Russia

[dawg80]

The Ukrans flew their "Piper Cub" drone 900+ miles into Russia and struck another of Putin's oil refineries. Perfect hit too. Amazing technology and skill by the Ukrans to pilot the small airplane, packed with explosives, 900+ miles, avoiding Russian radar and air defenses and then hitting the bullseye on the refinery 900+ miles away. Three other Putin oil storage facilities were hit overnight with drones and cruise missiles.

The Russians have hit the "pause button" along the front. Not much activity the past 48 hours. Actually, it's been the Ukrans launching a series of counter-attacks, small advances mostly designed to seize opportunities and to stick a needle into the Russkis' side in places. Using their scouting drones to identify weak spots in the line, the Ukrans attack, inflict casualties and damage, then withdraw before the Russians can mount a larger response.

Latest report indicates Putin has amassed only about 50,000 troops and equipment for such an army in Belgorod. Most pundits think Putin will need at least 80,000 soldiers and sufficient equipment to even mount an offensive toward Kharkiv, and that will allow only a minimal gain. To be ultimately successful, i.e. seize Kharkiv, will require a minimum of 120,000 soldiers and 1,500+ armored vehicles, and a commitment of the remaining Russian attack fighter-bombers, SU-25s mostly, to have a chance. Some western military think tanks have their doubts that even with those numbers the Russians will prevail in taking and then holding Kharkiv. Given this analysis, looks like Putin's promise to take Kharkiv by the end of June is looking grim.

[dawg80]

"Charge of the Bradleys!" That's how one YouTuber described the scene. 15 newly-delivered Bradley Fighting Machines went straight into battle after being unloaded from the train and charged into an advancing Russian unit composed of tanks, APCs, and infantry, and the Bradleys prevailed after fierce combat. To many, it was a reckless charge, disregarding military doctrine of proper scouting and infantry support for armored vehicles in combat, but this may be why they were so successful. The Russians were caught completely by surprise by this tactic, were not prepared for it, and got their asses kicked. This happened near the battleground of Ochertyne, one of the places the Russians have been pushing hard to seize. Early reports say the Ukrans suffered zero losses, not one of the Bradleys was even damaged, and the Russians suffered losses of tanks, APCs, and infantry, but no details yet. Later today more information will be available.

The Russians did launch an attack on the Kharkiv front, and gained ground while suffering losses, which is what they always do. Two more independent sources have confirmed that Putin has amassed only 50,000 troops in Belgorod, which everyone agrees, is not nearly enough troops to take Kharkiv. Overnight, the Russians advanced into "no man's land" which is ground between the opposing lines. They chased away advanced Ukranian units, pickets, patrols, small groups of infantry serving as advanced warning to the pending offensive. There were some sporadic gunfights, but the Ukrans broke contact and retired back to their lines. The Russians advanced on two fronts, with tanks leading the way, and infantry following. The Ukrans answered this morning with artillery and drone strikes inflicting losses on the advanced Russian units. No details yet. The distance between the opposing defensive lines is about 6 miles, "no man's land" and it is into this ground the Russians advanced last night. Given that the Russians lack the strength to break the Ukrainian defensive line it is not clear what they hoped to accomplish with this thrust.

[dawg80]

Lithuania defies Russia's warnings. Yo, Putin, here we are engaged in military maneuvers just off your coast in the Baltic Sea...hello, anyone home!?

Gotta love it! Lithuania has balls, unlike our appeasement-nicks who are afraid to tweak Putin, and is tauntingly carrying out military training just outside of Russian territorial waters. And to make matters worse, the Lithuanians have named these maneuvers "Engaging the Invaders from Russia." An in-your-face training designed to do as they say, engage the evil invaders. They also live-fired missiles, targeting an old relic ship in the Baltic Sea. The Russians were really nervous about that announcement stating firing real missiles will be seen as an act of war. Lithuania said, "Eff you!" Well, now that Lithuania crossed Putin's "line in the sand" so to speak, it's Putin's move.

