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You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War for Ukraine Day 765: Russia Is Attempting to Destroy Ukraine’s Power Generation System!

War for Ukraine Day 765: Russia Is Attempting to Destroy Ukraine’s Power Generation System!

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(Image by NEIVANMADE)

Overnight, Russia once again struck the Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant. As well as power plants in Poltova and Cherkasy.

Ukrainian air defense once again did yeoman’s work.

Overnight, russia launched another massive air attack on Ukrainian fuel and energy facilities.

The enemy attacked Ukraine with 60 Shahed UAVs and 39 missiles of various types.

Ukrainian air defenders shot down 84 aerial targets, including:
• 58 Shahed UAVs
• 17 Kh-101 cruise missiles
• 5 Kh-59 guided air missiles
• 4 Iskander-K cruise missiles.

We are grateful to our warriors for a job well done.
Ukraine needs more air defense systems from our partners, including Patriot air defense systems, to protect critical infrastructure and civilians from russian terror.

#RussiaIsATerroristState

More on this after the jump.

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

It must become a joint task to ensure that environmental disasters no longer occur in our Europe – address by the President of Ukraine

29 March 2024 – 19:26

I wish you all good health, dear Ukrainians!

Today, I chaired the Staff Meeting, largely focusing on the aftermath of the Russian strikes last night and in recent weeks. The primary target for the enemy in this missile terror is our energy sector, various parts of our energy system. Calculatedly vicious Russian strikes, particularly targeting hydroelectric power.

At the Staff Meeting, we discussed all aspects of protecting these facilities, both within Ukraine and with our partners. It’s crucial not only for our state but also for our neighbors and the continent as a whole. There were strikes on the Dniester Power Plant, the Kaniv Power Plant, indicating Russia’s intention to replicate the catastrophe they caused at the Kakhovka Power Plant. It must become a joint task – not only Ukraine’s – to ensure that such environmental disasters no longer occur in our Europe. Besides Ukraine, Moldova is under direct threat.

I am grateful to all partners who assist us in ensuring an adequate supply of air defense. This is extremely important. On the diplomatic front, we expend much effort not only to counter Russian influence but also to persuade partners to increase the supply of air defense systems and missiles to them.

Of course, there is a lot of work being done in various regions regarding the physical protection of energy facilities. Today, we received reports from representatives of energy companies and government officials.

The second issue discussed at the Staff Meeting was the supply of weapons and ammunition to the front, for our current and upcoming actions. We clearly understand what Russia is preparing for. They are obsessed with war – they won’t stop themselves. And we are doing everything possible to ensure enough rebuffs.

Today, I introduced the new Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksandr Lytvynenko. One of his top priorities now is more coordination, more quality draft solutions – everything that will strengthen our state in defense against Russian ambitions and, indeed, our ability to counter hostile ambitions.

Oleksii Danilov will continue his work on the diplomatic front, more specifically – I have approved his candidacy as the new Ambassador of our state to the Republic of Moldova. He discussed with me his vision for his future work for Ukraine. Moldova is an extremely important state for us – both from the point of view of security challenges in the region and our bilateral cooperation.

And one more thing.

Today, the petition regarding casinos, namely online gambling platforms, got the necessary number of signatures very quickly. It addresses the prevalence of such platforms and their impact on part of society. I tasked the chief of the Security Service of Ukraine, State Special Communications Service, Ministry of Digital Transformation, and the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council to compile all analytics on this matter for me, with a proposal for a solution by next week.

And last.

Today started early – at night, due to Russian missile strikes. I kept in contact with Air Force Commander Oleschuk and Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi, listening to extensive reports. Responses to the enemy will be extensive too.

Glory to our strong nation!

Glory to Ukraine!

Ukraine’s Kaniv and Dniester hydroelectric power plants were among the deliberate targets of Russian mass air strikes this night. The terrorist state of Russia wishes to repeat the ecological disaster in the Kherson region following Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka HPP.

This time, not only Ukraine but also Moldova are at risk. Water will not stop at border posts, just as the Russian war will not stop unless it is stopped in time here in Ukraine.

This was one of the topics discussed at today’s Staff meeting, which focused on the consequences of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy system and the most effective ways to provide physical protection to energy facilities.

We urge our partners to respond quickly and decisively to Russia’s intensified bombing campaign against Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. Ukraine urgently requires additional air defense systems and missiles. We need a strong and reliable air shield over Ukraine to protect people not only in our country but also in the rest of Europe and around the world from Russian terror.

The reason:

Ukrinform has the details:

Oleksandr Syrskyi was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces under a Ukrainian presidential decree in February 2024. This appointment, as well as subsequent changes in the country’s military leadership, the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Avdiivka, a lasting offensive by Russian invaders and Ukraine’s transition to strategic defense became a matter of close attention, and not only in Ukraine. Western allies and partners started expressing alarming thoughts that Ukraine is losing ground and capabilities to continue the fight against the enemy. The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, told Ukrinform how justified such assessments are, what the real battlefield situation is, and what a new strategy of the Ukrainian forces means.

