Moscow closed all four of its main airports for several hours into Tuesday after state media reported the military had shot down 105 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said that at least 19 drones were destroyed on their way to the capital as it prepares for Victory Day celebrations this week.
Debris fell on a major avenue in the city's south without causing injuries, Sobyanin wrote on Telegram.
Governors in other Russian cities, including Penza and Voronezh, said they had also been targeted by Ukrainian drones.
It was the second night in a row that Russia has reported a Ukrainian drone attack, after the defence ministry claimed it had destroyed 26 overnight on Monday.
Ukraine has continued to apply pressure ahead of Russia's May 9 Moscow parade, presided by President Vladimir Putin ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... and attended by several world leaders as the country marks the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII in Europe.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Saturday that his government could not guarantee the safety of foreign delegations and world leaders travelling to Moscow to attend the parade.
'Our position is very simple for all countries traveling to Russia on May 9: We cannot be held responsible for what happens on the territory of the Russian Federation,' he said, adding that Russia could orchestrate provocations including 'arson, bombings and so on only to blame us'.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A Ukrainian marine drone carrying air-to-air missiles shot down a Russian fighter jet last week in what was described by Ukraine's Defence Intelligence Chief as a 'historic moment'.
A member of Ukraine's special forces was guiding the Magura V7 sea vehicle in Black Sea waters close to the Russian port town of Novorossiysk on May 2 when it registered a Russian aircraft streaking overhead.
Stunning heads-up display footage released by Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency showed the moment the drone unleashed a US-supplied AIM-9 sidewinder infrared guided missile and scored a direct hit on the jet - a Su-30SM multirole fighter.
It is believed to be the first time in history that a seaborne military drone has scored a kill on a fixed-wing fighter aircraft.
The hitherto unrealised feat was repeated minutes later when a second Magura drone scored a kill on another Su-30.
The Magura V7 marine drone is based on the same platform as the Magura V5, which has been used to great effect by Ukraine's armed forces to terrorise Russia's Black Sea naval fleet, but has been modified for air defence missions.
Each drone is reported to cost just over £200,000 - a paltry sum in comparison to the cost per unit of the advanced supermanoeuvrable Su-30SM, which comes in at roughly £37 million.
The crew of the first Su-30SM managed to eject and were plucked from the murky waters of the Black Sea by a Russian civilian ship, according to Budanov and Russian military bloggers.
The crew of the second jet were not so lucky and went down with their plane, Ukrainian officials said.
#1
What's sad is the Magura's don't have an all aspect attack setup, it can only engage targets in front of it's missiles. Has to turn to engage targets to the side.
So the Su-30's had to basically do is go "shoot me in the back".
Posted by: ed in texas ||
05/06/2025 14:41 Comments ||
Top||
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22.57 Russia is seeking to negotiate peace with Ukraine due to the sharp drop in oil prices. This was stated by US President Donald Trump during a conversation with journalists.
22.37 Russian troops attack Odessa with attack drones on the evening of May 5. Explosions were heard in the city. This was reported by Odessa Mayor Gennadiya Trukhanova on Telegram.
22.23 Russian troops are redeploying Tu-95MS combat aircraft to Siberia. OSINT researcher MT Anderson reported this on the X social network, citing satellite images.
21.56 US President Donald Trump believes that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's proposal for a so-called "three-day truce" is not that long, but it is "a lot." He said this during a conversation with journalists at the White House.
20.28 New services will appear in the Reserve+ application. This was reported by Deputy Minister of Defense for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalization Ekaterina Chernogorenko on her Facebook page.
19:29 US President Donald Trump plans to involve his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in ending Russia's war against Ukraine. The American leader wrote about this on his social network Truth Social.
18.38 Ukrainian aviation successfully hit the control point of enemy UAV units in the area of the settlement of Tetkino in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Up to 20 Russian soldiers were eliminated and their equipment was destroyed.
17:59 Ukrainian refugees are integrating well in the Czech Republic, and further progress needs to be made both in terms of their employment and in terms of helping those who want to return home. This was stated by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala at a joint briefing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Prague.
16.05 Ukrainian military made another breakthrough into the Kursk region of the Russian Federation on Monday morning – in the area of the settlements of Tetkino and Novy Put. This was reported by Russian telegram channels.
15.41 The Czech Republic will train Ukrainian pilots on two types of aircraft – F-16 and L-39 – on its territory. This was stated by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Prague.
15:02 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with the heads of leading defense enterprises of the Czech Republic. Ukrainian-Czech cooperation and joint production can ensure security and prevent a repeat of aggression on the European continent, the head of state noted.
14.17 On the morning of May 5, Russian troops fired cannon artillery at the village of Ivanopolye in the Konstantinovka community. As a result of the shelling, a civilian was killed and two more people were wounded. This was reported by the head of the Donetsk OVA Vadim Filashkin.
