Ukraine Invasion: Part 39

[MagicFox]

38 filled up quick. Welcome all to 39 🇺🇦

UNITED24 Media Telegram

Russia is working to keep relations with the United States from falling into the abyss of open armed conflict, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

Four Russian occupants blown up at Azovstal during demining

President Zelenskyy named the amount that Ukraine needs to restore after the war
The President in The Hague reminded that the Russian invaders destroyed power stations, a network of educational institutions, cultural centers and museums, churches, and various infrastructure objects.
According to the head of state, at least 400 billion dollars are needed for reconstruction after the war.

The Netherlands, together with its partners, is working out options for supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, there are no taboos in this matter, said the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte.

Olena Zelenska arrived in London for the coronation of Charles III
She met with the wife of the Prime Minister of Great Britain Akshata Murthy, near the residence of the head of government.

As part of the "Army of Drones" project, 10,000 UAV operators have been trained, – Minister of Digital Transformation Fedorov

The European Union will allocate up to 80 million euros to Greek defense companies to produce ammunition, which will then be sent to the Armed Forces, – Pronews publication.
The decision to launch the Hellenic Defense Systems unique program was made following a visit to Athens by EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton to study and assess the possibility of using existing capacities in Greece to increase ammunition production, especially 155mm shells, to continue supporting Ukraine.

Serial production of 155-mm 2C22 "Bohdana" howitzers begins in Ukraine.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna will meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg today, they will discuss Ukraine's accession to NATO, — ERR.

The US and Australia are working on a joint package of military aid to Ukraine, which they may announce by the end of the month, – The Guardian specially providing the Armed Forces with ammunition. Australian Finance Minister Jim Chalmers said the budget package will be announced on May 9. On Tuesday in Kyiv, a list of aid wishes was presented, which includes Hawkei armored personnel carriers, artillery, and ammunition.

Former US President Bill Clinton said that after a "cold" meeting with Putin in Davos, Switzerland, in 2011, he realized Russia's attack on Ukraine was "a matter of time."
"Putin told me that he disagrees with the agreement that I made with Boris Yeltsin (the Budapest Memorandum, which stipulated respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine in exchange for Kyiv's relinquishment of its nuclear arsenal).

🇧🇭 After visits to Finland and the Netherlands, Zelenskyy welcomed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, Abdullatif bin Rashid Az-Zayani, in Kyiv.

Live: Ukraine Telegram

🇩🇪 Berlin police have launched an investigation into a media leak about a possible visit by the president of another country. They noted that the German media referred to a representative of the Berlin police. Law enforcement officials emphasize that they did not officially provide any information that could jeopardize the visit.
The police did not specify what they were talking about, but on May 3, German media reported on the visit of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Later, it became known that the visit might be disrupted due to a leak.

Zelensky: Ukraine understands that it will not join NATO while the war is ongoing, but now we want to hear a clear signal that we will be in the Alliance after the war.

At the summit of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation in Ankara, members of the Verkhovna Rada tried to disrupt the speech of the Russian delegation. They stood behind Olga Timofeeva, a State Duma deputy from United Russia, and unfurled the flags of Ukraine and the UPA.
Later, on the sidelines of the event, MP Oleksandr Marykovsky took the Ukrainian flag away from a Russian diplomat who wanted to tear it down.

In the Netherlands, Zelensky was shown Patriot air defense systems, artillery and armored vehicles that will go to Ukraine

💡In July and August, Ukraine may experience a significant electricity shortage, according to the Energy Research Center. Nuclear power units are to be repaired in the summer, so there will be a shortage of electricity generation. It can be covered by imports, but electricity will be expensive in this case.

Today is the day the legendary Azov Regiment was created.
Some of the first soldiers of the former unit took part in the battles in Donetsk region in 2014 and in other operations over the years, including the world-famous heroic defense of Mariupol and Azovstal in 2022 during the full-scale Russian invasion.
Today, Azov is defending the country as a National Guard brigade, and Azovites will forever be remembered as the strongest and most indomitable soldiers of our country.

Russians are urgently organizing the evacuation of residents of the occupied Zaporizhzhia region
"Local residents of Polohy, Tokmak and Molochansk report that the occupiers are urgently organizing the evacuation of the population to Berdiansk, citing "escalation on the front line," said Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov.
Fedorov also notes that the occupants want to evacuate children, among other things, who will then have to be searched for throughout the territory of the Russian Federation.

https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1654479297128562691 Thank you to the UK on the occasion of the coronation from Ukraine

I love that

That's great.

Ducks are so grown up! Maybe they can be trained to fly to the Kremlin evading air defences.

Fab video. The Ukrainians are really masters of public relations. Hopefully, the US will get something similar on Independence Day.

It's unconfirmed, but it's been reported that a Russian hypersonic missile was shot down by one of the Patriot air defense batteries deployed in Ukraine. If true, this is a spectacular bit of intelligence in terms of field testing and what may be learned from the missile wreckage.

https://twitter.com/shashj/status/1654420283959177218

I was wrong a little while ago sorry. Khadrov hasn't died

Well, that's a shame.

By the way, congratulations to all the Brits on the King's coronation tomorrow! I'll be watching the highlights. I'm really curious about what Jill Biden will wear.

Fab video. The Ukrainians are really masters of public relations. Hopefully, the US will get something similar on Independence Day.

Oops, hit post too soon. Meant to quote you, MissConductUS. I am sure Ukraine are working on the US one soon and it will be glorious. If there is any country that deserves thanks, US will lead the pack for its unstinting support. The video is taking longer because it has to be at least twice as long to fit the endless list of weapons and aid in there.