– Oleksandr Stanislavovych, disturbing news continues to arrive from the front. The enemy continues to put pressure on Ukrainian positions, trying to advance in the Kupiansk and Lyman sectors and posing threats to Yampil and Siversk. The situation on the Avdiivka axis remains difficult. We know that the enemy pays for every such step with heavy losses. However, what is happening? Do the Ukrainian Armed Forces have the resources and capabilities to stop such an enemy advance?

– The situation at the front is really difficult. However, it cannot be any different at the front. Undoubtedly, every day requires maximum effort from our soldiers and officers. But we not only are on the defensive, but also move forward in different directions every day. Recently, the number of positions we have returned exceeds the number of lost positions. The enemy did not manage to advance significantly in strategic areas, and his territorial gains, if any, are of tactical importance. We are monitoring this situation.

It should be recognized that the current situation in certain sectors remains tense. The Russian occupiers continue to increase their efforts and have a numerical advantage in manpower. They traditionally do not count on losses and continue to use the tactics of massive assaults. In some areas, units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces repel several dozen attacks.

The experience of the past months and weeks shows that the enemy has significantly increased aircraft activity, using KABs – guided air bombs that destroy our positions. In addition, the enemy resorts to dense artillery and mortar fire. Several days ago, the enemy’s advantage in terms of ammunition was about six to one.

However, we learned to fight not by the amount of ammunition, but by the skill of using the weapons that we have. In addition, we make the most of the advantages of unmanned aerial vehicles, although the enemy is trying to catch up with us in this effective weapon.

The enemy continues to carry out offensive operations on a wide front, trying to reach the borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions at any cost and pushing us back on the left [east] bank of the Dnipro in the Zaporizhzhia region.

In some areas of the front, we managed to equalize the situation with artillery, and this immediately affected the situation as a whole. Our gunners use high-precision ammunition to destroy enemy concentration areas even tens of kilometers behind the front lines. Every day, the enemy not only suffers significant losses in manpower and equipment, including artillery systems, but he can never feel safe anywhere, including in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. This is an important psychological factor. They will not have peace on our land. Never. And every occupier should be aware of this.

It is clear that these are statistics, but it is important to know that in February-March of this year alone (as of March 26), the enemy lost more than 570 tanks, about 1,430 armored fighting vehicles, almost 1,680 artillery pieces and 64 air defense systems. At the same time, the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to keep key heights and defense areas under control. Our goal is to prevent the loss of our territory, exhaust the enemy as much as possible, inflict the greatest losses on him, and form and prepare reserves for offensive operations.

It is also very significant that the enemy’s activity in the air was also reduced, of course, thanks to the skills of our air defense units. In just ten days in February, they shot down 13 enemy aircraft, including two strategically important A50 early warning and control aircraft.

Therefore, we are fine with the skill of military personnel. We hope to receive from our partners a greater number of air defense systems, and, most importantly, missiles for them, especially given that the enemy has switched to the tactics of massive air strikes against Ukrainian troops, civilian infrastructure, and peaceful Ukrainian cities. We have a duty to protect them.

We continue to change tactics at sea as well. Naval drone attacks on enemy ships are so effective that this allows us to talk about changes in the strategy of combat operations at sea as a whole. We are purposefully destroying the Russian Black Sea Fleet. And we will continue to do so. The latest destruction of several ships in Sevastopol is just another example of this.

– Your appointment was made after a loud and, let us be frank, not entirely understandable resignation from this post of General Valerii Zaluzhnyi. What are these changes and the reformatting of almost the entire military leadership connected with? What was the reaction of troops to such a reshuffle?

– The military has one duty – we do not discuss orders, we carry them out. So if the country’s president — the Supreme Commander-in-Chief — had reasons for such a replacement, especially during the active phase of the war, it means that the reasons were valid.

Valerii Fedorovych [Zaluzhnyi] and I worked side by side during the most difficult times since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, and even before. We worked as one team. I wish him success in his new and very responsible position.

For my part, I can say that all our knowledge and experience, gained during the full-scale war in battles with the enemy’s superior forces, will be aimed at increasing the effectiveness of our actions and inflicting maximum damage on the enemy’s strike groups.

On this basis, we are working out the algorithms of the military administration bodies at all levels. It is a matter of detailed and careful planning of the actions of formations and units, of course, taking into account the needs of the front. Not only the success of each military operation, but also people’s lives depend on the clear work of this vertical, which covers the planning and support of military operations, on the timely supply of the latest weapons and ammunition from our Western partners. Commanders of all levels should remember this, and we constantly remind our Western allies about it.

Our staffs must know all the needs of the front without exception and understand the situation in every part of it. Here, the skills of the officers who are part of the military administration come to the fore.

