Ukraine Invasion: Part 35

[MagicFox]

We're still here, on 35 🇺🇦

Excellent article, thanks for sharing @DesdamonasHandkerchief

3 mothballed Sea Kings, not exactly sure the value of these, winter kit to be sent but surely this should have been sent before now.

Any update on the 125 anti aircraft guns?

They are long in the tooth but still are excellent medium weight copters.
Of course their best known for their search and rescue capability but have filled a huge variety of roles in the past inc being fitted with depth charges.
No doubt the imaginative Ukranians will find good use for them.

Mb76 · Today 07:11

“DesdamonasHandkerchief · Yesterday 22:40
Interview with the rather fab Lawrence Freedman:”

Putin's massive mistake: Lawrence Freedman on Ukraine and the lessons of history
Putin made bad decisions based on "total misapprehension," says military expert. Now the whole world pays the price
Mb76 · Today 07:11
DesdamonasHandkerchief · Yesterday 22:40
Interview with the rather fab Lawrence Freedman:

Putin's massive mistake: Lawrence Freedman on Ukraine and the lessons of history

www.salon.com/2022/11/21/putins-massive-mistake-lawrence-freedman-on-ukraine-and-the-lessons-of-history/

Excellent article, thanks for sharing @DesdamonasHandkerchief

Yes, thank you very much.

On the Lawrence Freedman theme, his latest blog post: "is Russia losing?" samf.substack.com/p/is-russia-losing?publication_id=631422&isFreemail=true

Putin not looking good yesterday:

twitter.com/pyrkalo/status/1595224386704998400?s=61&t=3qOZKfKT11uLgvkvwr6vNg

Video above but screen grab below shows him clinging onto his chair:

A newborn baby was killed in Zap. Fucking brutes.

ISW Key Takeaways

The Kremlin may be setting information conditions for a false-flag attack in Belgorod Oblast.

The Russian military has significantly depleted its arsenal of high-precision missiles but will likely still threaten Ukrainian infrastructure.

The Russian military is likely struggling to replenish its arsenal of high-precision weapons systems.

The Belarusian prime minister traveled to Iran to discuss economic cooperation and possible security ties.

Russian military movements suggest that Russian forces are likely reinforcing positions in eastern Zaporizhia and western Donetsk oblasts.

Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations along the Svatove-Kreminna line.

Russian forces continued offensive operations around Bakhmut and Avdiivka.

Crimean occupation officials demonstrated heightened unease—likely over Ukrainian strikes on Russian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) in the peninsula and ongoing military operations on the Kinburn Spit.

The Kremlin continues to deflect concerns about mobilization onto the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD).

Russian sources continue to tout the forced adoption of Ukrainian children into Russian families.

+++

⚡️EU gives Ukraine another 2.5 billion euros for reconstruction.
According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the EU plans to provide a total of 18 billion euros to Ukraine in 2023.
“We will keep on supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes,” she added.

⚡️Japan to provide (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/japan-to-provide-ukraine-with-generators-solar-lanterns-worth-over-2-5-million) Ukraine with generators, solar lanterns worth over $2.5 million.

⚡️Ukrenergo: Russian attacks damaged (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/ukrenergo-russian-attacks-damaged-nearly-every-big-thermal-hydroelectric-station-in-ukraine) nearly every big thermal, hydroelectric station in Ukraine.
Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of Ukraine's state grid operator Ukrenergo, said that the level of damage to the energy system is "colossal."

⚡️Reznikov: Russia has used (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/reznikov-russia-has-used-most-of-its-high-precision-missile-arsenal-in-ukraine) most of its high-precision missile arsenal in Ukraine, ncluding Iskander ballistic missiles, according to the data published by Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

⚡️Ukrainian dissident Yurii Shukhevych dies (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/ukrainian-dissident-yurii-shukhevych-dies-at-89) at 89.
Yurii Shukhevych was a well-known Ukrainian political figure. He was a member of the prominent Ukrainian Helsinki Group, which monitored human rights in Soviet Ukraine. He spent 28 years in Soviet prisons and concentration camps as a political prisoner.

⚡️Russian Gazprom threatens (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/russian-gazprom-threatens-to-cut-gas-flows-to-europe-via-ukraine) to cut gas flows to Europe via Ukraine.

