#Russian missiles on Saturday]

[sayruq]

The US House of Representatives passed a series of pivotal policy bills on Saturday that would see $95 billion in foreign war and military funds, a potential ban on TikTok in the country, the seizure of frozen Russian sovereign assets, and new sanctions on Iran. The Israel Security Supplemental was approved with an overwhelming vote of 366-58. This bill includes a prohibition on sending funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency UNRWA as the genocide in Gaza nears its 7-month mark. The funding package allocates $26.4 billion in aid to the occupation entity, $4 billion for the Iron Dome and David's Sling missile defense systems, and $1.2 billion for the Iron Beam defense system. Additionally, $4.4 billion is allocated to replenish military items and services provided to "Israel," while $3.5 billion is earmarked for the procurement of advanced weapons systems and other items through the Foreign Military Financing Program. Furthermore, it includes $9.2 billion in public assistance, including emergency food, shelter, and basic services, to populations experiencing crises. It also provides additional flexibility for transfers of military hardware to "Israel" from US stockpiles held in other countries.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil’s Lula digs heels on Ukraine war during Iberian trip

President’s comments highlight EU difficulty in convincing global south to hold Russia accountable for invasion

Brazil’s president is touring the Iberian peninsula in an attempt to boost ties with the EU, but his persistent claims that both Russia and Ukraine are responsible for the ongoing war highlight the bloc’s difficulty in winning over the global south.

During his stay in Portugal, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that Ukraine “does not want to stop” the war and insisted peace talks should begin, even though Moscow continues its missile attacks on civilian targets and Russian troops are still occupying parts of Ukraine.

Lula’s rhetoric on the war, which the US earlier condemned as “parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda”, has underscored the challenge facing the EU and its allies at it struggles to build a global coalition seeking to hold Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine, and exposed its lack of political influence over swaths of the non-western world.

While Lula made clear that he condemned the invasion of a sovereign state, he did not disavow comments made last week in the United Arab Emirates that Russia and Ukraine bore joint responsibility and that the US and EU were “contributing” to the conflict.

“We are not in favour of war. We want peace,” Lula said in Lisbon on Saturday alongside Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Portugal’s president. In the case of the ongoing conflict, Lula added: “Russia does not want to stop and Ukraine does not want to stop. And if you don’t talk about peace, you are contributing to war.”

The global response to the war in Ukraine has provided a startling wake-up call to EU diplomats who have failed to convince major nations in Latin America, Africa and south-east Asia to oppose Moscow’s invasion.

Continue reading.

[ohsalome]

On that radiant Saturday in July last year, my mom and I were at a small restaurant in Warsaw. He walked up to our table, said hello, and asked if we were enjoying everything. I thanked him and asked if he remembered me. Yes, he did. I used to visit often in the summer of 2022 with my sister. It had been a year since then, and I was about to head back to Kyiv in a few hours. ‘Why?’ he asked. I told him I didn’t want to miss the victory celebration. He then told me he felt the same for six long years in Syria. We were quiet for a moment, looking at each other, when my mom started to cry, and I got goosebumps. He shook my hand, mentioned he had a brother in Berlin, and said it was a great city with good food and lots of refugees. He suggested I should visit. Not right now. We said goodbye with a hug, and I asked for his name. Samir. He used to own an antique shop in Damascus and now ran a vegan restaurant with the best falafel I had ever tasted. There was even a documentary made about him. I promised to come back to Warsaw again soon.

[...]

In the last year, Russians have targeted Kyiv with over 300 various types of cruise missiles, 14 ballistic missiles, and nearly 400 ‘Shahed’ type attack UAVs. In 2023, Kyiv had 302 air raid alerts, with the total time of these alerts adding up to 16 days. You can find all these statistics on a website called Alerts Wrapped, which starkly highlights our new reality. My friends, family, and colleagues face this every day. Those working for international companies often have to keep quiet about these attacks to keep their jobs. They are feeling downhearted, worn out, and uncertain about what the future holds.

It seems like the war won’t end soon. On January 2, 2024, Ukraine faced another widespread attack. We urgently need more weapons to defend our skies and fight on the ground. My friends and I are continuously raising funds for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, knowing this is a marathon, not a sprint. Today, I’m reaching out for your support. Please follow Ukrainian news on social media, share these stories with your followers using #russiaisaterroriststate, and urge your governments to assist Ukraine. United we stand, divided we fall.

[mysticstronomy]

HOW MUCH SPACE JUNK IS THERE??

Blog#322

Saturday, August 12th, 2023

Welcome back,

The United States Space Surveillance Network currently tracks more than 23,000 pieces of space junk that are larger than a softball. This includes about 3,000 defunct satellites that have been left to decay in orbit, according to the Natural History Museum of London.

However, most pieces of orbital debris are far too small to be tracked. Researchers estimate that there are more than 100 trillion untracked pieces of space junk in Earth orbit, according to the Science study. The vast majority of this untracked debris is likely less than 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) wide, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).

Even tiny pieces of space junk can cause incredible damage. That's because objects in orbit move incredibly quickly, typically reaching speeds of greater than 15,600 mph (25,200 km/h), or 10 times the speed of an average bullet shot on Earth.

If two objects moving in opposite directions collide with one another in space, then the impact becomes even greater.

This means that even pea-size objects can become dangerous missiles in orbit. This was illustrated in 2016, when a small paint fleck collided with a window on the International Space Station, gouging a quarter-inch dent into the glass. (Fortunately, the window held).

Yes, space junk frequently falls to Earth. On average, anywhere from 200 to 400 pieces of tracked space debris plummet through Earth's atmosphere every year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Most of this free-falling junk is small enough that it burns up entirely in the atmosphere, never reaching the ground. Larger objects that can survive the fall (like satellites) typically splash down into the ocean, but not always.

In August 2022, a charred, spike-like chunk of a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft fell through the atmosphere and landed on a sheep farm in Australia.

On Feb. 10, 2009, a defunct Russian spacecraft crashed into a functioning U.S. Iridium commercial spacecraft, destroying both and adding more than 2,300 pieces of trackable space junk to orbit, according to NASA.

In March 2021, a piece of a Russian rocket collided with and destroyed a functioning Chinese military satellite.