Again, how refreshing to see real leadership in the world, leaders standing up for their countries and their people and defying the evil Putin. We could use some of that manhood here in the US...again.

[dawg80]

An apartment complex in Belgorod collapsed after being struck by missile fragments from a partially damaged Ukrainian missile which was targeting a Russian airbase nearby. Civilian casualties reported.

That was an accident, but what wasn't an accident was an attack against a banquet of Putinites in Donetsk. Local dignitaries celebrating an anniversary of something evil Putin did, all dressed to the hilt, a black-tie affair, fancy cars, Russian flags flying everywhere, even had valet parking! Beautiful, fancy building, a mansion, a castle really...not anymore. Bam! Ukrans dropped a cruise missile through the roof, exploded inside, lots of dead Putinites reported. These were government officials, military officers, police officers, propagandists, and visiting representatives from Putin's evil regime. This is not the first time Ukraine has carried out this type of attack, yet the stupid Putinites keep having these gatherings.

[dawg80]

While the Russians have launched two separate advances, about 10 miles apart, and they have seized what was largely undefended ground, their offensives have already ground to halt. Local militia and what are really police forces, joined by small units of Ukrainian regular army, have stopped the Russian advances. One Russian offensive has advanced close to 3 miles, gobbling up four undefended villages and some farmland, and the other thrust has advanced only about a mile, having reached the outskirts of a larger town where street fighting is occurring.

And this is very interesting, early on a group of Russian soldiers, blacks, surrendered to a Ukrainian militia unit begging not to be shot, pleading for a good treatment. There were about 40 of them. And reports are about a dozen of them were shot, but by Russian soldiers, from a wooded line who treated them as deserters and opened fire. The survivors, taken to a safe place, revealed who they were, how they came to be there, etc. They are Africans, recruited by the Soros' backed Wagner Group operating in Africa and promised all kinds of wonderful things, especially hefty pay and benefits for them and their poor families back home. However, they signed a contract that states there are no survivors' benefits that only they themselves are eligible to receive pay IF they survive at least one month of combat. These Africans say they were told not to expect to survive, and they were ordered to charge straight at Ukranian machineguns and mortars...i.e. cannon fodder. Another report from other segments of the front report more such cases, many dead and wounded/captured Africans have revealed Putin's plan to fill his depleted ranks with thousands of men from Third World nations, promising all kinds of pay and benefits knowing full well most of them would not survive to actually collect. Effectively cost-free soldiers!

Back to the reports...the Ukrans admit they have not prepared proper defenses close to the Belgorod border because Russian artillery, drones, and air strikes made sending in engineering/construction units impossible that close to the border. Instead there are extensive defenses built and ready closer to Kharkiv City, another 5-6 miles inside the region.

[dawg80]

Putin has fired his Defense Minister, General Shoigu, and replaced him with a civilian with no military experience, Belousov, an economist. Maybe Putin wants to manage the war as a business now.

[dawg80]

Some good news overnight, Ukraine has seized another island in the Dnipro River delta. And they have counter-attacked in the Kharviv region driving the Russians back and causing a stalemate at the border town of Vozchansk (sp?). The Ukrans sent in reinforcements, i.e. actual regular army units, since the local militia and police departments, together with a few isolated platoons of regulars, had refused to give ground and were actually holding their own. Now that this latest offensive has already stalled the Putin propagandists are saying, well, this was never intended to be the real offensive in Kharkiv, we were just trying to create a buffer zone.

There are western media sources that continue to perpetrate Putin propaganda, and I don't get it. In this case there are headlines so STUPID! that it defies logic and common sense, but I suppose their market has the same low IQ as the audience for The View. In this case one of the headlines read to the effect: Ukraine completely surprised by Russian offensive in Kharkiv. Ummm, even I have been posting about the Russian buildup in Belgorod with the intended target of Kharkiv. The Ukrans were not surprised there was an attack there. The only possible spin one can put on it is perhaps it was surprising it occurred now, rather than in June-July which most "think tanks" were projecting.

