Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] On October 18, the Preobrazhensky Court of Moscow decided to place under arrest Yulia Loginova , who was detained on suspicion of child trafficking. This was reported by the REN TV channel.
According to journalists, Natalya Patoka , who is suspected of assisting Loginova, and Farizade Usmanova , who handed over her young daughter and son to Loginova for adoption using false documents, is also involved in the case.
The Commissioner for Children's Rights in Moscow, Olga Yaroslavskaya , told reporters that the children of the arrested woman are still with their grandmother.
As Regnum reported, Loginova came to the attention of law enforcement when doctors found a medicine in the blood of one of her children that was contraindicated for his illness . When finding out where the woman had so many children, she said that she gave birth to two herself, three were born to her by a surrogate mother, and the rest were adopted.
DNA testing did not confirm Loginova’s relationship with any of the children. It turned out that when registering her children at the registry office, she presented fake documents. Investigators suspect that the woman could have bought the children.
Posted by: badanov ||
10/19/2023 00:00 ||
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#1
Typically bleak, boring Zvyagintsev film about one (fictional) kid going missing despite relatively good odds: Loveless. Was especially impressed by Spivak's luminously revelatory perf... yeah, I'm laughing. Hollywood, don't ever change! You're perfect. Good stuff, though.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:54 Russians fired at the Kherson region from aviation and artillery, OVA reported. As a result of the strike on the Ostrov microdistrict, two people were injured, and another was wounded in Olgovka. In addition, five airstrikes hit Kazachye, the extent of the damage is being established.
22:49 The Russian Army struck the settlement of the Stepovskaya community in the Nikolaev region: one person was killed, another one is probably under the rubble. One person was also reported injured. As a result of the shelling, residential buildings and an agricultural enterprise were damaged, said Vitaly Kim, head of the OVA.
22:40 Negotiations in Beijing did not bring tangible results to Moscow, and Beijing was the only winner, Western media believe. Read more in the article Putin's visit to China .
21:37 The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kirill Budanov, visited Washington on a secret visit last week, says political strategist Jason Jay Smart. According to him, Budanov’s visit “coincided with the arrival of US recovery representative Penny Pritzker in Kyiv, which subsequently coincided with the arrival of ATACMS.”
21:10 Zelensky said in an evening video message that he had held a meeting with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov: “He presented his team, his program. The composition of the ministry has been updated. There are already the first steps to resolve the issues that the military spoke about. Reduce bureaucracy, simplify "document flow, all procedures, freeing up commanders' time for combat work instead of paperwork. There will be more digitalization and clarity in supplying troops. There should be more readiness for feedback from the military and solving accumulated problems."
20:53 Increasing the production of ammunition will allow Ukraine to send up to 3,000 155 mm shells per month starting in 2024, French Defense Minister Sebastian Lecornu said.
20:33 Russia deployed combat dolphins to fight Ukrainian special forces, writes the specialized publication Naval News. According to him, pens for combat trained dolphins appeared at the naval base in the village of Novoozernoye in the northwestern part of Crimea in September, when Ukrainian special forces increased their activity in the region.
19:54 Zelensky said that he met in Kiev with the Prime Minister of Romania Marcel Ciolacu: “We discussed further defense support for Ukraine from Romania and food security issues, namely the importance of developing new logistics routes for the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products through the territory of Romania.”
19:02 The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that Ukraine allegedly tried to attack the territory of Crimea with anti-aircraft missiles of the S-200 air defense system converted into a strike version. According to Moscow, Russian air defense systems intercepted two missiles in the air, their fragments fell in a “deserted area with subsequent detonation on the ground,” there were no casualties or destruction. Meanwhile, an air raid alert was announced again in Sevastopol.
18:48 Lavrov, during his visit to North Korea, said that both countries are united by “historically fraternal ties”: “To our common great regret, the events of the last many years show that Japanese militarism has not disappeared anywhere, American hegemony has not disappeared anywhere, and in "In general, Western neo-colonialism fully remains the main direction of action of Europeans, Americans and Japanese. In this regard, our mutual solidarity, based on historically fraternal ties, acquires special significance."
18:46 During the day, the Russians fired artillery four times at Nikopol, Dnepropetrovsk region, one person was wounded, said the head of the OVA Sergei Lysak. A fire broke out in the hotel, and seven private houses were also damaged.
18:29 Zelensky said that he had a telephone conversation with Macron, discussed further steps to strengthen air defense, long-range and naval capabilities of Ukraine, as well as the Black Sea grain corridor and the Peace Formula.
18:13 Crimean publics report an explosion in the area of the village of Sugar Head near Sevastopol, where Russian military warehouses are located. In turn, the “governor” of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhaev said that in the area of Sukharnaya Balka the fleet was allegedly repelling an attack by air targets.
18:02 The death toll as a result of the night attack of the Russian Federation in Zaporozhye has increased to five - the bodies of three people who were considered missing were released from under the rubble. Five more people were wounded, said the head of the OVA, Yuri Malashko.
17:27 The number of people killed as a result of a Russian strike on a private residential building in the village. Druzhelubovka in the Izyum district increased to three on the night of October 15 - rescuers discovered the body of another person under the rubble, said the head of the Kharkov Regional Police Department Oleg Sinegubov.
16:51 The death toll as a result of today's attack on Zaporozhye has increased to four - two more bodies were discovered under the rubble. Search and rescue work continues, said City Council Secretary Anatoly Kurtev.
16:13 Ukraine and Norway agreed to begin negotiations on a bilateral document on security guarantees based on the G7 Vilnius Declaration, Zelensky said following a conversation with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stere.
16:09 The Russians fired artillery at Zolotaya Balka, Kherson region, one person was wounded, OVA reported.
15:50 Putin’s new threats about MiG-31K patrols in the Black Sea may be aimed at increasing tension, but do not fundamentally change anything for the Defense Forces, said Air Force spokesman Yuri Ignat. At the same time, he added that when information about the MiG-31K takeoff is received, the air raid alarm will sound.
15:38 In the Zaporozhye direction, the Defense Forces shot down another Russian Su-25 attack aircraft, the Tavria group of troops reported.
15:32 The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced the termination of the UN resolution, which included a ban on the export of missile weapons: “From October 18, 2023, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2231, all restrictions unfairly imposed on activities related to ballistic missiles and their supplies will cease to/from the Islamic Republic of Iran." The Foreign Ministry also emphasized that Iran “is no longer subject to any restrictions” in the context of decisions of the UN Security Council.
15:09 After a meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing, Putin was filmed surrounded by officers who were carrying a nuclear suitcase, reports Reuters. The agency notes that the US President also has a similar diplomat - the so-called nuclear football. Such a case stores codes that the president uses to authenticate the order to launch nuclear missiles during his absence from the White House.
14:17 Xi Jinping said that China supports Russia "in following the path of national revival and protecting national sovereignty, security and interests."