13.39 Russian troops are experiencing an acute shortage of armored vehicles at the front. They are forced to send outdated equipment to conduct massive assaults. This was reported by military journalist Andrey Tsaplienko on Monday, May 5.
Thus, in one of the echelons they counted up to 70 T-62MV and T-62M tanks, produced from 1961 to 1975.
Tsaplienko suggested that in frontline workshops they would be made into "tank-sheds" designed for one-time use.
13.27 Since the beginning of the war, the State Bureau of Investigation has been investigating 2,571 criminal cases involving crimes against national security. This was reported by the State Bureau of Investigation's press service.
Under investigation:
1.8 thousand cases - on the facts of high treason,
584 productions - for collaboration activities,
46 cases - for aiding the aggressor state and others.
12.55 The domestically produced Vislyuk ground robotic system has been approved for use in the Defense Forces units . This was reported by the Defense Ministry. The Vislyuk system is manufactured in various modifications - for logistical tasks, evacuation, mining, and installation of engineering barriers. It can also serve as a moving platform for moving radio communication repeater towers, combat modules, and day or night surveillance systems. It has reactive control channels.
12.14 Over three years, the fundraising platform United24 has raised more than UAH 56 billion in support of Ukraine. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"This is not just a number - it is proof that in the pursuit of a common goal, millions of people are capable of the incredible. We are united not by geography, language or origin - we are united by faith.
The United24 platform launched in May 2022. During this time, millions of people and companies from more than 100 countries have made voluntary contributions to support Ukraine.
12.07 The Ministry of Strategic Industries and representatives of the Spanish company Escribano Mechanical and Engineering (EM&M) discussed issues of localizing production of equipment in Ukraine. This was reported on May 5 by the press service of the Ministry of Strategic Industries.
11.55 In one of the villages of the Aleksandrivska community of the Donetsk region, Russian troops attacked an enterprise with drones, the roof of the warehouse caught fire. The fire broke out on an area of 1,100 square meters. Rescuers extinguished it for more than five hours. There were no casualties.
11:29 Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky awarded the soldiers who distinguished themselves during the Kursk operation and ensured the creation of a buffer zone on the border with Russia. He reported this on Facebook .
10:48 The European Union may double its military support for Ukraine this year, European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius said . European money can be used more effectively by investing it in purchasing weapons directly from Ukrainian manufacturers, he noted.
10.22 A 31-year-old local informant for the Russian Federation, who was adjusting strikes on the city's defenders, was detained in Nikolaev. This was reported on May 5 by the SBU.
10.05 A transformer substation was disabled in Saratov (Russia). This was reported by the ATESH partisan movement. It is noted that as a result, the power supply to two cellular base stations was completely disrupted. These stations provided communications in areas where key industrial facilities are located, in particular, the GazPromMash oil refinery, the Pirogroup plant and the mobilization center, which the Russians use to coordinate their criminal activities.
9.45 The Ukrainian Defense Forces shot down 42 Russian drones, and another 21 enemy UAVs were lost. This was reported by the Ukrainian Air Force. The consequences of the drone attack were recorded in the Sumy and Donetsk regions.
8.49 Over the past 24 hours, 269 combat clashes have been recorded at the front, the hottest situation is in the Pokrovsk and Novopavlovsk directions, where 115 and 52 enemy attacks were repelled, respectively. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
8.20 On the night of May 5, Russian troops attacked the Nikopol district of the Dnipropetrovsk region using Grad MLRS, heavy artillery and kamikaze drones. As a result of the shelling, a garage and a car were on fire. This was reported by the head of the OVA Serhiy Lysak.
7.50 Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian military has destroyed 1,260 Russian occupiers. The enemy's total losses in personnel amount to about 958,070 servicemen.
7.23 Marines destroyed an enemy Ural truck and a D-30 cannon. The video was published on the page of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
04.30 Russian troops struck Konotop in the Sumy region, using more than a dozen martyrs and two ballistic missiles. An infrastructure facility was destroyed. According to preliminary data, there were no casualties, despite the fact that the Russians struck at intervals to hit rescuers and medics who arrived at the scene of the preliminary strikes.
03.26 Explosions were heard in the Russian Moscow region. The city authorities announced the alleged shooting down of four UAVs. Meanwhile, the Vnukovo airport announced the "Carpet" plan.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] Ukrainian Armed Forces are holding back Russian assaults in the east and south of Ukraine.
The Russian army concentrated a third of its attacks on the Pokrovsky direction. Currently, 11 battles are ongoing there.
Since the beginning of the day, 89 combat clashes have occurred on the front. A third of Russian attacks are concentrated in the Pokrovsk area, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in an operational report as of 16:00 on Monday, April 5.