⚡️Occupation government: Drones attack Russian-occupied Sevastopol.

⚡️US to provide Ukraine with $4.5 billion as direct budget support.
The U.S. will start disbursing the funds in the next few weeks, which will help Ukraine improve economic stability and support critical government services, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Nov. 22.
These services include “wages for hospital workers, government employees, and teachers, as well as social assistance for the elderly and vulnerable,” Yellen added. (Ukraine is broke)

⚡️Iranian, Ukrainian experts meet to discuss Russia’s use of Iranian drones.
The Washington Post reported on Nov. 19, citing intelligence, that Iran and Russia had “quietly” reached an agreement to assemble “hundreds of unmanned weaponized aircraft” on Russian territory.

⚡️WSJ: Senators ask Biden administration to supply Ukraine with drones.
A group of 16 U.S. senators from the Democratic and Republican parties have written a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, calling on the administration to provide Ukraine with MQ-1C Gray Eagle combat drones, the Wall Street Journal reported.

⚡️Official: EU to seize assets of those evading sanctions against Russia.⚡️Official: EU to seize assets of those evading sanctions against Russia.

⚡️Bloomberg: EU set to soften Russian oil price cap plan.
The European Union is amending its latest sanctions proposal for a price cap on Russia’s oil exports by delaying its full implementation and softening key shipping provisions. The EU will likely add a 45-day transition to the introduction of the cap, according to a document seen by Bloomberg.

⚡️Interior Ministry: Russian forces kidnap Ukrainian mayors in Kherson Oblast.

⚡️Ukrainian prosecutors open criminal case into shootout involving Russian POWs.
The Prosecutor General's Office said it was investigating video footage (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/ukrainian-prosecutors-open-criminal-case-into-shootout-involving-russian-po-ws) that appears to show a Russian soldier opening fire on Ukrainian troops when other Russian soldiers were surrendering as prisoners of war.

⚡️WSJ: US looking to recruit spies 'disgusted' with Russia's war.
“We’re looking around the world for Russians who are as disgusted with (Putin's actions) as we are,” he said. “Because we’re open for business.”

⚡️Zelensky: Ukraine creating 'invincibility centers' if Russian attacks knock power out.
If massive Russian strikes continue to take place on energy infrastructure and the electricity supply cannot be restored for hours, Ukrainians will be able to access "invincibility centers" to access all basic services, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily briefing.
The services will include electricity, mobile phone connections, heat, water, and first aid, free of charge and twenty-four hours a day. There are currently 4,000 of these centers and more are planned, Zelensky said.

⚡️ISW: Kremlin may be preparing (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/isw-kremlin-may-be-preparing-false-flag-operation-in-russia-to-stir-support-for-war) false-flag operation in Russia to stir support for war.

⚡️ BBC: UK to give Ukraine helicopters for the first time.
Three former U.K. military Sea King helicopters are to be sent to Ukraine, reported BBC, citing U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.
Wallace said the U.K. will also supply an additional 1,000 artillery rounds to Ukraine.

⚡️ General Staff: Russia trains drone operators (kyivindependent.com/news-feed/general-staff-russia-trains-drone-operators-in-occupied-sevastopol) in occupied Sevastopol.
Russian troops in occupied Sevastopol are being trained to use both Russian- and Iranian-made drones, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Nov. 23.

Here and there a few tens of bodies are being repatriated to Ukraine.

Thanks @Surplus2requirements that is good to know.

Of peripheral interest but was talking to a retired very very senior systems engineer who was involved in reverse engineering a Russian fighter that flew to Tokyo in 1974 , it contained a lot of IBM based ( but not sourced ) equipment . He also said that the two worst countries for selling secrets and kit to the Russians in the seventies and eighties were the Dutch and Swedes...other than that his lips are sealed !

Something about this doesn’t sit right with me, he’s not in proportion at all, potentially doctored video?

On the flip side I’m not sure I’m ready to Know what hell comes after Putin.

On November 20, Russian citizen Yulia Prokhorova, who insulted Ukrainian refugees and recorded her provocations on video, was deported from Germany.

