The first footage of Ukrainian An-196 "Lyuty" kamikaze drones being destroyed by the new Russian "Kalitka" turret. The video was filmed by war correspondent Andrey Filatov using the Russian "Kalitka" turret; the location is unknown. According to the war correspondent, the ammunition used to destroy one of the targets was 37 rounds. Technical information on the "Kalitka" turret is not yet available, but it is known to be capable of automatically locking on and tracking targets.
The War in the Ukraine
- Thread starter SampanViking
- Start date
A Ukrainian naval drone exploded in the Romanian port of Constanta. The Romanian Ministry of Defense stated that naval drones of this type are being used in the war in Ukraine. According to media reports, the naval drone was detected at 5:50 AM this morning, and the explosion occurred around 10:30 AM. The drone had a timer installed. Other reports indicate that the drone became stuck in booms. The Romanian Navy previously destroyed a Ukrainian naval drone, the Sea Baby.
Interesting that the Russians hand thousands of Ukrainians in body bags and the Ukrainians a few dozen to Russia.
Nothing is intact 100km each sides of the frontline... nothing is standing good at 50km...
That gray zone each side of the front is ruins upon ruins and its one of the reason that the front is not moving a lot.
Not a lot of hiding places remaining beside ceiling of collapsed homes in villages and some Soviet time sturdy concrete buildings giving some elevated positions in cities.
The front is moving more recently, mostly in favor of the Russians. As summer comes, the foliage grows and these provide cover. Not to mention, on the abandoned farms, the agricultural fields now are full of shrub and weed which can grow dense. I think this is one reason why the Russians want the civilian population driven out.
Group East is a notable case. The speed with which they take the villages means they capture them fairly intact. Huliailpole and Huliailpolskoye were captured quick and intact, enabling them to be used as drone and logistics centers. They also preempted counterattacks by bombing and shelling advanced positions.
Other Groups struggle due to destroyed cities, such as Kupyansk and Volchansk in the Kharkhiv region, and Stephnohersk in the Zaporhyzhia region. Ukraine's own counterattacks were stymied in said areas for the lack of cover. Worst they executed their Dnipro counteroffensive during Rasputitsa, a period where it's muddy, vehicles move too slow, no bad weather to hide, no foliage to hide. As you would expect, Russian drones and artillery had a banger time.
The quick movement of Group North in the Kharkhiv and Sumy regions lie in their forest to forest, settlement to settlement, hopping strategy. Think of MacArthur's island hopping strategy in the Pacific in WW2 but in a much smaller scale. Once forces are inserted in a forest, it's all over as you need boots to kick them out, and Ukraine is short in boots. Drones don't function well in the forests for obvious reasons. They timed their offensive just as the foliage bloomed, and roads are dry, making it easier for bikes, ATVs and pickups to outrun a drone.
The offensive could last until next year. By fall, even as the foliage sets in, bad foggy weather sets in. It's one reason why last year, the Russians had good advances in the October-November-December-January time period including the fall of Pokrvosk and Myrhnograd. At this point it's important you need troops inserted into the cities where they can take cover from the weather, letting it boil down to city fighting. Vehicles are being used like landing craft.
One of the advantages of foliage is that you can hide your ATVs and motorcycles, from which you can hop to one point or another. One reason why the armies on both sides are taking on a Mad Max character. Infiltration squads can be resupplied via drone.
The Russians have a time window from June to early February to make good of their advances before the next operational pause.
More notes. Taking a village isn't as important as taking the forest lines and high ground next to them. Often after a flag is raised, no one really stays in the village because they expect the drones to come in and staying is stupid. So troops fade towards the forest lines and fortifications along the high ground surrounding the settlement. If the other side pulls a counterattack to retake the village, they will penetrate but gets hit by drones and artillery in return. Your troops hidden in the forest lines will remop up the village.
There's so many places named Shevchenko in Ukraine. Another falls to the Russians along the northern border.
Gerans struck something in Odessa that blew up bad. In the footage, you can see Ukrainian ack ack trying to take down the Gerans, but failed and Gerans got through.
Gerans struck something in Odessa that blew up bad. In the footage, you can see Ukrainian ack ack trying to take down the Gerans, but failed and Gerans got through.
Russian authorities say Ukraine has launched an "unprecedented attack" on and around St Petersburg, as the city hosts the final day of Russia's annual economic forum.
More than 140 drones were shot down over the surrounding Leningrad region, governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said, while the city's governor, Alexander Beglov, urged residents to remain indoors for the first time since the war began.
Ukraine's president said his forces hit Russia's arsenals and a naval base in what he called a just response to Russian attacks.
More than 140 drones were shot down over the surrounding Leningrad region, governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said, while the city's governor, Alexander Beglov, urged residents to remain indoors for the first time since the war began.
Ukraine's president said his forces hit Russia's arsenals and a naval base in what he called a just response to Russian attacks.
Yeah, small cities are taken and loss but they are more visited by both sides, trying to probe the front line and left this villages behind after a while because nothing is left to fight for or to hide in.
Mappers are marking gains from both sides more like a death zones that the ennemy cannot go in than a standing ground for troops.
Even Kupyansk got nearly taken, got nearly loss a couple of time already on map. No side is committing enough troops to it to have it stabilized. Its a gray zone a couple of km wide more or less. Controling the sector would help but remaining in the city is a death trap.
We see mostly movements in the gray zones...nothing can be really safe on a 100km wide band and we will see real gain when one of the sides will take a giant stride and demonstrate a real gain this summer and going out of that (probably Russia).
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Footage of Ukrainian drones of an unknown type being destroyed by a Russian Strela-10 air defense system. The 9K35 Strela-10 air defense system was adopted by the USSR in 1976 and subsequently upgraded several times. The Strela-10 air defense system is capable of engaging targets at a range of up to 5 km. Despite its age, the air defense system is still capable of engaging certain types of drones.
Gerans took out Ukrainian locomotives and finally a dramatic strike on a train station.
Strategic importance of Kupyansk was that it's the stepping stone to Liman. But with the Russians already bypassing and within Liman anyway, it sort of lost it's importance. However for the Ukrainians, they invested quite a bit of media capital on it and is forced to tie down forces there that could have been used somewhere. It's noteworthy that Ukraine pulled troops out of Sumy to launch it's counterattacks on Kupyansk and the Russians launched a grab offensive on the Sumy region as a response. It does seem that the Russians were preparing for an offensive in that region anyway and it's why Ukraine launched it's preemptive offensive on Kursk on the summer of '24.
Strategic importance of Kupyansk was that it's the stepping stone to Liman. But with the Russians already bypassing and within Liman anyway, it sort of lost it's importance. However for the Ukrainians, they invested quite a bit of media capital on it and is forced to tie down forces there that could have been used somewhere. It's noteworthy that Ukraine pulled troops out of Sumy to launch it's counterattacks on Kupyansk and the Russians launched a grab offensive on the Sumy region as a response. It does seem that the Russians were preparing for an offensive in that region anyway and it's why Ukraine launched it's preemptive offensive on Kursk on the summer of '24.