Thus, in the Kharkov direction, one enemy attack was stopped near Volchansk.
In the Kupyansk direction, the enemy actively attacked four times in the area of the settlement of Zagryzovo and in the direction of Novoosinovoye and Glushkovka. Two combat clashes continue.
In the Liman direction, the invading army carried out 13 attacks near the settlements of Grekovka, Novomikhaylovka, Novoye, Kolodezi, Mirnoye and in the direction of Zelenaya Dolina. Five battles are currently ongoing.
In the Kramatorsk direction, our defenders repelled three enemy attacks in the Kurdyumovka area and in the direction of Belaya Gora. The battle is currently underway.
In the Toretsk direction, the Russians tried to advance in the areas of Toretsk and Ozaryanovka. Two assaults were repelled there. Another clash continues.
In the Pokrovsk direction, the enemy carried out 32 assaults in the areas of the populated areas of Sukhaya Balka, Staraya Nikolaevka, Vodyanoye Vtoroye, Novotoretskoye, Shevchenko, Udachnoye, Uspenovka, Kotlyarovka, Troitskoye, Bogdanovka and Andreyevka. The defense forces have already repelled 21 attacks.
In the Novopavlovsk direction, our soldiers are currently repelling two attacks, and eight more assault attempts have already been stopped in the areas of the populated areas of Novopol, Novosyolka, Privolnoye, Komar and in the direction of Otradnoye.
In the Gulyai-Polye direction, the Ukrainian Armed Forces successfully repelled four enemy attacks near Vysokoye, and another combat clash is not over.
In the Orekhov direction, our defenders successfully stopped 11 assaults in the areas of Stepovoye, Malye Shcherbaki, Kamenskoye and in the direction of Novoandreyevka and Novodanilovka.
In the Kursk direction, Ukrainian troops repelled six attacks, and another military clash continues.
Let us recall that in the course of 24 hours on May 4, Russia lost more than 1,200 fighters killed and wounded. The total number of Russian losses since the start of the full-scale war is approaching 1 million people.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 23:57 Official summary of the Office for Documentation of War Crimes of Ukraine from 00:00 05.05.2025 to 00:00 06.05.2025
A total of 17 facts of armed attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
There were reports of a civilian being injured.
Damaged:
Two civilian infrastructure facilities.
A total of 17 armed attacks in the Gorlovka direction.
A total of 31 units of various ammunition were fired.
21:38 Destruction of a Ukrainian group in the Tyotkino area this morning —video.
20:57 Attack aircraft of the 39th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 68th Army Corps are advancing in a residential area in the east of the settlement of Ulyanovka in the Pokrovsky direction —video.
20:26 Destruction of Ukrainian 122mm self-propelled gun 2S1 in the area of Andreevka DPR —video.
19:35 Ukrainian Armed Forces attack Belgorod region continue. Preliminary, there were no casualties.
In the Valuysky District, on the Valuyki-Veydelevka and Urazovo-Dvuluchnoye road sections, two passenger cars were damaged by drone strikes. The village of Dalniy was also attacked by a drone - a technical room was damaged.
In the Belgorod district, the village of Yasnye Zori was attacked by two FPV drones, which damaged a social facility, an administrative building, two cars and two units of agricultural machinery. In addition, a power line was broken. In the village of Golovino, the detonation of a drone damaged the facade of one of the buildings of an agricultural enterprise.
In the city of Grayvoron, as a result of an FPV drone attack, the roof of a private home was pierced.
The village of Vyazovoe in the Krasnoyarsk region was subjected to shelling, as a result of which an inactive warehouse caught fire.
19:17 Acting Governor of Kursk Region Alexander Khinshte in reported about the attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the region
In the village of Leshchynivka, Glushkovsky district, a Ukrainian drone attacked a residential building. As a result of the strike, a 61-year-old woman was injured - she has shrapnel wounds, her condition is moderate. She will be taken to a medical facility in the near future.
18:50 Operator of the reconnaissance UAV GV "Sever" caught an attempt to transfer an enemy assault group in a Kozak armored fighting vehicle from Pavlovka in the direction of the state border and the settlement of Novy Put.
18:38 Fighters of the "Center" group of forces are approaching to the border of the Dnepropetrovsk region on another section of the Pokrovsky front.
“In the Novopavlovsk direction, Russian troops captured Uspenovka and entered Novoaleksandrivka,” Ukrainian analysts admit.
17:50 Next targets destroyed by Russian drone operators in the South Donetsk direction
This time, UAV operators of the Vostok group of forces destroyed a US-made M-113 armored personnel carrier, as well as vehicles used to deliver ammunition and food, along with enemy manpower.