14:00 In Avdeevka, after several days of calm, a new escalation of Russian assaults is expected in the coming days, said the head of the GVA, Vitaly Barabash: “For the fourth day, the territory of the community is a little quieter, there is less shelling and rocket attacks, fewer assault actions, but shelling continues at positions, and "Shooting battles are going on around the clock. This is not the end, the enemy is regrouping, for three nights in a row he is pulling equipment deeper into the rear to be repaired. In the coming days, we expect that there will be an aggravation in our direction."
13:43 Putin said that he has instructed the Russian Aerospace Forces to patrol on a permanent basis in the neutral zone of airspace over the Black Sea. “And our Mig-31 aircraft are armed with Kinzhal systems. They are known to have a range of over a thousand kilometers at a speed of Mach nine,” he added.
13:26 Putin said that in Ukraine they are allegedly “thinking about the negotiation process.” According to him, this is “a transformation in the right direction,” but this is not enough: if Ukraine wants a negotiation process, “theatrical gestures are not needed, the decree prohibiting negotiations must be lifted.” Putin also called the supply of ATACMS another US mistake, which “will simply prolong the agony of Ukraine” because Russia supposedly “will be able to repel these attacks.”
12:57 The woman who was wounded as a result of Russian shelling of Blagoveshchensk, Kherson region, died in the hospital, said the head of the OVA Alexander Prokudin.
12:35 The Russians attacked the Industrial district of Kharkov. The power grid is damaged and there may be power outages. One person was wounded, said the head of the OVA, Oleg Sinegubov.
11:53 According to updated information, as a result of a Russian strike on the village. In Obukhovka, Dneprovsky district, four people were injured and another died. Eight private houses, cars, and a gas pipeline were damaged. The inspection of the territory continues, said the head of the OVA, Sergei Lysak.
11:48 The third meeting of advisers regarding the Ukrainian World Formula will take place in Malta at the end of October, the UP reports citing sources. The main objective of the negotiations is to agree on holding a Peace Summit or other event in a multilateral format, which should approve the Peace Formula. Negotiations are currently underway on the exact list of participants.
11:39 Ukrainian media write, citing sources in the Security Service, that at night SBU drones attacked a military camp near the Khalino airfield in the Kursk region. Up to 3,000 Russian troops and about 80 pieces of military equipment were stationed there. At least 18 drone hits were recorded, enemy losses are being clarified.
11:25 The United States transferred about 20 ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, one of the conditions for the provision was that they would not be used for attacks on Russian territory, the NYT writes, citing Western officials. These ATACMS missiles are cluster munitions that disperse 950 small bombs that can hit a wide area.
10:43 The Russians hit private houses in the Dnieper region - preliminary, one person was killed, three were injured, said the head of the OVA Sergei Lysak. The consequences of the attack are being clarified; six houses are already known to have been damaged.
09:49 Negotiations between Putin and Xi Jinping are taking place in Beijing. At the beginning of the meeting of delegations, the Chinese leader said that the Russian Federation and the PRC are steadily deepening political mutual trust and maintaining close strategic interaction. He also emphasized that the leaders of Russia and China have established “warm business relations and strong personal friendship.”
09:32 At night, the Russians fired six guided bombs from three Su-34 aircraft at Novoberislav, Kherson region, one person was killed, said the head of the OVA, Alexander Prokudin. One person was also injured in Blagoveshchenskoye. In the morning, the Russian army again attacked the Kherson region with aviation - it fired two guided bombs at three settlements. Information about casualties and damage is being established. Over the past 24 hours, six people were injured as a result of Russian shelling in the region.
08:45 The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that Russian air defense allegedly destroyed 28 Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod and Kursk regions, as well as the Black Sea, at night.
08:22 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of October 18:
personnel - about 290,050 (+620) people,
tanks - 4981 (+2),
armored combat vehicles - 9420 (+15),
artillery systems - 6944 (+8),
MLRS - 814 (+0),
air defense systems - 547 (+0),
aircraft - 319 (+1),
helicopters - 323 (+6),
UAV of operational-tactical level - 5301 (+10),
cruise missiles - 1534 (+1),
ships/boats - 20 (+0),
submarines - 1 (+0),
automotive equipment and tank trucks - 9303 (+10),
special equipment - 982 (+0).
07:35 Over the past 24 hours, 69 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report . In the Kupyansk direction, the Defense Forces repelled enemy attacks in the Sinkovka, Ivanovka and Kislovka areas of the Kharkov region, as well as near Nadezhda, Lugansk region. In the Bakhmut direction, the enemy unsuccessfully tried to restore the lost position near Kleshcheevka, Donetsk region. The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue assault operations south of Bakhmut.
In the Avdeevka direction, the enemy does not abandon attempts to encircle Avdeevka, five attacks were repulsed. In the Maryinsky and Shakhtarsky directions, the Defense Forces repelled enemy attacks in the area of Marinka and Novomikhailovka, Donetsk region, as well as south of Zolotaya Niva and south of Prechistovo, Donetsk region.
In the Zaporozhye direction, the enemy unsuccessfully tried to restore the lost position southwest of Rabotino. At the same time, the Defense Forces continue their offensive in the Melitopol direction and have partial success south of Rabotino, Zaporozhye region.
06:08 The death toll as a result of a Russian missile attack on a multi-storey building in Zaporozhye has risen to two, and the number of wounded to three. Three more people are considered missing, said the head of the OIA, Yuri Malashko.
03:20 The Russians launched six missile strikes on Zaporozhye, said the head of the OBA Yuri Malashko. One of the rockets hit a multi-story building in the city center: one person was killed and at least two were injured. Eight apartments were damaged, work continues.
02:49 Biden plans to ask Congress for $100 billion in defense assistance to Ukraine and Israel, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. The comprehensive package is designed to attract broad bipartisan support for Israel in the wake of the Hamas attack and ease the transfer of aid to Ukraine.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer expects the administration to issue the request by the end of this week and that it will include military, diplomatic, intelligence and humanitarian assistance for Israel. He noted that the Senate wants to receive an additional package as soon as possible, because “the needs are great in both Israel and Ukraine.”
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] Russian troops at about 20.30 on Wednesday, October 18, struck the settlement of the Stepovskaya community in the Nikolaev region. The head of the Nikolaev regional military administration, Vitaly Kim, reported this on Telegram.
He announced the death of a person.
“A woman died; her rescuers rescued her from the rubble of a destroyed building. Probably another person is under the rubble. One person is also known to be wounded,” he said.
Kim added that residential buildings and an agricultural enterprise were damaged as a result of the shelling.
Later, the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service of the Nikolaev Region added that as of 23.38 it became known that the body of another victim of the attack was found in the food establishment where the Russians ended up. Thus, two people were killed and another person was injured from the Russian strike in the Nikolaev region.
Let us remind you that on the night of October 18, Russian troops launched six missile attacks on Zaporozhye. We ended up in a multi-storey residential building in the city center. The attack killed five people and injured five more.
