctions against Russia.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Video of alleged downed Russian Ka-52 helicopter in Ukraine goes viral

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Photos and videos have flooded social media following Russia's attack on Ukraine. One video that shows what appeared to be a downed Russian helicopter in Ukraine has been widely shared on a few different social media platforms. In addition to being shared on Twitter, where it was viewed nearly 300,000 times on one account, the video has also been published on numerous subreddit threads.

# data[].attributes.body
February 24th, 2022
Kyiv
Two captured Russian soldiers
Source: Demoralised Russian soldiers tell of anger at being ‘duped’ into war | Russia | The Guardian

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Demoralised Russian soldiers tell of anger at being ‘duped’ into war

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Videos of PoWs used for Ukraine propaganda, but there is an authentic sense of regret among Russian servicemen

# data[].attributes.body
February 25th, 2022
Source: https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/russia-ukraine-crisis/russia-ukraine-crisis-ukraine-claims-its-air-force-shot-down-unparalleled-russian-su-35-articleshow.html

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Ukraine Defence Ministry has claimed that Ukrainian Air Force has taken down Russian Su-35, which is an air-defence fighter, earlier today, February 25. The Ministry stated that Ukraine's MiG-29 jet, which appeared over Kyiv on Thursday destroyed the air defence fighter. The report says that two Su-35s, one Su-27, one MiG-29, and two Su-25 jets were said to have been shot down by the MiG-29 pilot, but it has not been confirmed by the Defence Ministry.

Earlier today, Ukraine Defence Ministry shared a video stating, "MiG-29 of the Air Force of the Armed Forces destroys the "unparalleled" Su-35 of the Russian occupiers." The video featured a Su-35 air-defence fighter crashing down. The Ministry also shared an image of MiG-29 on Twitter stating, "Dozens of experienced military pilots from the captain to the general, who had previously been discharged from the reserve, are returning to the Air Force of the Armed Forces. Who knows, maybe one of them is the air avenger on the MiG-29, which is so often seen by Kyivites! Everything will be Ukraine!"

🛩
До строю авіації Повітряних Сил ЗСУ повертаються десятки досвідчених військових льотчиків від капітана - до генерала, які раніше були звільнені з війська в запас.

Хтозна, може один із них і є той повітряний месник на МіГ-29, якого так часто бачать кияни!
🇺🇦 Все буде Україна! pic.twitter.com/EkEVLk1Tee
- Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) February 25, 2022

The pilot was dubbed 'Ghost of Kyiv'

The local report says that the pilot flying the aircraft was dubbed as "Ghost of Kyiv" and called fighter ace, which is a military term credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. In the meanwhile, the Ukraine officials have not confirmed how many Russian planes may have been shot down.

When the Soviet Union fell apart, Ukraine was thought to have about 200 MiG-29 jets. But at the time of Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014, the number had shrunk to roughly 80 jets. Russia, on the other hand, seized many MiG-29s in Crimea. However, it is unknown how many MiG-29s are still in service with the Ukrainian Air Force.

President Zelenskyy announced martial law after the Russian attack

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced martial law after the Russian attack and urged civilians not to be alarmed as he promised victory. On February 24, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that the worst-case situation is unfolding. He further said that strikes have broken out in Ukraine's peaceful cities. Putin, on the other hand, has claimed that they are only attacking military bases in Ukraine and that civilians are safe.

Image: AP

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russia-Ukraine crisis: Ukraine claims its Air Force shot down 'unparalleled' Russian Su-35

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Ukraine Defence Ministry has claimed that Ukrainian Air Force has taken down Russian Su-35, which is an air-defence fighter, earlier today, February 25. The Ministry stated that Ukraine's MiG-29 jet, which appeared over Kyiv on Thursday destroyed the air defence fighter.

# data[].attributes.body
February 26th, 2022
Source: https://newsy-today.com/this-is-the-tu-95-the-old-monster-that-was-deployed-to-ukraine-feared-by-the-united-states-and-its-allies/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
SERAMBINEWS.COM - The eyes of the world are on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Russian President, Vladimir Putin ordered to attack Ukraine on Thursday (24/2/2022).

In addition to reducing the strength of ground troops, the Russian side also lowered a number of fighter aircraft including the legendary Tu-95 bomber.

US intelligence officials have revealed that Russian strategic bombers laden with weapons have been prepared for flights from inside Russia.

It also said that Russian special forces had entered Ukraine as Kyiv prepared for what it feared would be the first wave of a full-scale invasion.

Reporting from kontan.id, the Soviet Union during the cold war had a number of military equipment that the United States and its allies feared.

After the dissolution of the country and the end of the cold war, a number of military equipment is now bequeathed to Russia.

By Russia, some of the military equipment inherited from the Soviet Union is still being maintained.

Although it is recognized that this power has been drastically reduced, there are one or two weapons that can give the opponent a trepidation effect.

One of them is the old Tupolev Tu-95 Bear bomber.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
This is the Tu-95, the Old Monster that was Deployed to Ukraine, Feared by the United States and Its Allies - Newsy Today

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
SERAMBINEWS.COM - The eyes of the world are on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Russian President, Vladimir Putin ordered to attack Ukraine on Thursday (24/2/2022). In addition to reducing the strength of ground troops, the Russian side also lowered a number of fighter aircraft including the legendary Tu-95 bomber.

# data[].attributes.body
February 26th, 2022
Source: https://twitter.com/maytham956/status/1497578433039278082

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.text
A Kornet missile destroys a Ukrainian armored vehicle near Pavlopil

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.original_text
A Kornet missile destroys a Ukrainian armored vehicle near Pavlopil https://t.co/GBc0BFiFiZ

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
A Kornet missile destroys a Ukrainian armored vehicle near Pavlopil pic.twitter.com/GBc0BFiFiZ
— maytham (@maytham956) February 26, 2022

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
A Kornet missile destroys a Ukrainian armored vehicle near Pavlopil https://t.co/GBc0BFiFiZ

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
A Kornet missile destroys a Ukrainian armored vehicle near Pavlopil https://t.co/GBc0BFiFiZ

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
A Kornet missile destroys a Ukrainian armored vehicle near Pavlopil

# data[].attributes.body
February 27th, 2022
Belgorod
CNN witness MBTs crossing border
Source: Russian tanks seen rolling toward Ukraine (msn.com)

# data[].attributes.body
February 27th, 2022
Beijing
PLA plans to purchase ka-52s
Source: Beijing Bewildered As Ukraine 'Shoots Down' Russia's Most Advanced Attack Helicopter On Shopping List Of Chinese PLA Navy? (eurasiantimes.com)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Latest Asian, Middle-East, EurAsian, Indian News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Social media was recently swamped with images and videos showing Russia's full-blown attack on Ukraine. Experts believe that China would be closely watching the performance of Russian hardware as Beijing sources many weapons from Moscow.
As per videos going viral on social media, it appears the Ukrainian military shot down two Ka-52s on the very first day of the Russian invasion. Called 'Alligator', Ka-52 is touted as Russia's most sophisticated attack helicopter.

The choppers are frequently compared with the US Army's AH-64 Apache. Last year, several publications including The EurAsian Times and South China Morning Post reported that China was considering buying the Russian attack chopper.

In the past few years, Moscow has showcased this as one of the most lethal combat choppers. It was displayed at the Dubai Air Show last year in the hopes of boosting its export potential.

China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is planning to acquire up to two squadrons (36 units) of the Russian-made co-axial (or contra-rotor) Kamov Ka-52K 'Katran' - a naval variant attack helicopter, to operate from its Type 075 Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD), according to The EurAsian Times.

The development in Ukraine could put Beijing in a bind as it had already ditched its homegrown Harbin Z-10 attack helicopter in favor of the Russian platform. Furthermore, there have been numerous accounts of this chopper being taken down by man-portable air defense systems.

China's Interest In Ka-52

Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province and wants to reunite it with the mainland, if necessary by force. China has ramped up what is perceived as intimidatory measures by deploying warplanes into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone.

The lack of a heavy assault helicopter to operate from ships for amphibious operations and ground attack is the rationale behind China's acquisition of the Ka-52K. In addition, China's domestic aerospace industry's failure to produce one is another factor driving its choice.

The Ka-52K is a naval version of the Ka-52 Alligator, capable of carrying powerful anti-ship missiles with ranges over 100 kilometers, air-to-ground missiles, ground-attack rocket pods, a 30mm cannon, and radars with ranges exceeding 200 kilometers.

This effectively transforms it into a 'multirole' helicopter capable of providing close air support as a heavy helicopter gunship as well as reconnaissance and scouting missions, giving targeting data and battlefield monitoring.

It has folding rotor blades, folding wings, and life-support systems for the crew. For usage in marine conditions, the fuselage and systems have been given a specific anti-corrosion treatment.

Despite the fact that China's Harbin Z-10 attack helicopter is a powerful platform, it is still classified as a light/medium weight attack helicopter due to its engine capacity. Even the most recent variants are still powered by WZ-9 turboshaft engines, as the WZ-16 engines are still in development and will not be available in serial production.

One of the reasons Pakistan selected the Turkish T-129 ATAK assault helicopter over the Z-10 was engine performance concerns. The Klimov VK-2500, which drives the Ka-52K, produces nearly twice as much power as the WZ-9 turboshaft engine, which produces 1,300 horsepower.

Russian KA-52 Alligator downed by Ukraine near Kyiv, crewmember ejected.

Video via @Osinttechnical pic.twitter.com/zSEhbZLaQG

- Eva (@evazhengll) February 25, 2022

Besides, it cannot carry its designated maximum payload of 16 HJ-10 anti-tank missiles. Likewise, even the armor panels are made of lightweight graphene, since the engines can't lift the added weight.

The Russian Ka-52K is substantially heavier, weighing 12 tones compared to the Z-10's 7 tones. However, the latter is not a heavily armored helicopter that can neither inflict nor sustain major damage.

In the case of a land assault, Chinese war games and drills have long imagined shattering medium and heavy armored ground targets (which could be none other than Taiwan). Although the PLA Navy and Air Force can take down Taiwanese air and naval assets, when a land invasion begins, smaller sea and land targets will need to be attacked by heavy attack helicopters.

The Ka- 52 can survive 12.7 mm armor-piercing rounds and 23 mm projectile fragments, with even the rotors reportedly able to endure small weapons fire. That is why China has anticipated that Taiwanese anti-aircraft units will have a difficult time combating these rotorcraft, which could be employed simultaneously with other air and ground assets, given China's tendency to overpower and confuse opposing forces.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Beijing Bewildered As Ukraine 'Shoots Down' Russia's Most Advanced Attack Helicopter On Shopping List Of Chinese PLA Navy?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Social media was recently swamped with images and videos showing Russia's full-blown attack on Ukraine. Experts believe that China would be closely watching the performance of Russian hardware as Beijing sources many weapons from Moscow. As per videos going viral on social media, it appears the Ukrainian military shot down two Ka-52s on the very [...]

# data[].attributes.body
February 27th, 2022
Crimea
Comment?
Source: Russian ships capture two Ukrainian vessels (ukrinform.net)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Russian ships have captured two Ukrainian ships with civilian crews.

That's according to the press service of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service, Ukrinform reports.

"Yesterday, after declaring a 'counter-terrorist operation' in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, Russian Navy ships captured two more Ukrainian civilian ships," the statement said.

According to the report, the tanker Afina, staying in the territorial sea of Romania, 22 miles away from Snake Island, received via an open channel of communication and safety of navigation a command to approach a Russian warship for inspection. The owner of the Afina tanker informed all competent authorities in Ukraine about this.

Meanwhile, monitoring the movement of ships in the area, maritime border guards recorded a sharp and illogical change of course by another ship under the Ukrainian flag.

The Princess Nicole dry cargo ship from Romanian waters also headed for Snake Island.

Almost as soon as both civilian ships approached the Russian warships, the automatic identification system (AIS) was turned off and contact with them was lost.

And this morning, the ship's automatic identification systems showed them staying 18 miles from occupied Crimea.

The Ukrainian State Border Guard Service emphasized that Russian warships have once again defiantly violated international maritime law and, under the guise of a self-proclaimed counterterrorism operation, pirated two Ukrainian-flagged ships carrying nearly 50 civilians.