16:49 Crew of the 152mm 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled gun of the West group of forces destroyed Ukrainian Armed Forces bunker using high-precision munitions "Krasnopol".
15:41 During the repulse of the attack of Ukrainian fascists in the direction of the settlement of Tetkino in the Kursk region, the Sever group drone operators detected movement of a group of enemy fighters in an armored personnel carrier.
15:15 Ukrainian soldier convicted for mining roads and preventing the evacuation of civilians in the Kursk region
The evidence collected by the military investigative bodies of the Investigative Committee of Russia was deemed sufficient by the court to pass a sentence against Viktor Isaev, a junior sergeant in the grenade launcher unit at the commandant's office of the rapid response of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
14:34 Ukrainian Armed Forces militants lead massive artillery shelling of Kamenka-Dniprovska in the Zaporizhia region. At least six explosions were recorded, 1,152 subscribers were de-energized. The danger of repeated strikes remains, said the region's governor, Yevgeny Balitsky.
14:30 Russian intelligence detected the location of the enemy radar in the area of the settlement Peski. The target was attacked by the "X-ray" aircraft of the "Sever" group, destroying the "Rada" radar station.
13:40 Crews of T-72 tanks of the "East" group of forces inflicted fire damage to the concentration of manpower and vehicles of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, disrupting the rotation of Ukrainian militants in the South Donetsk direction.
12:40 Russian Ministry of Defense summary on the progress of the Special Military Operation as of May 5, 2025.
Units of the North group of forces inflicted losses on concentrations of manpower and equipment of the mechanized, tank, and ranger brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and two territorial defense brigades in the areas of the settlements of Sadki, Ryasnoye, Velyka Pisarevka in Sumy Oblast and Granov in Khar'kov Oblast.
Over the past 24 hours, the Armed Forces of Ukrainelostup to 1,395 troops, 4 tanks, 28 vehicles, 10 armored combat vehicles, five ammunition depots, two Western-made artillery pieces, 14 field artillery pieces, four artillery pieces, 4 electronic warfare stations, and a HIMARS multiple launch rocket system launcher.
Units of the "West" group of forces took up more advantageous positions and defeated two mechanized, mountain assault, assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a territorial defense brigade in Peski, Kupyansk, Grigorovka, Kutkovka in the Khar'kov region and Karpovka in the DPR.
The "South" group improved its tactical position by defeating the manpower and equipment of two mechanized and airmobile brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Serebryanka, Druzhkovka, Seversk and Zarya DPR.
The Center group improved its position on the front line, defeating two mechanized and a ranger brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as a special forces brigade and two National Guard brigades in Udachnoye, Dimitrov, Novopavlovka, Novosergeevka and Grodovka of the DPR.
The Vostok group continued its advance and defeated two mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a marine brigade and a territorial defense brigade in Bogatyr, Fedorovka, Komar and Novopol of the DPR.
The Dnepr group defeated a mechanized brigade and two coastal defense brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Malaya Tokmachka, Pavlovka in the Zaporizhia region and Antonovka in the Kherson region.
11:50 The enemy is in the Kursk border areais trying show an offensive in the direction of Tyotkino and Popovo-Lezhachi.
Attacks with the support of armored vehicles. Before this, the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to make passages in the minefields with the help of mine-clearing machines.
Russian Army fighters repel a breakthrough attempt. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have already suffered losses in equipment.
11:40 FPV drone calculations at Rubicon Centerare striking manpower, armored vehicles, UAVs and firing positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donetsk direction.
11:35 Ukrainian Armed Forces are again trying to break through to Kursk region
New attempt by Ukrainian militants reported to break through to the territory of the Kursk region in the area of the settlement of Tetkino.
This is not the first attempt by the enemy to penetrate our defense in this area. During different periods of the Kursk operation, the Ukrainian Armed Forces tried to advance in this direction several times, including using armored vehicles, but each time they failed.
As in previous attacks, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are seeking to destroy bridges across the Seim River and its tributaries in order to complicate the logistics of our troops. Russian Telegram channels report the destruction of Ukrainian mine-clearing vehicles and other enemy equipment.
11:20 The enemy is in the Kursk border areais trying to show an offensive in the direction of Tyotkino and Popovo-Lezhachi.
Attacks with the support of armored vehicles. Before this, the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to make passages in the minefields with the help of mine-clearing machines.
Russian Army fighters repel a breakthrough attempt. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have already suffered losses in equipment.
10:00 In the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous OkrugdetainedUkrainian agent who planned a terrorist attack on the railway
The detainee received instructions from a member of a banned Ukrainian paramilitary group.
9:30 Unmanned aerial vehicles "Geran-2" destroyed an ammunition depot and repair shop of the 81st Separate Airmobile Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as a temporary deployment point for a unit of the 58th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kramatorsk.
