Putin Recognizes Donbass Republics, Sends Russian Military to 'Denazify' Ukraine

[N1mTzo]

It’s been a really dark week (or two) for Ukraine.

I would not say that everything is so good or bad for each of the parties, black / white stripes and all that. Emotional swings happen every day, sometimes even several times a day. As early as May 13 (three days ago), Russia lost two fighters (Su-34 and Su-35) and two Mi-8 helicopters shot down on Russian territory (Bryansk region), the crews died. A strange story, just like with the cruiser Moscow last year (the official cause of death was never announced). Few facts, many rumors.
In private telegram groups, a version appeared that the planes (and helicopters) could have been shot down by the American Patriot air defense system, secretly deployed on the territory of the Chernihiv region of Ukraine (it borders on the Bryansk region of Russia).

Only three days have passed, and we see that Russia has responded and defiantly destroyed the Patriot in Kyiv. In those few videos from Kyiv, it can be seen that the air defense system fired off all 32 missiles, and then was hit by a Russian hypersonic missile. With the cost of 1 Patriot shot from 3 to 5 million dollars, from 90 to 150 million dollars literally flew into the air within two minutes. It was probably the most expensive (and useless) salute in the history of modern warfare.

By the way, in public they write that not one, but TWO whole Patriot PAC-3 systems were destroyed in Kyiv, the crews (maintenance personnel) were also destroyed (Poles and Americans). Officially, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation "confirmed" only one "Patriot".
I wonder if one of those Patriot air defense systems destroyed in Kyiv was the one that was previously deployed in the Chernihiv region?
Over the past couple of days, the Chernihiv region has also been subjected to missile attacks, but there is no evidence of the defeat of any air defense systems.

 

[youlik]

Following the American "patriot", the British "storm shadow" also begin to show wonders of efficiency. Before that, I must give them their due, they made a couple of strikes. And that's all they had enough for?

The Russian military reported the destruction of seven Storm Shadow cruise missiles at once
The Russian military shot down seven Storm Shadow missiles at once during the day.

According to the official data of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, over the past day, the Russian military successfully intercepted seven British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles at once. This underlines the success of the Russian army's fight against a new serious threat. It is noteworthy that it took the Russian military only three days to obtain the signatures of these missiles.

British tactical cruise missiles pose an extremely serious threat. This is primarily due to the fact that such missiles can be launched at a distance of up to 560 kilometers, which, among other things, threatens Moscow. Nevertheless, the successes over the past 24 hours indicate that such a threat is now minimal.

With the use of which weapons the British Storm Shadow missiles were intercepted, it is not specified, as it remains equally unknown what exactly were the targets of the strikes.

According to unofficial data, the UK intends to supply Ukraine with 600 Storm Shadow missiles, 200 of which have already arrived on the territory of Ukraine.

Российские военные отчитались об уничтожении сразу семи крылатых ракет Storm Shadow

Another wildness from hohlowarriors (AFU soldiers). I probably wouldn't be surprised if one day it becomes known that they eat each other.

A group of servicemen took the helmet from their wounded colleague, leaving him on the battlefield
Video footage has appeared online showing the creepy relationship between colleagues.

An unmanned aerial vehicle dropped ammunition on a detachment of three servicemen. As a result of the incident, one of the servicemen was seriously injured and could not move independently, however, instead of helping his colleague, they took away his helmet and threw it right on the road.

On the video footage, you can see how a small quadcopter drops ammunition. The latter is torn right in front of the serviceman. Apparently, the injuries are not critical, however, after that his colleagues did not even try to help him, immediately starting looting, although the evacuation of the wounded would not have presented any difficulties.

According to the video footage, it is not possible to establish the identity of the servicemen and their affiliation, however, the video footage caused a wave of indignation in the Network by the inhumane attitude of colleagues.

Группа военнослужащих отобрала каску у своего раненого сослуживца, бросив его на поле боя

Spoiler: Russian spelling

Вслед за американским "патриотом" британские "шторм-шадоу" тоже начинают показывать чудеса эффективности. Перед этим, надо отдать им должное, они совершили пару ударов. И это все на что их хватило?
Очередная дикость от укровоинов. Я наверно уже не удивлюсь, если однажды станет известно, что они едят друг друга.