The agency recalled that the day before the same group of ships of the Russian Navy seized the Sapfir search and rescue ship, which left for Snake Island with a humanitarian mission.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 declared the beginning of a "special military operation" in Donbas.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russian ships capture two Ukrainian vessels

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Russian ships have captured two Ukrainian ships with civilian crews. That's according to the press service of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service, Ukrinform reports. "Yesterday, after declaring a 'counter-terrorist operation' in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, Russian Navy ships captured two more Ukrainian civilian ships," the statement said.

# data[].attributes.body
February 27th, 2022
Kharkiv
Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russias-military-is-bedeviled-by-its-own-problems-and-ukrainian-resistance-but-the-pentagon-says-putin-isnt-spent/ar-AAUwSCQ

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Russia's military offensive into Ukraine has stalled in the face of logistical challenges and fierce Ukrainian resistance.

US officials still expect the Russian military to adapt to the situation it faces and apply more pressure to reach its objectives.

Russia's military is struggling with logistical issues and with stiff Ukrainian resistance that have stymied its advance across Ukraine, but Moscow isn't out of options, a senior US defense official told reporters Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, Russia appears to have committed about 82% of the forces it built up around Ukraine, which was not "a significant influx of additional combat capability" over the 80% committed as of Tuesday, the official said.

Ukraine's skies are still contested, as they have been throughout the week-old conflict. Despite Moscow's claims, it has not "achieved air superiority over" all of Ukraine, the official said. "Ukrainian air and missile defense capabilities remain intact and viable, but then again, so do the Russians'."

Russian forces are advancing on multiple Ukrainian cities but appear to be making little progress against most of them. Russia managed to capture the southern city of Kherson, but that is the only major city it's taken since the fighting began.

Ukrainian resistance "has been effective and quite creative," the official said, and Russia is still having trouble supplying its forces with fuel and food, though it's not clear if those problems stem from poor planning or poor execution or both.

The Russians are aware of those problems and are trying to overcome them, "but our assessment is today that they continue to be bedeviled by these logistical and sustainment issues," the official said.

International attention has been drawn to the capital, Kyiv, in recent days as a 40-mile long convoy appeared to be headed there to reinforce Russian troops advancing on the city. That convoy seems to have stalled, the official said, adding that the US has "some indications" that Ukrainian forces have, "at places and at times," tried to target it.

"We also believe that they have had morale problems that have led to less than effective operational success" north of Kyiv, the official added. The official previously pointed to indications of Russian reluctance "to take high risks with their own aircraft and their own pilots" as a factor in their slow advance elsewhere in Ukraine.
Video: 'We're calling out Russia's plans': Biden says Moscow has no excuse for invading Ukraine but is 'convinced' Putin will attack within days (The Independent)
Analysts and experts have questioned the way Russia has employed its forces, suggesting Moscow wrongly assumed it could quickly overrun Ukraine's military and wouldn't face strong resistance.

Small Russian units have raced ahead to seize key points but have been slowed or repelled by Ukrainian military and civilian defenders.

Other units have shown signs of confusion and made what Jeffrey Edmonds, a Russia expert at CNA and former CIA military analyst, described to Insider as " operational blunders," such as air-assault operations done without follow-on support or military convoys being sent into ambushes.

The US defense official noted on Wednesday that the Russian military has not used its infantry, armor, artillery, and air forces in a combined manner to overcome resistance, which experts have pointed to as a departure from Russian military doctrine.

"One of the things that we have been observing is that they don't appear to be integrating their combined-arms capabilities to the degree that you would think they would do for an operation of this size and scale and complexity," the official said.

"We've seen not a lot of great air-to-ground integration of effort," the official added, pointing to a lack of integrated air- and missile-defense suppression against Ukrainian forces and a lack of Russian air support for ground forces ahead of those ground forces' movements.

The US official attributed the effectiveness of Ukrainian resistance to several factors.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains in command of Ukrainian forces, and those forces "have marshaled their assets quite well," the US official said, adding that the "will to fight is very strong" among Ukrainians. Security assistance from the US and other countries also continues to flow to Ukraine, and Ukrainian officials have indicated that it is being put to use.

Russia still has qualitative and quantitative military advantages and is expected to press its attack on multiple fronts using more intense and less discriminate firepower to overcome resistance. There are already reports of hundreds of civilians casualties, and there is footage emerging from Ukraine that shows a variety of Russian weapons striking civilian areas.

The Russian military "will learn. They will adapt, and they will try to get past these challenges and these missteps that they have had. We should just be honest about that," the US official said.

The commitment of 82% of the assembled forces doesn't mean the President Vladimir Putin is "spent," the official added. "Quite the contrary, he's continuing to add to his options" and is not "in extremis when it comes to the combat capabilities that he has available."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russia's military is 'bedeviled' by its own problems and Ukrainian resistance, but the Pentagon says Putin isn't 'spent'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Russia's military offensive into Ukraine has stalled in the face of logistical challenges and fierce Ukrainian resistance. US officials still expect the Russian military to adapt to the situation it faces and apply more pressure to reach its objectives.

# data[].attributes.body
Febuary 27th, 2022
Kiyv
Ukrainian civilians attempt to stop Russian tank from entering Kiyv
Source: 'Together we are strong': Ukrainian civilians stop Russian tank from entering village (msn.com)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A crowd of unarmed Ukrainian civilians gathered in front of a Russian tank east of Kyiv and prevented it from entering their village, in the latest apparent act of brave resistance.

"The tank has stopped," a man in one clip is heard saying. "Looks like it'll be turning round," he adds as dozens of other men, dressed in winter jackets, mass around the armoured vehicle. A Russian soldier also appears to be walking in shot.

The scene took place in Koriukovka, a town of some 12,000 people in the Chernihiv region, according to social media posts. "The locals won't let the occupier in," one of the posts read. "Together we are strong."

Residents of a town in Chernihiv blocked Russian tanks from passing through their village. https://t.co/dY5p9wluCm pic.twitter.com/MEyoXgkfp8
- Rob Lee (@RALee85) February 27, 2022

This clash between Ukrainian civilians and Russian troops is just one of the many acts of resistance captured on video and shared on social media in recent days.

In images reminiscent of Tiananmen Square, footage has been shared of menin the northeastern town of Bakhmach apparently trying to block Russian tanks from advancing with their own bodies.
Video: Ukrainian ambassador to the UK warns Russian invaders could try to starve civilians in bid to win war (Daily Record)
At one point a man clinging onto the front of a tank jumps down in front of it and brings it to a standstill, appearing to try to push it back with his bare hands.

These brave acts of defiance against the invaders also include one Ukranian woman confronting Russian soldiers with seeds for their pockets, saying: "Take these seeds so [that] sunflowers grow here when you die". She asks them, "What the f*** are you doing here?"

In another clip an elderly Ukrainian man was captured on camera berating armed Russian invaders in Melitopol, asking the same question: "what the f*** are you doing here?"

Russian soldiers claimed that they were met by pensioners waving red flags as they entered the city, but the video tells an entirely different story.

"Who invited you here? What are you doing here? Bombing us? Did you go crazy?" the man can be heard saying.

"I'm f------ Russian, too, but I live in this country. We have our own country. Don't you have problems in your country?"

In a statement today President Zelensky said the attacks from Russia have been "brutal" and has rejected the offer of peace talks being held in Belarus.

"We will fight as long as it takes to liberate the country... glory to Ukraine", he said.
Sign up to the Front Page newsletter for free: Your essential guide to the day's agenda from The Telegraph - direct to your inbox seven days a week.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Together we are strong': Ukrainian civilians stop Russian tank from entering village

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A crowd of unarmed Ukrainian civilians gathered in front of a Russian tank east of Kyiv and prevented it from entering their village, in the latest apparent act of brave resistance. "The tank has stopped," a man in one clip is heard saying.

# data[].attributes.body
Febuary 27th, 2022
Bakhmach
Russian tank heading Kiyv
Source: Ukrainian man kneels in front of Russian tank after trying to stop it with his bare hands (yahoo.com)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ukrainian man kneels in front of Russian tank after trying to stop it with his bare hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The man knelt in front of the Russian tank

# data[].attributes.body
March 1st, 2022
Location?
Comment?
Source: Intelligence, information warfare, cyber warfare, electronic warfare – what they are and how Russia is using them in Ukraine (yahoo.com)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Russia has one of the most capable and technological militaries on the planet. They have advanced intelligence, information warfare, cyber warfare and electronic warfare capabilities.

Russia has used these technologies in recent years in combat in Syria and the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, and is using them in its current invasion of Ukraine.

The terms "intelligence," "information," "cyber" and "electronic" denote distinct but overlapping fields. As a cybersecurity professor of practice, I can explain what they are and how Russia is using them in Ukraine.

Intelligence and counterintelligence in the information age

The role of intelligence is to gain insight about the enemy's activity. The role of counterintelligence is to blind the enemy or distort his view. Automation in intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance - key functions of intelligence in warfare - has become a common practice for modern militaries.

Intelligence services collect vast amounts of data from open-source intelligence (OSINT) - information collected from news, social media and other publicly available sources - as well as secret sources, and use artificial intelligence to analyze the information.

Russia has reportedly progressed faster at integrating AI in intelligence systems than the U.S. expected them to. It's impossible to know what information Russia has collected, but its access to OSINT, spy satellites, operatives in Ukraine, powerful computers and experienced analysts makes it likely that Russia has extensive intelligence about Ukraine's military and political situation.

Information and disinformation

Information warfare is the battle waged in the news media and on social media to bolster popular support; persuade and induce the sympathy of potential allies; and simultaneously spread confusion, uncertainty and distrust in the enemy's population.

Russia has used and is likely to continue to use cyber operations to subvert the Ukrainian government. For example, in the weeks leading up to both the 2014 and 2022 invasions, Ukrainian soldiers were targeted with disinformation designed to sow confusion and disorder in the event of an attack.

Russian messaging about "liberating" portions of Ukraine is the disinformation most likely aimed at an international audience, and I expect attempts to legitimize Russia's actions will continue.

There is an ongoing contest to control the narrative about what is happening in Ukraine. Russia is running an active disinformation campaign and I expect it is using AI to find and generate content at a rapid rate.

Some information circulating on social media, like this video purporting to show Russian bombers over Ukraine, has been proven to be fake. This underscores how difficult it is to be certain of the truth with a high volume of fast-changing information in an emotionally charged, high-stakes situation like warfare.

Cyber warfare

Cyber warfare entails infiltrating and disrupting the enemy's computer systems. This includes generating denial of service attacks to block access to websites, breaking into computer systems to steal or destroy data, and taking control of computer systems to disrupt critical infrastructure like power grids.

U.S. and U.K. intelligence agencies reported on Feb. 23, 2022 that hackers based in Russia had unleashed a powerful new type of malware against targets in Ukraine. The attacks appear to have been targeted at Ukrainian government and telecommunications facilities, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and involve the theft and destruction of data.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine was preceded by several weeks of cyberattacks, including an attack that posted a fake ransomware note and then destroyed data. These attacks were part of a multi-year campaign of cyber warfare against Ukraine, which included attacks on portions of the country's power grid.

A rapid response team of cybersecurity experts in the European Union has mobilized to assist Ukraine in defending against cyberattacks by detecting when attacks are occurring. The Ukrainian government has also called on the Ukrainian hacker community to help defend the country, by protecting computer systems that control critical infrastructure like the power grid.

Electronic warfare

Electronic warfare describes efforts to disrupt or misdirect the enemy's electronic systems like radar and communications networks. It can include blocking radio signals, remotely destroying computer circuits and spoofing GPS signals to disrupt navigation.

Russia has a long history of controlling the electromagnetic spectrum. Because of Russia's advanced electronic warfare capabilities, its force may be able to take down the internet and cell towers using a range of techniques.

Russia has used systems that interfere with the signal reception from satellites in eastern Ukraine. These systems can be used to block communications and disrupt control of drones.

Mastering new technologies

The old game of spycraft has taken on new technologies, but I think it is useful to remember that the ability to win wars during revolutions in military affairs is generally determined by the ability to integrate new technologies into a country's military and intelligence operations.