More Ukran attacks against Russian targets, three more strikes on Putin oil facilities, destruction of a fuel train, and the complete obliteration of Russian air defense systems atop a mountain in Crimea, the latter killing another Russian general. Not all good news, the Russians have retaken their defense lines north of Verboze, that in the Robertyne region.

[dawg80]

"Pending doom!" "Situation bleak for Ukraine!"

Two more headlines courtesy of western media. An article published by GB News (British) stating Putin has amassed 510,000 fresh troops along the front, while Ukraine's entire army, including reserves and garrisons away from the front totals a meager 250,000. Most reliable sources placed Russia's numbers along the front at about 275,000, so are we to believe they now have 785,000 troops in Ukraine? Well, if this is true, and if these troops are properly trained, and if they are properly equipped and supplied, and if Russia can support such a large force logistically, and if Russia also had sufficient vehicles, especially tanks and APCs, well then Ukraine is in deep shit for sure. But, those are a lot of "If"s.

Putin launching a half million-man attack? Gonna need a whole lot of body bags, although recent reports say the Russians are no longer concerned with that. Seems they are either burying their dead in mass graves or using flame-throwers for makeshift cremations. Nice. Which takes me to this, a group of Russians were ambushed in a woods, which caught on fire during the battle...Ukran commander reported, "we took care of their cremations too." Reports are abandoned, wounded Russian soldiers were heard screaming as the flames reached them. War is hell.

There are all kinds of propaganda being spewed, including western sources making these claims of "pending doom" if Ukraine is not better supported. Kind of like the climate morons who predicted the end of the world in less than 10 years, such predictions made 40 years ago now. Yes, the western allies need to support Ukraine, yes, the madman Putin must be defeated, but wild claims like these don't help matters. Publish the truth because the truth is bad enough: Ukraine is fighting a war for their very survival against an evil regime which is 6 times larger and who has the support of other evil regimes: Chicoms, North Korea, and Iran, oh, and the Soros Foundation too (Wagner Group).

[dawg80]

Robert Fico, the very leftist/commie/POS/pro-Putin/anti-Ukraine Prime Minister of Slovakia, has been shot multiple times in an assassination attempt. May he get the medical attention a commie deserves...

[dawg80]

Russia has positioned 11,000 troops, with tanks and artillery, across the border from the City of Sumy, which is northwest of Kharkiv. Pundits think they intend to open a third front in the region to spread out the Ukrainians further. The Ukrans have very few units in that area. They will have to shift some troops there.

[dawg80]

Ukrans destroyed three Russian "Turtle" tanks. Now that they have been resupplied with artillery shells and anti-tank rockets those slow-moving turtles are easy targets. Back to the drawing board for the Putinites. BTW, the crews of those tanks were "baked to death." The extra armor over the tank also prevented all but one hatch to be used. Tank burned...you get the rest.

Ukrainians are putting the US-made ATACMS missiles to good use. Two straight nights of attacks on the Belbec airfield on Crimea, leaves at least 3 jets destroyed and many more damaged. The extent of the damage to more than a dozen jets might make them inoperable. The Ukrans deployed shrapnel cluster bombs and it doesn't take much to damage the thin aluminum skin of these jets. There were 24 jets and 6 helicopters present on the airfield at the time of the attacks.

[dawg80]

Ukrans counter-attack in Lyman region. The Russians exhausted their resources with stupid frontal attacks against Ukran defenses. After weeks of relentless attacks, the Russians pulled back to regroup and wait for more reinforcements i.e. cannon fodder. But the Ukrans always seeking opportunities to strike didn't just sit there and watch the Russians withdraw, instead they followed and attacked the retreating Russkis, inflicting more losses on them. This follows a pattern of tactics employed by the Ukrans for over 2 years. In that region, Lyman region, even with their losses the Russians still out-number the Ukrainian forces. So, this counter-attack will be short term, designed only to kill more Russians and destroy more vehicles, but then the Ukrans will have to pull back to their prepared defenses.