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[EngMioRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
In Kupyansk direction, units of the Zapad Group of Forces supported by aviation and artillery repelled 13 attacks of assault detachments of the AFU 14th, 32nd, 43rd, and 115th Mechanised Brigades near Sin'kovka, Ivanovka, Pershotravnevoye, Orlyanskoye (Kharkov region), and Sergeyevka (Lugansk People's Republic).
Helicopters and heavy flamethrower systems delivered strikes on manpower and hardware of the AFU 68nd Jaeger Brigade and 103rd Territorial Defence Brigade near Nadiya (Lugansk People's Republic) and Berestovoye (Kharkov region).
AFU losses amounted to up to 80 Ukranian troops, three tanks, one U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carrier, three armoured fighting vehicles, two pick-up trucks, as well as oneAkatsiya self-propelled artillery system.
In Krasny Liman direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces, helicopters, and artillery repelled one attack of an assault detachment of the AFU 63rd Mechanised Brigade close to Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People's Republic).
Ground-attack aircraft and helicopters launched strikes at manpower and hardware of the AFU 67h Mechanised Brigade, 5th National Guard Brigade, 1st Special Operations Brigade, and 110th Territorial Defence Brigade close to Grigorovka (Donetsk People's Republic), Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People's Republic), and Serebryansky forestry.
The enemy losses were up to 60 Ukrainian troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, and two pick-up trucks.
In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces supported by aviation and artillery inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the AFU 28th, 42nd, 67th, 93rd Mechanised Brigades, 112th Territorial Defence Brigade, and 79th Airborne Brigade close to Kurdyumovka, Andreevka, Kleshcheyevka, Khromovo, and Mar'iynka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The enemy in this direction lost up to 115 Ukrainian troops killed and wounded, two armoured fighting vehicles, two pick-up trucks, one 152mm D-20 howitzer, and one 152mm Msta-B howitzer.
In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces supported by helicopters and artillery repelled one attack of an assault detachment of the AFU 102th Territorial Defence Brigade close to Chervonoye (Zaporozhye region).
Ground-attack aircraft and helicopters launched strikes on manpower and hardware of the AFU 79th Airborne Brigade, 72nd Mechanised Brigade, 58th Motorised Brigade, 107th and 128th Territorial Defence Brigade near Novomikhailovka, Pavlovka, Staromayorskoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
The enemy's losses amounted to up to 170 Ukrainian troops, two pick-up trucks, as well as one 100mm Rapira anti-tank gun.
In Zaporozhye direction, units of the Russian Group of Forces supported by ground-attack aircraft, helicopters, and artillery repelled one attack of an assault detachment of the AFU 71st Jaeger Brigade close to Verbovoye (Zaporozhye region).
In addition, strikes were delivered at manpower and hardware of the AFU 82nd Airborne Brigade and 116th Mechanised Brigade near Uspenovka (Zaporozhye region).
The enemy lost up to 85 Ukrainian troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, and one U.S.-made M119 howitzer in this direction.
In Kherson direction, actions of four Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups were foiled close to Podstepnoye and Poyma (Kherson region).
Up to 70 Ukrainian troops and two motor vehicles have been neutralised by fire.
In the course of counterbattery warfare, one U.S.-made M777 artillery system and two 122mm D-30 howitzers were wiped out.
Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, and Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have engaged AFU manpower and hardware in 147 areas during the day.
In addition, one air-delivered ordnance depot of the Ukrainian Air Force was destroyed at Lozovoye airfield (Dnepropetrovsk region).
Command and observation posts of the AFU 67th Mechanised Brigade and 102nd Territorial Defence Brigade were destroyed near Serebryanka (Donetsk People's Republic) and Malinovka (Zaporozhye region).
The Black Sea Fleet units neutralised one AFU uncrewed surface vehicle in the Black Sea waters.
Air defence systems have shot down four HIMARS MLRS shells and one U.S.-made JDAM aerial guided bomb.
Moreover, 51 unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down near Donetsk, Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People's Republic), Losovoye (Donetsk People's Republic), Kamenskoye, Chervonogorka, Novofedorovka (Zaporozhye region), and Kazachi Lageri, Sagi (Kherson region), and Zhovtnevoye (Kharkov region).
In total, 491 airplanes and 251 helicopters, 8,004 unmanned aerial vehicles, 441 air defence missile systems, 12,746 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,163 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 6,810 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 14,419 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[NewsFront] 23:58 Official summary of the DPR Representative Office in the JCCC from 00:00 10/18/2023 to 00:00 10/19/2023
Over the past 24 hours, the Representative Office reported 12 incidents of firing by the Ukrainian forces.
Information was received about the injury of a civilian, a woman, in Verkhnetoretskoye.
Residential buildings in Verkhnetoretskoye were damaged. No damage to civilian infrastructure was recorded.
The areas of three settlements of the Republic were under enemy fire: Gorlovka (Nikitovsky district), Yasinovatsky district, the capital city of Donetsk (Kievsky, Kuibyshevsky, Kirovsky, Petrovsky districts).
In the Donetsk direction, the enemy carried out six attacks from 155mm artillery.
On Gorlovskoe one artillery attack from 152mm artillery.
At Yasinovatsky there were five artillery attacks from MLRS and 155mm artillery.
A total of 50 units of various ammunition were fired.
In the previous 24 hours, 35 artillery attacks were recorded from the VFU
21:50 They report about powerful explosions in Nikolaev.
According to Ukrainian monitoring channels, there were at least two powerful arrivals at military and industrial facilities within the city. Presumably, ballistic missiles of an unknown type are used.
21:25 They report about explosions in Pavlograd (Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine)
Ukrainian monitoring channels write that at least two strong explosions were recorded. The air raid alert was announced after the first arrival.
20:45 Front-line soldier reports: Kleshcheevka. The Russian Armed Forces storm the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
20:20 “They wanted to destroy us - we destroyed them all”: the commander of the unit that stormed Avdievka told what is now happening in this sector of the front
The wounded commander of one of the units performing tasks in the Avdeevsky direction, with the call sign “Ismiy,” is now undergoing treatment in the hospital. During the assault, he was seriously wounded - for the soldier himself it was the second time in the entire special operation, but he does not lose heart: he plans to heal and go to the front again. Readovka war correspondent Maxim Dolgov met with Ismiy and found out how things are now in Avdeevka.
“Very professional fights are taking place along the entire front line, which the enemy does not take out: he is demoralized and lost. There was a sniper from Izmir: she was surrounded and she shot herself... Artillery and aviation are helping, especially the Solntsepiki. Very high coherence - not like at the beginning of the special operation,”sharedwith Readovka Ismiy.
19:30 Frontline reports: in the Avdeevsky direction there is constant artillery attack with cassettes from the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The Russian Armed Forces are holding the line.
19:00 RF Ministry of Defense: October 8 this year:
At about 17.40 Moscow time, the Kyiv regime attempted a terrorist attack with anti-aircraft missiles of the S-200 air defense system converted into a strike version on the territory of Crimea.