In June 2021, a small piece of unidentified space junk slammed into the International Space Station's robotic arm, damaging but not destroying it.

Incidents are occuring more frequently as more space junk is added to orbit each year.

Originally published on livescience.com

COMING UP!!

(Wednesday, August 16th, 2023)

"WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU WERE IN SPACE WITHOUT A SPACESUIT??"

[suratan-zir]

Today is the day of yet another russian missile attack on Ukraine. Some missiles were shot down, some hit our power infrastructure in various regions: Lviv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia and Kyiv.

But in Dnipro, a russian missile hit an apartment block.

Saturday, weekend, people were resting in their apartments. Now they are screaming under the rubble, crying for help. It is absolutely horrifying to any sane human being, yet on russian social media they comment this video with words like "pig squeals" and "scream, khokhols, it won't help you"

It is unknown at this point how many people were killed or injured, rescuers are still clearing the rubble.

Trapped people signal to rescuers with their phones. I can't imagine how scary it is to end up in this situation.

Ordinary people help clear the rubble and look for survivors.

Russian propagandists are not only already claiming that it was our missile that hit this building, but they are also saying that we did it on purpose to get more weapons and money from the West, and for a Ukrainian girl to win the "Miss Beauty Universe" contest. Seriously. These people and those who believe them are truly sick.

January 17 2023 update: 79 people were injured, 45 people were killed, including 6 children

[necarion]

"Deliberately targeting civilians is wrong" is remarkably good praxis for understanding state and interstate violence.

I'm not talking about attacks that miss their target, that have disproportionate collateral damage, or even have mistaken military strategic value (although all of these are also bad and should be avoided). All of these things are bad (because warfare is bad), although people can and will argue about the relative necessity of any given action.

But in modern times, "trying to hurt civilians specifically to make the state surrender" is not even arguable. We have decided that this is one of those acts of warfare that we should not allow, which is why we have collectively classified it as a war crime.

What Hamas has just done is flat-out terrorism. It went after civilians at a festival and committed horrible atrocities against people who had no means of defending themselves. It is doing that to terrorize the people into changing the policies of their government. Israel is by no means innocent of violating "targeting civilians is wrong"; what Israel has done in the past (and even in the present) is often reprehensible. But right now, it is Hamas targeting civilians to punish the entire state of Israel for its politics, and that is a thing that shouldn't be tolerated.

If Hamas had launched a surprise attack on an Israeli military establishment, or even the Israeli government, I would be saying something different right now. And if Israel retaliates in a way designed to hurt civilians in Gaza, I will call their actions wrong as well. "Two wrongs don't make a right" is especially true for war crimes.

It was wrong when the Axis murdered and pillaged their way across their conquered territories. It was wrong when the Allies firebombed cities of zero strategic importance. It is wrong when the Russians launch missiles at theaters and apartments in Ukraine. It is wrong that Assad is killing women and children specifically so the Syrian rebels surrender. It is wrong when Israel targets civilians in Gaza and the West Bank. And it is wrong that Hamas deliberately targeted, killed, and tortured Israeli civilians in their attack on Saturday.

Deliberately targeting civilians is wrong.

[usafphantom2]

13 Sukhois in 13 days: Ukrainians are slaughtering more Russian jets because Russia is flying and bombing more often.

Russian losses are becoming unsustainable.

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 03/03/2024 - 17:30in Military, War Zones

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said on Saturday that its air defense troops shot down another Sukhoi Su-34 fighter from the Russian air force: the 11º Su-34 that the Ukrainians claimed to have destroyed in just two weeks alongside two Sukhoi Su-35 fighters and a rare Beriev A-50 radar plane.

The series of unprecedented air strikes by Ukrainians - 14 planes in 13 days - demonstrates the bravery and skill of air defenders and the effectiveness of their unique and integrated air defense system, which combines old Soviet radars and missiles with the latest Western radars and missiles.

Destroying russian jets is a new great tradition!

The Ukrainian Air Force shot down another Su-34 in the eastern direction.

Nice job, warriors! pic.twitter.com/kpOpeq6sGQ

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) March 2, 2024

But it also speaks of a Russian compulsion to inflict as much damage as possible on Ukraine, as soon as possible. One of the reasons why Ukrainians are slaughtering so many Russian planes is that the Russians are carrying out more bombing missions than ever before.

On Thursday, according to Ukrainian analyst Alexander Kovalenko, the Russian air force launched more than 150 missions involving Su-34, Su-35 and Sukhoi Su-25 attack jets. There are 10 more daily sorties than the Russian air force carried out during its previous more intense airstrike, concomitant with the initial advance of the Russian army towards Kiev, in the first weeks of Russia's two-year broader war against Ukraine.

Each Sukhoi carries tons of bombs or rockets and poses a serious threat to Ukrainian troops on the ground. But each Sukhoi is also the target of the same troops. "This intensity of Russian aircraft flights allows us to capture them more often," Kovalenko wrote.

The approximately one hundred Su-34 survivors are responsible for most of the 150 daily missions. A typical Russian Air Force attack package includes two double-seat Su-34s, each carrying four GPS-guided KAB glider bombs, as well as an escort single-seat Su-35 carrying air-to-air and anti-radar missiles.

A segment from a newly published Russian MoD video that shows four UMPKs deploy their wings after being released from a VKS Su-34. pic.twitter.com/NdFeyXUYpb

— Guy Plopsky (@GuyPlopsky) February 26, 2024

The rudimentary KABs - 1,100 and 3,300 pound bombs equipped with satellite orientation and removable wings - are the favorite weapons of the Russians. Flying high and fast, a Su-34 can launch a KAB with reasonable precision at a target up to 40 kilometers away.

This is far enough to keep the Sukhoi out of reach of the lightest air defense weapons, but not enough to keep the jets out of range of heavier air defense weapons such as the American-made Patriots and the former Soviet S-200s.

Most Russian jets drop their bombs and return safely to the base. On average, in the last two weeks, Ukrainians have not sholled more than one in a hundred Russian planes in the air near the front lines on a given day.

Surviving planes together can launch more than a hundred KABs in 24 hours. On Thursday, according to Kovalenko, “an absolute record for KAB use was set: 152!”