8:28 Calculation of the ATGM "Metis" of the "Southern" group of forces destroyed a vehicle supplying ammunition to the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Chasov Yar area.
8:20 For the period from 23:00 Moscow time on May 4 to 02:30 Moscow time on May 5, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 26 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
– 17 UAVs – over the territory of the Bryansk region;
– Five UAVs – over the territory of the Kaluga region;
– Four UAVs – over the territory of the Moscow region.
8:10 Frontline morning summary 05.05.2025
Zaporizhzhya Front. In this area, no significant changes in the LBS have been recorded over the past 24 hours. In a number of areas, positional battles continue with the active use of long-range weapons.
Donetsk Front. Fierce battles are taking place in the Bogatyr area, sometimes turning into counter-battles. The Russian Armed Forces are repelling attempts by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to counterattack, continuing to put pressure on the Ukrainian defense.
Also, battles are continuing in the Otradnoye area and in the direction of Alekseyevka.
In Kotlino, assault actions by the Russian Armed Forces are continuing, the enemy is putting up fierce resistance.
Chasov Yar direction. No significant changes in LBS. RF Armed Forces continue to fight in Chasov Yar, gradually dislodging the enemy from the occupied positions.
Sumy direction. The Russian Armed Forces continue to carry out measures to create a buffer zone in the border area. Fighting is underway in the settlement of Belovody. Fighting for Loknya and Vodolaghi also continues
8:05 Activity of NATO spy aircraft. 04.05-05.05
Black Sea Region
US Navy Poseidon 8E flies over Constanta, Romania
Leningrad Oblast
There are two NATO Boeing Sentry E3TF aircraft, one of which is stationed in Estonia and the other in Lithuania
8:00 220mm BM-27 MLRS "Uragan" crews of the "Center" and "West" groups of forces continue to destroy enemy strongholds and manpower in the SVO zone.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Andrey Zvorykin
[REGNUM] If there had been no war, then in 1946, 210 million people could have lived in the Soviet Union. "On the contrary, taking into account the Great Patriotic War, such a figure... is about 170 million people. That is, we actually lost 39 million people at the demographic level," said Sergei Galkin, head of Rosstat.
On May 5, on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, the head of the statistical service presented the collection “ Victory Figures ” - this book and the accompanying multimedia project were created by Rosstat together with the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Center for Strategic Research Foundation.
"If there had been no war..." If we remember this, even the statistics on the demographic decline begin to echo with pain. After all, the 39 million that the country lost were those killed on the front lines, those who died during the occupation, those who did not survive the siege of Leningrad, those who died in the front-line areas and in the seemingly peaceful rear - from hunger and disease. And the generation of the late 1940s - early 1950s that could have been born. While our overseas allies were experiencing a baby boom, our country was doomed to demographic decline.
Even at the height of the war, statistical facts and data accused Nazism - it is enough to refer to Vyacheslav Molotov's note of April 1942 " On the monstrous crimes, atrocities and violence of the German fascist invaders in the occupied Soviet regions and on the responsibility of the German government and command." "Bleeding" figures helped the chief Soviet prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials, Roman Rudenko, prove the guilt of the leaders of the Third Reich in atrocities on Soviet territory.
Research into the damage the enemy inflicted on our country continued throughout the post-war period, including in recent decades. As the authors of the collection explained, similar collections of statistical data were prepared for the 70th and 75th anniversaries of the Great Victory.
For comparison, if in the mid-2010s researchers estimated the demographic losses of our large country at 25-27 million people, now a study of data on the dead, captured, deceased - together with those never born - has given the above-mentioned monstrous figure of 39 million.
By 1956, when the American baby boom was reaching its peak, the population of the Union was just reaching the level of the beginning of the peaceful 1941. The losses of material wealth of our country continue to be calculated, but already now the "Victory Figures" give approximate data - 30-33% of national income. In France, which survived the occupation, there was a 1.5% drop in national income, the same in Great Britain.
Thanks to the collected documents, the scale of the tragedy experienced by our country becomes even more visible. 1.7 thousand Soviet cities, over 70 thousand villages and hamlets suffered from Nazi bombings and destruction during the occupation. More than 25 million of our compatriots were left homeless.
"Along torn-up roads. And ruined villages. We walked along the stars to the east..." - wrote Alexander Tvardovsky in "Ballad of a Comrade". If translated into the language of statistics, then from June 1941 until the moment of expulsion from our land, the enemy destroyed 36.8 million hectares of arable land. 32 thousand industrial enterprises were destroyed. But statistics allow us to appreciate the feat of those who evacuated factories and plants to the rear in the first, catastrophic months of the war - 218 thousand enterprises were taken deep into the country.