Though the Russian military has shown some interesting technological innovations in recent years, it's not clear whether it has mastered this new way of conducting warfare.

[ Like what you've read? Want more? Sign up for The Conversation's daily newsletter.]
This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Justin Pelletier, Rochester Institute of Technology. I am a Reservist in the U.S. Army.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Intelligence, information warfare, cyber warfare, electronic warfare - what they are and how Russia is using them in Ukraine

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Russia has one of the most capable and technological militaries on the planet. They have advanced intelligence, information warfare, cyber warfare and electronic warfare capabilities. Russia has used these technologies in recent years in combat in Syria and the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, and is using them in its current invasion of Ukraine.

# data[].attributes.body
March 1st, 2022
Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/what-are-cluster-and-vacuum-weapons-and-how-has-russia-used-them-in-the-past/ar-AAUubv5

# data[].attributes.body
March 2nd, 2022
Bashtanka
Missile launcher set aflame by Ukrainian farmers
Source: Gleeful Ukrainians take Russian TANK for a joyride and farmers burn £11m missile launcher as resistance holds strong (thescottishsun.co.uk)

# data[].attributes.body
March 2nd, 2022
Location?
Russian tank on fire, destroyed on the side of the road
Source: Gleeful Ukrainians take Russian TANK for a joyride and farmers burn £11m missile launcher as resistance holds strong (thescottishsun.co.uk)

# data[].attributes.body
March 2nd, 2022
Location?
Ukrainian defenders stumbled across what they allege is a vacuum bomb launcher
Source: Gleeful Ukrainians take Russian TANK for a joyride and farmers burn £11m missile launcher as resistance holds strong (thescottishsun.co.uk)

# data[].attributes.body
March 2nd, 2022
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVu8QbxafJE

# data[].attributes.body
March 2nd, 2022
Bilyts’ke
Russian Tor M2 SAM (not a tank) towed by Ukrainian farmers
Source: Ukrainian Farmer Tows Russian Military Tank Using Tractors (yahoo.com)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Read full article

A Ukrainian farmer was captured towing a Russian military vehicle near Bilyts'ke, Ukraine, on March 2, as seen in a video originally posted to Twitter.

Footage taken by Even Marishenko shows two John Deere tractors towing the military tank across a field.

"Preparing for the sowing season! There is already enough fertilizer. Of course, it isn't of high quality, but it is what it is," the video's caption said, translated into English. Credit: Even Marishenko via Storyful

Video Transcript

[NO SPEECH]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ukrainian Farmer Tows Russian Military Tank Using Tractors

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Ukrainian farmer was captured towing a Russian military vehicle near Bilyts'ke, Ukraine, on March 2, as seen in a video originally posted to Twitter.Footage taken by Even Marishenko shows two John Deere tractors towing the military tank across a field."Preparing for the sowing season! There is already enough fertilizer.

# data[].attributes.body
March 3rd, 2022
Location?
Ukrainian forces allegedly captured 2S19
Source: 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker on Twitter: "#Ukraine: Ukrainian Forces (93rd Mechanized Brigade) captured another 2S19 Msta-S SPG from the Russian Army. https://t.co/NKrKcyi9Ek" / Twitter

# data[].attributes.body
March 3rd, 2022
Kyiv
Source: https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/in-pictures-destroyed-russian-military-v-idUSRTS60B45

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
In pictures: Destroyed Russian military vehicles in Ukraine | Pictures | Reuters

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Destroyed Russian military vehicles are seen on a street in the settlement of Borodyanka, in the Kyiv region, Ukraine, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Maksim Levin

# data[].attributes.body
March 3rd, 2022
Location?
Russian soldier demanding Ukrainian civilians to surrender
Source: Russian soldier holding two grenades walks through Ukrainian crowd demanding they surrender | The Independent

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Russian soldier walked through a Ukrainian crowd holding what appeared to be two grenades in the air, jeered by angry onlookers.

He was thought to be part of a Russian delegation sent to the city of Konotop in northeastern Ukraine to call on residents to surrender.

Another soldier followed him, his hands in the air.

The pair were followed by furious shouts from Ukrainians, some people jostling them, and their vehicle tyres were reportedly punctured.

The troops threatened to raze the city with artillery strikes, according to Artem Semenikhin, mayor of Konotop, which has about 86,000 inhabitants.

He told residents in a public address in the street that the Russians had surrounded the city and delivered an ultimatum - either he surrender the city to them or they would completely destroy it.

Asking people whether they should fight or surrender, the crowd overwhelmingly responded that they backed fighting.
Help the children of Ukraine by donating to our Refugees Welcome campaign
Russia 's invasion of Ukraine entered its second week on Thursday with its main assault force halted north of the capital Kyiv and several cities enduring heavy Russian bombing.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country's armed forces are holding off the Russian advance.

But Russia claims to have taken "complete control" of the Black Sea port of Kherson.

Ukraine fears Russia may be preparing to stage a so-called false flag operation near the Ukraine-Russia border to suggest Ukraine has attacked a Russian village, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says.

In Ukraine's Chernihiv region, at least nine people have been killed and four wounded after a Russian air strike hit two schools and private houses on Thursday, governor Viacheslav Chaus said.

Heavy fighting has continued on the outskirts of Mariupol, a strategic port city on the Azov Sea, plunging it into darkness, isolation and fear. Electricity and phone connections are largely down, and homes and shops are facing food and water shortages.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russian soldier holding grenades walks through Ukrainian crowd demanding surrender

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Russian soldier walked through a Ukrainian crowd holding what appeared to be two grenades in the air, jeered by angry onlookers. He was thought to be part of a Russian delegation sent to the city of Konotop in northeastern Ukraine to call on residents to surrender.

# data[].attributes.body
March 3rd, 2022
Source: https://twitter.com/JosephHDempsey/status/1499420745574797318

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.text
Remains of #Russia 🇷🇺 3M14 Kalibr land-attack cruise missile, reportedly in Kyiv #Ukraine 🇺🇦

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.original_text
Remains of #Russia 🇷🇺 3M14 Kalibr land-attack cruise missile, reportedly in Kyiv #Ukraine 🇺🇦 https://t.co/W7znQjBaCZ

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
Remains of #Russia 🇷🇺 3M14 Kalibr land-attack cruise missile, reportedly in Kyiv #Ukraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/W7znQjBaCZ
— Joseph Dempsey (@JosephHDempsey) March 3, 2022

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
Remains of #Russia 🇷🇺 3M14 Kalibr land-attack cruise missile, reportedly in Kyiv #Ukraine 🇺🇦 https://t.co/W7znQjBaCZ

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Remains of #Russia 🇷🇺 3M14 Kalibr land-attack cruise missile, reportedly in Kyiv #Ukraine 🇺🇦 https://t.co/W7znQjBaCZ

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
Remains of #Russia 🇷🇺 3M14 Kalibr land-attack cruise missile, reportedly in Kyiv #Ukraine 🇺🇦

# data[].attributes.body
March 4th, 2022
Location?
Social media claim captured Russian tank selling on eBay (found to be false)
Source: eBay listing for used Russian tank seized by Ukrainians? (yahoo.com)

Russian military tanks not being sold on eBay | newswest9.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
eBay listing for used Russian tank seized by Ukrainians?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An image going around social media claims to be an eBay listing for a used Russian tank recently seized by Ukrainians.

# data[].attributes.body
March 4th, 2022
Japan
Alleged Russian helicopter violates Japanese air space
Source: www.arabnews.com

# data[].attributes.body
March 4th, 2022
Moscow
Comment?
Source: Russia Prepares To Deploy 'Ukraine-Designed' Antonov AN-2 Biplanes To Neutralize Ukrainian Air Defenses -- Reports (eurasiantimes.com)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Latest Asian, Middle-East, EurAsian, Indian News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As military experts across the world keenly follow the Ukraine war, many are left wondering why Russia has not really used its aerial power as it boasts some of the best fighter jets and bombers.
However, President Putin may have a surprise in store for such commentators with the latest reports suggesting that Russia may be preparing to use its Antonov AN-2 'Colt' biplanes in the Ukraine war.

Maxar's satellite imagery and intelligence analysis reveal that 42 AN-2 planes, originally designed and developed in Ukraine, have been stationed at Sescha Air Base in Bryansk Oblast, a federal region in western Russia that shares a border with northern Ukraine.

This follows a report by US defense commentator Dylan Malyasov in early February that first pointed out footage of almost a dozen AN-2 aircraft flying in close formation over Russia's border areas with Ukraine.

Malyasov suggested that Russian forces have tested the use of AN-2s as decoys to locate Ukrainian air defense positions and radar emitters which could then be followed up with hits by anti-radiation weapons, standoff munitions, or electronic countermeasures.

In addition to AN-2s, Maxar's situation report for March also notes the deployment of electronic warfare aircraft to Seshcha, adding more substance to Malysov's suggestion.

"Over the next few days we are going to see Russia using more electronic warfare . . . and Ukrainian air defense systems will go increasingly offline," said Mathieu Boulègue, a research fellow at the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, a London-based policy institute.

In 2020, Azerbaijan had successfully demonstrated this tactic against Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Azerbaijani pilots flew their AN-2s over Armenian positions and then locked the aircraft's controls using belts.

After that the pilot bailed out to safety letting the unmanned aircraft fly directly towards Armenian units, forcing the ground troops to open fire thus giving away their positions.

Lightweight, Low-Speed Aircraft

The single-engine AN-2 biplane first appeared in 1947, as the Soviet Union was rebuilding itself from post-World War II turmoil. Although it was developed by Ukraine's Antonov Design Bureau as a utility/agricultural aircraft, the AN-2 proved to be a highly adaptable aircraft for both civilian and military purposes.

The first 5,000 units of the plane were produced at Antonov's factory in Kyiv. After 1960, most AN-2s were built in Poland.

AN-2's design offers an excellent combination of lightweight and low-speed performance which makes the aircraft ideal for low flying missions aimed at penetrating deep inside the enemy lines without getting detected.

Therefore, AN-2 makes for an ideal platform for paratrooper missions. AN-2s can also be used for insertion of the Russian troops close to Ukrainian targets, whether to capture them or for covert missions such as conducting sabotage or forward reconnaissance, etc. Their ability to fly low at slow airspeed provides for a small radar cross-section area, making them a difficult target for Ukrainian air defense systems to detect.

Besides, radars of some of these defense systems are set to filter out low-speed objects such as AN-2s that can be flown by a pilot with full control at a speed as low as 48 km/h (30 mph).

Justin Bronk, a research fellow for air power at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told The War Zone that AN-2s can be fielded for logistical purposes as well.

"They (AN-2s) might be used to help alleviate some of the worst supply shortages at key points in the Russian advance caused by the ground forces' appalling logistics failures," said Bronk.

The Ukrainian air force and air defenses continue to operate despite being outmatched by the Russian military in terms of numbers and firepower. According to US defense officials cited by Reuters, the Russians seem to be unwilling to put their aircraft and pilots at risk, which could be the reason why President Putin has not yet ordered a full-scale deployment of air assets in the hostile airspace.

Nevertheless, things could change in the next few days if Russia decides to deploy the bygone-era AN-2s from the Sescha Air Base, located only around 250 miles away from Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russia Prepares To Deploy 'Ukraine-Designed' Antonov AN-2 Biplanes To Neutralize Ukrainian Air Defenses -- Reports

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As military experts across the world keenly follow the Ukraine war, many are left wondering why Russia has not really used its aerial power as it boasts some of the best fighter jets and bombers.

# data[].attributes.body
March 5th, 2022
Kyiv
Ukraine says helicopter shot down by an FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS
Source: VIDEO: Russian Helicopter Gunship Shot Down in Flames, Says Ukraine Military (businessinsider.com)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ukraine shares footage that appears to show a Russian helicopter gunship shot down in flames with a Stinger portable air-defense system, say reports

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The aircraft, which appears to be a RussianMil Mi-24 Hind helicopter that can carry ten people, was shot down north of Kyiv, per Bellingcat.