Each KAB contains enough explosive charge to demolish a bunker or knock down a building. The glider bomb is an urban demolition weapon. “These bombs completely destroy any position,” wrote Egor Sugar, a soldier of the 3rdª Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Army, who fought in the bloody four-month battle in Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine.

This battle ended with a Ukrainian withdrawal two weeks ago, after the Russian Sukhois launched hundreds of KABs on Avdiivka - making the city impossible to replenish and defend.

What the Kremlin apparently took from its Avdiivka campaign is that even a poorly led ground force, suffering cataclysmic casualties - at least 16,000 Russians died when uprooting Avdiivka from the 2,000 Ukrainian troops defending the city center - can prevail when it attacks under the cover of devastating air strikes with firepower.

We know that the Russians internalized this strategy because, two weeks after Avdiivka fell into the hands of the KABs and infantry masses, they are repeating the strategy.

Today the Russians are trying to take the village of Tonen'ke, eight kilometers west of Avdiikva. They are trying to catch her... flattening her with up to 30 KABs in a single day. “The enemy sweeps the village of Tonen'ke from the face of the Earth,” Kovalenko wrote.

It is difficult to say how many of the 13 Sukhois that Ukrainians have shot down since the fall of Avdiivka were bombing Tonen'ke when a Ukrainian missile reached them. But it is safe to say that the Russians are buying the small Tonen'ke - a cluster with about a hundred houses - at the cost of several 50 million dollar warplanes and possibly their crews.

Perhaps the Kremlin considers this an acceptable exchange. Even so, it is unsustainable. The Russian air force has already lost a quarter of its Su-34s and is quickly depleting the surviving jets and their crews, as it flies them stronger and stronger in a growing campaign of bombings with the KABs.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Kremlin chose this moment to spend a non-renewable energy of military resource - an air force that took decades to be built - in exchange for victories on the battlefield, which cannot be doubled once this resource has been spent.

And that is why more and more analysts are concluding that Russia is on the verge of bankruptcy in Ukraine at the moment: take the territory it can, as long as it can, with the understanding that the conditions may be less favorable - and its own firepower less abundant - next year.

"I would be very optimistic about the potential of Ukraine in 2025, with Russia kind of, in its arrogance, launching constant offensives, losing many people," said this month Max Bergmann, a specialist in Russia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

But Bergmann made his assessment conditional on one thing: the resumption of U.S. military aid to Ukraine. The United States was the main supplier of its best weapons to Ukraine - including Patriot air defense missiles - until Russian-friendly Republicans in the U.S. Congress cut aid from October.

If this aid is resumed, Ukrainians can continue to slaughter Sukhois at a rate of one per day. In a few weeks, the Su-34 force of the Russian air force would be exhausted to the point of irrelevance - and the current storm of KABs... should disappear.

Source: Forbes

Tags: Military AviationRFSAF - Russian Federation Aerospace Force/Russian Aerospace ForceSukhoi Su-34 FullbackWar Zones - Russia/Ukraine

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[zvaigzdelasas]

The Israeli government has asked the Pentagon for missile interceptors, precision-guided weapons and artillery rounds following the deadly attacks by Hamas militants on Saturday, according to a U.S. official. The Pentagon is working with defense contractors to expedite some of the orders, according to the official who was not authorized to speak about the issue. Israeli defense forces do not seem to have a shortage of weapons, but attacks on Israel are continuing and an Israeli offensive into Gaza is expected in coming days.

Continued military support for Israel could be combined with aid packages for Ukraine, Taiwan and funding for domestic natural disasters, the official said. The White House has about $100 million remaining in Presidential Drawdown Authority, the fund that has been regularly tapped for the more than $40 billion in military aid for Ukraine. The anticipated request from the White House for supplemental funding faces uncertainty in Congress, where the House does not have a speaker after Kevin McCarthy was deposed last week.[...]

The Pentagon also stockpiles ammuniton in Israel for conflicts in the Middle East and Europe, including Ukraine's defense against Russian invaders. Israel, with permission from the United States, can tap that arsenal if needed.

9 Oct 23

[tomorrowusa]

I'm not exactly a sunny optimist. But when there's a viral mindless piling on of negative evaluations, it's time for a reality check.

Ukraine pulled out of the town of Avdiivka because it values the lives of its troops exponentially more than Russia values its troops. Avdiivka is now little more than a pile of rubble which has little strategic value. Undoubtedly Ukraine left a few surprises for the Russians there. ;)

A couple of writers for the journal Foreign Policy spent time talking with participants at the Munich Security Conference (MSC). SitRep is a weekly digest of news and analysis at Foreign Policy. Here are some excerpts.

SitRep had what we thought was a fairly innocuous question for NATO’s top military official Saturday morning. Two years in, are you pessimistic about Ukraine’s chances in fending off Russia’s full-scale invasion? “I’m not!” shouted Dutch Adm. Rob Bauer, the chair of NATO’s Military Committee, pounding his fist on the table and sending the silverware in front of him clattering in the 15th-century vault-turned-restaurant in the Bayerischer Hof Hotel’s basement. “Pessimists lose wars. Is it difficult for Ukraine? Yes. If you would have asked in 1942 in Europe, ‘How is the war going?’ I don’t think there were a lot of people that were overly optimistic. We still won.”

Americans in particular have short attention spans. A reminder that wars can last longer that one NFL season. US involvement in World War II lasted 3 years 9 months from Pearl Harbor to Japan's formal surrender.

Even accounting for the fact that these types of conferences are saturated with navel-gazing governmental self-congratulations tours, we think the naysayers of the naysayers have a point. Russia is far from starting to win. First, the narrative seeming to take root in some speeches and headlines that Ukraine is on the cusp of losing the war is way off base. The battlefield situation is serious but not to the point where Ukraine is at risk of a full-scale collapse or even facing major setbacks on the front lines, according to the assessments of more than a dozen European defense officials and experts we spoke to. Russia has taken the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka but at an enormous cost in lives and ammunition for a city that has no real strategic significance. [ ... ] Indeed, the scale of Russian losses in the war is truly staggering. Two years in, the Kremlin is still scrambling to transform the country to a wartime economy, and those losses will be hard to recoup. Russia has suffered some 315,000 casualties—accounting for 87 percent of its prewar troop levels, according to a declassified U.S. intelligence assessment—as well as lost 2,200 of its 3,500 prewar tanks and 4,400 of its 13,600 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers.