I can confirm that the composition of the General Staff and other military administration bodies will be updated at the expense of combat officers with extensive practical experience of combat operations, which they acquired on the battlefield of this war.

– What changes will take place on the battlefield after your appointment?

– The battlefield situation depends not only on the Commander-in-Chief, as you understand. Modern warfare requires determination and initiative on the ground, right where the fighting occurs. The success of combat operations is decided by officers, sergeants and soldiers who are in the trenches and at strongpoints – it is they who carry this heavy combat load on their shoulders.

We can define a strategy, coordinate actions and promptly respond to changes in the situation and the needs of the front. At the same time, the philosophy of the use of troops – at least this is my position – should be based on the main formula. The most valuable thing that our Armed Forces have is people. Our task is to protect their lives and, at the same time, inflict maximum losses on the enemy.

The implementation of this principle requires maintaining a balance between the execution of combat missions and the restoration of military formations and units. Our people are heroes, but their powers are not limitless, they also need recovery and rest.

Therefore, the process of rotating military units on the front line has already been launched today, which allows us to fully restore the combat capability of equipment and, first and foremost, to ensure rest and recovery for our service members.

We need people to ensure this process. That is why I would like all men of military age in Ukraine to realize that Ukraine’s survival depends on their will and actions.

This process is not limited only to the activities of military recruitment centers. This is a whole set of issues, which includes training people, equipping and providing them with what they neeed. Such efforts also include social protection measures for service members and their families. It is necessary to worry about the life of a service member after release or demobilization. Of course, it is impossible to solve all these tasks only through the efforts of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. We see that the state does not stand aside and is already creating mechanisms to solve all these issues.

Ukrainians continue to go to defend their country, including by returning from abroad. We have many volunteer fighters, and this is not an exaggeration. I do not claim that there are no problems, but I emphasize that we are doing everything to solve them.

– Earlier reports said that 500,000 more people had to be mobilized to maintain combat capability and ensure the rotation of units and formations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the front. How realistic is such a figure now?

– Following the revision of our internal resources and clarification of the combat composition of the Armed Forces, this figure was significantly reduced. We expect that we will have enough people capable of defending their motherland. I am talking not only about the mobilized, but also about volunteer fighters.

It is necessary to take into account the fact that people are not robots. They are exhausted, physically and psychologically, especially in combat conditions. For example, those who came to military recruitment centers in February 2022 – these people need rest and treatment. Suffice it to mention that the 110th combat brigade was involved in the Avdiivka sector from the beginning of the full-scale invasion. They need to recover and rest, and this is an objective necessity. And there are many other such units.

We are currently reviewing the strength and number of individual non-combat units based on an audit of their activities. This enabled us to send thousands of service members to combat units.

But here, it is necessary to refrain from extremes. In all armies in the world, there are personnel who do not participate in combat operations, but support combat units. This is an equally important part of the work. The war that we are forced to wage against the Russian invaders is a war of attrition, a war of logistics. Therefore, the importance of the effectiveness of rear units cannot be underestimated. It is about the system of providing troops with food and ammunition, about repair units, medical facilities, and many other things. These people contribute to the effectiveness of combat operations.

I want to emphasize that those citizens who come to the army as part of mobilization do not immediately go to the front. There are only very special exceptions when, for example, people already have combat experience. Most of these people arrive at training military units and centers. As of February of this year, the number of people undergoing such training made up 84 percent of the total number of those mobilized. Once they complete such training, they can be sent to the additional staffing of military units to restore their combat capability.

Much, much more at the link.

Here’s more on last night’s attack:

Washington DC:

And it was never ‘risky’.

What has been really dangerous all this time is the endless appeasement, self-restraint, and procrastination that have been effectively enabling and encouraging Putin to escalate his war on Ukraine, unfold the full power of his war machine, and now threaten the entire West.

‘Escalation management’ is a failed pseudo-pragmatic concept that puts the Kremlin’s aggressive intimidation and extortion above U.S. national security interests, and now it’s far beyond the matter of the war on Ukraine.
https://defenseone.com/threats/2024/03/giving-atacms-ukraine-no-longer-risky-says-joint-chiefs-chairman/395329/?oref=d1-homepage-top-story

Defense One has the details.

Ukraine has been asking the United States for long-range ATACMS missiles since 2021, and the White House has consistently resisted, at least publicly. But the tide may be turning.

Thursday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. C.Q. Brown, told reporters “the risk of escalation is not as high as maybe it was at the beginning.”

Russian statements in September 2022 indicated that providing such weapons to Ukraine would cross a “red line,” because their range would allow Ukraine to target Moscow. Gen. Mark Milley, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Defense One at the time: “Folks in academia or think tanks or other forms of analysis, they call that ‘declaratory policy,’ when senior officials…issue out statements, predictive statements, of what they would or would not do, if certain actions were to take place.”