Russian air defense systems intercepted two Ukrainian missiles in the air.
Fragments of intercepted targets fell in a deserted area with subsequent detonation on the ground.
There are no casualties or destruction.
18:30 Preliminarily, in Sevastopol in the Kara-Koba area shot down missile, the warhead detonated on the ground in a field, no one was hurt, - Governor M. Razvozhaev
“No fire was recorded at the site. All crews have been returned to their deployment points, but continue to be on high alert.”
18:00 Western equipment is shattered into pieces: the commander of a tank platoon spoke about the performance of combat missions in the Rabotino area
Commander of a tank platoon of the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division of the Southern Military District with the call sign “Sova” told about himself, the combat routine of the unit and his subordinates in the course of daily painstaking work to repel attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Orekhovsky tactical direction.
17:35 NGP exploration: in the Avdeevsky direction. The telegram continues to disseminate information about the advance of our forces on the northern and southern flanks of Avdievka, this is not true, our forces are in occupied positions, a number of measures are being taken to expand the bridgehead.
To understand the scale of the task: In order to hold Avdievka, the enemy command deployed significant reinforcements, in addition to the forces already available in the direction.
So, units from the 1st brigade arrive to the west of the Karlovskoye Reservoir.
45 Special Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were sent to the direction of the village of Berdychi-Stepovoe, and personnel of the 63 Special Forces of the Armed Forces were transferred from the rear areas of the Chernigov region to Avdievka.
The enemy has concentrated a significant number of guns in the Avdeevsky direction; 155mm howitzers are actively used, the firing range of which does not allow them to be suppressed in a timely manner from cannon artillery.
Our aviation and artillery have again increased the density of fire, however, we ask you not to rush things.
16:55 Front-line soldier reports: The Ukrainian Armed Forces landing force was destroyed in the Kherson direction. Lying in the sun under the bridge.
16:30 Frontline reports: The situation in Kleshcheevka is complicated. APU behind the piece of iron. Heavy fighting is going on
15:30 Frontline reports: in the south of Avdeevka the guys are making progress in advance.
15:05 The Russian Armed Forces knock out the Ukrainian Armed Forces from firing points -video.
14:30 Fighting at the “dragon’s teeth”: special forces and the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division repulse the offensive, destroying Ukrainian Armed Forces militants on the Zaporozhye front
The enemy continues offensive operations on the Kopani-Rabotino-Verbovoe line. The command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is still sending infantry to attack our positions in the fields. Russian units meet the enemy with fire.
Personnel from the army special forces "Osman" to destroy the assault groups of the Ukrainian Armed Forces together with the artillery of the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division in the Orekhovsky direction.
14:00 Work of the 122mm BM-21 “Grad” crew of the Russian army in the Kherson direction
Soldiers throw missiles at the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the other side of the Dnieper -video.
Yesterday, by nightfall, after the passage of assault groups 35 and 36 Infantry Brigades, Russian troops launched an attack on enemy concentration areas. Both the advanced groups and those in reserve at the railway bridge came under fire.
As a result, the enemy suffered heavy losses and lost their combat potential. About 30 people received varying degrees of injury and retreated back to the bridge, where they took shelter while awaiting evacuation.
But the Russian Armed Forces continued to strike on the opposite side of the Dnieper, hitting the battalions of the 36th Infantry Brigade, which were preparing to cross the river, with two missiles from the Iskander OTRK. Despite requests from the advanced groups of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the evacuation was never carried out.
At the moment, one of the sabotage groups with a flamethrower remaining in Peschanovka has been tasked with diverting the attention of Russian troops on the southern outskirts of the village. If successful, a reserve will be deployed to clear the settlement and consolidate in the surrounding area.
At the same time, in the evening and at night, units from the Normandy tactical group continued to be transferred from Tyaginka to Frolov Island to attack the positions of the Russian Armed Forces in Krynki simultaneously with the attack on Peschanivka.
Now the situation has stabilized thanks to massive artillery attack of both the forward and rear lines of the Ukrainian Navy. However, it is still a long way to completely suppress the enemy, since there are reserves, and no one has canceled plans for an offensive in the Kherson region.
13:00 Throwing grenades in the Far Eastern style: UAV operators of the Eastern Military District destroyed Ukrainian Armed Forces militants in the area of the village of Nikol'skoye -video.
12:30 Situationat the junction of Zaporozhye and the DPR: the Russian Armed Forces are keeping the enemy in suspense, undermining his confidence in achieving military success in the direction
Soldiers of the Vostok battalion report on the situation on this sector of the front:
“At night, the enemy attacked one of the flanks with artillery - firing up to 20 mixed-type rounds. Our neighbors are making attempts to move, keeping the enemy’s defenses in suspense. Apparently, he is twitching and trying to work proactively. As the authors describe about the war, this is approximately how the Germans behaved when a turning point came in the war. It’s not entirely obvious yet, but there have been changes in our situation over the past couple of months: the enemy has lost confidence that great military achievements are available to him.”
12:00 They report about strong explosions in the Dnieper and Zaporozhye.
According to Ukrainian monitoring channels, missile strikes have been carried out on Ukrainian Armed Forces facilities in these cities since the morning.
11:35 The neighboring Kursk region alsowas subjected todrone attack: six devices intercepted air defense crews, four more were landed by electronic warfare.
The debris of one of the drones fell on a school building in Kursk: the facade and glazing received minor damage. There were no injuries, the school continues to operate as normal.
10:50 Ukrainian formations again applied drones to attack the border areas of the Belgorod region .
Russian anti-aircraft gunners intercepted six devices in the Yakovlevsky urban district and the Belgorod region. According to preliminary data, there was no destruction or casualties.
In addition, the Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled Novaya Tavolzhanka: a power line was damaged, and the neighboring village of Arkhangelskoye was also left without power supply. Emergency services are at the scene of the incident.
10:30 Frontline reports: Kleshcheevka.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces crossed the railway line at Terrikon. The Russian Armed Forces are smoking them out. There is a battle going on.
10:00 RF Ministry of Defense: Tonight, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack on targets on the territory of the Russian Federation using aircraft-type UAVs was stopped.
Air defense systems on duty over the territory of the Belgorod and Kursk regions and the Black Sea intercepted and destroyed 28 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles.
09:16 Official summary of Representative offices of the DPR in the JCCC from 00:00 10/17/2023 to 00:00 10/18/2023
Over the past 24 hours, the Representative Office reported 35 incidents of firing by the Ukrainian Federal Unitary Forces.
There were no reports of civilian casualties.
Twp residential buildings were damaged in the Kuibyshevsky district of Donetsk. No damage to civilian infrastructure was recorded.
Areas of five settlements of the Republic were under enemy fire: Gorlovka (Nikitovsky district), Golmovsky, Yasinovatsky district, the capital city of Donetsk (Kievsky, Kuibyshevsky, Kirovsky, Petrovsky districts), Makeevka (Chervonogvardeysky district).