 

[Windmill knight]

Yes, and much as I like Macgregor he lost a lot of credibility in my eyes because of his poor track record of predictions, especially regarding the nonexistent Russian Winter Offensive. It's a shame because he didn't need to make such decisive predictions at all. The best commentators are very sparing with predictions of events which are so complex. They restrain themselves from doing so despite the fact that such speculations are very enticing to a lot of viewers. All such things should be given with a caveat or they can be misleading and backfire.

Agreed. I feel a lot of sympathy for Macgregor as well as Scott Ritter, but I started to find recently that their analyses were a bit repetitive, and a bit over the top regarding how much Russia is totally winning and is about to turn Ukraine into dust. At the moment I prefer listening to Brian Berletic, from The New Atlas channel. He seems more sober in his analysis and always backs his comments with maps, articles and figures. He also had military experience, and sometimes he explains things that us civilians would not know about - like what it takes to learn to drive a tank and operate it competently, or why a complex of trenches and fortifications are hard to take. One of the points he insists on, by the way, explains why there was no Russian winter offensive. He says that Russia is fighting a war of attrition, not of territorial conquest - unlike Ukraine - since its goal is to demilitarize Ukraine. Well, Putin said so himself since day one, it's just that some people seem to forget, but not Berletic.

I also like Alexander Mercouris from The Duran. He doesn't have a military background, but he is very well informed on latest events and even knows some gossip of political and military characters, and even though I don't always share his views, he usually has something interesting to say.

On a different topic, speaking of the recent explosion of the NATO weapons storage and radioactive levels, remember that old prediction from the Cs: Ukraine explosion, chemical or nuclear. Could that be it?

 

[KJS]

Polish media are in a damage control mode (since Poland just bought Patriots recently?). All projectiles were shot down, but somehow the system got damaged...

CNN: Russians damaged Patriot system during attack on Kiev. Losses are being assessed​

Patriot air defense system damaged during Russian missile attack on Kiev It is possible that the system will have to be decommissioned.

Last night, the Russians launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine. Six Kh-47M2 Kinzhal supersonic missiles were fired from six attack aircraft. Nine Kalibr cruise missiles were launched from ships in the Black Sea. Three S-400 Iskander missiles were fired from land launchers. The Ukrainian side claims that they were all destroyed before reaching their destination. Russian troops also used six Shahed drones in the night attack. They, too, according to the Ukrainians, were to be shot down.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said on Tuesday before noon that during this attack there was supposed to be a "precise strike" in Kiev on the American Patriot air defense system. A strike that, according to the Russians, was to be made with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.

The American television station CNN reported a few hours later that the system was "probably damaged, but not destroyed". This information is said to come from a high-ranking US official. The extent of the damage is still being analysed, so far it is not known whether the equipment will be recalled or whether it will be possible to repair it. CNN points out that Ukraine currently has two Patriot systems: one was donated by the United States, and the other by the Netherlands and Germany. It is not clear which of them was supposed to be damaged.

- In terms of the number of rockets used, perhaps there would be larger battles of this kind in history. However, in terms of the degree of advancement of the weapons used and the complexity of the clash, it was most likely the first of its kind - this is how Marcin Niedbała, publicist of the "Nowa Technika Wojskowa" monthly, told Gazeta.pl about the events of the night from Monday to Tuesday.

CNN: Rosjanie uszkodzili system Patriot w trakcie ataku na Kijów. Trwa szacowanie strat

Podczas rosyjskiego ataku rakietowego na Kijów doszło do uszkodzenia systemu obrony przeciwlotniczej Patriot - informuje nieoficjalnie amerykańska telewizja CNN. Nie jest wykluczone, że system będzie musiał zostać wycofany z użytku.

wiadomosci-gazeta-pl.translate.goog

 

[Ben]

Raytheon stocks plummet like a useless barrage of 5 million dollar Patriot missiles. Moments like this are to be savoured.

Edit - if it's true. Graph on the UK investing site looks different. It's also not that large a percentage drop looking at the scale.

Too hasty. Evil still reigns....