Top military officials, speaking on background, have pointed to Russian military doctrine specifically as it relates so-called existential risk, saying that giving Ukraine such weapons could compel a nuclear response from Russia, or spur it to attack a NATO partner.

Since the fall, reports have suggested the United States may have changed its calculation, and may be sending small numbers of the long-range missiles in secret—despite the fact that the White House has previously said it doesn’t have enough of them to send.

But the Biden administration has taken pains to avoid confirming or denying that reporting. As recently as March 20, White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan declared, “I have nothing to announce here publicly today on that issue. When we do have something to share, we will be sure to share it.”

Brown didn’t officially confirm or deny the reporting either, but he did say that Russia’s muted response to a series of recent Ukrainian drone attacks well inside of Russian territory have allowed the Pentagon to adjust its analysis on the risk of sending ATACMS.

“Those are the things that we…pay attention to. You know, what is the likelihood of escalation based on…different capabilities and different actions,” he said.

Brown again encouraged swift passage of the supplemental, and said Ukraine will face continued artillery shelling for the foreseeable future. But he also said that fears of a massive spring Russian offensive may be overblown.

“I don’t know if the Russians can generate a major offensive. I mean, if you look at…what’s happened over the course of…the past year, the Russians have actually thrown a lot of capability and personnel and weapon systems and vehicles to gain what they have gained. And the way I would say, it’s almost a meat grinder.”

More at the link.

From The Washington Post: (emphasis mine)

KYIV — President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a stark message to Congress in an interview on Thursday as Russian missiles were pounding southern Ukraine: Give us the weapons to stop the Russian attacks, or Ukraine will escalate its counterattacks on Russia’s airfields, energy facilities and other strategic targets.

Zelensky spoke in a sandbagged, heavily guarded presidential compound that seemed nearly empty of its old civilian workforce after more than two years of war. The security was so tight, I had to surrender my plastic felt-tip pens. But Zelensky appeared as animated and pugnacious as when he made his defiant stand in the courtyard when the war began.

Zelensky, the actor who became a wartime president, now totally inhabits this role. He wore his habitual dress of a Ukrainian military sweatshirt and combat pants. He looked less haggard here on his home ground than he had about a month ago at a security conference in Munich. He seems to relish being the symbol of a nation at war.

The congressional delay in approving a $60 billion military aid package has been costly for Ukraine, Zelensky said. The military has been unable to plan future operations while legislators squabbled for nearly six months. He warned that hard-pressed Ukrainian forces might have to retreat to secure their front lines and conserve ammunition.

“If there is no U.S. support, it means that we have no air defense, no Patriot missiles, no jammers for electronic warfare, no 155-milimeter artillery rounds,” he said. “It means we will go back, retreat, step by step, in small steps.”

To describe the military situation, Zelensky took a sheet of paper and drew a simple diagram of the combat zone. “If you need 8,000 rounds a day to defend the front line, but you only have, for example, 2,000 rounds, you have to do less,” he explained. “How? Of course, to go back. Make the front line shorter. If it breaks, the Russians could go to the big cities.”

“We are trying to find some way not to retreat,” Zelensky continued. After the Russian capture of Avdiivka in February, he said, “we have stabilized the situation because of smart steps by our military.” If the front remains stable, he said, Ukraine can arm and train new brigades in the rear to conduct a new counteroffensive later this year.

Zelensky summed up the zero-sum reality of this conflict: “If you are not taking steps forward to prepare another counteroffensive, Russia will take them. That’s what we learned in this war: If you don’t do it, Russia will do it.”

When I asked whether Ukraine was running short of interceptors and other air-defense weapons to protect its cities and infrastructure, he responded: “That’s true. I don’t want Russia to know what number of air-defense missiles we have, but basically, you’re right. Without the support of Congress, we will have a big deficit of missiles. This is the problem. We are increasing our own air-defense systems, but it is not enough.”

As Russian drones, missiles and precision bombs break through Ukrainian defenses to attack energy facilities and other essential infrastructure, Zelensky feels he has no choice but to punch back across the border — in the hope of establishing deterrence. An example is Ukraine’s drone strikes against Russian refineries over the past month. I asked Zelensky if U.S. officials had warned against such attacks on energy facilities inside Russia, as has been rumored in Washington.

“The reaction of the U.S. was not positive on this,” he confirmed, but Washington couldn’t limit Ukraine’s deployment of its own home-built weapons. “We used our drones. Nobody can say to us you can’t.”

Zelensky argued that he could check Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid only by making Russia pay a similar price. “If there is no air defense to protect our energy system, and Russians attack it, my question is: Why can’t we answer them? Their society has to learn to live without petrol, without diesel, without electricity. … It’s fair.”

“When Russia will stop these steps, we will stop,” he said.

