Wow - this is a game changer.


Ukraine says it used US-made Patriot system
to intercept Russian hypersonic missile


https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/230221175747-01-patriot-missile-defense-systems.jpg



CNN  —

Ukraine says it has for the first time used a US-made Patriot air defense system to intercept a Russian hypersonic missile.

Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, said on Telegram Saturday: “Yes, we have intercepted the ‘unmatched’ Kinzhal,’” adding the word “Patriot” and an emoji of the Ukrainian flag.

The Kh-47 Kinzhal is a hypersonic ballistic missile.

Ukraine has received at least two Patriot systems, one from the United States and one from Germany, to enhance its air defenses, which have previously been unable to intercept more modern Russian missiles such as the Kinzhal.

Oleshchuk said the interception “happened during the night attack on May 4 in the sky over Kyiv region.

He said the Kinzhal missile had been launched by a MiG-31K aircraft from Russian territory.

Yurii Ihnat, an Air Force Command spokesman, told Ukrainian television Saturday: “Yes, we do have weapons against ballistics.
No-one knew whether the Patriot could operate against ballistic missiles.
Well yes, it can.”

“It’s good that we have such weapon. Unfortunately there’s not much of it,” Ihnat added.

Last month Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that Patriots would be critical in defending Ukrainian infrastructure against ballistic missiles.

“Building a multi-level air and missile defense system as soon as possible is our priority,” he declared. “This is to protect peaceful cities, critical infrastructure, and our people in the rear and at the front.
Patriot systems create a capability that did not exist before –
to defeat ballistic targets.”

It's an air launched ballistic missile, not really a hypersonic missile

Gordon wrote on May 6^th, 2023 at 6:11pm:

It's an air launched ballistic missile, not really a hypersonic missile

no -
the Russians have hypersonic nukes so it's wonderful
that there is some defense against them.
This is a game changer.

Kh-47M2 Kinzhal a Russian nuclear-capable hypersonic air-launched ballistic missile.Mach 10 speed'.
Being Russian it goes super very fast at launch then has to be slowed down to be guided onto the ..er...anti-missile system.
Asch nyet   Кинжал !!

chimera wrote on May 6^th, 2023 at 6:27pm:

Kh-47M2 Kinzhal a Russian nuclear-capable hypersonic air-launched ballistic missile.Mach 10 speed'. Being Russian it goes super very fast at launch then has to be slowed down to be guided onto the ..er...anti-missile system. Asch nyet   Кинжал !!

It's a game changer against the Russian daggers.

That noise is Putin going ballistic

'the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) as 'Satan 2'.

It is among Russia's next-generation missiles that Putin has called "invincible," and which also include the Kinzhal and Avangard hypersonic missiles'.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/08/europe/russia-t-55-tanks-ukraine-intl-cmd/index.html


Russians using tanks designed in 1948.


The tanks are T-55s, a model first commissioned by the Soviet Union’s Red Army in 1948, shortly after the end of World War II.
They’re so old, you can find them in museums.
But in following decades, when deployed against Western-built tanks – in some Arab-Israeli conflicts, and then in the Gulf War – they were no match.
“In the first Gulf War, in 1991 for example, the American and British tanks were knocking out Iraqi T-55s from 23 kilometers.


https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/230505120404-04-old-russian-tanks.jpg

Its not difficult to reason that the US would be cautious allowing the Patriots to be put in harm's way. But now they have been successful, Ukraine will probably get more. The war is a great proving ground thanks to the stupidity of Putin and his advisers. Remember how he bullied them into agreeing to the invasion right there on TV?

Lost his intelligentsia, increased NATO, embarrassed the Russian navy, reduced the economy by half, lost Russian oversees investment, showed up Russian equipment as obsolete, and got around 100k of Russia's sons killed.

In further related developments the NYT is reporting 5.5 million Ukrainian refugees have gone home, and numbers quite close to many communities near the war zone. That shows optimism.

issuevoter wrote on May 8^th, 2023 at 8:28pm:

Its not difficult to reason that the US would be cautious allowing the Patriots to be put in harm's way. But now they have been successful, Ukraine will probably get more. The war is a great proving ground thanks to the stupidity of Putin and his advisers. Remember how he bullied them into agreeing to the invasion right there on TV? Lost his intelligentsia, increased NATO, embarrassed the Russian navy, reduced the economy by half, lost Russian oversees investment, showed up Russian equipment as obsolete, and got around 100k of Russia's sons killed. In further related developments the NYT is reporting 5.5 million Ukrainian refugees have gone home, and numbers quite close to many communities near the war zone. That shows optimism.

yes - see here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/07/world/europe/ukraine-frontline-russia-war.html

but it's subscription only.