In the Donetsk direction, the enemy carried out 22 attacks from 155mm artillery, incl. with a cassette warhead.
At Gorlivske there were eight artillery attacks from 152mm artillery.
At Yasinovatsky there were five artillery attacks from 155mm artillery, incl. with a cassette warhead.
A total of 107 units of various ammunition were fired.
In the previous day, 19 attacks were recorded from the Ukrainian forces.
09:14 Guys are not timid -video
The soldier with the call sign “Arnie” is the commander of the assault unit. Its main task is to capture enemy strongholds and gain a foothold in them. He and his subordinates perform risky work in direct contact with the enemy.
It was for the capture of the oporniks that the platoon commander received his second combat award.
“We then took over the entire forest belt,” he says. – The battle lasted two and a half hours, we were already running low on ammunition. We managed to take the “opornik” from them. We became so entrenched in it that it is still ours to this day.”
“Arnie” in that battle covered his comrade with himself during the arrival and shrapnel hit him in the chest. “The treatment took place in a hospital in St. Petersburg. As soon as the stitches were removed, I immediately returned here, to my company, to the front line, to my comrades,” he said.
08:20 Summary on the morning of October 18, 2023
The Russian Armed Forces attacked the occupied Ukrainian Armed Forces of Zaporozhye at night. Footage of a destroyed residential building has appeared online, which can traditionally be the result of the mediocre work of the Ukrainian air defense, whose missiles have more than once caused destruction on the ground.
In the Kherson direction, there are concrete signs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine preparing to cross the Dnieper. During the day in the area of the village In Peschanovka (eight kms east of the Antonovsky Bridge), an enemy drg was operating and killed two elderly civilians.
By nightfall, information was received about the capture of several houses on the outskirts of the village by small enemy forces. In addition, the Ukrainian Armed Forces marines occupied the village by midnight. Floodplain (6 km east of Antonovsky Bridge). The Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing marine units to rush across the Dnieper to reach the line Podstepnoye - Kazachi Lagery - Krynki. Previously, the enemy fired at bridges over canals on our side of the Dnieper to disrupt logistics. At night, urgent air strikes by our aircraft were planned on the islands.
On the Zaporozhye Front, an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the village was repelled. Verbovoe, retreating groups of enemy infantry were covered by our artillery. In the Novoprokopovka area there are the “usual” enemy attacks: infantry and up to five units of equipment. The Ukrainian Armed Forces infantry was destroyed on the approach. In the rear of the site is an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the airfield in Berdyansk with the much discussed ATACMS and GLSDB, supplied from the United States. Our helicopters were damaged or destroyed.
In the Avdeevsky sector, our troops consolidate in previously occupied positions and destroy the enemy with artillery and aviation.
At night, 28 Ukrainian UAVs were destroyed over the Belgorod and Kursk regions and the Black Sea. In the evening, in the Black Sea, naval aviation of the Black Sea Fleet destroyed an unmanned enemy boat.
08:07 Frontline summary for the morning of 10/18/2023
In the Zaporozhye direction, the Russian Armed Forces are trying to seize the initiative. With artillery support, they counterattacked from Kopanei to Novodanilovka and from the southwest near the village of Rabotino. They also sought to push Ukrainian units away from Verbovoy. Under attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Shcherbaki, Novoandreevka, Malaya Tokmachka, Charovny and Gulyaypole. RF Armed Forces - in Nesteryanka, Rovny, Kopany, Sladkaya Balka, Il'chenkovo, Ocheretovaty, Verbovoy, Novopokrovka, Novofedorovka and Dorozhnyanka.On the Donetsk front, Russian troops, with the support of artillery and aviation, managed to expand the zone of control near Pervomaisky and Severny (a settlement west of Avdievka). Similar actions near Stepnoye (not to be confused with the settlements of the same name in the Zaporozhye and Ugledar directions) encountered the intractability of the Ukrainian units. Under attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Novomikhailovka, Mar'inka, Avdeevka, Lastochkino and Keramika. RF Armed Forces - in Donetsk, Vodyanoye, Opytny and the village of Krasnogorovka.
In the Bakhmut direction, the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to advance northeast of Kleshcheevka. The Russian Armed Forces took up positions behind the railway track here. Ukrainian units in Andreevka, Kleshcheevka, Ivanovsky, Chasovy Yar and Orekhovo-Vasilevka are under attack. Russian ones are in Ozaryanovka, Kurdyumovka, Bakhmut and Dubovo-Vasilievka.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Anatoly Savenko
[REGNUM] The common expression “he chose freedom” is known to many: this phrase was usually used to comment on the latest escape from the USSR to Western countries by those who were commonly called defectors. But not everyone remembers where it came from.
“I chose freedom” - a book with that title was written by Viktor Kravchenko. He was not the first defector, but he became quite well known. Not only thanks to the book, but also because of the lawsuit against the newspaper Les Lettres françaises, which accused him of libel: “... There is an opinion that the trial itself caused even more damage to Soviet propaganda than Kravchenko’s book itself ,” says the following about these events "Wikipedia". Finally, time also played a role (late 40s, beginning of the Cold War).
In general, it would be fair to say that defectors began as a significant phenomenon with Kravchenko. Although, of course, those who disagreed fled from Russia both after the revolution, and during the Civil Revolution, and after its end: the phenomenon was codified in criminal law (“Escape while staying abroad”) in the early 1930s.
Kravchenko was born in Yekaterinoslav (Dnepropetrovsk) and today would probably be considered Ukrainian. After this detail, we can finally return to our time: after almost 100 years, non-return is back in fashion. Only now they are fleeing Ukraine.
OFFSIDE
News feeds actively covered how FC Shakhtar U-19 midfielder Alexander Rosputko , who was with the team at an away match, did not return with his teammates to Ukraine. Later it became known that he was in Russia.
It turned out that there had previously been a similar case, which did not receive much resonance: FC Krivbass employees Roman Lopatin and Roman Medvedev remained in European countries.
As German media reported last week, the share of men of military age among Ukrainian refugees in Germany increased from 8% (2022) to 21% (2023). Ukrainians crossed the border illegally, leaving with fake documents or under the guise of volunteers.
However, the Shakhtar football player and the Kryvbas employees differ from the rest in that they ended up outside Ukraine absolutely legally - without breaking the law, without falsifying documents, without paying bribes to charitable foundations that have the privilege of accrediting volunteers.
Members of sports teams and delegations, acting troupes, artists, officials - this is an almost exhaustive list of those who, being between the ages of 18 and 60, can legally find themselves outside of Ukraine today.
This list was approximately the same during Soviet times. And, as then, every such case cannot go unnoticed. This means that it is simultaneously perceived as a kind of political gesture.
Moreover, the newly minted defectors themselves feel this very well.