What Zelensky wants urgently are long-range ATACM-300 missiles, which he said could strike targets in Russian-occupied Crimea, especially the airfields from which Russia launches planes with precision-guided missiles that are doing heavy damage. These missiles recently hit Odessa and several other targets.

“When Russia has missiles and we don’t, they attack by missiles: Everything — gas, energy, schools, factories, civilian buildings,” Zelensky said.

“ATACM-300s, that is the answer,” he continued. He said he wanted to use the longer-range missiles not to attack Russian territory but those airfields in Crimea. “When Russia knows we can destroy these jets, they will not attack from Crimea. It’s like with the sea fleet. We pushed them from our territorial waters. Now we will push them from the airports in Crimea.”

Zelensky recalled that in Munich in February, he took out a map of the targets the ATACMS could hit. “I showed them military platforms like airports, air-defense systems and other sites,” he said. When I asked whether the ATACMS are on the way, as is rumored in Washington, he laughed and said: “I can’t share with you this information. Sorry.” He said that the missiles “are not in Ukraine” now.

Zelensky touted his program for a domestically produced “army of drones, including some that can reach 1,000 kilometers or more into Russia.” But he cautioned that “drones are not enough for winning the war. … We could use naval drones to push their fleet out of our territorial waters and the entire western part of the Black Sea, yes. But it’s not enough to win. These are drones, not missiles.”

I asked Zelensky whether he thought President Biden was too cautious in supplying weapons, as hawkish critics sometimes charge. “I think he’s cautious about nuclear attack from Russia,” Zelensky answered. His own view is that Vladimir Putin wouldn’t risk a nuclear exchange, but he conceded that the Russian leader is unpredictable: “He’s crazy. There is nobody in the world who can tell you 100 percent what he will do. That’s why Biden is cautious.”

The lesson of war for Zelensky, after two years of brutal fighting that has killed many of the best officers and soldiers in the Ukrainian army, is that Putin should have been stopped sooner.

President Barack Obama “was not strong against him” when Putin seized Crimea in 2014, Zelensky said. “Europe wanted to have security on the border and big trade with Russia. That opened the way to war with Ukraine.”

“He captured Crimea, and there was no reaction at all. Nobody pushed him back. Nobody stopped him.” When I asked whether he would have allowed Biden to send U.S. troops into Ukraine to deter the February 2022 invasion, he said simply: “Yes.” In hindsight, that show of force might have been the only way this terrible conflict could have been averted.

Zelensky offered a chilling characterization of his adversary. “Putin is cunning, but he’s not smart,” he said. “When you fight with a smart person, it’s a fight with rules. But when you fight with a cunning person, it’s always dangerous.”

Looking ahead, Zelensky said Ukraine’s options depend on what Congress decides. Until Ukraine knows it has continuing U.S. support, “we will stay where we are now in the East.” He said Ukraine might conduct limited offensive operations, but “to push them out, we need more weapons.”

“We lost half a year” while Congress bickered, he said. “We can’t waste time anymore. Ukraine can’t be a political issue between the parties.” He said critics of aid for Ukraine didn’t understand the stakes in the war. “If Ukraine falls, Putin will divide the world” into Russia’s friends and enemies, he said.

More at the link.

The EU:

Here’s the full text of Prime Minister Fiala’s tweet:

We have uncovered a pro-Russian network that was developing an operation to spread Russian influence and undermine security across Europe. Therefore we added two individuals and one legal entity to the sanctions list. Domestic authorities subsequently seized their assets.

The Czech Republic was at the beginning of this whole operation. Our work and efforts are leading to other countries in Europe investigating the activities of pro-Russian spy networks and gradually coming to more serious conclusions. One of them was revealed by Poland today for example. Actions in other countries will follow.

These are sensitive matters, surely, you will understand that I cannot share too many details. But I want to emphasise one thing. The actions we have taken in the last two days are the result of international cooperation, which we started and which we are successfully coordinating.

I am proud that it is we who have shown the strength and the ability to make timely and good decisions.

We do what it takes.

 

Politico EU has the details:

EU lawmakers have been paid to disseminate Russian propaganda, according to Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.

De Croo said Thursday there “has been a close collaboration” this week between Belgian and Czech intelligence services toward smashing a Russian propaganda network.

“It came for example to light that Russia has approached MEPs, but also paid [them], to promote Russian propaganda here,” De Croo said, during a debate in the Belgian national parliament about foreign interference, without naming the lawmakers.

De Croo’s spokesperson told POLITICO the prime minister was referring in his remarks to the Czech government’s decision to sanction the news site Voice of Europe, which Prague said was part of a pro-Russian influence operation.

The Czech foreign ministry announced Wednesday it had sanctioned Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The press release said Medvedchuk ran a “Russian influence operation” from Russia on Czech territory using Voice of Europe.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Wednesday authorities had “hit a pro-Russian network” that attempted to set up an influence operation with security consequences for the Czech Republic and the EU.