I wonder whether Ukraine produces similar videos for other countries like France, Poland, Netherlands or Finland?

I'm really curious about what Jill Biden will wear.

Go on, dress her.

Thank you for your service. God Bless America. Long live the King.

I am not a fashionista, but I expect something simple and understated. A navy-colored skirt and blazer, perhaps? I'm not sure what is customary for such an auspicious occasion.

It was an honor to serve. Long live the King.

@minsmum thank you for sharing that but it's made me cry dammit!

I don't often feel particularly proud of being British but...

God save the King
Slava Ukraini

@Surplus2requirements I with your sentiments, and am looking forward to tomorrow. Some lovely shots of Olena Zelenska, Jill Biden and Princess of Wales at B.Palace tonight 🙂👑🇺🇦 🇺🇸 🇬🇧

😂

They certainly do…they did a couple produced after France delivered the first tranche of Caesar 155mm Self Propelled guns that went down very well - link to one such here:

https://twitter.com/oleksiireznikov/status/1653497349233049602 a thank you to America for Bradleys

https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1650356390442201088 a ghastly to Lithuania

Thank you honesty if I could type I would be dangerous

Great video! I had not seen that one before. I love the cat analogy. They left out hungry as an attribute though. Cats love to eat and Brads use a lot of fuel and ammo. I think that they'll make as much or more of an impact than the tanks will, as they did in ODS (operation desert storm).

One thing about these videos that can be a bit misleading is that they show the Bradley maneuvering and firing alone. In the real world, they fight in platoons of four or five vehicles operating together. They move in formations designed for different tasks. These formation diagrams are shown for tanks, but IVFs use very similar ones.

http://www.steelbeasts.com/sbwiki/index.php/Formations

Love the videos. Just spot on. You got to admire Ukraine's creativity and resilience. Fighting for their existence and still creating these gems.

@MissConductUS appreciate the info on Bradleys and formations.

The link mentioned for that each type of formation, there is a keyboard function.

Does this mean that the operator in the Bradley (or someone in mission control) [giving away my non-mil roots here] just types it into a keyboard and the 4 vehicles automatically assume the formation in relation to each other or is it a command that is transmitted to the vehicles and their operators figure out where to put their vehicles in relation to each other for the formation.

I might be overthinking this 😆

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-may-5-2023

Key Takeaways

• The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) appears to have deprioritized the Bakhmut offensive in favor of preparing to defend against an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive, putting the Wagner Group and Wagner financier Yevgeny Prigozhin in a potentially difficult position.
• Wagner’s continued persistence within Bakhmut is incongruent with the overall slow-down in the pace of Russian operations elsewhere in Ukraine as conventional Russian forces appear to largely be shifting focus to prepare to receive the much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive.
• Recently dismissed former Deputy Minister of Defense for Logistics Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev is reportedly serving as deputy commander of the Wagner Group, likely as part of Wagner’s campaign to retain access to Russian military supplies.
• Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered newly-appointed Deputy Minister for Logistics Alexei Kuzmenkov to control the supply of weapons and equipment to Russian forces in Ukraine.
• Russian occupation authorities announced the forced removal of 70,000 civilians in occupied Zaporizhia Oblast to areas deeper in the Russian-occupied rear under the guise of evacuations.
• The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) proposed a draft bill aimed at appealing to growing anti-migrant sentiments in Russia and supporting the Russian military’s efforts to recruit migrants.
• Russian Human Rights Council head Valery Fadeev reportedly stated that Russian authorities should regulate Telegram channels similarly to how Russia censors state-controlled media.
• Russian forces conducted ground attacks near Kreminna and Avdiivka and made marginal gains within Bakhmut.
• Russian milbloggers claimed that Ukrainian forces conducted limited counterattacks near Bakhmut.
• The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed it prevented a Ukrainian assassination attempt against an occupation deputy of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) on May 5.
• Chechen Republic Head Ramzan Kadyrov continues his own personal force generation efforts aimed at securing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s favor.
• Russian occupation authorities continue measures to strengthen social control of occupied territories.

Extra:

[comments on the forced relocation of civilizians from Zap' Oblast] The locations of these settlements so far from the current front lines suggest that Russian forces plan to conduct a controlled, fighting withdrawal from their current positions to a prepared line of defense rather than trying to hold the current line of contact in the event of a possible Ukrainian counteroffensive

The MVD submitted a draft bill on May 5 that would allow employers to deprive migrant employees of their work permits and create expanded administrative supervision over the residence of foreign citizens in Russia ... The bill is reflective of growing domestic ramifications from the wide acceptance of the Kremlin’s ”Russification” ideology, which ISW previously assessed is increasingly manifesting itself in how Russian authorities and ultranationalists negatively portray ethnic minorities and migrants in Russia.[17] Russian officials also disproportionally focus recruitment efforts on migrant communities, and the bill could set conditions for Russian officials to leverage jeopardized migration statuses to coerce migrants into signing contracts with the Russian military

@blueshoes, you are not overthinking it. Steel Beasts is a computer-based armor combat simulation. There is a pro version used by the army to train tank and IFV commanders and crews and another, less sophisticated version beloved by armor and ground combat nerds like me. 😀

I linked to their website because that was the most accessible place to find the formation diagrams, which were taken directly from US Army training manuals.

On the burning question of Jill Biden's outfit choices, I found a picture of her in a lovely floral dress at 10 Downing Street last night, but not what she's wearing today.