Those Russian losses figures are somewhat conservative. More on that in a moment.

Even as Ukraine faces a new wave of ammunition shortages spurred by the political stalemate in Congress over U.S. funding for Ukraine, its lines are holding and European defense officials credit Kyiv with rationing its ammunition smartly and efficiently. [ ... ] Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was one official who didn’t downplay the significance of Russia’s capture of Avdiivka. “When a citizen of Europe reads in the news that Ukraine retreated from Avdiivka, you should realize one simple fact—Russia has gotten closer to your home.” [ ... ] Russian President Vladimir Putin shouldn’t be popping any champagne bottles just yet. “Let’s remember we are 724 days into Russia’s three-day war,” Bauer said.

Russia is currently trying to frighten us with talk of nuclear missiles in space. They have done this before. They drew red lines that Biden then stepped over and there's no response to the Western moves. One thing Russia is proven to be good at is bullshit.

The second anniversary of Russia's full scale invasion is later this week. It is estimated that Russia has suffered US$49.75 billion in losses in this war. Keep in mind that despite its geographic size, Russia has an economy about one-half the size of California's which has less than a third of Russia's population.

Ukraine currently puts Russian fatalities over the 400,000 mark.

402,430 is a number greater than the populations of the capitals of 39 of the 50 US states. Only in a dictatorship where dissidents are murdered would such massive losses in a futile war be allowed.

[rvps2001]

Russia-Ukraine Daily Briefing

🇷🇺 🇺🇦 Saturday Briefing:

- Ukraine to Putin: You cut our power, we kneecap your biggest economic driver - Lithuania transfers NASAMS missile launch systems to Ukraine - Mariupol teen summoned to Russian enlistment office will return to Ukraine - Car bombing targets Russian policeman in occupied Mariupol - EU says highly unlikely it will meet ammunition pledge to Ukraine - French court rejects appeal to extradite Ukrainian billionaire Zhevago - Ukraine says Russian army still trying to encircle Avdiivka - EU has 'Plan B' if Hungary vetoes €50B aid for Ukraine - Russian authorities tighten access to abortions - Binance to halt Russian ruble deposits

---------------------------------------------- 💬 My socials: https://linktr.ee/rvps2001

[ukrainenews]

Daily Wrap Up April 27-May 1, 2023

(Unplanned long weekend break due to inconvenient minor injury. Oops.)

Under the cut:

A Russian mass missile attack against Ukraine killed 25 people, including five children, on April 28, according to the Ukrainian authorities. The Russian overnight attack that hit a nine-story residential building in the city of Uman, Cherkasy Oblast, killed 23 people, including four children, as of 7 p.m., the Interior Ministry reported. (These numbers may continue to change.)

A fire at a fuel storage facility in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, caused by an apparent drone strike, has been extinguished, the Moscow-installed governor has said. Video footage posted on social media earlier on Saturday showed a large waterside area on fire, with a column of black smoke rising from the burning fuel. Other images showed a huge pall of smoke hanging over the area. More than a dozen fuel tanks are situated at the site in Kozacha Bay.

Ukraine’s army stopped 20 attacks by the Russian army in the Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka on Sunday.

Russian missile strikes have injured 34 civilians and apparently damaged railway infrastructure and an ammunition depot in south-eastern Ukraine, hours before an explosion inside Russia derailed a freight train. The attacks on both sides of the border on Monday apparently aimed to disrupt military logistics before a significant Ukrainian counteroffensive against occupying Russian troops, expected to start shortly in the south or the east.

The Ukrainian military says it is locked in a “positional struggle” as fierce fighting continues to rage in Bakhmut, adding it has been able to push back Russian forces after a series of counterattacks.

Four civilians died as a result of Ukrainian shelling on a village just over the border in Russia's Bryansk region on Saturday evening, a local governor said.

A Russian mass missile attack against Ukraine killed 25 people, including five children, on April 28, according to the Ukrainian authorities.

The Russian overnight attack that hit a nine-story residential building in the city of Uman, Cherkasy Oblast, killed 23 people, including four children, as of 7 p.m., the Interior Ministry reported.

The National Police earlier said that at least 18 people had been injured in Uman, nine of whom had been hospitalized.

The number of casualties may grow as the rescue operation continues at the destroyed building.

The attack partially destroyed three upper floors of the apartment building, causing large fires, according to first responders.

Other missiles Russia launched on April 28 targeted Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv oblasts.

A young woman and a two-year-old child were killed, and four other civilians were injured in the city of Dnipro, according to the regional authorities.

Kyiv Oblast Governor Ruslan Kravchenko said that a high-rise building in Ukrainka, some 50 kilometers south of Kyiv, was damaged by the missile debris.

Two people were injured, including a 13-year-old child who was hospitalized in a Kyiv hospital, according to the Interior Ministry.

Ukraine's air defense shot down 21 of the 23 X-101 and X-55 cruise missiles, as well as two drones, that Russia had launched using strategic Tu-95 aircraft from the Caspian Sea, according to Ukraine's Air Force.

Ukraine’s power grid operator Ukrenergo said the missile attack had not damaged the country's energy infrastructure.

The deliberate killing of civilians at any time and in any place breaches the Geneva Conventions and constitutes a war crime.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, has argued that the April 28 mass missile attack is another proof Ukraine needs to be supplied with American-made F-16 fighter jets.

Ukraine has been asking to receive F-16 warplanes to protect its airspace from Russian attacks and strengthen its upcoming counteroffensive. Yet, many allies, most notably the U.S. and Germany, have not backed the idea.

-via Kyiv Independent

~

A fire at a fuel storage facility in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, caused by an apparent drone strike, has been extinguished, the Moscow-installed governor has said. .

Video footage posted on social media earlier on Saturday showed a large waterside area on fire, with a column of black smoke rising from the burning fuel. Other images showed a huge pall of smoke hanging over the area. More than a dozen fuel tanks are situated at the site in Kozacha Bay.

The strike, reportedly by a “kamikaze” drone, came a day after a wave of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities killed 26 people, including many in an apartment block in Uman in the Cherkasy region.