“This decision is in the security interest of the Czech Republic, as well as contributing to the protection of the democratic nature of the forthcoming elections to the European Parliament,” the Czech foreign ministry added.

Voice of Europe’s site is currently unavailable and its account on X (formerly Twitter) hasn’t posted since Wednesday.

European Parliament deputy spokesperson Delphine Colard said the Parliament is currently “looking into the findings” of the Czech authorities about Voice of Europe.

Not sure where in Ukraine this is:

Toretsk:

Sevastopol, Russian occupied Crimea:

Russian Telegram channels shared more details about the Russian aircraft that crashed yesterday in Crimea.

Reportedly, it was a Su-27 and it was shot down by the Russian Pantsir anti-aircraft missile-gun system. For some unknown reason, the air defense did not receive notification of the departure of their Su-27.

Because the Pantsir system’s combat crew did not receive a response from the Su-27 pilot to its interrogation, a decision was made to fire the plane for effect. As it became known later, the system’s crew interrogation did not reach the Su-27 pilot because the IFF interrogator on the Pantsir system was not working correctly.

Some Russian media called this a “technical deficiency.”

Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast:

“We are 52 years old and left with nothing. We were planning to build a house and celebrate my birthday”: a local resident of Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk region, told about the consequences of the night shelling of the private sector.

The shelling injured five people, including a child. A 36-year-old man was taken away from here in critical condition.

There are so many similar stories in Ukraine these days. Russia destroys property, hopes and livelihood.

📹: Radio Svoboda

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Reader Interactions

36Comments

  1. 1.

    Gin & Tonic

    Biden to Gershkovitch’s parents: “we’ll never give up hope.” As a smart guy on some blog said, hope is not a strategy.

    Biden also said the US will support Ukraine “as long as it takes.” That apparently meant two years.

  5. 5.

    YY_Sima Qian

    I am unsure how to read Syrsky’s comments with respect to new mobilizations? It seems to suggest that Ukraine is planning to be on the defensive in 2024 & possibly 2025. If they plan to raise new formations or replenish existing ones for an offensive in 2025, I think recruits/conscripts need to be mobilized now for training in the summer, fall & winter, on a revised curriculum that is more relevant to the Ukrainian battlefield.

    Given the slow down of material aid from the West, perhaps that is the reality Ukraine has to work under.

  8. 8.

    TeezySkeezy

    @Comrade Bukharin: Read this before the original and didn’t catch the deadpan. Deadpan is a dangerous tool in comments…bravo for powering through though (I did finally catch it).

  9. 9.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Comrade Bukharin: As Adam made clear over the last two years, yes we can blame Biden for not front-loading enough aid for Ukraine to last this year and last.  Frankly, we should have been turning Poland and Germany into parking lots for our materiel.  Ah, well.  And it goes further than that: the thesis that we could minimize Russian aggression by not allowing Ukraine to escalate has been proven wrong, dead, dead wrong.  And that thesis also is on Biden and his advisors.

    Yes, it’d have been worse under the G(r)OP.  Yes.  Of course.  But that doesn’t mean Biden didn’t fuck this up.  Yes, most of Europe did *even worse*.  But (again) that doesn’t mean Biden didn’t fuck this up.

  13. 13.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Comrade Bukharin: The thing is, when it was *our* nuts in the fire, we didn’t just assume we had one shot at things.  The US built a pipeline sufficient to keep going in the face of many setbacks, and we didn’t give up when we had reverses.  Basically, we (the collective West) are giving up b/c Ukraine couldn’t win the whole shooting match last summer.  No, we’re not putting it that way, but it is in effect what we’ve done.

  16. 16.

    Jay

    @YY_Sima Qian:

    If they plan to raise new formations or replenish existing ones for an offensive in 2025, I think recruits/conscripts need to be mobilized now for training in the summer, fall & winter, on a revised curriculum that is more relevant to the Ukrainian battlefield.

    Ukraine has a “manpower” shortage across all the fronts, military and civilian.

    Ukraine also has a training gap. They can get about 60,000 through basic, annually.

    NATO can train basic trained soldiers in NATO basic doctrine at a rate of about 36,000 a year.

  17. 17.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Chetan Murthy: for instance, I read that not much of the lend lease authority has been used. It expired because we chose to instead use funded supplementals instead of Lendlease.  We could have done both, but we didn’t.  Oh well.

  18. 18.

    Jay

    @Chetan Murthy:

    the US has about 3700 Abrams in storage, parked in the desert, belonging to the oldest variants (M1A1 and M1A2), still.

    The US sent only 31.

    Ukraine has about 1,000 operational tanks, about their prewar inventory, even though their Ground Forces have almost tripled in numbers.

  19. 19.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jay: yes, we’ve sent a paltry number of Abrams and Bradley’s.  What is most embarrassing is that we didn’t Make sure to get all those cluster munitions shipped to Europe so that they could be sent the last mile into Ukraine as needed.  Instead now Ukrainians are dying because they don’t have enough artillery.