Despite the threat of losing 50-70% of metallurgy, coal production and electricity in the first months of the war, which was threatened by the occupation of the lands of the western part of the country by the Third Reich and its satellites, the country managed to create an industrial base in the Urals and Siberia, the head of the public council at Rosstat, chief economist of VEB.RF Andrei Klepach cited data from the collection "Victory Figures".
By 1948, the USSR had surpassed the pre-war level of industrial production, and by 1950, agricultural production.
"So, at the expense of what? At the expense of both the dedication of people and management, this was achieved... The figures are a lesson in how to develop and restore the country," added Klepach.
“That line of depth, beyond which the flames of the Ural forges rose from behind our backs…” wrote Tvardovsky in the poem “I was killed near Rzhev.”
This combination of poetry with figures and facts is a conscious choice.
“I would like information about the horrors of war, about the Victory, about the feats that our people accomplished, to reach every person in one way or another,” emphasized Pavel Smelov, director of the Center for Strategic Research, addressing those gathered.
After the announced minute of silence, the children's choir "White Steamship" took to the stage and performed the song "Signalers-Buglers" by Alexandra Pakhmutova and Nikolai Dobronravov.
Honored Artist of Russia Vladimir Konkin read a poem by contemporary poet Ivan Kupreyanov that touched everyone present :
"Russian, Georgian, Tatar,
Highlander, Pomor, steppe dweller...
The call of the Motherland is total -
“This is how victory was forged!”
And Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Vakhrukov acted in an unexpected capacity - he presented an addition to the collection "Numbers of Victory" - the collection "The Hero's Path", which presents routes in memory of the Great Victory that can be visited on the territory of our country.
"Today, the collection that we were able to make, 20 routes from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok, contains the main things that we were able to collect for tourist routes - these are villages, cities, settlements, where the main battles took place, the heroism of our people was manifested. It seems very important to me that our children will be able to learn this not from the pages of textbooks, but to come, lay flowers at the graves of the Unknown Soldier, touch the feat, and then pass it on to their children," the deputy minister emphasized.
Actor and musician Vladislav Demin also performed at the presentation, he performed his song "Friendship Anthem", which he repeatedly sang in front of soldiers in the SVO zone. In his speech, the artist drew attention to the section of the collection dedicated to the performances of theater actors in front of the Great Patriotic War soldiers and called on modern cultural figures to repeat their actions, also supporting soldiers on the front lines of the SVO.
"In 1941, 357 acting groups performed at the front, in 1942 - already 920, while the number of performances increased from 32,500 to 117,000. In 1943, there were 1,215 front-line concert brigades, and the number of performances reached 150,000. Only the artists of the Central Theater of the Red Army, as part of 19 front-line brigades, showed 1,745 performances, plays and concerts at the front..." - the hosts of the event added to the artist.
After Demin, Honored Artist of Russia, President of the Eurasian Art Union Leonid Feodor and Head of the Information Department of the Eurasian Art Union Alena Kovaleva took the stage. They emphasized that artists are now also involved in supporting patriotism in society, including the Union regularly holds exhibitions of works about Russia specifically for Rosstat employees.
The presentation of the collection was concluded by a performance by the winner of the Russian Presidential Prize, Grammy Award winner, guest soloist of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres, opera singer Nikolai Didenko, who, together with the children's choir "White Steamship", performed the legendary song "Victory Day", familiar to every resident of our country.
"The numbers have spoken and acquired a visible form. The numbers are not only a question of memory, but also a lesson from those victims and losses that were incurred, from that social and economic feat," said Andrey Klepach.
“We must pass this on from generation to generation. Maybe this sounds a bit pompous, but everyone in their place can do [something] to preserve this memory,” added Dmitry Vakhrukov.
#4
Russia SHOULD have over 300 million people now. Between both world wars, Stalin and his purges, alcoholism, etc they only have 145 million and falling.
The world wars and urbanization was Europe's suicide.
#6
A substantial number of Russians were killed by other Russians in combat or by Ukrainians during this time period. Other Russians were killed by the Russian government.
Depends on how you count.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
05/06/2025 13:35 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Russians have done extensive analysis of the Red Army's war dead, reflected in this document (It's in Russian, sorry)
This question is one of the most controversial. In my opinion, the essence of the discussion is most accurately reflected in the article by V. Litvinenko "Were the Red Army's losses in the Great Patriotic War excessive?" The main conclusion of this article is:) "the levels of irretrievable combat losses of the Red Army and the Wehrmacht on the Soviet-German front are approximately equal.Moreover, due to the insufficiency, unreliability and contradictory nature of the initial data, it is impossible to say with complete certainty whether the Red Army's losses were greater or less than the Wehrmacht's losses. "
#9
Stalin's order 227 - Not One Step back also didn't help. Sometimes it makes military sense to retreat, regroup and then counterattack. However, with Order 227, Soviet commanders dared not retreat.