After the drone strike at 4.30am, a firefighting train was reportedly brought in to try to extinguish the blaze.

“According to preliminary information, the fire was caused by a drone hit,” the city’s Russia-installed governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, wrote on Telegram.

“The situation is under the control of our firefighters and all operative services,” he said. “Since the volume of fuel is large, it will take time to localise the fire.”

Razvozhayev said the fire was assigned the highest ranking – level four – in terms of how complicated it would be to extinguish. He said it had not caused any casualties and would not hinder fuel supplies in Sevastopol.

Razvozhayev reported earlier this week that the Russian military had destroyed a Ukrainian sea drone that attempted to attack the harbour, and another one had blown up, shattering windows in several apartment buildings but not inflicting any other damage.

Sevastopol has been a regular target of drone attacks, especially in recent weeks. The city, on the Crimean peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has come under repeated air attacks since Russia’s invasion of its neighbour in February last year.

Russian officials have blamed the attacks on Ukraine. The Ukrainian military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. Kyiv almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.

Russia’s missile strikes on Friday killed 26 people, including five children, as Kyiv said preparations for a counteroffensive against Moscow’s forces were nearly complete.

The most serious casualties were caused by a strike on a residential block in Uman that killed 23 people.

Rescue workers in Uman, the site of an annual Hasidic Jewish pilgrimage, pulled the body of another child from under the rubble on Friday evening. Authorities said four children in the city had been killed by the cruise missile strikes.

Earlier in the day, Dmitry, a 33-year-old resident from Luhansk, an eastern city under Russian control, was looking for his children. “I want to see my children. They are under the rubble,” he said.

Rescuers were using cranes to search for survivors among the remains of the multi-storey housing block in the city of 80,000 inhabitants.

“I’ve seen a lot, but I haven’t lost my children before. Now I want to see my children, alive or dead,” Dmitry said.

-via The Guardian

~

Ukraine’s army stopped 20 attacks by the Russian army in the Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka on Sunday.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported it in its daily evening update published on Facebook.

“The Russian Federation continues to use terror tactics. Today, the enemy launched two missile strikes on the cities of Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka. Also, throughout the day, it launched 15 air strikes and mounted about 30 attacks using multiple launch rocket systems on the positions of our troops and settlements,” the update said.

“The threat of missile and airstrikes remains high across Ukraine.

“The enemy continues to focus its main efforts on offensive operations on Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka. During the past day, Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled more than 20 enemy attacks on the specified axes. Bakhmut and Mar’inka remain places of fierce fights.”

-via The Guardian

~

Russian missile strikes have injured 34 civilians and apparently damaged railway infrastructure and an ammunition depot in south-eastern Ukraine, hours before an explosion inside Russia derailed a freight train.

The attacks on both sides of the border on Monday apparently aimed to disrupt military logistics before a significant Ukrainian counteroffensive against occupying Russian troops, expected to start shortly in the south or the east.

The Russian strike in the Ukrainian city of Pavlohrad was part of the second wave of missile attacks in just three days; on Friday, 23 people were killed when a missile hit an apartment block in central Uman city, and a woman and her daughter died in Dnipro.

With Kyiv’s allies saying that equipment and newly trained troops promised for the next Ukrainian campaign are in place, Moscow has revived its winter tactics of attempting to orchestrate bombing campaigns far behind Ukrainian frontlines.

It launched 18 cruise missiles in the early hours of Monday morning, although 15 were intercepted by air defences, including the ones aimed at Kyiv. Support from western allies has helped Ukraine improve protection for its cities and the main military sites.

At Pavlohrad, video posted on social media showed a missile strike had caused a significant blaze and secondary detonations.

Among the buildings damaged or destroyed were an industrial zone, 19 apartment buildings and 25 homes, according to Mykola Lukashuk, the head of the Dnipro regional council. Two women were seriously injured.

Russian officials and the Tass state news agency claimed Moscow had hit an ammunition depot and railway infrastructure, hampering military preparations.

“The objectives of the strike were achieved,” the defence ministry said in a statement. “The work of enterprises making ammunition, weapons and military equipment for Ukrainian troops has been disrupted.”

Ukrainian sources said one location hit was a plant that produced solid fuel for Soviet-era rocket motors and had a number of expired solid fuel motors awaiting decommissioning, although that claim could not be immediately verified.

The size of the fire in Pavlohrad suggests Russia may have hit an important arms depot, and the incident comes after Ukraine’s recent attack on an oil storage facility in Sevastopol, Crimea.

“Around 2.30am, the Russian invaders attacked Ukraine from strategic aviation planes,” said a post on the Telegram channel of Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces.

Air defence systems were called into action to shield the Kyiv region from Russian missiles, officials said. Ukrainian media reported blasts in the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions.

Senior Ukrainian officials have suggested in recent days that the counteroffensive may be imminent. It will be a critical test of whether Russia can be dislodged from land it seized in 2014 and last year – nearly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.

“If in a global sense, in a high-percentage mode, we are ready,” Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said during a press conference in Kyiv on Friday. “Then the question [about when to launch] is for the general staff, for the command. As soon as there is God’s will, the weather, and the decision of the commanders – we will do it.”

On Monday an explosion in the Russian region of Bryansk, which borders Ukraine, derailed a freight train, the local governor said in a social media post.

“An unidentified explosive device went off, as a result of which a locomotive of a freight train derailed,” Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties reported.

Local authorities said the train was transporting fuel and building materials. Images shared on social media showed several tank carriages laying on their side and smoke rising into the air.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack, which happened less than 40 miles from the border with Ukraine.

There has been an increase in rail incidents in Russia in the 14 months since Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The authorities in Russia have arrested at least 66 Russians on suspicion of railway sabotage since last autumn, according to the independent Russian website Mediazona.

Separately, the governor of Russia’s Leningrad region near St Petersburg said a power line had been blown up overnight and an explosive device found near a second line.

-via The Guardian

~

The Ukrainian military says it is locked in a “positional struggle” as fierce fighting continues to rage in Bakhmut, adding it has been able to push back Russian forces after a series of counterattacks.