  20. 20.

    Jay

    @Chetan Murthy:

    Ukrainians are dying from a lack of air superiority, (Glide bombs took out fortifications that had defeated the ruZZians for a decade),

    lack of air defense,

    lack of artillery, tanks and long range missiles,

    lack of artillery shells and tank shells,

    it has become a war of attrition, and while the West has the arms and resources, Ukraine does not.

  21. 21.

    Another Scott

    Maybe someone here can help me out…

    On tonight’s DeepStateMap.live there’s a rail line that’s marked in black and yellow rather than just black and white. It seems to run between Kolosky (sp?) in the NE to Stepanivka in the SE. Is there something significant about the color? (I’m not seeing anything useful in the various legends, but I’m not an expert on reading this map.)

    Thanks.

    Slava Ukraini!!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  22. 22.

    Devore

    Do you think that if a new authorization is approved, almost all previous restraints will be removed?   Maybe not long range strategic bombers. But just about everything else

     

    and thanks Adam

  23. 23.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Devore: All a new authorization does is provide money.  We’ve put restrictions on what Ukraine can get, what they can use it for, etc, and those aren’t going to change.  Just tonight Denys Davydov said that Ukraine would not be getting ATACMS no matter what, even with new funding.  So it goes.

  24. 24.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Jay: Seems like manpower gap is something Ukraine & its Western partners can close w/o having to spend enormous amount of money, at least relative to equipment & munitions.

  25. 25.

    Another Scott

    @Jay:

    it has become a war of attrition, and while the West has the arms and resources, Ukraine does not.

    Yes, and no. There are constraints in the West as well.

    TWZ.com:

    The U.S. Air Force says hundreds of its aircraft are at risk of being left grounded due to a lack of spare parts if it doesn’t get an additional $1.5 billion on top of its latest budget request. F-16C/D Viper and F-15E Strike Eagle tactical jets, B-52 bombers, and KC-135 tankers, are among the types that would be impacted.

    The service left these spares out of its proposed Fiscal Year 2025 budget, which is capped by law, to help preserve funding for other priority programs, including future aircraft. At the same time, underfunding the purchase of replacement parts for the shrinking fleet of aircraft it already has seems like a highly questionable strategy that could present serious risks, especially if a major conflict were to break out.

    The $1.5 billion for additional spare parts was the single largest item in the Air Force’s Unfunded Priorities List (UPL) for the 2025 Fiscal Year. The Air Force, other branches of the U.S. military, and other elements of the Department of Defense are required by law to submit UPLs to Congress in addition to their annual budget proposals. These are wishlists for things that, for one reason or another, did not make it into the main budget request. The Pentagon’s overall 2025 Fiscal Year budget request is capped due to the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.

    […]

    The DoD budget is huge. But it’s often not big enough for the tasks it has been given.

    TWZ also reports that two fast ready-reserve sealift ships are trapped behind the Key Bridge in Baltimore (along with 2 other sealift ships).

    The Navy has requested $2.244B. The Army has requested $2.2B. Etc., etc.

    It is, and will continue to be, a long and hard slog.

    :-(

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  27. 27.

    wjca

    @Another Scott: B-52 bombers, and KC-135 tankers

    I hadn’t realized we were still flying those.  They were old (definitely not cutting edge technology either) even when I was in the Air Force.  And that was (counts of fingers) half a century ago.

    I know you can replace/upgrade various internal systems.  But straight metal fatigue in the structural members seems likely to be an issue by now.

    EDT I suppose it could be a “grandfather’s axe”** situation.  But still….

    ** “This is my grandfather’s axe.  My father replaced the handle, and I replaced the head.  But this is my grandfather’s axe.”

  28. 28.

    Another Scott

    @wjca: No time to check, but I think that the plan is to keep the B-52 to 2050 or 2070 or something insane like that.  The planes may be like George Washington’s famous hatchet by then (you know, 5 replacement handles, 3 replacement heads, but it’s still his hatchet…).

    [Eta – GMTA!! ]

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  29. 29.

    Sally

    With the caveat that I am totally ignorant, I am idly wondering, could Pres. Zelenskyy be partly using attacks on Ru oil refineries to push the west, and Pres. Biden in particular, to speed up more aid. Maybe even as a third, or fourth, or fifth order effect. I don’t know – you need to help us or your re-election, position will be jeopardised as gas prices rise. Of course, there are much greater effects on international oil prices than a few damaged oil refineries in Ru, but it is the perception that can be manufactured and believed by the credulous that matters. The Saudis et al have been tightening supply as well. Of course, the magats will see this as an advantage for them, and slow things down even more. I wish Biden had been less optimistic about getting aid through a divided congress. I thought his VP experiences had removed the ideas of comity. Ru refineries are a legitimate target for UA IMHO, just as Ru airfields in Ru are/would be/should be.  Anyway ..