And if everything is clear with Rosputko, then Roman Lopatin is trying to justify himself: “I don’t understand why this resonated so much.
Officially, I did not violate any law; in the Constitution of Ukraine there is no ban on either leaving or entering. I left officially, I didn’t cross the border illegally... During the war, [footballers] Dovbik, Trubin, Mudrik, Garmash left. Why is everyone silent about them?
He also clarifies that he did not return for some family reasons, and in Europe he is going to play for the German FC Zedenik, which will give him “... even more opportunities to support the country and do something useful.”
But we, he, and everyone else understand perfectly well that the ex-SMM player of FC Krivbass, as the Kiev mayor would say, “...painted himself in the colors in which he painted himself.”
EAST - WEST
However, not only quantity is important, but also quality. Someone will run away and sit quietly, not attracting attention. Someone, like blogger, traveler and writer Andrei Sapunov, clearly explains everything: the motives of his action, why he decided to run now, how he ran, etc.
Sapunov fled Ukraine even before the players. And he does not fit the classic definition of a defector. He did not travel as part of the delegation, but acted like a traveler: he swam across the Dniester and ended up in Moldova. But he, without any reference to the constitution and freedom of movement, stated directly: the reason for the escape was disagreement with the regime established in Ukraine and the lack of hopes for establishing peace.
This, coupled with the relative fame of the author, provided an informational effect: the news was provided by the media of Russia and Ukraine. This effect, expressing a position, is much more important than the method of traveling abroad.
But the method also attracts attention.
You couldn’t just leave the Soviet Union, but you could swim out. In 1974, oceanographer and yogi Stanislav Kurilov jumped off a cruise ship and, after swimming almost 100 kilometers in three days, ended up in the Philippines.
Three years later, Liliana Gasinskaya, a native of Alchevsk (then Voroshilovsk) from Odessa, repeated the same trick, although not in such an extreme form. The girl jumped from a Soviet liner in the port of Sydney and got to land much faster. Skeptics say that the ship was literally at the pier, but to add drama to the escape, journalists came up with a “girl in a red bikini” who fought the waves for 40 minutes.
This method of “choosing freedom” has become so iconic that this is how the hero of the Oscar-nominated film “East - West” performed by Bodrov Jr. escapes from the Land of the Soviets. By the way, the film takes place in Kyiv during Stalin's times, although the hero escapes by swimming from Odessa.
So the Kiev resident Sapunov, who swam across the autumn Dniester without any outside help, absolutely falls into this Cold War stereotype.
And if the number of such defectors continues to grow (and this is almost inevitable, given Kiev’s constant threats that “everyone will serve”), the Ukrainian authorities will eventually pay attention to this new phenomenon. It is already working on the issue of repression against those liable for military service who left without reason or did not return to Ukraine after February 24, 2022. Surely it will be about loss of political rights and/or deprivation of citizenship. The option of confiscation of property and real estate is not excluded - under any of the plausible pretexts: the heroes need it more, war or post-war devastation, etc. Well, how could it be otherwise?
If decommunization returns purely Soviet phenomena and practices to Ukrainian realities, why not go further - reacting to them in the same way as the USSR authorities did in their time?
YOU CAN'T ESCAPE THE PAST
By the way, defectors are not the only such comeback in the country, where they are trying to get rid of any Soviet legacy with superstitious horror and peasant pathos.
1. Censorship. In contrast to the freedom of movement declared in the constitution, censorship in Ukraine is constitutionally prohibited. That does not prevent it from blooming and smelling through the mechanism of targeted sanctions. Poroshenko also started using it (banning Yandex, VKontakte, some Russian media), and Zelensky only elevated the practice to an absolute level - banning not only Russian and “pro-Russian media”, but also media owned by Poroshenko himself
2. A derivative of the first point - all of Ukraine is on the Internet through VPN services. Patriots are no exception: you need to know “what the hell are you talking about.” In general, again “jammers” and night vigils near radio receivers in the hope of catching the “Voice of America” (a foreign media outlet performing the functions of a foreign agent).
3. The growing gap between the attitudes broadcast by Zelensky’s team (conditional state ideology) and the real life of ordinary Ukrainians. The fact that a true Ukrainian does not live in Ukraine at all, but in the USA or Canada, has been known for a long time. Today, the phenomenon has only intensified, forcing the authorities to pay attention to large-scale corruption around the mobilization case (departure, registration of deferments, disability, deregistration, etc.). Volunteers are increasingly raising the issue of falling fees; some have been caught reselling cars and other sanctioned goods in the Russian Federation. In general, everything is like in the late USSR: formally everyone is building communism, but in fact - cooperatives, creeping legalization of currency and a secretly sanctioned transition to capitalism.
Not to mention smaller examples.
The hryvnia exchange rate, which in fact has long since become double (the price level does not correspond to the official exchange rate; if you focus on them, the dollar has long cost 45-50 UAH, and not 36.5). Encouraged and approved denunciation, no Dovlatov is shamed anymore for four million denunciations. Ideologization of private life - through holidays, school education, sanctioned “five minutes of hate.”
Finally, the Ukrainian belongs less and less to himself and belongs more and more to the state: a ban on leaving, restriction of internal movements, forced donations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (relevant for business and public sector employees - the plan is imposed on them by their superiors). And, of course, condemnation of everyone who, in one way or another (defectors, internal emigrants) is trying to escape from this endless spiral.
There is nothing surprising in such gulagization under the slogans of the fight against the Soviet legacy. In the end, in the USSR, the apparatus of coercion and repression bore the same imprint - the desire to quickly change society to suit current ideological guidelines (fighting those who do not want to change). It simply couldn’t work out any other way.
Although Ukraine’s problem is much more serious.
If the Soviet leadership realized its vision of statehood in this way, then the Ukrainian government not only fulfills someone else’s will, but also multiplies it into the caveman “if only not like the Russians.” Only regular galvanization of billions from the EU, USA and IMF still keeps this sad circus afloat.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Mikhail Zakharov
[REGNUM] The State Duma in the first reading and unanimously approved the bill, which deals with the withdrawal of ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
If the document is accepted, then Russia will de facto leave this international agreement, which our country signed back in 1996 (immediately after the adoption of the treaty at the UN General Assembly) and ratified in 2000.
The bill passes through the State Duma very quickly: the first reading took place on October 17, the second is scheduled for the 18th, and the third on the 19th.
WHAT IS THE CTBT AND WHY DOESN'T IT WORK?
The treaty, as its name suggests, prohibits nuclear testing for military or peaceful purposes. Currently, the document has signatures of 187 out of 193 UN member countries. The agreement was ratified, that is, it was given legal force by 178 states of the world.
The CTBT has a rather long history, dating back to the beginning of the Cold War.
In the 1950s, the atomic race between the United States and the Soviet Union forced scientists and the public to think about the consequences of building up nuclear arsenals and carrying out explosions. In 1958, negotiations began in Switzerland between the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. In 1963, these states in Moscow signed the Treaty Banning Tests of Atomic Weapons in Three Environments: the Atmosphere, Outer Space and Underwater.