# data[].attributes.body
March 5th, 2022
Location?
Stuck in mud
Source: Russian tanks stuck in the mud ‘an example of poor planning’ for Ukraine invasion (telegraph.co.uk)

Have Flat Tires And Ukraine’s Mud Season Stalled The Russian Column Outside Kyiv? (forbes.com)

# data[].attributes.body
March 5th
Location?
Russian trucks use logs for added armour
Source: OSINTtechnical on Twitter: "When I said the Russians were starting to take rear area security a bit more seriously this is not what I had in mind https://t.co/tpVo6JR5BH" / Twitter

# data[].attributes.body
March 5th, 2022
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10604347/Ukrainian-mother-reveals-grief-shame-son-Russian-fighter-pilot.html

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ukrainian mother reveals her 'grief and shame' that her son is a Russian fighter pilot who bombed her country but was shot down and captured in Mykolaiv

Elena Golovenskaya broke down as she revealed horror over her son's actions

Major Aleksey Golovensky is naval aviation pilot who allegedly attacked Ukraine

His SU-30SM was reportedly shot down over Mykolaiv by Ukrainians on March 5

Golovensky has been captured and appeared at a press conference on Friday

A tearful Ukrainian mother has spoken of her 'grief and shame' as she condemned her Russian fighter pilot son who was shot down for 'bombing' her country.

Elena Golovenskaya broke down as she revealed her horror that her son, Major Aleksey Golovensky, had allegedly been attacking her native Ukraine.

In the video message, released by the Ukrainian military, she said she felt 'grief and shame' and apologised to her fellow countrymen for her son's actions.

Aleksey was reportedly shot down in the Mykolaiv area in south Ukraine on March 5 while flying in his SU-30SM fighter.

He reportedly told his captors that he had flown from Crimea, where he was performing 'reconnaissance' missions for Moscow's air force.

Footage released by Ukraine's forces over the weekend showed a stranded pilot with Golovensky's name surrendering on his knees in a field.

He was later questioned and appeared before an Interfax, Ukraine's national news agency, press conference on Friday.

Mrs Golovenskaya said her son serves as a pilot in Russia's naval aviation unit and was deployed in the city of Saky, in Russian-occupied Crimea.

She explained in the video footage: 'On March 5, 2022, following the criminal orders of the command of the Russian army, he flew to Mykolaiv'.

'He was shot down by Ukrainian air defence and captured. We learned about this news from the media, watching a report about downed pilots,' she added.

'I was overwhelmed with grief and shame for my son, we repeatedly heard the terrible howl of air raid sirens in Kremenchug.

'It was hard for me to understand how it was possible to fulfill the commander's criminal order about the bombing of Ukraine.

'Naturally, I'm worried about my son. Once captured, thank God he survived.

'I apologise to the Ukrainian people and I apologise for my son and for myself that I could not raise a normal, worthy person.'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ukrainian mother says she is 'shamed' by her Russian fighter pilot son

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Elena Golovenskaya broke down as she revealed horror over her son's actions Major Aleksey Golovensky is naval aviation pilot who allegedly attacked Ukraine His SU-30SM was reportedly shot down over Mykolaiv by Ukrainians on March 5 Golovensky has been captured and appeared at a press conference on Friday A tearful Ukrainian mother has spoken of her 'grief and shame' as she condemned her Russian fighter pilot son who was shot down for 'bombing' her country.

# data[].attributes.body
March 6th, 2022
Location?
Ukrainian army claims to shoot down Russian helicopter with missile
Source: WATCH: Russian helicopter shot down as Ukraine touts many enemy losses | Washington Examiner

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Ukrainian army posted a video to Facebook showing a Russian helicopter being hit by a missile, then leaving a trail of black smoke before crashing and being engulfed in flames.

The Ukrainian government is claiming it has destroyed nearly 100 enemy aircraft and helicopters as of Sunday amid the war that broke out following Russia's invasion 11 days ago.

"That's how Russian invaders die! This time in a helicopter!" the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine wrote on Facebook. "Beat the pickles! Together we will win!"

Another video posted to Twitter by Defence of Ukraine showed cheering and clapping as a Russian aircraft was shot down near Chernihiv, Ukraine.

There were reportedly as many as eight Russian aerial forces lost on Sunday.

In a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba pleaded for additional anti-aircraft defenses.

"It's no secret that the highest demand that we have is in fighting jets, attack aircrafts, and air defense systems," Kuleba said. "We need to, how to say, big air defense systems to ensure the safety of our skies. If we lose the skies, there will be much, much more blood on the ground, and that will be the blood of civilians."

'SMALL BUT MIGHTY': UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS RESCUE PUPPY THEY CALL 'RAMBO'

The Ukrainian military also claimed it has inflicted losses that include 10,000 Russian personnel, 109 artillery systems, 21 anti-aircraft warfare systems, and 447 vehicles.

Ukraine's Operational Command North posted additional photos of destroyed Russian tanks and vehicles.

"Russian equipment burned and pulled out of order, the invaders escaped. However, it will not save them: Russian enemy soldiers have no food, fuel, they are demoralized and ready to surrender," Operational Command North wrote in what seemed to be an effort to present a strong rallying front. "Instead, Ukrainian defenders confidently hold the line of defense, ready to last stand for the protection of the region, the state and its people. Glory to the Armed Forces of Ukraine!"

The Ukrainian army also touted Operational Command South for shooting down four enemy helicopters in the Mykolayiv region.

"A true example of professionalism, courage and heroism! And this is another sure step to victory!" the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine wrote.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces said that Russia is placing much of its efforts around encircling the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mykolayiv. However, it warned that Russian forces are moving south of Kyiv toward a key hydroelectric power station.

"According to available information, the occupier intends to seize another important infrastructural object - the dam of Kaniv Hydro Power Plant," the Ukrainian army noted.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
WATCH: Russian helicopter shot down as Ukraine touts many enemy losses

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Ukrainian army posted a video to Facebook showing a Russian helicopter being hit by a missile, then leaving a trail of black smoke before crashing and being engulfed in flames. The Ukrainian government is claiming it has destroyed nearly 100 enemy aircraft and helicopters as of Sunday amid the war that broke out following Russia's invasion 11 days ago.

# data[].attributes.body
March 6th, 2022
Kyiv
Su-34 shot down
Source: Video shows Russian fighter jet shot down over Chernihiv, Ukrainian officials say - The Washington Post

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Two parachutes are seen in the recording of the crash site of a Russian jet in Chernihiv on March 5. (Telegram)

Two aircrew members were seen parachuting from a downed Russian jet Saturday in Chernihiv, Ukraine, according to the Ukraine State Emergency Service (SES).

The SES shared photos on Twitter on Saturday showing the smoking remnants of the jet in the city, located about 95 miles north of Kyiv. Officials said on social media that the plane had been shot down and two people rescued.

The Washington Post verified the visuals and, using the number "24" on the plane's vertical stabilizer, determined that the aircraft was a Sukhoi Su-34 fighter jet. The same plane was photographed in 2019 in Russia by plane spotters, and the identification was confirmed by Tony Wilson of the Security Force Monitor at Columbia Law School's Human Rights Institute.

Чернігів↘️
5 березня близько 12:40 над м. Чернігів було збито ворожий літак, внаслідок чого сталося його падіння на околицю приватного сектору.

Інформація уточнюється. Врятовано 2 особи.

Від ДСНС залучено 23 особи та 4 од. техніки #stoprussia https://t.co/NcAnrc2JtR pic.twitter.com/DDE8B8nCDA
- DSNS.GOV.UA (@SESU_UA) March 5, 2022

A billowing column of black smoke from the crash site could be seen from a half-mile away, according to a video verified by The Post.

Military analysts told The Post that Russia's initial attacks on Ukrainian military targets failed to knock out the country's air defenses. Those defenses were not centrally located, the Associated Press reported, leaving Ukraine with surface-to-air missile systems capable of shooting down planes and helicopters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with members of Congress on Saturday for help in transferring more Soviet-era fighter jets to his country to counter Russian air attacks. Those planes could be sent from Eastern European countries, including Poland, Romania and Slovakia, one senator wrote after the call.

Zelensky asked lawmakers to "close the skies or give us planes," Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said in a statement on Saturday.

U.S. and other NATO leaders have declined Zelensky's calls to send military aircraft into Ukraine to establish a no-fly zone. Such a move could cause the conflict to escalate and "lead to a full-fledged war in Europe," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said that if countries enforce a no-fly zone in Ukraine, it would be considered " participation in the armed conflict."

Russia's forces continued pummeling civilian areas on Saturday. A cluster of brick homes was destroyed south of Kyiv in a suspected Russian rocket attack.

The United States has supplied Ukraine with antiaircraft and antitank missiles, The Post reported, but Zelensky said those weapons are not enough to fend off Russian forces.

Ukraine needs planes, he said.

Todd C. Frankel and Mike DeBonis contributed to this report.

UNDERSTANDING THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT

HAND CURATED

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Video shows Russian aircrew parachuting from fighter jet that Ukraine says was shot down

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Two aircrew members were seen parachuting from a downed Russian jet Saturday in Chernihiv, Ukraine, according to the Ukraine State Emergency Service (SES). The SES shared photos on Twitter on Saturday showing the smoking remnants of the jet in the city, located about 95 miles north of Kyiv.

# data[].attributes.body
March 6th, 2022
Location?
Russian helicopters operating with the "war marking"
Source: Russian Helicopters Have Started Operating With New Invasion Markings In Ukraine - The Aviationist

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The new markings might be intended to help the identification of Russian helicopters and reduce the risk of friendly fire.

Since the first day of the invasion in Ukraine, various symbols appeared on Russian vehicles; these symbols were reportedly applied to both identify Russian units (as in many cases were stripped of their standard markings) and another piece of info that has not been decoded yet. According to some analysts, it could either indicate a task force for one precise target or the staging area from where the ground forces started the invasion (Crimea, Russia, Belarus).

Over the course of last week similar symbols started to appear also on Russian helicopters. These markings surfaced online both in photos and videos of low flying helicopters posted on social medias and also in a Russian TV report. The helicopters spotted with the new markings are the Mi-8/17 Hip and Mi-24/35 Hind, which showed three white vertical bands on the tail boom and a white "V" on the rear and on the sides of the fuselage. These markings remind the D-Day markings.

Video of Russian Mi-8AMTSh and Mi-24 helicopters operating in Ukraine. https://t.co/UKPHdiZR8b pic.twitter.com/GXKjcxFj19

- Rob Lee (@RALee85) March 4, 2022

So ID markings help identify friend from foe...

But the three white bands actually make #Russia 🇷🇺 helicopters look more like #Ukraine 🇺🇦 counterparts who adopted two white bands during 2014 conflict!!! pic.twitter.com/eGXzOCwIj1

- Joseph Dempsey (@JosephHDempsey) March 5, 2022

The markings are especially useful in this situation as both Russia and Ukraine employ mostly the same equipment, thus making the identification more difficult and increasing the risk of friendly fire. Since the beginning of the invasion, both sides reportedly shot down by mistake some of their own aircraft, so the introduction of some sort of visual IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) markings seems reasonable.

However, it should be noted that the new Russian markings strikingly resemble the ones used by Ukrainian helicopters during the 2014 conflict with Russian forces in Crimea and Donbas. The Ukrainian helicopters showed two vertical bands, although larger than the Russian ones, on the tail boom. On the other hand, the new Russian markings have been spotted only on helicopters wearing the standard green camouflage, more similar to the Ukrainian camo, instead of the black one.

Some sources claimed that the Russian are trying to mask their own units so they can be mistaken as Ukrainian Army helicopters by the Ukrainian air defenses, as reportedly done by ground units. It is impossible to verify if those claims are true, however it is worth noting that Russian helicopters are suffering heavy losses from Ukrainian air defenses and MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defense Systems).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russian Helicopters Have Started Operating With New Invasion Markings In Ukraine

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Since the first day of the invasion in Ukraine, various symbols appeared on Russian vehicles; these symbols were reportedly applied to both identify Russian units (as in many cases were stripped of their standard markings) and another piece of info that has not been decoded yet.