The situation is stabilizing some in the Kharkiv region as Ukraine moves reinforcements there and the Russians suffer more losses, slowing their advance. But, as we have seen at Bakhmut and Avdiivka, the Russians are willing to exchange tens-of-thousands of casualties for ground. So, the same thing may happen at Kharkiv too. The difference is Kharkiv is Ukraine's second largest city, behind Kyiv, and is an important strategic location. Bakhmut and Avdiivka had regional significance and Avdiivka had (past tense HAD) the important industrial complex Putin wanted badly, but neither come anywhere close to the importance of Kharkiv. The Ukrans will not give up Kharkiv...period. Not without an all-out fight that will cost both sides just about every soldier they have. The Russians will probably, eventually, gobble up some of the rural area, and the numerous small villages there, but they will not take Kharkiv City itself.

Corruption...have to broach this subject. Unfortunately it reared its ugly head in the Kharkiv region when private construction contractors accepted payment but failed to complete the work. In this case on Ukrainian defense works. Drone footage just released of unfinished trenches and piles and piles of building material, including thousands of the "dragon teeth," those concrete structures designed to halt vehicles, including tanks, from passing. Thousands of the "dragon teeth" were left piled along roads where another contractor was paid to deliver them. They did their job, but the company paid to place them did not. President Z went on Ukrainian TV and called out those contractors and now arrest warrants are out for those contractors. This calls into question Ukrainian government oversight. Who was supposed to be monitoring the work on behalf of the Ukran military? Surely someone knew the work had not been completed prior to this. Some of the trenches have been completed, and Ukran troops are occupying those. But there are gaps in the line that can be exploited by a Russian attack.

[dawg80]

Ukrans are reaching out and touching the Putinites. Attacks on another oil refinery, reports are it is kaput. Knocked out a major power plant. Attacked and caused severe damage at the Russian nuclear submarine base on Crimea.

Keep pounding 'em!

[dawg80]

OMG! How did MTG and her merry band of idiots miss this? US military aid has arrived in Moldova, designed to support the democratically-elected and pro-western/pro-US government there. In case you have your head up your ass, like MTG does, Moldova has petitioned to join both the EU and NATO but the Putinites are fighting that, mostly by supporting the communists in the "break-away" provinces of eastern Moldova. There are Russian troops on the ground in eastern Moldova, not a large number, but they are there to assure a pro-Putin/pro-commie influence.

BTW, Russian troops have moved onto and are now occupying a portion of a US base in Africa, Angola, I think. The Biden admin agreed to this to "help the situation there."

[dawg80]

Two more Russian ships hit and sunk/damaged, one a minesweeper; happened in the Black Sea. A few days ago, the Russians got lucky and attacked and drove off 6 Ukran sea drones, two of them were damaged to the point they would sink before getting back to base. The Ukrans were training new operators who must have panicked and made some mistakes. It was also lucky for the Russians as two attack helicopters happened to be passing near the area when they heard radio chatter and responded. Those two copters provided the most damaging hits on the sea drones as they were able to pursue the crafts. After that success the Russians got cocky and thought they have resolved the sea drone problem. Wrong! And as a result, those two Russian ships were attacked. Unconfirmed reports the other ship was a gunboat, or what we would call a cutter. A YouTuber showed photos of the two ships he thinks were the ones hit. Early reports are conflicting, as usual. More later.

The Kraken is back! The elite unit, known for its "take no prisoners" viewpoint, launched a successful attack north of Chasiv Var driving back the Russians in that sector. The Russian offensive at that place is stalled, although they did advance a little in the south. The Russians are stalled in the Kharkiv region as well. The most intense fighting is occurring in the northern sections of the town of Vovchansk. The Russians will have to seize and hold a single highway that connects the northern region of Kharkiv to Kharkiv City. The first village in line is Lyptsy. The lowlands that flank this highway are wet and boggy making the use of the highway necessary for heavy vehicles. This is a two-lane road, on a raised berm passing through 6 villages north of Kharkiv City. It will be a killing ground should the Russians ever reach it and try to advance down it. Heavy fighting occurring near Robotyne too.

More attacks on Russian bases inside of Russia overnight.