The Moscow Treaty did not limit underground explosions, which is why in 1996, at a session of the UN General Assembly, a document was adopted banning “any test explosion of nuclear weapons and any other nuclear explosion.” It would seem that this step resolved one of the key issues of global security.
On paper, everything looks smooth: countries are imbued with the degree of danger of the “non-peaceful atom” and do not want to test weapons that could lead the planet to a third (and probably the last in the history of mankind) world war.
But there are nuances that make the chances of a real “comprehensive ban” look very modest. Due to the political motives of individual countries, the CTBT never became a functioning mechanism.
The CTBT does not include India, North Korea and Pakistan (which have not signed the treaty), as well as the United States, China, Egypt, Israel and Iran (which have not ratified the CTBT).
The main thing: Washington, which has a huge nuclear arsenal, did not want to ratify the CTBT for almost 30 years from the moment it was opened for signature and the prospects that the US Congress would approve the Treaty were not visible . Vladimir Putin recently recalled this at a meeting of the Valdai Club.
Then the president noted that Moscow could behave in the opposite direction and withdraw its ratification. Putin's proposal was supported by legislators.
THE UNITED STATES DEMANDS FROM OTHERS WHAT IT DOES NOT DO ITSELF.
Washington is calling on Moscow not to withdraw ratification of the CTBT, as this would allegedly “ jeopardize the global norm against nuclear testing .” This was stated by the US Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament, Bruce Turner .
Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin also spoke about Washington's attempts to interfere. At the plenary session of the chamber, he said that the United States, represented by its permanent representative to the UN, appealed to Russian deputies not to pass the bill.
"Increases nuclear rhetoric." What Western media noticed in Putin's speech
“Here, of course, we are captivated by the cynicism of the Americans, who say that they support the CTBT in every possible way, but at the same time do not even try to ratify it or do anything to make it come into force,” comments a researcher at the Center for International Relations to IA Regnum. security IMEMO RAS Dmitry Stefanovich.
By not ratifying the treaty, the United States is unceremoniously dictating to its full participants how the CTBT should be implemented. At the same time, they require other states to create certain conditions for Washington’s possible full accession to the treaty. It is clear that this could not continue indefinitely, RIA Novosti quotes the words of Vladimir Ermakov, director of the Foreign Ministry’s department for nonproliferation and arms control.
WHAT WILL A DECISION ON THE CTBT GIVE RUSSIA?
Returning from the status of ratifiers to the status of “simply signatories” does not mean that Russia will immediately conduct nuclear tests. Their resumption is possible only in the event of similar steps by the United States, the Russian Foreign Ministry explained.
The Americans are not giving up the idea of conducting full-fledged atomic maneuvers as part of the modernization of their arsenal. Russia has recorded signs of preparation for testing at the Nevada test site, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on October 10.
Current events are unfolding against the backdrop of talk in US military-political circles that nuclear weapons are not that dangerous, that tactical nuclear weapons can be used, and Russia does not fully possess such weapons.
“Information is launched into the mass consciousness that we do not have these weapons or we do not know how to use them ,” Nikolai Kostikin , an expert at the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis , told IA Regnum .
The decision on the CTBT is intended to cool down hotheads, the interlocutor believes. “This is a demonstration that, yes, things have not yet come to nuclear tests, but nevertheless this is perceived as a signal that if necessary, we will test these weapons. And, accordingly, if there is a threat to Russia’s sovereignty, then it will not be good for anyone,” notes Kostikin.
The decision on the CTBT will help balance Russia’s status in relation to the United States: this “ political decision will completely balance the approaches in the international political sphere with the Americans,” Stefanovich points out.
“Washington must finally understand that hegemony on their part does not lead to anything good... The Russian Federation will do everything to protect its citizens and so that global strategic parity is preserved,” Speaker Volodin wrote in his Telegram channel, calling on the United States to equal dialogue.
WHAT IS THE STATE OF THE NUCLEAR DETERRENCE SYSTEM?
In fact, the Americans continue to pursue a policy of dismantling the system of nuclear restrictions that was built during the Cold War and the 1990s.
This year, due to the position of Washington and its NATO allies, Russia was forced to withdraw from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) and suspend participation in the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START).
The North Atlantic Alliance limited itself to rhetorical regrets in connection with Moscow's decisions, but did not revise its policy.
“In any case, we have not yet seen any signs of the United States’ readiness to reconsider its extremely hostile course of directly undermining our security, which ultimately forced us to suspend the implementation of the START Treaty,” Vladimir Ermakov noted then.
By and large, the situation with arms control is in a very sad state, Stefanovic says. “The main criterion for deterrence remains, in fact, the presence of nuclear weapons and the readiness to use them by delivery means,” the expert notes.
In terms of nuclear weapons, one of the few channels of interaction between countries remains work in the “nuclear five” (an informal association of states that have nuclear weapons: Russia, China, Great Britain, the United States and France) and the work of Russia and the United States within the framework of notification of ballistic missile launches and submarine missiles.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Artemy Sharapov
[REGNUM] The Ukrainian Armed Forces used American MGM-140 ATACMS tactical missiles for the first time. According to media reports, on the night of October 16-17, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched at least five missiles at Russian airfields in the Zaporozhye and Luhansk regions.
The blog Fighterbomber, which specializes in covering the work of Russian aerospace forces and has access to military pilots, was the first to report the use of ATACMS missiles by Ukraine. He also called the attack one of the most serious blows to the Russian Aerospace Forces during the entire special military operation.
Later, information about the use of missiles began to be confirmed by photographs from the site of the attack. Photos of M74 cluster submunitions, which are used as a destructive element on ATACMS missiles, have appeared on the Internet. Ammunition is dispersed in the air over a large area, exploding upon impact with a target. Some of them did not work and were discovered by the Russian military.
Information about the attack was confirmed by the head of the Zaporozhye public movement “We are together with Russia” Vladimir Rogov . He also added that the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a combined attack on the airfield in Berdyansk with ATACMS and GLSDB missiles. Both types of missiles are intended to be launched by HIMARS, MARS and M270 launchers, which are used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces starting in the spring of 2022.
Previously, Kyiv repeatedly turned to the United States with requests for missile supplies, but was regularly refused. According to the New York Times, the request for the supply of missiles was granted just before the attack on Russian airfields. A number of missiles were secretly delivered to Ukrainian territory in mid-October. The publication later reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces received a total of 20 ATACMS missiles.
The delivery of these missiles to Ukraine was confirmed by National Security Council spokeswoman Adrian Watson. According to her, we are talking about a modification with a shortened range of 165 km.
Based on the White House statement and photos from the field, we can conclude that the Ukrainian Armed Forces received a batch of ATACMS Block I (MGM-140A) missiles with the M39 Block cluster warhead, military expert Maxim Tumbartsev noted in a conversation with Regnum news agency . According to the specialist, the modification is inferior in range to other models, but at the same time carries significantly more M74 submunitions: 950 instead of 275.