# data[].attributes.body
March 7th, 2022
Mykolaiv
Russian tanks fired at by Ukrainian artillery
Source: Russian Tank Fired at From Mykolaiv Airport, Ukrainian Forces Say (yahoo.com)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Read full article

Ukrainian forces fired at what they said was a Russian tank at the Mykolaiv airport on March 7.

Footage posted by the National Police of Ukraine shows troops firing a rocket launcher from the roof of the now permanently closed Mykolaiv International Airport.

An explosion can then be seen in the distance. A translation of the National Police of Ukraine's Facebook post said "accurate shots neutralized enemy tanks and infantry fighting vehicles."

Ukraine's State Emergency Service said on Monday morning that fires were reported in residential areas and at industrial facilities in Mykolaiv as a result of Russian shelling. Credit: National Police of Ukraine via Storyful

Video Transcript

{"iserror":true,"errors":{"file_processing":"The resource you selected is not complete"}}

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russian Tank Fired at From Mykolaiv Airport, Ukrainian Forces Say

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Ukrainian forces fired at what they said was a Russian tank at the Mykolaiv airport on March 7.Footage posted by the National Police of Ukraine shows troops firing a rocket launcher from the roof of the now permanently closed Mykolaiv International Airport.An explosion can then be seen in the distance.

# data[].attributes.body
March 7th, 2022
Odessa
Comment?
Source: Ukraine 'DESTROYS' Kremlin navy craft that shelled Snake Island | Daily Mail Online

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Russian ship Vasily Bykov was said to have been hit in the Black Sea overnight

Video appeared to show defence forces in Odessa exchanging fire with ships

President Zelensky claimed Russia has plans bomb to the port city of Odessa

The Vasily Byko ship features two machine guns and two grenade launchers

One of the Russian warships that bombarded Ukraine's Snake Island on the first day of the war was destroyed by rocket fire yesterday.

Defence forces based in the Black Sea port of Odessa hit the Vasily Byko with a rocket barrage, Ukrainian military sources said.

The ship was one of two involved in the notorious attack on Snake Island, where 13 Ukrainian border guards who had been ordered to surrender told the Russian navy to 'go f*** yourself' before being shelled in response.

Last night video emerged of the rockets being fired from Odessa, with the line being repeated back at it after it was hit.

'We f***ing hit them,' one of the soldiers firing the rockets remarked. 'Russian warship - go f*** yourself!'

The 13 border guards on Snake Island were initially reported to have been killed in the attack on February 24, but it was later suggested they may have survived and been captured.

Audio messages at the time recorded the men's defiance in the face of threats from the Russian aggressors.

The ship's captain told them: 'I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and any unnecessary victims.'

The guards replied: 'Russian warship - go f*** yourself.'

Last night a Ukrainian Navy source told The Times: 'Ship was destroyed, it is confirmed.'

The Ukraine Navy added on Facebook: 'The enemy has retreated again.'

While the Ukrainian Armed Forces added: 'Today, March 7, 2022, Navy marine units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine defending the Odessa region hit an enemy ship.'

The attack marked yet another setback for Vladimir Putin as his invasion enters its twelfth day, with the capital of Kyiv still fighting back against invading troops.

The Vasily Byko ship was commissioned in December 2018 and is mainly used for protection and monitoring purposes.

The project 22160 patrol vessel, which has a range of 6,000 miles and a maximum speed of 35mph, features two machine guns and two grenade launchers.

The apparent latest hit is another setback for the Russian president as his troops have failed to capture any significant territory nor the capital of Kyiv despite a weekend of heavy fighting.

Russian forces are widely seen as having struggled in the face of Ukrainian military resistance and civil disobedience since entering the country 11 days ago.

The Ukrainian armed forces claimed to have destroyed up to 30 Russian helicopters that had been moved to Chornobaivka airport, near Kherson, overnight and to have retaken the city of Chuhuiv, near Kharkiv, killing two Russian commanders - Lt. Col. Dmitry Safronov, and Lt Col. Denis Glebov - in the process.

Ukraine's ministry of defence claims to have taken out more than 11,000 troops, some 290 tanks, 1,000 armoured personnel carriers, 46 planes, 68 helicopters and 117 artillery pieces as-of Monday morning.

None of those figures has been independently verified. Russia has acknowledged taking losses, but gave a figure of 500 deaths last week and has not updated it since.

Ukraine's military estimates that 11,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in fighting along with the loss of 1,000 armoured vehicles, 290 tanks, 68 helicopters, 46 planes and dozens of other piece of hardware.

Independent observers give lower totals, but Franz-Stefan Gady - of the International Institute for Strategic Studies - said the situation is never-the-less 'slowly becoming unsustainable for Russia'.

It comes after President Zelensky accused Russia of a war crime amid plans to bomb the port city of Odessa.

Here's how YOU can help: Donate here to the Mail Force Ukraine Appeal

TO MAKE A DONATION ONLINE

Account name: Mail Force Charity

Account number: 48867365

Sort code: 60-00-01

Almost a million people live in Odessa, a cosmopolitan harbour on Ukraine's southern coast with both Ukrainian and Russian speakers and Bulgarian and Jewish minorities.

In a video address, the Ukrainian leader said: 'They are preparing to bomb Odessa.

'Russians have always come to Odessa. They have always felt only warmth in Odessa. Only sincerity. And now what? Bombs against Odessa? Artillery against Odessa? Missiles against Odessa?

'It will be a war crime. It will be a historical crime.'

Analysts have previously said that taking Odessa would be a huge strategic victory and would give Russia a chokehold on Ukraine's economy.

Russia has made progress in southern Ukraine since its invasion 11 days ago, overrunning the city of Kherson and shelling the port of Mariupol, but Odessa has so far been largely spared.

Putin's men renewed their bombardments on Mariupol, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv this morning as hundreds of civilians tried to evacuate Irpin - on the outskirts of Kyiv - across a destroyed bridge after days of heavy attacks in an attempt to encircle the capital.

But Russian commanders have not significantly advanced their frontline since the city of Kherson and nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia were captured last week.

It comes after a military expert suggested that Putincould be 'finished' by the invasion of Ukraine after under-estimating military, social and economic resistance at home and abroad.

Professor Michael Clarke said sending soldiers to take Kyiv was 'massively foolish' and could become a 'peak Putin' moment that leads eventually to his downfall.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour, Prof Clarke said 'every day the Ukrainian government is still up and running and standing is a political victory for them and a political defeat for Russia'.

'The Russians can occupy the country at a superficial level. But given that the Ukrainians now hate them - and you are talking about a big country, a physically big country of 45 million people - it is a sheer impossibility that the Russians can control Ukraine in the way that they thought likely or the way Putin thought likely,' he said.

'It's a completely impossible scenario Putin has set his military forces, it's a huge strategic blunder, which incidentally has now become a political crisis in Russia ... this is peak Putin. After this Putin is finished.

'We don't know how long it will take, it may be some years or it might actually be quite quick. But there is no way out for this, it is a massive massive mistake on his part.'

Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that 'God will not forgive' and Ukraine 'will not forget' the slaughter of civilians by Russian forces, saying a 'day of judgement' is coming for them as Moscow was slammed for opening up 'humanitarian corridors' for civilians to flee - with routes leading into Russia itself.

Zelensky, in a late-night address to his countrymen on the Orthodox Christian holiday of 'Forgiveness Sunday', recalled how a family of four were among eight civilians killed by Russian mortars while trying to flee the city of Irpin - near Kyiv - earlier in the day. 'We will not forgive. We will not forget,' he told listeners.

'We cannot forgive the hundreds upon hundreds of victims. Nor the thousands upon thousands who have suffered,' he added. 'God will not forgive. Not today. Not tomorrow. Never.'

Shortly after they spoke, columns of smoke were seen rising over the city of Mykolaiv, on Ukraine's Black Sea coast, as Russian forces resumed shelling.

The exact number of civilian casualties is unclear, though is estimated by Ukraine to be in the thousands as residential areas of major cities are indiscriminately bombed using thermobaric and cluster munitions amid evidence of 'hit squads' targeting civilian vehicles. The UN estimates that 1.5million people have fled the fighting.

There were unconfirmed reports early Monday of heavy Russian losses around the captured city of Kherson overnight - with dozens of helicopters taken out alongside artillery columns - but these have also not been verified.

Britain's Europe Minister James Cleverly said Russia's latest offer of a ceasefire and an escape route for civilians was 'cynical beyond belief'.

Evacuation routes published by Russia's RIA Novosti news agency showed that civilians in some areas will only be able to leave towards Russia and Belarus.

Mr Cleverly told BBC Breakfast: 'It appears cynical beyond belief. There is a view that Vladimir Putin believed there was a widespread desire of Ukrainians to be closer to Russia, to be more Russian. I think that has been proven to be a complete nonsense by the circumstances we are seeing.

'Providing evacuation routes into the arms of the country that is currently destroying yours is a nonsense.'

Ukraine war: The latest

He added that 'ultimately the most humanitarian thing the Russians could do is end this completely illegal, completely unjustified invasion of Ukraine'.

Even as Russia announced a ceasefire starting Monday morning and the opening of humanitarian corridors in several areas, its armed forces continued to pummel Ukrainian cities, with multiple rocket launchers hitting residential buildings.

The limited ceasefire announcement came a day after hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian civilians attempting to flee to safety were forced to shelter from Russian shelling of cities in Ukraine's center, north and south. Officials from both sides planned a third round of talks Monday.

Russian forces continued their offensive, opening fire on the city of Mykolaiv, 480 kilometers south of the capital of Kyiv, Ukraine's General Staff said Monday morning. Rescuers said they were putting out fires in residential areas caused by rocket attacks.

Shelling also continued in the suburbs of Kyiv, including Irpin, which has been cut off from electricity, water and heating for three days.

'Russia continues to carry out rocket, bomb and artillery strikes on the cities and settlements of Ukraine,' the General Staff said. 'The invaders continue to use the airfield network of Belarus to carry out air strikes on Ukraine.'

The Russians have also been targeting humanitarian corridors, taking women and children hostage and placing weapons in residential areas of cities, according to the General Staff.

A Russian task force said a ceasefire would start Monday morning, the 12th day of the war, for civilians from Kyiv, the southern port city of Mariupol, Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, and Sumy. It wasn't immediately clear if fighting would stop beyond the areas mentioned in the task force's statement, or when the ceasefire would end.

The announcement follows two failed attempts to evacuate civilians from Mariupol, from which the International Committee of the Red Cross estimated 200,000 people were trying to flee.

Russia and Ukraine have traded blame for the failure. The Russian task force said Monday's ceasefire and the opening of the corridors was announced at the request of French President Emmanuel Macron, who spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday.

Evacuation routes published by Russia's RIA Novosti news agency, citing the Defense Ministry, show that civilians will be able to leave to Russia and Belarus. Russian forces will be observing the ceasefire with drones, the task force said.

Putin said Moscow's attacks could be halted 'only if Kyiv ceases hostilities.' As he has often done, Putin blamed Ukraine for the war, telling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday that Kyiv needed to stop all hostilities and fulfill 'the well-known demands of Russia.'

With no sign of an end to the fighting, western leaders are now working to figure out the best way of responding to Russia's attack without escalating the situation into an all-out war in Europe which could evolve into the bloodiest and most-destructive conflict in human history.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ukraine 'DESTROYS' Russian navy warship that shelled Snake Island

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Russian ship Vasily Bykov was said to have been hit in the Black Sea overnight Video appeared to show defence forces in Odessa exchanging fire with ships President Zelensky claimed Russia has plans bomb to the port city of Odessa The Vasily Byko ship features two machine guns and two grenade launchers One of the Russian warships that bombarded Ukraine's Snake Island on the first day of the war was destroyed by rocket fire yesterday.

# data[].attributes.body
March 7th, 2022
Kharkiv
Ukraine accuses Russian using artillery against civilians
Source: Terror From The Skies, Russia's Unguided Rocket Artillery Used On Civilians In Ukraine | SOFREP

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As the bombardment of Ukraine's population centers by Russian forces continues, here are the missile, rocket, and artillery systems raining death and destruction on civilians. While the Russian army produces precision-guided weapons to hit targets, their doctrine going back to WWWII favors vast amounts of cheap unguided munitions rather than a smaller number of platforms that can hit targets precisely as is favored by the U.S. and NATO countries. The Russians have so many platforms because they are slow to retire and dismantle obsolete systems, preferring to keep them in inventory for reserve units of the Russian army or to offer them for sale to third-world countries.