Ukrainian socialist media have been disputing the claim, make by Russian General Valery Gerasimov, that the Kursk operation was successfully completed.
[Regnum] Residents of the village of Glushkovo, Glushkovsky District, Kursk Region, must evacuate. This was reported on May 5 by local authorities.
“Due to the complicated situation in the village, residents who are currently there must temporarily evacuate,” wrote the head of the village, Vasily Khudyakov, on the social network VKontakte.
He added that the work would be carried out by the Bars unit. For questions about evacuation, the head of the village advised contacting the local administration on Yendovishchenskaya Street.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, from 20:30 to 21:00 Moscow time on May 5, Russian air defense forces shot down nine Ukrainian drones over Russian territory: five drones were hit over the territory of the Kursk region and four over the Belgorod region.
Russian air defense forces shot down nine Ukrainian drones over Russian territory within half an hour. This was reported on May 5 by the Russian Defense Ministry.
“From 20:30 to 21:00 Moscow time, nine Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed by air defense systems on duty: five over the territory of the Kursk region and four over the territory of the Belgorod region,” the department reported.
Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported on the evening of May 5 that two Ukrainian drones attacked passenger cars in Valuyki, and in the village of Dalniy, drones damaged a technical room. In addition, in the village of Yasnye Zori in the Belgorod District, two FPV drones caused significant damage to infrastructure, and a power line was knocked down. The village of Golovino was also damaged. In Grayvoron, an FPV drone pierced the roof of a private home. In the village of Vyazovoe in the Krasnoyarsk District, a fire started in an inactive warehouse after a drone attack.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Victor Lavrinenko
[REGNUM] The Swedish public is nervous - they are being intimidated by the machinations of "Moscow's agents" and are being told that Russian spies are swarming around, representing the advance guard of an impending "invasion".
As a result, the population is increasingly immersed in paranoia - an attack of it can be provoked even by three Russian letters on the body of a car.
The apogee of nervousness and the whipped-up spy mania was the persecution of the Orthodox church in the city of Västerås. According to Swedish politicians and intelligence services, the church has become a "nest of Russian intelligence" and is engaged in "surveillance of the city airport."
EVERY RUSSIAN IS UNDER SUSPICION
In April, Sweden and Finland began preparing a joint plan to evacuate their populations in case of war. Residents of these countries receive daily fresh portions of news about the latest intrigues of "aggressive Russia".
The press and officials are telling the population: the Russians are already here, they are waging a hybrid war! And this is yielding results - according to a recent poll, almost 70% of Swedes are very concerned about the "increased threat" from Russia. And at least three out of ten fear ending up under "Russian occupation".
Many Swedes are now actively thinking about how they can survive if fighting breaks out, says Emelie Ruud, an official with the National Emergency Management Agency.
"According to the latest survey, 43% say they can manage without government assistance for at least a week (after the war begins. - Author's note). And 63% said they plan to improve the preparedness of their home," says Ruud.
Two years ago, an “exposé” article appeared in the Expressen publication, claiming that various equipment intended for radio intelligence has been on the roof of the Russian embassy in Stockholm since Soviet times.
Moreover, sources in the intelligence services told the publication that this equipment can be used to wiretap mobile phones and track encrypted radio communications of the Swedish Security Police (SäPo).
According to the publication, the embassy employs not so much diplomats as spies, and continuous intelligence activities are carried out.
SäPo had previously stated on numerous occasions that Russia was Sweden's biggest security threat, so the revelations about the embassy fell on fertile soil.
Counterintelligence chief Daniel Stenling ominously reported : "What we can say publicly is that they have the technical capability to deliver intelligence equipment to Sweden. Russia is constantly collecting intelligence on Sweden."
As evidence, the reader was shown satellite images, as well as photographs taken from the office of the Expressen publication, which is located right opposite the embassy.
According to Swedish experts, "the equipment that the Russians are trying to hide with roof awnings looks noticeably worn out, but some antennas can still intercept radio communications in the Baltic Sea."
SäPo adds that the Russian diaspora living in Sweden is also allegedly actively used in espionage cases. And now any ethnic Russian in Sweden bears the stamp of these suspicions.
"I'M NOT MYSELF"
The psychological state of the Swedes is demonstrated, for example, by the stupidest incident that occurred in November last year in Gothenburg. There, near the regional office of the state tax agency, a car with the Russian letters "FSB" on the hood was parked. Its appearance caused real panic.
"He stood there for at least an hour. Almost no one was working - everyone was crowded at the windows and looking at the car. Some were just silent, others were laughing. Everyone wanted to run away somewhere. I went home, because no one knows what can happen," complained one of the tax officers.