 

[sToRmR1dR]

'A fake narrative created by Ukraine which aims to "hide" the destruction of the US Patriot air defense system by the Russian military.'

Ukraine says it shoots down more missiles than Russia fires – Shoigu

Kiev claims to shoot down more Russian missiles than Moscow actually launches, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu says

www.rt.com

16 May, 2023

Russia likely damaged US-made Patriot missile battery – CNN

A Russian missile barrage has reportedly struck a US-supplied Patriot air-defense system in Kiev

www.rt.com

16 May, 2023

 

[Iain]

Personally, I doubt this will come to much and no time-frame has been given as yet; Putin and Zelensky have both agreed to individual meetings with a delegation of leaders from six African nations. Ostensibly to discuss possible plans to end the conflict in Ukraine.

Putin and Zelenskiy ‘agree to meet African leaders to discuss peace plan’

South Africa president Cyril Ramaphosa says six African leaders will go to Russian and Ukraine in effort to resolve conflict

www.irishtimes.com

Cyril Ramaphosa said he had spoken with Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky by phone over the weekend and they each agreed to host “an African leaders peace mission” in Moscow and Kyiv respectively.

The leaders of Zambia, Senegal, Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Egypt would make up the delegation along with Mr Ramaphosa, he said in a statement, and Mr Putin and Mr Zelenskyy gave him the go-ahead to “commence the preparations”.

 

[N1mTzo]

What I reported yesterday about the Patriot PAC-3 systems - Мы предупреждали, что русские спецы взломали системы управления Patriot и HIMARS (video in Russian, there is a lot of chatter)
In short:
- In Kyiv, 2 different complexes of the Patriot System were destroyed. One is 100% denazified, along with the military, about 15 soldiers and officers. The second Patriot system is disabled (probably beyond repair).
- Destroyed together with military personnel, the Patriot system was first deployed in the Chernihiv region and was responsible for the death of Russian Su-34 and Su-35 aircraft + 2 Mi-8 helicopters on May 13. Then she was transferred to Kyiv. The Russian military traced the route of her movement to Kyiv and destroyed it there.
- The Patriot system was hacked (before the attack by the Dagger hypersonic missile), presumably the entire ammunition load of 32 anti-missiles was fired just into the air (and not at any targets). The Patriot system could not (and cannot) detect Russian hypersonic missiles.
- The US has banned Ukraine from using Patriot systems against Russian aircraft/helicopters (seriously?). Could this mean that in addition to the destroyed two Patriot complexes in Ukraine, there are also Patriots (which are not yet involved and for which the Americans are so worried)?

PS A few hours ago (21:15 Moscow time - not quite working hours) the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported in a telegram - Минобороны России :

According to reliable data, on May 16, as a result of a strike by the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system in the city of Kiev, a multifunctional radar station was hit and completely destroyed, as well as 5 launchers of the US-made Patriot anti-aircraft missile system.

 

[f1esk]

Collected messages from telegram channels this night.

The most powerful night attack of the Russian Aerospace Forces this night.

It all started in the evening, when the Russian Aerospace Forces literally hit the south of Ukraine, where one of the most important logistics centers is located near the Odessa region, which receives NATO cargo from Romania.

More than ten arrivals were noted at the alleged places of storage and reloading of ammunition, as well as accumulations of equipment transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine:

-Krasnoselka warehouses with ammunition;
- Settlement of Kotovsky hangars with equipment;
-Zatoka hangars with equipment;
-Nerubayskoye warehouses with ammunition.

Then there was a blow to the Nikolaev region. Russian troops launched a missile attack on an industrial facility in Nikolaev.

And along the line of contact, where front-line aviation struck at the near rear of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (from Kharkov to Kherson), hitting the identified places of accumulation of its reserves.

And, finally, in the morning (at about 4.00 Moscow time) strikes with "Caliber" (and possibly "Daggers") went from Poltava to Ternopil. Again there was a blow to the Khmelnytsky region, the center of Ukraine, and right now work is underway on Kyiv (there are already arrivals). Probably, the Russian Aerospace Forces will try to inflict another defeat on the Kyiv air defense area today.