“I can definitely confirm the information that the enemy in Bakhmut left some positions after some of our counterattacks,” Serhii Cherevatyi, the spokesperson for the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told a national broadcaster.

“There is a positional struggle there,” Cherevatyi said, explaining that the frontline was constantly shifting. “Sometimes the enemy has some success after a powerful artillery strike and the destruction of infrastructure, and they can move forward. But we counterattack and often win back our positions after inflicting fire on the enemy.” Cherevatyi added that for all its efforts, Russia still had not been able to “completely” capture Bakhmut.

The spokesperson went on to say that although the Russian military’s airborne units had reinforced positions in Bakhmut, Wagner forces continued to be the ones carrying out the assaults.

“However, due to heavy losses, they have been reinforced by airborne units. In addition, in an effort to capture Bakhmut completely, we also note that the enemy is also using snipers from special units and even special services (counterterrorism, for instance) to hit our positions as much as possible," he said.

Cherevatyi said Russian forces were having to be more mindful of their use of artillery shells and rockets, but rejected claims by Wagner founder and financier Yevgeny Prigozhin that his fighters were being starved of ammunition.

“They have been given a general norm of shells, just like other units of the aggressor,” he said. “Over the past 24 hours, the enemy has fired 304 times at the Lyman-Kupiansk direction with various artillery systems. However, of course, if we take the summer of 2022, they could use an unlimited amount of ammunition along the entire front line non-stop. Now they no longer have this luxury.”

“What Prigozhin is talking about is that they are used to having a lot of ammunition. Now they are forced to limit themselves,” he added.

Cherevatyi concluded by defending Ukraine’s strategy for the region, stating that "the enemy has not been able to take Bakhmut for nine months."

“Thus, we are conducting a successful defense operation and are achieving our main goal: destroying the enemy's military potential, personnel, and equipment to the maximum extent possible," he said. "In particular, Wagner is close to being completely destroyed."

-via CNN

~

Four civilians died as a result of Ukrainian shelling on a village just over the border in Russia's Bryansk region on Saturday evening, a local governor said.

"Four civilians have been killed," Governor Alexander Bogomaz said on the Telegram messaging app. Two other citizens were being treated in hospital, Bogomaz said.

Bogomaz earlier said that one residential building had been completely destroyed and two other houses partially destroyed.

Bogomaz blamed the incident on "Ukrainian nationalists". Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia and on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in the 14-month-old Russian invasion on Ukraine.

"Work is continuing at the site of the incident to remove rubble and clear the area," Bogomaz said. "A state of emergency has been introduced in the village."

Russia's Bryansk region borders Ukraine. The village of Suzemka, where the incident occurred, is around 10 kms (6.2 miles) from the border.

-via Reuters

[leeenuu]

Emergency workers arrive at a residential area hit during a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, December 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Roman Hrytsyna)

A volunteer dressed as Saint Nicholas prepare to distribute Christmas gifts to soldiers in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, December 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Libkos)

People take shelter inside a metro station during massive Russian missile attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, December 29, 2022. (REUTERS/Vladyslav Musiienko)

Ukrainian army medics Eugenia and Oleksander embrace after their wedding ceremony in Lyman, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, December 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Libkos)

Ukrainian servicemen from 127 brigade prepare a telescopic tower with a remote camera installed on a Soviet car "Volga" that was recast to observe and correct fire on the front line near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Sunday, December 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A man reacts next to the body of his wife, killed during a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, December 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Roman Hrytsyna)

A Ukrainian soldier watches a drone feed from an underground command center in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, December 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Libkos)

Families watching a movie in a parking garage on Saturday, December 24, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Laura Boushnak/The New York Times)

Ukrainian servicemen with the Dnipro-1 Special Tasks Patrol Police regiment Raphael Karapitian, 45, walks with with weapons beside a decorated Christmas tree in the trenches on the front line on Christmas Eve in Bakhmut, Ukraine, Saturday, December 24, 2022. (REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne)

Ukrainian soldier Vasyl Khomko, 42, carries flowers as he waits for his wife and daughter at the train station in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, December 31, 2022. Khomko's wife and daughter have been living in Slovakia due to the war but returned to Kyiv to spend New Year's Eve together. (AP Photo/Roman Hrytsyna)

[william-r-melich]

A Two-Word Solution - 04/15/2024

I hate all this war stuff. I wasn't looking forward to writing this article, but it is something I must do. We find ourselves as a country in a precarious situation of teetering on the edge of being pulled into a major, global conflict. I gathered some information from Joshua Philipp's podcast on Epoch Times, Crossroads. He read the following from an article in the "Express" in UK, published at 10:12 (their local time) on Sunday, April 14, 2024, updated the same day at 12:06.

"The possibility of Iran ramping up its enrichment activities to acquire a nuclear weapon has sent shockwaves through the region and in the West."

"Iran has already vowed to launch a 'stronger' offensive against Israel's response to Saturday's attack."

"A new government-funded billboard in Palestine Square in Tehran was unveiled last night after Iran launched hundreds of drones, missiles, and rockets at Israel with Hebrew text."

"Senior Iranian figures have urged Supreme Leader Khamenei to reconsider the country's stance on nuclear weapons, with calls to cancel the existing fatwa against their assembly."

"The shift in rhetoric has led to speculation in the West about Iran's intentions and the Supreme Leader's willingness to entertain the idea of pursuing nuclear armament."

"Mahmoud-Reza Aghamir, a prominent nuclear physics professor with ties to the Iranian regime, further fueled suspicions by suggesting that 'it would be a lot easier to build a bomb than to keep holding so much enriched uranium at high levels.'"

"Iran's possession of 150 Kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent" (which is the threshold for Israel to send counter attacks against Iran.) "has raised alarms about the potential for weaponization."

"Israel is closely monitoring these developments, aware that any move towards nuclear capabilities by Iran could prompt a significant military response from the United States."

"The fear is that Iran could discretely advance its nuclear program, leaving intelligence agencies as the only means of detecting such activities."

Sounds pretty iffy to me, a lot of what they could do. Yet, I suppose Israel needs to error on the side of pre-empting any possible nuclear attack. After Iran sent over 200 missiles and drones toward Israel, Israel, the U.S., and other allies knocked down 99% of them, leaving very little damage and seriously injuring a 10 year-old girl. My heart and thoughts go out to her and her family, I hope she'll be okay.