Ukrainians Return Home, Renewed and Resigned

More than 5.5 million people who left after the war began in February 2022 have gone back home — and not just to large cities like Kyiv or Dnipro, but to small places near the front line, as well.


Still -
back to tanks.

Imagine being given a 70 year old T-55 tank and sent into a modern war?
It's a steel coffin.
Your only hope is that the Ukrainians would feel sorry for you
and not want to waste a tank shell.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/05/08/britain-ukraine-long-range-missile/



Britain prepares to send long-range missiles to Ukraine

The U.K. is pushing the Biden administration into providing Ukraine
with weapons that can reach further into Russian-held territory


By Karen DeYoung
May 8, 2023


https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=240,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/preview_cards/images/037/495/625/original/4b62b85a8d30303e.jpeg



Britain, which has prided itself on being ahead of its Western allies in introducing new weapons systems to Ukraine, now appears poised to send Kyiv the long-range missiles the Biden administration has long denied it.
Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In a procurement notice posted May 2 by the British-led International Fund for Ukraine, a group of northern European countries that has set up a mechanism to send weapons to the battlefield, the United Kingdom’s Defense Ministry asked for “expressions of interest” in providing strike capabilities with a range of up to 300 kilometers, or nearly 200 miles. The notice asked for responses within three days.

No final decision has been made, according to a British official who declined to confirm the type, timing or quantity of weaponry under consideration. But the notice is a substantive step toward Britain itself supplying such munitions, and the requested specifications and capabilities closely match its air-launched Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

Ukraine has long pleaded with Western nations for longer range missiles, arguing that such weapons could change the course of the war by allowing its forces to target Russian command centers, supply lines, ammunition and fuel dumps deep inside Crimea and Russian-held territory in eastern Ukraine. As Kyiv prepares to launch a major counteroffensive as soon as within the next several weeks, the ability to strike far behind Russia’s front lines would help clear the way for a ground assault with tanks and infantry troops.

https://youtu.be/LasrD6SZkZk

Marla - Americans eat too many jelly doughnuts to join the army:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4eMhddTPg4

https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-05-10-23/index.html


4 hr 15 min ago

Ukrainian military claims successful counterattack near Bakhmut

From CNN's Tim Lister and Seb Shukla

Andriy Biletsky attends a rally in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 9, 2019.
Andriy Biletsky attends a rally in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 9, 2019. Gleb Garanich/Reuters

The Ukrainian military has inflicted “huge losses” on Russian forces in a successful counterattack near the eastern city of Bakhmut on Wednesday, according to Ukrainian officials.

Speaking in a video shared on Telegram, Andriy Biletsky, head of Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade, said "units of the 72nd Brigade of the Russian Federation were defeated."

The "6th and 8th companies of the division" had been "completely destroyed" along with a significant number of armored fighting vehicles, he added.

Biletsky said a "significant number of prisoners" were taken and "the 3rd Assault unit of Wagner also suffered heavy losses," referring to the Russian private military company -- or mercenary group -- that is playing a major role in the battles around Bakhmut.

The offensive action "completely freed" an area 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) wide and 2.6 kilometers (1.6 miles) deep of Russian forces, he said. No exact location was given.

The spokesperson for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Serhii Cherevatyi, added that the battle was “still ongoing” but that “the enemy is suffering huge losses in this area.” He said that 203 were killed and 216 wounded.

He also noted that there was “no shortage of shells, but a shortage of people”. The spokesman said that there had been 524 attacks on Ukrainian positions around Bakhmut. Russia has suffered heavy losses in their months-long battle for the city, but have not yet been able to capture it.

“If they [Wagner] don’t get more personnel or change their tactics, in the near future, PMC Wagner will no longer exist in this area,” Cherevatyi added.

Some context: Bakhmut is the site of a long, drawn-out assault by Russian forces, including Wagner mercenaries, that has driven thousands from their homes and left the area devastated. But despite the vast amounts of manpower and resources Moscow has poured into capturing the city, they have been unable to take total control.