It is one thing to use these weapons against military targets, but SOFREP has seen evidence of these weapons being used in civilian areas. including 220mm Uragan (Hurricane) and 300mm Smerch (Tornado) cluster munition rockets. We have seen remnants of the shell casings from Uragan and Smerch cluster munition-type rockets as on the ground in Ukraine.

International human rights organizations are in Ukraine now assessing the extent of their use by the Russians before the evidence of these crimes against humanity are forever erased by the advance(despite valiant resistance by Ukraine forces) of Putin's army.

BM-21 GRAD, 9K51, NATO Designation M9164

The BM-21 GRAD is probably the most widely used rocket artillery system in the world today, developed in 1963. In its most basic design, the BM-21 consists of forty 122mm rockets on a turntable launcher mounted to the Ural-375D truck. The rockets have a range of some 2okm and the BM-21 can salvo all of them in 20 seconds. These are unguided rockets meant to shower a wide area with incendiary, explosive, and fragmentation warheads. The aiming mechanism is manually operated and the rockets are also loaded by hand. Other versions include longer-range rockets able to reach 30km and 40km respectively. This system is unarmored and after firing must rapidly leave the area to avoid counter-battery fire from a U.S. 155 howitzer or the U.S. Army's own HIMARS rocket system which fires the precision-guided GMLRS rocket and has a range of 135km.

BM-27, Uragan 9K57 NATO Designation M1977

The Uragan,"Hurricane" was a late cold war developed system with longer-range rockets to keep it out of the range of U.S. counter-battery fire. As a result, it carries just 16 rockets compared to the BM-21 but they are 220mm and reach out to 35km. Like the BM-21 GRAD, these rockets are unguided and crudely aimed to hit an area of ground rather than a precise location.

This system is less mobile than the BM-21 but can sit further to the rear behind the lines of engagement. It would be vulnerable to guided bombs and missiles from U.S aircraft or missiles fired by the HIMARS. These units would be a prime target of Ukrainian aircraft, drones and their own guided missiles.

BM 9A52 Smerch, NATO Designation M1983

The Smerch, "Tornado" was introduced in the 1980s in response to the U.S. introduction of the MLRS or Multiple Launch Rocket System. Like other Soviet designs, the rocket system sits on a trainable platform on the MAZ-543 truck with 8 wheel drive. The Smerch fires 12 solid-fueled, 300mm unguided rockets that deliver bomblets, or high explosive warheads, out to a range of 70-90km. The Smerch is also an area effect weapon meant to shower a large area with explosives rather than precise targeting of a single target. The range of these rockets also allows it to be relatively immune to counter-battery fire from anything but modern U.S. and NATO weaponry. Like the Uragan above, this weapon would also be a prime target for Ukraine's airforce, drones and guided missiles.

TOS-1A BM-1 SOLTSEPEK "Scorching Sun/Sunburn "

The TOS-1 is based on the T-72 Main Battle Tank without the gun and turret. It is not a flamethrower in the classic sense of a weapon dispensing a stream of ignited and flammable liquid but is a rocket launching system for thermobaric warhead-equipped missiles which explode in a large fireball of heat, pressure wave, and partial vacuum. Its unguided rockets sit on a turntable-type platform that allows for 360-degree traverse and elevation of the 220mm rocket launcher to hit targets up to 6,000 meters away. This system was meant to serve in an armored division with relative accuracy as an area effect weapons able to ensure complete destruction of some 40,000 square meters of open ground with thermobaric munitions. The standard model salvos 30 rockets in 6 seconds while the thermobaric model fires 24.

This type of munition consists of a thin tube of powdered or liquid explosive that bursts above the ground creating a cloud that is then ignited. The resulting blast of this combination of fuel and air consists of a huge fireball, intense heat, and a pressure wave followed by a partial vacuum as all the oxygen in the cloud is consumed in an instant. The effects on any troops near it are almost always fatal or incapacitating with injuries that include blindness, deafness, severe burns, burst organs, and other types of internal hemorrhage. Fired into densely populated areas with tall buildings magnifies the destructive effect as the pressure wave bounces around off harder structures while collapsing lighter ones.
If you're just tuning into SOFREP for the first time, click here to enjoy a free 2-month trial membership and be kept up to date on developments in Ukraine and elsewhere around the globe.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider supporting our Veteran Editorial by becoming a SOFREP subscriber. Click here to join SOFREP now for just $0.50/week.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Terror From The Skies, Russia's Unguided Rocket Artillery Used On Civilians In Ukraine | SOFREP

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As the bombardment of Ukraine's population centers by Russian forces continues, here are the missile, rocket, and artillery systems raining death and destruction on civilians. While the Russian army produces precision-guided weapons to hit targets, their doctrine going back to WWWII favors vast amounts of cheap unguided munitions rather than a smaller number of platforms that can hit targets precisely as is favored by the U.S.

# data[].attributes.body
March 7th, 2022
Chernihiv
Comment?
Source: Russian aircraft losses in Ukraine ‘unsustainable for more than a fortnight’ (telegraph.co.uk)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Each day the war is prolonged costs the Kremlin about £1 billion a day - catastrophic given how hard sanctions are hitting Russia.

A US defence intelligence official said in a briefing that emerged overnight: "We continue to observe that the airspace over Ukraine is contested. Ukrainian air and missile defences remain effective and in use. The Ukrainian military continues to fly aircraft and to employ air defence assets.

"Both sides have taken losses to both aircraft and missile defence inventories. We are not going to speak to numbers. We assess that both sides still possess a majority of their air defence systems and capabilities."

The numbers have been catalogued by Stijn Mitzer, a conflict analyst, who has been posting under the Twitter name Oryx and on a website of the same name. The website said: "This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here."

Defence analysts said Ukraine still had a number of fixed-wing fighter jets operating from airfields in the west of the country and surface-to-air missile sites, some mobile, that Russian forces have been unable to identify and destroy.

The success of surface-to-air missile strikes has forced Russian jets to fly lower, giving them cover from missile attacks but leaving them vulnerable to attack from hand-held portable air-defence systems - guided rockets.

Justin Bronk, research fellow for airpower at the Royal United Services Institute, the UK's leading defence and security think tank, said: "The loss rate becomes unsustainable very fast. If you keep that loss rate up for a couple of weeks, that becomes a real problem for the Russians. They lost nine aircraft over the weekend. That is a lot."

He said Russian cruise missiles had been deployed to hit airfields at the start of the invasion but such weapons, while useful for targeting "fixed infrastructure, hard standings and cratering runways", were less effective at knocking out smaller targets such as fighter aircraft.

He suggested runways could be quickly repaired and fighter jets removed from conflict zones in eastern Ukraine and redistributed in the west of the country ready for deployment. Ukraine had fewer than 100 combat aircraft at the start of the war, and it is unclear what remains after days of conflict.

"Ukraine is still flying," said Mr Bronk who added that the "continued absence" of major air operations mounted by Russia raises "serious questions" about its capability.

He said: "While the early VKS [Russian air force] failure to establish air superiority could be explained by lack of early warning, coordination capacity and sufficient planning time, the continued pattern of activity suggests a more significant conclusion - that the VKS lacks the institutional capacity to plan, brief and fly complex air operations at scale."

He said that if Russia could conduct "complex air operations", Moscow should by now have achieved air superiority by hunting down Ukrainian surface to air missile sites.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russian aircraft losses in Ukraine 'unsustainable for more than a fortnight'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Each day the war is prolonged costs the Kremlin about £1 billion a day - catastrophic given how hard sanctions are hitting Russia. A US defence intelligence official said in a briefing that emerged overnight: "We continue to observe that the airspace over Ukraine is contested.

# data[].attributes.body
March 7th, 2022
Kyiv
Russian convoy caught in 40-mile-long traffic jam
Source: Why is the 64-kilometre Russian convoy not moving towards Kyiv? - AS.com

# data[].attributes.body
March 7th, 2022
Location?
Source: Photo of Russian troops supposedly stuck in an elevator is going viral (taskandpurpose.com)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A photo apparently showing Russian troops stranded in an elevator is going viral

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The photo shows five Russian soldiers stuck in an elevator, looking up with a bit of confusion at the security camera.

# data[].attributes.body
March 7th
Location?
Drone first kill
Source: https://www.defenseworld.net/news/31532/Russian_Orion_E_Drone_Makes_its_First_Kill_in_Ukraine

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russian Orion-E Drone Makes its First Kill in Ukraine

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Russian Orion-E Drone Makes its First Kill in Ukraine

# data[].attributes.body
March 7th
Kyiv
Source: People walk by a damaged vehicle and an armored car at a checkpoint in Brovary, outside Kyiv.

# data[].attributes.body
March 7th, 2022
Source: https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1500881438463385606

# data[].attributes.body
March 8th, 2022
Sumy
Ukrainian forces allegedly damaged T-80U
Source: 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker on Twitter: "#Ukraine: The Ukrainian forces damaged a Russian T-80U tank and destroyed a supply truck in #Sumy. Previously, the Russian army lost 3 more tanks on the same road (seen on the background). https://t.co/VjLopPAKqg" / Twitter

# data[].attributes.body
March 8th, 2022
Mykolaiv
Allegedly captured supply trucks containing ammunition
Source: 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker on Twitter: "#Ukraine: The Ukrainian forces captured three Russian supply trucks with ammunition and a 2B11 120mm heavy mortar today in #Mykolaiv Oblast. https://t.co/YOqgRqC7ho" / Twitter

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.text
#Ukraine: The Ukrainian forces captured three Russian supply trucks with ammunition and a 2B11 120mm heavy mortar today in #Mykolaiv Oblast.

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.original_text
#Ukraine: The Ukrainian forces captured three Russian supply trucks with ammunition and a 2B11 120mm heavy mortar today in #Mykolaiv Oblast. https://t.co/YOqgRqC7ho

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
#Ukraine: The Ukrainian forces captured three Russian supply trucks with ammunition and a 2B11 120mm heavy mortar today in #Mykolaiv Oblast. pic.twitter.com/YOqgRqC7ho
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 8, 2022

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
#Ukraine: The Ukrainian forces captured three Russian supply trucks with ammunition and a 2B11 120mm heavy mortar today in #Mykolaiv Oblast. https://t.co/YOqgRqC7ho

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
#Ukraine: The Ukrainian forces captured three Russian supply trucks with ammunition and a 2B11 120mm heavy mortar today in #Mykolaiv Oblast. https://t.co/YOqgRqC7ho

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
#Ukraine: The Ukrainian forces captured three Russian supply trucks with ammunition and a 2B11 120mm heavy mortar today in #Mykolaiv Oblast.

# data[].attributes.body
March 8th, 2022
Mariupol
Allegedly destroyed IFV destroyed outside of Mariupol
Source: Will Putin strike Poland? Senior US officials concerned Russia may attack supply line to Ukraine | Daily Mail Online

# data[].attributes.body
March 8th, 2022
Mariupol
Allegedly shot-down Su-34 near  Kharkiv
Source: Will Putin strike Poland? Senior US officials concerned Russia may attack supply line to Ukraine | Daily Mail Online

# data[].attributes.body
March 8th, 2022
Mariupol
Comment?
Source: Will Putin strike Poland? Senior US officials concerned Russia may attack supply line to Ukraine | Daily Mail Online

# data[].attributes.body
March 8th, 2022
Syria
Russian carrier bombers patrolling the Mediterranean Sea
Source: Russia's Tu-22M3 Bomber: The 'Missile Truck' That Will Pummel Ukraine? - 19FortyFive

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Russia's Tu-22M3 bomber could do a lot of damage in Ukraine. Here's how: Russia's Tu-22M3 'missile truck' is relevant again. Known by its NATO moniker Backfire-C, the Tu-22M3 is flying out of Syria and patrolling the Mediterranean Sea in a manner that hearkens back to the Cold War.