On his podcast this morning, Joshua Philipp had stated that the United States policy of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) is no longer in place. So, if a country uses a nuclear bomb on us or one of our major allies, then we would nuke them. When Russia threatened had threatened to possibly nuke Ukraine, the U.S. only threatened Russia with "economic and diplomatic harm." That's too weak of a response, in my opinion. So, if they use a nuke, we'll use a money-clip. Hell, we might as well use a paperclip.

I caught an informative article on Josh's show this morning which came from Time magazine back in November 2022, the headline reads:

"World Leaders Condemn Putin's War, Nuclear Threats Amid Pressure Campaign Against Russia"

"The U.S. and other world leaders issued a joint declaration Wednesday condemning Russia's War in Ukraine and denouncing threats of using nuclear weapons, an intimidation tactic that's become commonplace for Russian President Vladimir Putin since launching his invasion nine months ago."

"'The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible', read the statement, composed by the world's 20 largest economies. 'The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today's era must not be of war.'"

"The 17-page document marks a victory for the Biden Administration and global allies, which sought to end this year's summit in Bali, Indonesia with a statement censuring Russia for its unprovoked military campaign in Ukraine. In recent weeks, the Biden team has launched a discreet, multi-pronged effort to pressure Moscow to dial back the increasingly reckless bluster that has sparked fears the world was nearing the brink of nuclear war."

"Through a series of one-on one discussions and back channels between top U.S. and Russian officials, combined with diplomatic maneuvering with other nations' leaders, the Administration has worked to get Putin and his government to stop threatening the use of nuclear weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine, where Moscow has faced mounting losses, this fall."

"In a rare disclosure on Monday, the White House revealed CIA Director William Burns met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Naryshkin in Ankara, Turkey's capital, to discuss potential costs to the Kremlin if it decides to use a nuclear weapon in the Ukraine conflict. 'He is not conducting negotiations of any kind,' a White House spokeswoman said. 'He is conveying a message on the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia, and the risks of escalation to strategic stability.'"

"The same day, President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a joint-statement that said nuclear weapons should never be used, particularly in Ukraine. The rebuke was notworthy considering Beijing has tacitly approved of Putin's actions and shown reticence to join the international community's widespread condemnation of invasion."

"Read more: U.S. Unveils Strategy Threats from China and Russia."

"The message the U.S. seeks to send is clear: if Moscow goes nuclear in Ukraine, it will only experience further economic and diplomatic isolation on the world stage. There are indications that the strategy, which has gathered momentum behind the scenes since late September after Putin illegally annexed four occupied regions of Ukraine then suggested he'd defend the territory with nuclear arms, may be working. Putin back tracked late last month by stating Russia would gain nothing through launching a nuclear strike. 'We see no need for that,' he said October 27 at a conference of international foreign policy experts. 'There is no point in that, neither political nor military.'"

"Concerned observers are cautiously optimistic that the U.S. approach will continue to draw Putin away from the nuclear threshold, but they worry about the ongoing instability of relation between the world's foremost nuclear powers. 'The Biden team has been effective in cautioning Putin not to cross the nuclear line, warning of the consequences, and quietly encouraging others with influence like China to provide similar messages to Putin. They've done this very adeptly while avoiding provocations,' says Lynn Rusten, vice president at the Nuclear Threat Initiative and former senior official on arms control." In my opinion, I think this writer is being too kind to Briben (Biden). I really don't think he's effective in deterring Putin's aggression.

This next article just came out in the Epoch Times: "Israel Announces It Will Respond to Iran Missile Attack as Airlines Cancel Flights to Region." It begins with this: "Israel's miliary chief said on April 15 that Israel will respond to Iran's missile and drone attack, but it's not clear how or when."

"Herzi Halevi, head of the Israel Defense Forces, told reporters that Iran's strikes "will be met with a response" without elaborating. He spoke during a visit to the Nevatim air base, which Israel sayts suffered light damage in the Iranian attack.

“Iran wanted to harm the strategic capabilities of the State of Israel—that is something that had not happened before. We were prepared for the ‘Iron Shield’ operation—preparation that brought Iran to also meet air superiority,” he said. “Last Monday, we saw what was being organized, and we think that the State of Israel is very strong and knows how to deal with it alone, but with a threat so numerous and so far away, we are always happy to have [the United States] with us. Looking ahead, we are considering our steps, and this launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles, and UAVs into the territory of the State of Israel will be met with a response.”

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been huddling with top officials to discuss a possible response to Iran’s attack involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles."

"Iran’s attack on April 13 was the first time Tehran directly targeted Israel since the current regime took over in 1979. However, the country has been engaged in proxy attacks against both Israel and the United States originating from a number of Middle Eastern countries."

"On April 15, a number of airline companies canceled or delayed flights again after the Iranian missile and drone attack. United Airlines and Air Canada, notably, canceled some flights into Tel Aviv as well as flights into Jordan."

"Iranian officials said the attack was carried out in response to an Israeli airstrike on April 1 on a Syrian compound that left two Iranian generals and other officials dead."

"'Our response will be much larger than tonight’s military action if Israel retaliates against Iran,' armed forces chief of staff Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri told state-run media in articles published on April 14. He claimed that Iran warned the United States through Switzerland that any support of an Israeli counterattack against Iran would lead to American assets being targeted."

"After the drones and missiles were launched, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard issued a direct warning to the United States through state-run IRNA that the 'U.S. government is warned any support or participation in harming Iran’s interests will be followed by decisive and regretting response by Iran’s armed forces.'"

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said this on April 15 on whether the U.S. will be briefed on any response plans of Israel: "We will let the Israelis speak to that. "We are not involved in their decision-making process about a potential response."

"The Iranian attack on April 13 was the first time that Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. The attack happened less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria that killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building."

"Israel’s military stated that its Arrow system, which shoots down ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere, handled most interceptions and noted that 'strategic partners' were involved."

"U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that U.S. military forces 'intercepted dozens of missiles and UAVs en route to Israel, launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen,' referring to a term used for unmanned aerial vehicles."

