Thread: Russia launches Ukraine invasion

Originally Posted by Shutree

Would you want to stand beside Putin, out in the open, with a specific threat of air attack?

There is no question that there will be an air attack, the question is where? Striking Moscow would and the parade itself would be a strategic masterpiece, but the reality is that over the last several days ruzzia has been moving air defense systems into Moscow, this then leaves other strategic points ripe for a strike. So at the end of the day, what appears to be brewing up is a target rich environment for the Ukrainians.

Not to mention, it was not too many days ago that they hit the largest ruzzian ammo dump of the war. It contained most of the ammo that was to be used for the spring offensive. If you have time, watch all of these in order from top to bottom...

Originally Posted by Shutree

Would you want to stand beside Putin

he wouldn't be, well not the real one.

Originally Posted by malmomike77

he wouldn't be, well not the real one.

Nail meet hammer.

Pootin is most likely cowering in some bunker and has been, especially since the attacks I just posted above. The 51st GRAU Moscow was only 31kms from the city itself. Ukraine has the upper hand at this point.

Ukrainian Drones Patrol A 16-Mile Kill Zone. ‘If You Simply Drive On Any Roads, You Risk Your Life,’ One Russian Blogger Warned.

Deploying millions of small explosive drones every month, Ukrainian forces have created a kill zone extending 16 miles behind the front line of Russia’s wider war on Ukraine.

Relentlessly striking troop formations, artillery, air-defense vehicles and—perhaps most importantly, supply lines—the drones have made life along the front line a nightmare for Russian troops.

“If you simply drive on any roads, you risk your life,” one Russian blogger wrote. “In principle, this has been the case for a year, since the spring of 2024, but now the frequency of attacks is much higher for the enemy.”

Ukrainian forces turned to small drones during the worst months of the prolonged ammunition shortage in early 2024. Now, a network of workshops all over Ukraine churns out more than 2 million small first-person-view drones—each weighing a few pounds and clutching a small warhead—every month.

The developers are constantly improving the drones with better warheads and jam-resistant controls, among other innovations.

In the 39th month of Russia’s wider war, the unmanned aerial vehicles now form a complex and constantly evolving system—one that has managed to stay ahead of Russian efforts to defeat it with armor, nets, shotguns and radio jammers.

“They fly in flocks,” the blogger explained, “with preliminary reconnaissance from aircraft-type UAVs.” Bomber drones lobbing small explosives back up the single-use explosive FPVs. And repeater drones, which capture and relay radio signals, extend the range of the smallest drones from just a few miles to 10 or more.

The Russians deploy millions of drones every month, too, but Ukrainian jamming is generally superior—and can ground many radio-controlled drones. Fiber-optic drones, controlled via signals traveling along miles-long fibers, are more difficult to defeat.

But fiber-optic drones are expensive, costing thousands of dollars apiece, compared to just hundreds of dollars for a wireless drone. And Ukraine’s long-range strike drones have been bombarding Russia’s fiber-optics factories in order to suppress production of these unjammable drones.

A new and more powerful Russian jammer called Black Eyes could shift the aerial balance of power over the front line. Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, a leading Ukrainian drone expert, called Black Eyes “dangerous.”

But the Ukrainians appreciate the risk—and have been hunting down the Black Eyes using specially-equipped FPV drones that communicate on non-standard frequencies that the Black Eyes can’t reliably block.

The result, for now, is that Ukraine has a drone advantage. That helps explain why, in recent months, Russian advances in eastern Ukraine have slowed to a crawl—and Russian casualties have increased.

The next step for Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, the independent military service overseeing the country’s millions of drones, may be to further extend the depth of the robotic kill zone.

The goal, according to analyst Andrew Perpetua, should be to add “layers of drone superiority” extending as far as 60 miles from the front line. Four times the current depth.

Ukrainian Drones Patrol A 16-Mile Kill Zone. ‘If You Simply Drive On Any Roads, You Risk Your Life,’ One Russian Blogger Warned.

Originally Posted by bsnub

Ukraine has the upper hand at this point.

You've posted words to this effect so many times that it's surprising this invasion is still going on.

Originally Posted by cyrille

You've posted words to this effect so many times that it's surprising this invasion is still going on.

Saying that Ukraine has the upper hand is a far cry from saying they are winning or have won the war. I am happy as long as the ruzzians are not seizing more territory.

Russia Defies Trump With Largest-Ever Drone-and-Missile Attack on Ukraine

Russian drones and missiles again bombarded cities across Ukraine on Saturday night into Sunday morning despite the completion of the largest prisoner exchange of the 3-year-old war.


The Armed Forces Operational Command in Poland -- a NATO nation that borders Ukraine to the west -- said in a Sunday morning post to X that its fighter jets were scrambled during the Russian attack. "Intensive activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation has been observed, associated with strikes carried out on objects located, among others, in the western territory of Ukraine," the statement said.


Ukraine's air force said in a post to Telegram that Russia launched a total of 367 "air attack vehicles" -- among them nine Iskander ballistic missiles, 56 cruise missiles, four guided air missiles and 298 attack drones -- at targets across the country.