In the Carpathian region, the mother of the legendary fighter pilot, Hero of Ukraine Stepan Tarabalka, who died in the war, has set up a health center for the military
Psychiatrists, psychologists and rehabilitation specialists will now work here to restore the military.
Stepan Tarabalka became the Hero of Ukraine posthumously. During the first day of the war, he managed to destroy six enemy aircrafts: Su-27, MiG-29, two Su-35 and two Su-25. Then the Ukrainian ace on his MiG-29 brought the number of destroyed aggressor aircraft to 40. The fighter pilot died at the age of 29 on March 13 in the skies over Zhytomy

🤬The Guardian, citing residents of Kherson, writes (www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/21/russians-accused-of-burning-bodies-at-kherson-landfill) that the Russian occupiers burned the bodies of their fallen soldiers at the landfill. Local residents say they have repeatedly seen black bags at the dump, which were then thrown with garbage or burned. A resident of Kherson, who works as a garbage truck driver, told about the smell of rotten and burnt meat at the dump.

"Yellow level of terrorist threat" was declared in the temporarily occupied Crimea. It will be introduced not on the whole peninsula, but in some areas - the so-called head of Crimea, occupiers' accomplice Sergey Aksyonov

Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which are in favor of tougher and faster EU sanctions against Russia, are pushing other capitals and the European Commission to agree on an upper limit on oil prices and the ninth package of EU sanctions at the same time.

A rally against Putin, his regime and the CSTO is taking place in Yerevan, Armenia.
Demonstration against the arrival of Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov. Tomorrow there is to be a meeting of the Collective Security Council of the CSTO.

Former Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk is suspected of high treason, - Prosecutor General's Office.
Tabachnyk organized and coordinated the activities of the heads of the Russian occupation administrations of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions Volodymyr Saldo and Yevhen Balytskyi. He helped them prepare for the "referendums".

▪️The SBU is conducting investigative actions in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

▪️Erdogan said that Turkey will "soon" launch a ground operation in Syria against Kurdish militants.

▪️The US is providing an additional $4.5 billion in direct budget support to Ukraine.

▪️It was loud in Sevastopol and Yevpatoria today. Air defense was working hard.

▪️In Armenia, protests against Putin and the CSTO. Protesters gathered in Yerevan are calling for the country's withdrawal from the CSTO, as well as against the visit of Putin, Lukashenko and other dictators.

SBU finds pro-Russian literature, millions in cash and "questionable" Russian citizens during security measures in premises of Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
The Security Service of Ukraine has completed counter-intelligence (security) measures on the territories of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv, the Korets Holy Trinity Monastery and in the premises of the Sarny-Polesian Diocese of the UOC in Rivne region.
In the course of security measures, it was found:
▪️ pro-Russian literature used in seminary and parish schools, including for the propaganda of the "Russian world";
▪️ cash totaling more than UAH 2 million, more than USD 100 thousand and several thousand Russian rubles.

There are some outstanding and sometimes heartbreaking clips on Live: Ukraine telegram channel

Sounds like that might be a re-telling of the MiG-25 defection into Hakodate (Sapporo'ish) in '76.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defection_of_Viktor_Belenko

I don't recall the int we got fed from that (open source nowadays) mentioning anything much IBM related though I'm sure that could have happened, but we heard lots about home grown technology and lots of use of valves rather than semi-conductors....

Generally technology transfer, accidental or not is still a problem:

storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/7a394153c87947d8a602c3927609f572

As has been said upthread good medium lift helicopter, not sure what variant is going to Ukraine..

The Naval anti-submarine version had a completely different equipment fit to the RAF which were used mainly in the Search and Rescue (SAR) role...certainly useful for transporting logistics and people. If it is ex-SAR airframes then hopefully they are no longer painted yellow

I think the anti-aircraft guns is going to be a case of wait and see. My best guess is it's going to be small calibre stuff or hopefully something bigger, bought in and donated onwards.

BREAKING: The #European Parliament adopts a resolution declaring #Russia a terrorist state.

Putin's regime is a state sponsor of terrorism, complicit in war crimes & must face the international consequences.

DesdamonasHandkerchief· Today 10:47
Putin not looking good yesterday:
twitter.com/pyrkalo/status/1595224386704998400?s=61&t=3qOZKfKT11uLgvkvwr6vNg

Video above but screen grab below shows him clinging onto his chair:
Something about this doesn’t sit right with me, he’s not in proportion at all, potentially doctored video?