    Maybe I should delete this comment as being nonsense?!

  30. 30.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Another Scott: Those constraints are the results of a broken weapons development & procurement system that serve to maximize the profit margins & shareholder values of MIC oligopolies, lining the pockets of MIC lobbyists (including the think tanks), as well as those of the legislators/bureaucrats that predictably & periodically rotate to the former two. More money is merely a bandaid that does not solve the fundamental problems, & crowd out the needed social spending & domestic investment in the process.

  31. 31.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Another Scott: While this is probably true to some extent,  much of what we send Ukraine is already manufactured and in stores, and lots of it was on the way to being sent for decommissioning.  Like the million-plus cluster arty shells we started sending them, and then *stopped*, b/c we ran out of spending authority.  I’m sure there are other examples.  And besides that, I note that in your excerpt the Air Force had allotted funding to future development, which left current airframes in need of maintenance. That’s an old wheeze: send the money to future development, so you have obvious needs left a-begging, and it’s easy to demand more money for those — they’re *right there, obviously we need to keep these up!*

    Regardless, none of that matters: this is an urgent need, and if we don’t get to it right now, we’ll be spending a fuckton more when there’s an actual hot war involving our *treaty allies*.

  32. 32.

    Jay

    @Chetan Murthy:

    The USN and USAF have 1070 F-16’s in storage, not including the ones that have started to be cannibalized or are in process of decommissioning.

  33. 33.

    Jay

    @Sally:

    With the caveat that I am totally ignorant, I am idly wondering, could Pres. Zelenskyy be partly using attacks on Ru oil refineries to push the west, and Pres. Biden in particular, to speed up more aid.

    The ruZZian MIC, and almost all ruZZia’s economy, is almost entirely powered by oil, gas and refined products sale, with a little bit of stolen Ukrainian grain and Siberian timber on the side.

    Since the start of the reinvasion, ruZZia has fallen from #2 in global arms sales, to 7th, and most of the sales that put ruZZia on the list at all, are a decade old series of sales contracts, and licensing agreements a decade old, that ruZZia can’t deliver on. Plus the war has shown ruZZian hardware to be crap.

    Hitting refineries is a major, major blow against Putin’s petro state. ruZZia is now importing gas and diesel from Belarus.

  34. 34.

    Sally

    @Jay: Yes, I had heard that Ru in now importing fuel from Belarus (humiliating, or what?). And that there are internal shortages that won’t be alleviated in the near term. Definitely impacting the “petrostate” economy. But shouldn’t be enough to impact global oil prices, unless the other petrostates want it to. Some may well use a manufactured shortage to try and help trump’s re-election chances. They don’t need Ru shortfall to do that, of course, but it strengthens the arguments against giving UA long range weapons. Or any more weapons. Just give in already so we can fill up our F(U)350’s cheaply.

  35. 35.

    Jay

    @Sally:

    And that there are internal shortages that won’t be alleviated in the near term.

    So, about a year and a half a go, one of my job tasks was to repair and calibrate gas monitors for the Bby Oil Refinery. They are 4 and 5 gas monitors, portable, stationary and portable with probes that every employee carries, to keep them and the community safe from toxic gas. It was usually one day a week, on site, to start.

    In January of they year, I was informed by my MGR that the refinery would be going under a refurb, that would take about 4 months and I would probably need to be onsite once a week.

    Turns out, it wasn’t a refurb, it was an upgrade. $2 billion dollars, so I wound up being onsite 2-3 days a week, always on short notice/emergency calls.

    Long story short, the refinery fired up last week, so almost a year and a half to get back into operation at a cost coming close to or exceeding $3billion. Even though it’s ruZZia, so worker safety is nonexistent, there are sanctions, metal shortages, skilled worker shortages. In my barely informed opinion, it will be 2-3 years before full production is restored, and that’s if Ukraine doesn’t hit them again.

    That’s 24% of ruZZia’s oil production, off line.

    The Sanctions have a loophole for refined products, so hitting refineries is a way to close that loophole when the West won’t. Add in that so far the Sanctions have cut ruZZian energy exports by roughly 50% with a corresponding 50% drop in price.

    That is a massive bite in ruZZia’s economy.

    I don’t think that Ukraine gives a rats ass about the ‘merkin’s cost to fill up an F-350 or the possible impact on the US Elections.

  36. 36.

    Another Scott

    @Jay: Made me look, as I had no recollection of the USN using the F-16.

    F-16.net says that the USN has 35 in storage. USAF has 1036 in storage.

    It looks like the ones there were produced between 1978-1982. And many have been “stored” since the mid 1990s.

    I ass-u-me that most of them are just scrap and will never be used for anything again – it costs money and time and resources to get rid of them, and even more to cannibalize them, and even more to try to get them flying again.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

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