If you read Tom Clancy novels during the Soviet era, you may recognize the provocative exploits of the Backfire. Below I present a rundown of its recent deployments and capabilities.

Tu-22M3 Backfires in Syria

Three Tupolev Tu-22M3 Backfire missile carrier bombers were deployed to Khmeimim airbase south of Latakia in Syria earlier in 2021. This is a modern tactical and strategic development. Tactically because the bombers can keep an eye on the U.S. Navy, contest the skies over the Mediterranean, and threaten NATO shipping. This is a strategic move because it allows the Russians to have more power and influence in the Middle East. The Backfires could reach the American base at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti which has 4,000 personnel including special operations forces, drone operators, and intelligence analysts.

Tu-22M3 Bombers Can Protect Russian Interests

The Tu-22M3 can also fly near Libya where Russia is trying to play a role in ending a civil war. The Russians reportedly have private military contractors from Wagner working in Libya, so this is an additional way that Moscow is projecting power and protecting assets in the Middle East.

The Russians like to claim that airplanes deployed at Khmeimim, which the Russians have enlarged over the last year, are there only on short rotations. To be sure, the Backfire has dropped bombs on Syria before to target rebels, but those were missions that originated from Russia.

The Backfire is not the only bomber in Syria. Other Russian heavy bombers fly out of Khmeimim such as the Tu-95MS and the Tu-160. This shows how serious the Kremlin is about the Middle East and its willingness to use the military to shape the battlespace.

Russia Institutes a Series of Upgrades of the Tu-22M3

There are at least 60 Tu-22M and M3 bombers in the Russian arsenal. The supersonic Tu-22M3 received an upgrade in the 1980s with new NK-25 engines that provided a better top speed of 1,429 miles per hour, a range of 4,350 miles, and an improved payload. Aerodynamics were enhanced with some design changes to its nose and wings. An enhanced radar was also installed.

Watch Out for the Missiles It Carries

The Tu-22M3 Backfire-C can launch an assortment of missiles: from the Kh-22 and Kh-23 anti-ship munitions to the Raduga Kh-15 missiles to the newer Kh-47M2 Kinzhal nuclear-capable ballistic missiles. Plus, with a 10-ton payload, it can drop a variety of unguided bombs.

The Backfire went through another upgrade that was finished in 2017 that created the Tu-22M3M variant. The first flight of the updated model flew in 2018. 30 bombers got the upgrade. This has better avionics and more precise bombing along with the long-range, nuclear-capable "carrier killer" Kh-32 cruise missile. The Russians claim that someday these airplanes could carry hypersonic weapons. The Russians believe the Tu-22M3M can also be improved with new electronic warfare capabilities.

Tu-22M3: What Will the U.S. Navy Do?

The U.S. Navy won't be overwhelmed by the modern Tu-22M3M Backfire, but it will have to account for the bomber's stand-off over-the-horizon capabilities. The ranges of the Russian missiles are noteworthy. A hypersonic weapon capability could endanger U.S. and NATO shipping in the Mediterranean.

The Americans Have a Vote in a Potential Fight

Is the deployment of Russian modern missile-carrying bombers a dangerous game-changer in the Middle East? Not completely.

American naval planners are used to dealing with China in East Asia and the Chinese have numerous stand-off anti-ship missiles too. The U.S. Navy's Aegis Combat System is highly-advanced and ready to defend against numerous types of air-to-surface missiles. Carrier-based F-35s can eliminate Russian bombers. So, even though the Russians have made a significant move to the Middle East, the Americans can defend and strike back with great success if necessary.

Now serving as 1945's Defense and National Security Editor, Brent M. Eastwood, Ph.D., is the author of Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an Emerging Threats expert and former U.S. Army Infantry officer. You can follow him on Twitter @BMEastwood.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russia's Tu-22M3 Bomber: The 'Missile Truck' That Will Pummel Ukraine?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Russia's Tu-22M3 bomber could do a lot of damage in Ukraine. Here's how: Russia's Tu-22M3 'missile truck' is relevant again. Known by its NATO moniker Backfire-C, the Tu-22M3 is flying out of Syria and patrolling the Mediterranean Sea in a manner that hearkens back to the Cold War.

# data[].attributes.headline
Russian Slava-Class Guided Missile Cruiser Varyag (011)

# data[].attributes.subject
Russian Slava-Class Guided Missile Cruiser Varyag (011)

# data[].attributes.body
March 8th, 2022
Odessa
Comment?
Source: Russian ships regrouping near Odesa, preparing for possible offensive (ukrinform.net)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Near Odesa, Russian ships are regrouping and preparing for a possible offensive. Air defense forces and other units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are ready to repel attacks. Checkpoints were set up on the outskirts of the city.

According to Ukrinform, Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesman for the Operational Headquarters of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, said this on his Facebook page.

"As of March 6, enemy troops near Odesa are regrouping and preparing for a possible offensive. Enemy ships continue to navigate in the Black Sea. But the situation is under control - our air defense and other units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are ready to repel the enemy's attack," Bratchuk said.

Summing up the results of the defense of Odesa for March 5, the head of the Odesa regional military administration, Maksym Marchenko, stressed that in two days near Odesa "three fighter jets were shot down by air defense units, three pilots were detained. [...] Checkpoints have been set up in key areas, and we are tightening control over roads to prevent the activities of sabotage and reconnaissance groups."

"I want to say that we will fight for our Odesa no matter what. And I am sure we will win," he said.

According to him, the authorities are creating specialized food warehouses in every district of the Odesa region so that people do not have food problems in any situation.

Earlier reports said that battalions of the second brigade of territorial defense were being created in the Odesa region.

The war with Russian invaders has been going on in Ukraine since February 24.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russian ships regrouping near Odesa, preparing for possible offensive

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Near Odesa, Russian ships are regrouping and preparing for a possible offensive. Air defense forces and other units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are ready to repel attacks. Checkpoints were set up on the outskirts of the city. - Ukrinform.

# data[].attributes.body
March 8th, 2022
Kyiv
Source: https://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-says-successfully-attacked-russian-162336642.html

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ukraine forces attacked Russian vehicles thanks to a tip on Telegram, officials said Tuesday.

The vehicles were targeted outside Kyiv, according to the Security Service of Ukraine.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has intensified as Russian troops reportedly shell civilian areas.

Ukrainian forces successfully attacked Russian vehicles in the capital city of Kyiv thanks to a public tip made through the encrypted messaging app Telegram, Ukraine's top law enforcement agency said on Tuesday.

The Security Service of Ukraine said in a tweet that it was able to effectively target Russian convoys near Kyiv through messages sent to an official Telegram bot account called "STOP Russian War."

"Your messages about the movement of the enemy through the official chatbot ... bring new trophies every day," the government agency tweeted.

It added, "This time we received the coordinates of enemy vehicles marked 'V' in Kyiv region."

"The result is on this photo: fiery 'greetings' to the invaders," Security Service of Ukraine posted, along with a photo showing several military vehicles among plumes of black smoke.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched Russia's invasion of Ukraine in the early morning hours of February 24, targeting several key cities with military strikes.

Ukrainian forces have since put up a strong resistance to the Russian troops amid the war that has already left hundreds of Ukrainian civilians, including children, dead. Ukrainian and international officials have accused Russia of targeting civilian populations with shelling and bombardments.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces "destroy the invaders wherever we can."

But he said Russian troops "still have enough machinery to kill."
Translations by Oleksandr Vynogradov
"There are still enough missiles for terror," he added.

Read the original article on Business Insider

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ukraine says it successfully attacked Russian vehicles in Kyiv thanks to a Telegram tip

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Ukraine forces attacked Russian vehicles thanks to a tip on Telegram, officials said Tuesday. The vehicles were targeted outside Kyiv, according to the Security Service of Ukraine. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has intensified as Russian troops reportedly shell civilian areas.

# data[].attributes.body
March 8th, 2022
Source: https://www.janes.com/defence-news/air-platforms/latest/ukraine-conflict-russia-arms-su-35s-for-sead-operations-over-ukraine

# data[].attributes.body
March 8th, 2022
Source: https://southfront.org/russian-kh-101-strategic-cruise-missile-spotted-over-ukraine/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Support SouthFront
On March 8, the Russian Kh-101 strategic air-to-ground cruise missile was spotted flying over Ukraine.
Such cruise missiles are very useful to strike at targets deep into enemy territory without threat to the launch platform. The bombers do not have to penetrate enemy airspace to any great extent.

According to open sources, the maximum range of Kh-101 is 5500 km (3418 miles), it has a cruise speed of 700-720 km/h, a maximum speed of 970 km/h, and an endurance of flight of 10 hours.

The mass of the warhead is usually about 400 kilograms, the power of the nuclear warhead is about 250 kilotons. The missile can be equipped with high-explosive, penetrating, or cluster warhead.

The first Kh-101s were armed with Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers in the early 2010s. Today it can be launched by the Russian Tu-160 (twelve missiles), Tu-95MS16 (eight missiles), Tu-22M3/5 (four missiles) and Su-34 (two missiles) bombers.

The Raduga Kh-102 is another version of the missile fitted with a nuclear warhead.

T he new weapon was first fire-tested in Syria on November, 17, 2015.

The Kh-101 missile has very high accuracy, the expected deviation from the target is only about ten meters. The equipment of carrier aircraft now allows to re-target the rocket even after its launch. Another feature of the Kh-101 is its low visibility, due to its special aerodynamic shape and special radio-absorbing materials.

Russia has actively worked out the use of these missile systems in Syria. A number of Western experts have expressed doubts about the effectiveness of these Russian missile systems. The successful experience of their use in Syria and now in Ukraine refutes these doubts.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

Support SouthFront

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russian Kh-101 Strategic Cruise Missile Spotted Over Ukraine

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Support SouthFront On March 8, the Russian Kh-101 strategic air-to-ground cruise missile was spotted flying over Ukraine. Such cruise missiles are very useful to strike at targets deep into enemy territory without threat to the launch platform. The bombers do not have to penetrate enemy airspace to any great extent.

# data[].attributes.body
March 12th, 2022
Source: https://twitter.com/JosephHDempsey/status/1502618685348929543?cxt=HHwWjoCz0fXur9opAAAA

# data[].attributes.body
March 13th, 2022
Actual date is February 26th
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-using-kornet-anti-tank-missiles-on-battlefields-in-ukraine-2022-3

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Standoff anti-tank missiles have taken on a prominent role in Russia's war on Ukraine.

Ukraine's effective use of Western-supplied anti-tank missiles has been highly publicized.

Russia has a highly effective anti-tank missile, but it doesn't appear to be having the same impact.

Kornet - Russia tries to answer with their own anti-tank missiles: You've heard about the thousands of anti-tank missiles provided by the West to Ukrainian troops. Tops among these systems are the Javelin and NLAW which have been superbly effective against enemy tanks.

But the Russians have anti-tank missiles too that they believe are even better than those American and British systems.

The top Russian anti-tank weapon is the Kornet with a longer range and higher velocity - a missile that the manufacturer says is the best on the battlefield.

Is the Kornet helping the Russian cause?
At least one video on social media has the Russian Kornet blasting a Ukrainian tank. That pales in comparison to all the footage and still photos of Javelins taking out Russian tanks.

A blog called Oryx that is keeping track of the war losses for both sides with open source analysis believes that the Ukrainians have been better at eliminating Russian armor. The Ukrainians, according to Oryx and Forbes have destroyed "465 Russian heavy vehicles (tanks, armored fighting vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers), versus 138 for the Ukrainians."

Those figures may be fudged, and to be sure, have been only estimated through social-media photographs. But it's safe to say the Ukrainians have been more successful against Russian armor.
Russia must stop the bleeding and attack effectively
That leaves the Kornet. If Russia is going to win this war, they will have to remove more Ukrainian armored vehicles from the battlefield.

This war also looks to be more of a fight between standoff anti-tank missiles than tank-on-tank battles. Anti-tank missiles are becoming decisive.

Kornet has advantages
The Kornet fires an anti-tank guided missile that can destroy enemy tanks that have explosive reactive armor. Many Ukrainian tanks in the war have older and even obsolete armor, according to Military Watch Magazine. So Russia should have an advantage with the Kornet.