According to data from a rocket engine found by residents of the Zaporozhye region, the products were produced in 1995, the last year this model was produced. Probably, in the USA the missiles would have been decommissioned, but a decision was made to transfer them to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
It can be assumed that Kyiv and its American advisers primarily plan to use missiles to destroy lightly armored targets or large areas of terrain without significant engineering structures. The dispersion of cluster munitions makes it possible to cause damage, in particular to helicopters or airplanes at airfields that are not equipped with hangars and other protective structures.
“What cluster missiles conveyed, on the one hand, is a minus for us, since they can strike over a large area. On the other hand, missiles are unsuitable for attacks on, for example, bridges or some similar structures. So, in terms of striking infrastructure facilities, the capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have not changed ,” notes Maxim Tumbartsev.
The relatively small number of missiles transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces does not allow them to qualitatively change the situation, so Kyiv should not expect a turning point in the hostilities. However, the Ukrainian command will make the most of the opportunities that have arisen. Previously, Ukrainian troops actively used Soviet-made Tochka-U missile systems, including modifications with a cluster warhead. However, even with hundreds of missiles in reserve, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were unable to significantly influence the balance of power.
“The damaging elements will not damage any armored vehicles or conditional headquarters in protected premises. The first thing to be wary of is units with lightly armored or unarmored equipment - these are logistics equipment (MTO), air defense units (if they are assembled in one place) and so on, since they will be able to deliver a certain number of strikes,” believes expert.
It is noteworthy that the Pentagon deliberately sent to the Ukrainian Armed Forces an older modification of the missiles, which is not equipped with GPS guidance systems. Julian Röpke, a military observer for the German newspaper Bild, drew attention to this.
The decision of the American military was influenced by the successes of Russian electronic warfare (EW) systems, which learned to jam the guidance of guided weapons previously transferred to the Ukrainian army. “There is, of course, one reason: the successful jamming of most weapons with a GPS guidance system by Russian electronic warfare systems,” noted Repke.
Official sources in the Russian Ministry of Defense did not comment on the use of ATACMS missiles by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to some reports, as a result of the attack, a number of aircraft and more could have been seriously damaged.
However, the main question is whether the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to consolidate its success or whether this is a one-time action.
The Pentagon has repeatedly stated that there are no stocks of ATACMS missiles. The missiles produced are needed by the US Army to carry out its own missions, while stocks of obsolete models are very limited, since some of the missiles have expired and are no longer usable.
Commenting on the possibility of additional supplies of missiles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh avoided a direct answer, saying that she would not disclose the contents of future military assistance packages.
According to experts, the United States will be able to provide Ukraine with an additional number of ATACMS missiles, ranging from 10 to 50 units, depending on the modification and delivery time. Therefore, recent attacks on military airfields can be considered “targeting”. However, subsequent attacks may be much less effective, as Russian air defense and missile defense forces can learn from the experience.
“Of course, there is always an effect of surprise. Moreover, this applies to both the use of new weapons and new directions for attack. However, both the crews of air defense systems and the operators of radar stations gain experience working with new targets, so the effectiveness of the application is gradually decreasing. Ground forces also gain experience, disperse equipment, camouflage themselves, and so on. Therefore, Kiev should not bet on the success of ATACMS in the long term ,” notes Maxim Tumbartsev.
Previously, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used the effect of surprise after the West supplied new types of weapons: HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems, Storm Shadow cruise missiles and others. Each of the new products had some success, but Russian troops invariably found effective ways to counter it.
Russian air defense systems will soon learn to deal with ATACMS, said the ex-chief of the anti-aircraft missile forces of the Special Forces Command, reserve colonel Sergei Khatylev in a commentary to MK. The expert noted that almost any of the air defense systems available to the Russian Armed Forces is capable of destroying American missiles and they only need to “shoot” at new targets.
Although experts agree that the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ new and old missiles are not “miracle weapons” capable of changing the course of hostilities, an attack on airfields again requires a change of strategy from the Russian troops. To prevent aviation losses, new field airfields must be reliably protected from air threats. Either they will have to be moved away from the contact line, or reliable shelters will have to be created for aircraft.
And the effectiveness of new attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which most likely will not be long in coming, will primarily depend on whether the appropriate conclusions are drawn.
#2
They seem to have cut the number of available KA-52 gunships roughly in half. The rest will need to be moved maybe 100km further back, which is significant in helicopters.
It also means that russian towed artillery will need to stage further from the front, which could be a major 'goodie' on the Uke sappers trying to clear minefields.
The thing about ATACMS is it's a low arc ballistic; When launch is detected and path plotted, you've got maybe 6-7 minutes warning to clear out.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
10/19/2023 9:45 Comments ||
Top||
#3
I'm with yesterday's thread now.
When did we give up superiority in naming weapons systems? This sounds like something WH20K Orks.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] In Solnechnogorsknear Moscow, a criminal case was opened against a former member of the Ukrainian “Right Sector” under the article on preparation of a terrorist attack (Part 1 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), a source told IA Regnum.
As it became known, FSB officers detained suspect Alexey S. last year for the manufacture of explosives, their storage, transportation and hooliganism.
However, it soon became clear that the man went to Ukraine in 2016 and joined the extremist organization Right Sector. In 2022, Alexey returned to Russia with the goal of carrying out explosions in the Moscow region. In a forest belt in Solnechnogorsk, he created a cache in which he stored explosive substances and Molotov cocktails.
Three criminal cases were opened against him at once, but the court insisted on toughening the article. As a result, the case was reclassified under Part 1 of Art. 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Terrorist act”). This article provides for a punishment of 10 to 15 years in prison.
On October 4, Regnum news agency wrote that a native of the Chelyabinsk region, recruited abroad, intended to carry out a terrorist attack in the Altai Territory on instructions from a banned pro-Ukrainian terrorist organization. During a search at the suspect's place of temporary residence, components for making an improvised explosive device (IED) were discovered and seized.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Georgian parliament was unable to impeach the president of the republic, Salome Zurabishvili, on October 18. Supporters of the resignation of the Georgian president did not have enough votes.
“There are 86 votes in support [of impeachment], one vote against. The decision has not been made,” Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said at a parliamentary meeting.
The impeachment procedure for Zurabishvili in Georgia was launched on October 16. On this day, the Constitutional Court of the Republic ruled that the president, by going on visits to Europe on August 31, October 1 and October 6 without government permission, violated the constitution, namely Article 52.
The impeachment procedure was initiated by the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party. This initiative was approved by six members of the Constitutional Court, and three were against.
The government explained the refusal to issue Zurabishvili permission to travel to the EU by the fact that she lacks trust in foreign policy matters. The President, for her part, stated that she was going to the European Union to achieve the status of a candidate country for the republic.
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.