The air force said 45 cruise missiles and 266 drones were shot down or otherwise neutralized during the attack.


"Most regions of Ukraine were affected by the enemy attack," the air force wrote, with strikes reported in 22 locations and downed cruise missiles or strike drones reported in 15 locations.


Ukraine's Interior Ministry said in a statement that at least 18 people were killed -- among them three children from the same family -- and 85 people injured. More than 80 residential buildings were damaged and 27 fires recorded, it added.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media early Sunday, "Today, rescuers have been working in more than 30 Ukrainian cities and villages following Russia’s massive strike."


"These were deliberate strikes on ordinary cities," Zelenskyy continued. "Ordinary residential buildings were destroyed and damaged. In Kyiv, dormitories of the university's history department were hit. There were also strikes on enterprises. Tragically, people were killed, including children."


Russia's Defense Ministry claimed the attacks constituted "a massive strike by sea, air, land-based precision weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles against enterprises of Ukraine's military-industrial complex that produce missile weapon components, radio electronics, explosives, rocket fuel and strike drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as radio-technical reconnaissance and satellite communications centers."


"The targets of the strike have been achieved," the ministry said in a post to Telegram. "All designated targets have been hit."


The latest attack marks the fourth consecutive night during which Russia launched more than 100 missiles and drones into Ukraine, per Ukrainian air force figures. Though long-range attacks have occurred almost nightly in recent months, Russia's recent bombardments have been notable for their scale.


Ukraine is also continuing its own drone strikes into Russia, with the Defense Ministry in Moscow reporting the downing of 110 Ukrainian drones overnight into Sunday.


The barrages came despite the beginning of a multi-day prisoner exchange process on Friday. Some 1,000 troops from both sides were expected to be swapped, with the process complete as of Sunday morning, according to Zelenskyy.

The prisoner exchange was the largest since Moscow's invasion began in February 2022. Russia and Ukraine have swapped prisoners of war throughout the conflict, despite their failure to agree a lasting ceasefire.


U.S.-brokered peace talks since President Donald Trump's return to office in January have likewise failed to reach an accord, with both Kyiv and Moscow accusing each other of undermining negotiations.


Ukraine is demanding a full 30-day ceasefire, during which time peace talks can take place. Zelenskyy has repeatedly ruled out ceding territory to Moscow in any peace deal.


Trump's threats of new sanctions on Russia -- as yet unrealized despite Ukrainian and European appeals for more American pressure on President Vladimir Putin -- do not appear to have pushed the Kremlin away from its maximalist war goals, which essentially equate to Ukrainian capitulation.

Those demands include the annexation of four partially-occupied Ukrainian regions -- plus the retention of Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014 -- Kyiv's demilitarization, a permanent block on Ukrainian accession to NATO and the "denazification" of the country -- a nebulous demand based on Russia's false representation of the Ukrainian government as a far-right dictatorship.


Ukrainian leaders have cited Russia's continued massed strikes as evidence that Moscow is not genuine in its appeals for peace.


"Each such terrorist Russian strike is a sufficient reason for new sanctions against Russia," Zelenskyy said on Sunday. "Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day. The world may go on a weekend break, but the war continues, regardless of weekends and weekdays. This cannot be ignored. Silence of America, silence of others around the world only encourage Putin."


"Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped," he added. "Sanctions will certainly help. Determination matters now -- the determination of the United States, of European countries, and of all those around the world who seek peace. The world knows all the weaknesses of the Russian economy."


"The war can be stopped, but only through the necessary force of pressure on Russia," Zelenskyy said. "Putin must be forced to think not about launching missiles, but about ending the war."


Andriy Yermak -- the head of Zelenskyy's office -- wrote on Telegram early Sunday, "Instead of a ceasefire, there are murders."

"Without pressure, nothing will change and Russia and its allies will only build up forces for such murders in Western countries," Yermak continued. "Moscow will fight as long as it has the ability to produce weapons."

Russia hits Ukraine with massive drone, missile barrage amid prisoner exchange - ABC News

Germany's Merz says Western allies no longer impose range limits on Ukrainian weapons

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday, May 26, that Germany, along with Ukraine's other key Western backers, had lifted range restrictions on weapons they send to Kyiv to fight against Russia. Merz, who took office early this month, also vowed that "we will do everything in our power to continue supporting Ukraine, including militarily," in close coordination with other supporters.

"There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine – neither by the British nor by the French nor by us nor by the Americans," he said. "This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions in Russia... With very few exceptions, it didn't do that until recently. It can now do that."


The previous German government of center-left chancellor Olaf Scholz strongly backed Kyiv but shied away from sending it long-range Taurus missiles, worried that this might escalate tensions with Russia, a nuclear power. Merz has in the past said he favors delivery of Taurus, which could strike targets deep inside Russia. His government has since stressed it would no longer detail what arms it is sending to Ukraine, preferring a stance of strategic ambiguity. Speaking in a lengthy interview with public broadcaster WDR, Merz did not say whether Germany would now send Taurus missiles to Kyiv.