 

[Ben]

Another interesting video from Andrei Martyanov explaining mathematically what we all know intuitively - Kinzhal and Tsircon cannot be shot down by conventional air defence systems, however expensive they may be. The patriot system fired around 30 missiles in order to achieve the impossible, leading to a combined cost of more than 150 million dollars.

On the other hand, Vitaly Klitschko has provided evidence to the contrary.

 

[Ca.]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1658312268889878529

Russian forces have stopped a UK-supplied cruise missile along with several other weapons fired by Ukrainian forces, the Defense Ministry reported in its daily update on Monday. London confirmed delivering Storm Shadow weapons to Ukraine last week, with Kiev promptly using them to attack the city of Lugansk.

The Defense Ministry claimed having intercepted in the previous 24 hours seven anti-radiation HARM missiles, one Storm Shadow missile and seven rockets fired by HIMARS multiple launch weapon systems. It was the first time that Moscow reported downing one of the projectiles supplied by the UK since Kiev started firing them last week.


The local authorities in Lugansk blamed the new addition to Ukraine’s arsenal for several recent airstrikes on the Russian city. On Monday morning, two of them caused damage to residential buildings, an office, and two cars in the city, a regional monitor reported.

Acting Governor Leonid Pasechnik said that a military aviation school had been hit but that the attack did not cause any casualties, citing preliminary reports from the scene.

Before London sent its cruise missiles, which can strike targets up to 300km (200 miles) away, Kiev did not have any Western weapons with a comparable range. The Ukrainian government had pleaded for months to acquire such arms, but the US and its allies were previously reluctant to extend Ukraine’s striking capability.



London said the new weapons will bolster the Ukrainian forces for the long-promised counteroffensive against Russia.

The Storm Shadows were touted as a game changer by some media outlets, which reported the impending deliveries days before an official confirmation by the UK. The MBDA-produced missile was described as having some stealth capability thanks to its relatively small size and ability to hug terrain to avoid radar detection.
Originally published by Russia Today

Falling Into A Nuclear Trap In Ukraine​

Snip Video 17.05.2023 SouthFront

On the night of May 17, Russian troops launched massive missile strikes against Ukrainian army facilities in the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Cherkasy and Mykolaiv regions of Ukraine.

In its turn, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continued shelling Russian regions adjacent to the conflict zone. The Kiev strike drones were aimed at the central regions of the Russian Federation. All targets were intercepted by the Russian air defense systems. The wreckage of one drone fell near the city of Kaluga, 190 km from Moscow.

On May 16 and 17, Wagner PMC gunners destroyed bridges used by the AFU to move military equipment and reserves to the western part of Bakhmut.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1659105972923637761

Russian MoD Says Missile Strike On Ukrainian Patriot System Destroyed Radar, Five Launchers

A multifunctional radar station and five missile launchers of the American-made MIM-104 Patriot air defense system were destroyed during the...

southfront.org

18.05.2023

A multifunctional radar station and five missile launchers of the American-made MIM-104 Patriot air defense system were destroyed during the May 16 Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on May 17.

“According to reliable and confirmed information, on 16 May, Kinzhal hypersonic missile system hit and completely destroyed a multifunctional radar station as well as five launchers of US-manufactured Patriot surface-to-air missile system in Kiev,” the ministry said.

According to a previous statement by the ministry, Kh-47M2 Kinzhal air-launched hypersonic missiles were used to destroy the Patriot system, which was reportedly deployed at the State Aviation Museum in the heart of Kiev.

The Kinzhal, which can reach a hypersonic speed of Mach 10-12, was especially designed to overcome NATO air defense systems, including the Patriot. The missile has a maximum range of 2,000 kilometers when launched from MiG-31K fighter jets.

Video footage that surfaced online after the Russian missile strike showed the system firing at least 30 interceptors before being struck by two large explosions. Back then, Kiev claimed that its air defenses shot down six Kinzhal missiles, but Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu rejected that claim.

Ukraine received two Patriot systems earlier this year. One Patriot system was donated to the country by the United States, while another was jointly gifted by Germany and the Netherlands.