"'At my direction, to support the defense of Israel, the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week,' President Joe Biden said in a separate statement over the past weekend. “Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our service members, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles."

"Israel and Iran have been on a collision course throughout Israel’s six-month war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip after members of the group carried out a cross-border attack that left more than 1,200 civilians dead. More than 250 people were kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023, incident, according to officials. Israel’s government is still negotiating with Hamas for the release of the remaining hostages."

"The Associated Press contributed to this report."

With the weakness of the current appeaser-in-thief, Shmoe Briben (Joe Biden), this is absolutely the worst time for an imminent threat of a world war, let alone a nuclear one. I see this compromised-corrupt-oatmeal-for-brains-commie-ander-in-disbelief as not doing any affective deterrence, lying all the time and saying all the wrong things as he makes everything about himself on what a great job he's doing; all the while he's really been doing everything possible to cause this horrible situation which never would have happened under Donald Trump. Yes, most definitely he caused this dumb war by funding a major adversary of ours with billions of dollars which went directly to the terrorists who barbarically raped, tortured, and murdered so many innocent Israeli citizens; men, women, and children: brutally cutting out eyes, chopping off limbs, burning and beheading babies. Briben has a lot of blood on his hands which makes me both sickened and angry to the core. This kid-sniffing, corrupt bag of a rotting maggot, sub-human creature in the White House; wantonly funding such demon-savage, terrorist thugs is a heinous act driven by stupidity on steroids on a level of evil that falls perpetually deep into the infinite pits of darkness...

Yet, my hope is that I'm wrong in assuming that he'll not do enough of the right thing, and too much of the wrong thing to prevent a major global conflict. Realistically, I don't think it will come to that because Iran has to know that in spite of all the wokeness in our military at the top ranks, we would wipe them off the map in a direct war with them. I believe that China is waiting in the wings for us to get involved with at least a couple more wars while being hit with multiple, domestic terror attacks so that we'll be distracted and spread out thinly enough to give them a better chance at defeating us. We must make it to the election this November and get Trump re-elected. We must defeat Shmoe Briben, as Trump says, "get out of here, you're fired!" If we don't, we'll be seriously futticked! What a mess! Aside from the obvious, needed act of cutting off all the funding to Iran and their terrorist proxies, I have a simple, 2-word solution; stop fighting!

[stele3]

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/death-toll-rises-23-after-mudslide-northwest-colombia-2024-01-13/

[at-the-end-of-days]

So Russia is mad because after a massive attack on Ukraine, Ukraine hit Belgorod (a Russian city near the border), and now Russia is demanding a UN meeting.

So.

With everything going on in Israel aside, Russia just did a massive attack on Ukraine.

And in retaliation. Ukraine attacked Belgorod. After missiles shot at every major city in Ukraine.

And Russia is furious.

Russia is blaming Britain, blaming NATO for providing the ammunition, blaming the Czech Republic.

So

What does this mean?

Likely, a United Nations meeting will take place, and Russia will rant and rave and stomp their feet because after literally invading Ukraine… they got the equivalent of the slap on the hand. Not to say that there wasn’t a loss of life; real living people have died, and their families will miss them greatly.

But Russia may very well use this to make a threat. Or to justify some new escalation. As if the Russians haven’t raped, beaten, and killed countless Ukrainians.

But blaming Britain, threatening Britain, is nothing new for Russia. It’s a step down from threatening the US. A simple google search of “Russia threatens Britain”? September 5, 2023; August 3, 2023; March 22, 2023. This isn’t new. But it certainly seems to have Ireland on edge.

[usafphantom2]

Russia threatened to shoot down French AWACS over the Black Sea

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 02/23/2024 - 00:08in Military, War Zones

Russian forces threatened to shoot down a French surveillance plane that patrolled international airspace over the Black Sea, a sign of Moscow's increasingly aggressive behavior as the invasion of Ukraine struggles to move forward, French defense officials said on Thursday.

“A Russian air traffic control system threatened to shoot down French aircraft in the Black Sea when we were in a free international zone where we patrolled,” French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu told RTL radio.

A French military spokesman, Colonel Pierre Gaudillière, said Lecornu was referring to an incident in mid-November that involved one of the four gigantic E-3F of France's Airborne Alert and Control Systems, or AWACS, surveillance aircraft flying over international waters in the Black Sea. Gaudillière described the incident as unprecedented for the French pilots in that region.

“Through a radio exchange, the pilots were threatened by the Russians,” Gaudillière said.

“It was a particularly aggressive radio exchange,” he added. "It's the first time."

Two other authorities said that the conversation was in English and that Russian air traffic control said that their forces would "destroy" the French aircraft. The authorities spoke on condition of anonymity for discussing the confidential details.

In his radio interview, Lecornu said that Russia is returning to a "particularly aggressive" posture that recalls the behavior of the former Soviet Union during the Cold War.

“Russia's behavior in 2024 is not related to what we saw in 2022 and, obviously, before the aggression in Ukraine,” the minister said. "This is explained by the fact that Russia is in difficulty on the battlefield in Ukraine."

French air force pilots regularly patrol NATO's eastern flank, part of the efforts of the military alliance of 31 nations to strengthen their defenses since Russia launched the large-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago on Saturday.

On board a French air force AWACS flight to the Black Sea coast in January, one of the pilots told the Associated Press that they seek to calm any tensions if they are intercepted by Russian planes, which he said was rare.

“Our orders must be, say, passive,” said the pilot, Major Romain. "For a civilian, let's say 'educated'".

Flying well above the Black Sea coast, the French AWACS use their powerful radar and other surveillance equipment to spy on the Crimean Peninsula, which was taken from Ukraine by Russia and annexed in 2014. Flights can detect missile launches, aerial bombardments and other military activity in the Ukraine war.

Russian pilots have sometimes made it clear that they do not like to be observed.

In 2022, a Russian fighter launched a missile near a British Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft that was flying in international airspace over the Black Sea, the British government said. The United States government released a video in March 2023 of a Russian jet fighter dumping fuel into a U.S. Air Force surveillance drone. The drone crashed into the Black Sea.

Source: AP

Tags: Armée de l'air - French Air Force/French Air ForceMilitary AviationE-3 SentryWar Zones - Russia/Ukraine

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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