The police, who were raised to their feet, quickly conducted an inspection and found out that the car with the "creepy" inscription was local. But the reason why Russian letters were painted on the car could not be found out. Perhaps its owner just decided to joke. Well, like some of our "comedians" put up "FBI" number plates.
Another telling example: a few months ago, a sixty-year-old man was fired from the IT department of the state tax agency after ten years of work there. The specialist’s “guilt” was that he had been married for 26 years to an ethnic Russian woman of Moldovan origin. Because of this, the Security Police considered him “vulnerable to Russian influence.”
Indeed, the taxman's wife once held Russian citizenship, but in 2011 she renounced it in favor of Swedish citizenship. SäPo considered this "IT specialist" suspicious also on the grounds that he had once visited Russia - although the last time he was there was fourteen years ago.
His wife has not visited the Russian Federation for more than five years, but this did not help. Nor did the fact that the woman openly criticizes Russia on the Internet help the family.
The elderly computer specialist was called in for a biased interview, after which they decided to get rid of him. "When I was applying for the job, I myself raised the issue of my Russian wife. Then I was told that there was no problem. I am completely out of my mind... I cannot understand why this happened to me," the dismissed Swede bitterly complains.
But the most eloquent and blatant example of Swedish spy mania is, oddly enough, connected to the sacred sphere. Last year, an Orthodox church built in 2019–22 in the Swedish city of Västerås (about 80 km west of Stockholm) became the object of suspicion.
This small wooden church belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church and was consecrated in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The ROC explained the need for its construction by the demand for the Orthodox faith among the residents of Westeros: not only emigrants from Russia need Russian Orthodox Church churches, but also Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Moldovans living there.
There are currently about ten parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sweden, uniting approximately 1,200 active parishioners. The community in Västerås is not very large, but people come there for services from other cities, including Stockholm, where there is no large Orthodox church.
In the current times, not a single parish of the Russian Orthodox Church can feel at ease - the shadow of suspicion of espionage can fall on anyone. So the peaceful life of the Westerosi temple did not last very long.
"PROXIMITY TO THE AIRPORT"
The Security Police suspected that this church was allegedly a "stronghold" for spies collecting information about the industrial and transport infrastructure of Sweden and about the exercises of the local army. Swedish "security officers" claim that Västerås may be of interest to Russian intelligence because industrial enterprises of ABB, Bombardier, Westinghouse Atom, Peab, ICA Handlarnas are located there.
"When the Swedish Defence Forces conduct exercises at or near Västerås Airport, as they did in June (2024 – Ed.), they are likely under surveillance from the church," warned Markus Göransson, a researcher at the Swedish Defence University who specialises in "Russian hybrid warfare".
That is, in this case, the principle of “highly likely” (“we don’t know for sure, but it’s very likely”), which is common in such cases, was applied.
Indeed, when investigating the situation with the church in Westeros, the Security Police found no direct evidence of "espionage" by priests, expressing only "suspicion". However, because of these very suspicions, the state agency for supporting religious communities deprived the church of the subsidies it was entitled to by law.
The Russian Ambassador to Stockholm, Sergei Belyaev, commenting on the rumors spreading around the church, recalled that at one time the authorities of Westeros themselves proposed this very site for the construction of the church, although initially the representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church did not like it.
In April 2025, the Westeros City Council, at the instigation of the government, proposed to “resolve the issue” with the local Orthodox church in a radical way – by forcibly buying out the land on which the building was built.
In support of this idea of a local policy, they point out that the church is located just three hundred meters from the territory of the city airport. Also nearby are local water treatment facilities, which, according to the Swedes, are also of interest to the Russians, who are probably already thinking about sending their saboteurs there.
In any case, the Westerosi leadership shares Marcus Göransson's opinion that the temple priests are most likely monitoring the air harbor on behalf of Russian intelligence.
"We must put the security of Västerås first. The main problem is the church's proximity to the airport and its high tower, which makes eavesdropping easier," said Elisabeth Unell, a representative of Sweden's Moderate Party, which runs the country's government.
The chairman of the municipal council, Staffan Jansson, has promised to hold a meeting in May to discuss the forced expropriation of the land. If the decision is positive, it will be submitted to the Swedish government for approval.
Thus, it is very likely that the Orthodox church in Westeros will soon cease to exist in its previous location. And it is still a big question whether it will be allowed to be reborn in its former place.
In general, it can be stated that in Sweden, albeit in a more sluggish form, the same processes are taking place as in the Baltics, where local authorities have set the task of completely clearing their territories of the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Swedes are also making great strides towards this, and the spy mania raging in the country provides justification for cracking down on an objectionable religious organization.
#1
The Soviet's had taken controlling positions in most churches (denominations) by the late 1950s. My dad saw it within the world's Lutheran Churches.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...