The systems supplied to Kiev are said to be a mix of PAC-3 hit-to-kill active missiles to intercept ballistic missiles, with a range of 30-60 kilometers only, and PAC-2 blast fragmentation warhead semi-active missiles to counter aircraft threats with a range of up to 160 kilometers.

The Russian MoD’s new statement indicates that the missile strike destroyed an AN/MPQ-53/65 passive electronically scanned array radar, the heart of the Patriot system, as well as five M90x Launching Stations armed with PAC-3 and PAC-2 interceptors.

Despite the presence of visual evidence confirming that one of Ukraine’s Patriots was hit, U.S. officials told CNN on May 17 that the system was slightly damaged and is still operational. The sources alleged that the system’s advanced radar survived the strike.

More information on the missile strike could surface in the upcoming days. If released, satellite images could provide a better look at the result of the strike.

Overall, the Russian missile strike against the Patriot system was a major blow to the U.S.-led efforts to rebuild and enhance Ukrainian air defenses, which have lost most of their capabilities since the start of the Russian special military operation last year.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1658920711073701894

https://twitter.com/x/status/1659075499535085568

 

[sToRmR1dR]

'Kissinger wants whole Europe to become a US proxy army.'

Kissinger changes stance on Ukraine joining NATO

Achieving peace in Europe would require accepting Ukraine into NATO, former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger has claimed

www.rt.com

18 May, 2023

West escalates tensions, prepares for war, says Lukashenko

"Ukraine remains a central arena of confrontation, the battlefield on our continent," the Belarusian president said

tass.com

18 MAY, 2023

 

[Iain]

Apparently there is now some dispute between the US and Europe over whether F-16's will be sent to Ukraine and whether any pilots will be trained.

The UK and Netherlands have agreed to procure the aircraft but the US is reportedly not considering supplying them.

US risks rift with European allies over hesitancy to supply F-16s to Ukraine

UK and Netherlands want to create ‘international coalition’ to procure US-made fighter jets and train Ukrainian pilots and crews

www.theguardian.com

But the US response has ranged from negative to unenthusiastic. A state department official, when asked about F-16 supply on Wednesday, said: “We want to ensure that the assets and systems that we offer our Ukrainian partners are the most impactful, that they can use them now.”

The most obvious problem with any gift of F-16s is that it would take at least three and more likely six to nine months to train Ukrainian pilots and crews. Kyiv had been identifying a list of potential pilots and teaching them English so they could begin their tuition, Ihnat said.

Plans are being put together slowly. The incoming RAF chief, Sir Richard Knighton, told MPs that details of the scheme were yet to be finalised, while the New York Times reported that Ukrainian pilots were not being allowed by the US to train on F-16s owned by European militaries.

The attraction for Ukraine is that there are 3,000 F-16s, a jet that dates back to the late 1970s, in service in 25 countries, including several smaller European nations such as the Netherlands.

More evidence that the UK and others in Europe are happy to plan for the conflict to continue 6-9 months and beyond.

Plus, a throwaway snippet in the article, regarding UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and NATO:

Wallace also expressed an interest in running Nato after the secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, steps down in autumn. On Wednesday, when asked if he would be interested in the future vacancy, he told a German news agency: “I’ve always said it would be a good job. That’s a job I’d like.”

It is unclear, though, whether a UK candidate will be able to generate enough support among the 31-country alliance, and the past two Nato chiefs, including Stoltenberg, have been former heads of government. Wallace said he was “also loving the job I do now”.

Not sure any alternatives are better, but let's hope not…

 

[Lone herbal witch]

If it's true, it will be devastating for many countries.​

‘Radioactive cloud’ moving toward Europe – Russian security chief​

‘Radioactive cloud’ threatening western Europe – Russian security chief

Nikolay Patrushev has claimed that Europe faces a radioactive hazard after the destruction of depleted uranium shells in Ukraine

www.rt.com

 

[Aeneas]

‘Radioactive cloud’ moving toward Europe – Russian security chief

If it hasn't been mentioned yet, then it might be a good idea to take a little iodine or Lugol expressed in this thread, which also discusses how to take it and what to take along with it. Iodine and Potassium Iodide

Added: As we know from Chernobyl, then the last to inform us of increased radioactivity is our own governments long after the event.