On the flip side I’m not sure I’m ready to Know what hell comes after Putin.

Goodness, it does look out of proportion, but could it be a very high camera angle foreshortening his head and torso compared to his legs? Also, I did not remember so many forehead wrinkles, though perhaps that is Botox wearing off.

Did you see the Victoria Derbyshire interview on Newsnight last night? She deserves a medal for not jumping out of her seat and twatting the fucker. She asked the ambassador about war crimes in Ukraine. He wanted evidence. So she read out the verified by the UN account of the rape of a 4 year old, and the bastard rolled his eyes and did that weird raspberry/sigh thing that people do when they really don't give a shit. Pure evil.

Fladdermus · Today 13:48
Did you see the Victoria Derbyshire interview on Newsnight last night? She deserves a medal for not jumping out of her seat and twatting the fucker. She asked the ambassador about war crimes in Ukraine. He wanted evidence. So she read out the verified by the UN account of the rape of a 4 year old, and the bastard rolled his eyes and did that weird raspberry/sigh thing that people do when they really don't give a shit. Pure evil.

After reading your post O just watched. No wonder so many Russians soldiers are rapists. He evidently sees this as discountable ‘normal’.
Here is the interview:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=ICDCWFHzlq0

On another point, he is using ‘whataboutery’ regarding the shooting of the ‘surrendered’(?)/ captured Russian soldiers we were discussing yesterday, (with no mention of the part played by the shooting Russian soldier among them, or that the context may have been planned Russian perfidy).

Retired military guy on Sky news says his take is that they are anti sub variants for use against Russian submarines in the Black Sea... he bases that opinion on the amount of training given to the Ukrainians & that 3 helicopters for general transport is simply not enough..... i think i got the basics on what he said correctly.

Bad news is Russia is now targeting hospitals, the Russian in charge used this tactic in Syria. .... its beyond belief really, i hope very much the US gives them the ability to kill him via a drone strike.... my hatred of Putin and his ilk knows no bounds.

I think the AA guns was a mis speak, it makes no sense, who in nato uses anti aircraft guns now a days?

Why are we in the west still got diplomatic relations with Russia?

I get that we have people in Moscow but is it really worth it to these animals in our capital cities?

...what are we gaining? it seems the Russians gain far more, same at UK G20 etc.

Because diplomacy is often a necessary evil, in this case reducing the chance of escalation.

I also keep banging on about it but Russia is more than Putin and his cronies. It would have been easy to have written off Germany under Hitler and now look at it.

Bad news is Russia is now targeting hospitals, the Russian in charge used this tactic in Syria

Please no. My heart sinks.

@Alexandra2001

“Retired military guy on Sky news says his take is that they are anti sub variants for use against Russian submarines in the Black Sea..”

Story/rumour seems to be that it’s the three airframes that up until pretty much today were being flown by this training organization.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeliOperations

I’m not sure how much actual anti sub capability the machines still have (sensors and all the other stuff needed) but I’m sure they’ll do a good job at whatever they are assigned to do.

Story/rumour seems to be that it’s the three airframes that up until pretty much today were being flown by this training organization.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeliOperations

According to that, they do training for the German navy, so the Sea Kings are likely still ASW capable. They'd need specialized torpedos to put on the hard points and a few dozen sonobuoys to go with the birds.

I don't know how effective they'd be. Helicopter ASW is normally done from ships with towed array sonars that can detect and provide bearings to the submarines. Operating from land, they'd have no idea where to look.

I've started the Thanksgiving mashed potatoes. I make them with butter, sour cream, and cream cheese, then bake them with cheddar on top. The recipe is available if you ask nicely. 😀

According to that, they do training for the German navy, so the Sea Kings are likely still ASW capable. They'd need specialized torpedos to put on the hard points and a few dozen sonobuoys to go with the birds.

TBH I’ve not done a lot of digging and happy to be corrected but I don’t think the Germans operate the S-61 in the anti-submarine role, just SAR, and it looks like Heliops very much push SAR type training in their brochure…

helioperations.co/training

In any event if the idea is anti-submarine then the whole other issue of whether anyone is prepared to supply the specialised and sometimes very (intelligence) sensitive sensors and ordnance that are needed for that job..