The Kornet has been used by the Russians since 1998. It's a third-generation system. The Kornet is portable but not shoulder-fired like the Javelin and requires a two-soldier team. It must be fired from a stand or mounted on an infantry fighting vehicle.

It fires high-explosive anti-tank or incendiary rounds that can take out bunkers, buildings, or emplacements and fatally wound enemy fighters inside.
Longer range than the Javelin
One advantage of the Kornet is its 3.1-mile range. The Javelin has only a 1.5-mile range. But while the Javelin screams upward and then swoops down on a tank's turret at its weakest point, the Kornet is a direct-fire weapon that has laser-beam riding guidance like the NLAW.

The Kornet fires a large 152 mm missile and it was employed effectively by Hezbollah against Israeli tanks in the 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

Kornet has effective tandem-charge munitions
The National Interest spoke to Dmitry Litovkin, editor-in-chief of the Russian-based Independent Military Review in December, who is bullish on the Kornet.

"Importantly, the missile has a tandem-charge high-explosive warhead," said Litovkin. "This means that two charges explode in an attack. The first lead charge removes the target's reactive armor while the follow-up charge directly wipes it out. While experts say that slat armor protects against standard high-explosive munitions, it is less effective against tandem-charge high-explosive munitions similar to those employed by the Kornet."

If the Kornet is so good, why isn't Russia eliminating more Ukrainian armored vehicles? Even if Ukrainian tank losses are incorrect and underestimated, the Russians have still likely lost more tanks and armored personnel carriers than the Ukrainians.

This shows that Russians, even with some superior weaponry like the Kornet, are losing the initiative of the fight. The Russian tactics are not surprising to the Ukrainians. The long armored columns are easy to ambush, and even with the Kornet, the Russians will have to learn lessons and adjust tactics to destroy more enemy tanks.
Now serving as 1945's defense and national security Editor, Brent M. Eastwood, Ph.D., is the author of "Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare." He is an emerging-threats expert and former US Army infantry officer. You can follow him on Twitter @BMEastwood.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russia has its own effective anti-tank missiles that its trying to bring to bear on the battlefield in Ukraine

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Standoff anti-tank missiles have taken on a prominent role in Russia's war on Ukraine. Ukraine's effective use of Western-supplied anti-tank missiles has been highly publicized. Russia has a highly effective anti-tank missile, but it doesn't appear to be having the same impact.

# data[].attributes.body
March 15, 2022
Source: https://www.dailywire.com/news/russia-fired-cruise-missiles-at-ukraine-from-russian-airspace-pentagon-confirms

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
On Monday, the Pentagon confirmed that Russia had fired cruise missiles from Russian air space that targeted the Yavoriv military training facility near the Polish border in western Ukraine.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby stated, "This was clearly a Russian airstrike. Our understanding is that these were cruise missiles fired from aircraft long range on the Yavoriv training facility there in western Ukraine."

Air Force Magazine quoted a Pentagon official saying, "These air-launch cruise missiles were launched from long-range bombers. Russian long-range bombers from Russian airspace, not from inside Ukrainian airspace."

"Russia is believed to fly some 200 sorties per day while Ukraine flies 5 to 10 sorties in skies covered completely by Russian surface-to-air offensive missiles capabilities," Air Force Magazine added.

The Pentagon pointed out that the cruise missile attacks illustrated the inefficacy of a no-fly zone if the West decided to establish one over Ukraine.

A defense official told Air Force Magazine, "My big concern is at what point do the Russians decide that they have to cut off the ... ground line of communication? The supply lines from Poland into Ukraine or from anywhere into Ukraine. When does Russia feel like, you know, between the sanctions and the military support to the Ukrainians, when do they feel like that's provocative enough to strike back?"

A reporter asked Kirby, "To go back to these strike on the Yavoriv. Did you consider that as a turning point in the war? The fact that they start striking in the West. Or do you consider that as just a signal to the west that we can do that if we want?"

"I don't think we would reduce something like this to calling it a signal," Kirby replied. "I mean he - they use multiple cruise missiles here. Clearly, they had their reasons for targeting that training facility. And it is a Ukrainian military training facility. I'll let them speak to their targeting justifications. ... I wouldn't think that we would consider this or the other strike in western Ukraine is some sort of turning point. The Russians clearly are expanding some of their target sets. That's obvious just from the fact that over the last couple of days, we've seen other targets hit in Ukraine. It doesn't change - I think our general understanding that they continue to be frustrated by a very stiff Ukrainian resistance."

Another reporter commented, "Often you say that Russia does not have air superiority. However, if Russia is flying 200 Sorties a day, and Ukraine's flying five to 10 and can't fly its combat aircraft, because Russia has complete SAM coverage. How is that not air superiority for Russia?"

"I'm not going get into the data metrics here with you," Kirby answered. "We still assess that, that Russia does not have air superiority over Ukraine and that the Ukrainians are defending their space ably."
The Daily Wire is one of America's fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a .

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russia Fired Cruise Missiles At Ukraine From Russian Airspace, Pentagon Confirms

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On Monday, the Pentagon confirmed that Russia had fired cruise missiles from Russian air space that targeted the Yavoriv military training facility near the Polish border in western Ukraine. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby stated, "This was clearly a Russian airstrike.

# data[].attributes.body
March 15th, 2022
Source: https://twitter.com/UAWeapons/status/1503850871402156036?cxt=HHwWiMCykcuZ4N4pAAAA

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.text
#Ukraine: The Ukrainian Army captured a fresh BMD-4M from the VDV, with variety of interesting equipment which indicates higher grade troops; SVDS, AK-74M, PKP Pecheneg, 1PN93-2 night vision & 1PN140-2 thermal scopes, NV Goggles, etc. 

Low light equipment in particular is rare.

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.original_text
#Ukraine: The Ukrainian Army captured a fresh BMD-4M from the VDV, with variety of interesting equipment which indicates higher grade troops; SVDS, AK-74M, PKP Pecheneg, 1PN93-2 night vision & 1PN140-2 thermal scopes, NV Goggles, etc. 

Low light equipment in particular is rare. https://t.co/TkKj0PIhL7

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
#Ukraine: The Ukrainian Army captured a fresh BMD-4M from the VDV, with variety of interesting equipment which indicates higher grade troops; SVDS, AK-74M, PKP Pecheneg, 1PN93-2 night vision & 1PN140-2 thermal scopes, NV Goggles, etc.

Low light equipment in particular is rare. pic.twitter.com/TkKj0PIhL7
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 15, 2022

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
#Ukraine: The Ukrainian Army captured a fresh BMD-4M from the VDV, with variety of interesting equipment which indicates higher grade troops; SVDS, AK-74M, PKP Pecheneg, 1PN93-2 night vision & 1PN140-2 thermal scopes, NV Goggles, etc. 

Low light equipment in particular is rare. https://t.co/TkKj0PIhL7

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
#Ukraine: The Ukrainian Army captured a fresh BMD-4M from the VDV, with variety of interesting equipment which indicates higher grade troops; SVDS, AK-74M, PKP Pecheneg, 1PN93-2 night vision & 1PN140-2 thermal scopes, NV Goggles, etc. 

Low light equipment in particular is rare. https://t.co/TkKj0PIhL7

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
#Ukraine: The Ukrainian Army captured a fresh BMD-4M from the VDV, with variety of interesting equipment which indicates higher grade troops; SVDS, AK-74M, PKP Pecheneg, 1PN93-2 night vision & 1PN140-2 thermal scopes, NV Goggles, etc. 

Low light equipment in particular is rare.

# data[].attributes.body
March 15th, 2022
Source: https://twitter.com/JosephHDempsey/status/1503864619932205065

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.text
15 March satellite imagery @planet of Kherson Airport appears to show a number of #Russia 🇷🇺helicopters destroyed or damaged following reported #Ukraine 🇺🇦 strike (46.67358° N, 32.50764° E)

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.original_text
15 March satellite imagery @planet of Kherson Airport appears to show a number of #Russia 🇷🇺helicopters destroyed or damaged following reported #Ukraine 🇺🇦 strike (46.67358° N, 32.50764° E) https://t.co/x1vxjoeDtt

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
15 March satellite imagery @planet of Kherson Airport appears to show a number of #Russia 🇷🇺helicopters destroyed or damaged following reported #Ukraine 🇺🇦 strike (46.67358° N, 32.50764° E) pic.twitter.com/x1vxjoeDtt
— Joseph Dempsey (@JosephHDempsey) March 15, 2022

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
15 March satellite imagery @planet of Kherson Airport appears to show a number of #Russia 🇷🇺helicopters destroyed or damaged following reported #Ukraine 🇺🇦 strike (46.67358° N, 32.50764° E) https://t.co/x1vxjoeDtt

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
15 March satellite imagery @planet of Kherson Airport appears to show a number of #Russia 🇷🇺helicopters destroyed or damaged following reported #Ukraine 🇺🇦 strike (46.67358° N, 32.50764° E) https://t.co/x1vxjoeDtt

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
15 March satellite imagery @planet of Kherson Airport appears to show a number of #Russia 🇷🇺helicopters destroyed or damaged following reported #Ukraine 🇺🇦 strike (46.67358° N, 32.50764° E)

# data[].attributes.body
March 15th, 2022
Vinnitsa
Source: https://charter97.org/en/news/2022/3/15/459155/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This "supermodern" and ultra-expensive missile became an easy target of the AFU in the Vinnytsia region.

A Russian strategic air-to-ground cruise missile Kh-101 was shot down in the Vinnytsia region with a conventional machine gun.

Serhei Borzov, the head of Vinnitsa Regional Military Administration, reported this during the video address in the morning on March 15, pravda.com.ua reports.

"By the way about that cruise missile which brought down two days ago in the Vinnytsia region, it brought down with the usual machine gun. It flew very low. This Kh-101 is an allegedly "supermodern" and super expensive missile.

Well, we see that it is possible to shoot it down. Therefore, I call all who have sources, please try to shoot them down. They fly low and almost always at the same time," Serhei Borzov declared.

The Head of the Regional Military Administration also said that in the morning of March 15, a rocket attack took place in the Vinnitsa region. However, the rocket fell in the field, no casualties.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
this "supermodern" and ultra-expensive missile became an easy target of the afu in the vinnytsia region.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Strategic Cruise Missile Of Invaders Shot Down By Machine-gun Fire

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This "supermodern" and ultra-expensive missile became an easy target of the AFU in the Vinnytsia region. A Russian strategic air-to-ground cruise missile Kh-101 was shot down in the Vinnytsia region with a conventional machine gun. Serhei Borzov, the head of Vinnitsa Regional Military Administration, reported this during the video address in the morning on March 15, pravda.com.ua reports.

# data[].attributes.body
March 15th, 2022
Odessa
Source: https://twitter.com/CovertShores/status/1503732767569420296

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.text
***BREAKING***

Substantial #Russian Navy force, including landing ships, advancing on Odessa area today. Seen 09:47 UTC in satellite imagery

Found together with @detresfa_

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.original_text
***BREAKING***

Substantial #Russian Navy force, including landing ships, advancing on Odessa area today. Seen 09:47 UTC in satellite imagery

Found together with @detresfa_ https://t.co/sDdZHDPJ1r

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
***BREAKING***

Substantial #Russian Navy force, including landing ships, advancing on Odessa area today. Seen 09:47 UTC in satellite imagery

Found together with @detresfa_ pic.twitter.com/sDdZHDPJ1r
— H I Sutton (@CovertShores) March 15, 2022

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
***BREAKING***

Substantial #Russian Navy force, including landing ships, advancing on Odessa area today. Seen 09:47 UTC in satellite imagery

Found together with @detresfa_ https://t.co/sDdZHDPJ1r

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
***BREAKING***

Substantial #Russian Navy force, including landing ships, advancing on Odessa area today. Seen 09:47 UTC in satellite imagery

Found together with @detresfa_ https://t.co/sDdZHDPJ1r

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
***BREAKING***

Substantial #Russian Navy force, including landing ships, advancing on Odessa area today. Seen 09:47 UTC in satellite imagery

Found together with @detresfa_