The recently appointed chancellor took the opportunity to slam Russian President Vladimir Putin's reluctance to engage in talks to end the fighting in Ukraine. The Kremlin chief has responded to diplomatic efforts to bring the conflict to a close by prosecuting the war "harder than before," Merz told WDR. "Putin obviously sees offers of talks as a sign of weakness," Merz said.



'Dangerous'


The Kremlin said after Merz's comments that any Western decision to lift range limits on arms delivered to Ukraine would be "dangerous." "If these decisions have indeed been made, they are completely at odds with our aspirations for a political (peace) settlement (...) These are quite dangerous decisions, if they have been made," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian journalist Alexander Yunashev.

Since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House this year, he has sought to push the two sides in the conflict toward direct talks at the highest level. Trump last week suggested the Vatican as a possible host for a meeting, with the Italian government saying the leader of the Catholic Church was ready to organise talks.

But Moscow has cast doubt on the potential for the Holy See as a host. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it would be "inelegant" for the Catholic Church to mediate discussions between two principally Orthodox Christian countries.


Merz said that Ukraine's Western backers had sought to use all the diplomatic options available to them to initiate talks. "After the last three weeks, no one can seriously accuse us of not having exhausted all available diplomatic means," Merz said. Short of "raising the white flag," Ukraine's supporters had "done everything" they could.

Germany's Merz says Western allies no longer impose range limits on Ukrainian weapons

fuk im and putin, unreliable cvnt. some cracking vids on the drone attacks.

Trump left in dark over air base attacks on Russia


Donald Trump was not told about Ukraine’s mass drone attack on Russia’s strategic bomber bases.


The coordinated strikes, orchestrated by Ukraine’s security services, targeted four airfields deep inside Russia in what could be the most damaging drone attacks of the three-year war.


Operation ‘Spiderweb’ allegedly hit more than 40 strategic bombers, took 18 months to execute and was personally overseen by Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian security sources said.


However, the US president was not notified in advance of the attack in advance, Ukrainian officials said.


Despite the Trump administration’s efforts to broker a ceasefire, both sides have ramped up their attacks in recent weeks.


Overnight, a wave of bombings targeted Russian railway lines, derailing trains and killing seven passengers.


Soon after, Ukraine said Russia launched the largest drone attack of the war so far and used a missile to strike a Ukrainian training camp, killing 12 troops and injuring dozens.


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Ukrainian and Russian delegations will meet in Istanbul on Monday, where they will both present their roadmaps towards peace. Expectations on the meeting are low as each side has so far refused to back down on their key negotiating positions.

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This is the biggest attack of the war by Ukraine. The loses of the ruzzian strategic bomber fleet can not be replaced.

That's gonna hurt!

Originally Posted by david44

it is unclear whether USA is fully supporting the vicitm democracy to recover all of its stolem land and children or looking at cllaboration with the enemeny for mineral deals in occupied Donbass with the murderous Putin regime and his lackeys.

Nah, it is quite clear that Trump is only business interested and doesn't care a iota about anything else. Russia is a business opportunity for him and his mo is "whatever it takes to get business going".

Putin’s Whole Trump Strategy Is in Tatters After Epic Drone Humiliation

Vladimir Putin might have thought he had succeeded in persuading Donald Trump that the Ukrainians had already lost the war against Russia. But an ingenious sneak attack targeting Putin’s most prized military assets proves otherwise and has dealt a blow to Russia’s nuclear deterrent.


Using small quadcopter drones, the Ukrainian intelligence service SBU simultaneously struck multiple strategic bombers and early warning aircraft at four separate airbases across the vast Russian landmass on Sunday.

The surprise attack is a military disaster and an embarrassment for the Russian president as he looks to pressure the U.S. and others to give up on Ukraine.


The nature of the clandestine operation would not go amiss in a later Tom Clancy novel. Codenamed “Operation Spider-Web,” the SBU drones were hidden in unattended cargo containers near the bases and began launching themselves one after another at Russian planes, including Soviet-era strategic bombers.

Footage posted to social media showed the cheap drones crashing into Russian aircraft, some of which were already ablaze. Ukrainian officials released a statement claiming that “34 percent of strategic cruise missile carriers at the main airfields of the Russian Federation were hit.”


Videos taken outside the base showed thick columns of smoke—and many of those planes, including Soviet-era TU-95 and TU-22M bombers, looked to be beyond repair.


Russia’s bomber fleet serves several purposes. Since 2022 it has been one of the main tools for Russian missile strikes at Ukrainian cities.


The bombers also serve a more vital purpose for Russia: as one of the main components of Russia’s nuclear deterrent alongside their nuclear missiles and submarines.


Until now, Ukraine has only managed to down a few bombers. The reported loss of 40 or more planes in a single day does not amount to the destruction of Russia’s entire bomber fleet, but it is a significantly larger blow to their inventory, and their pride.

Ukraine has struck nuclear-related early warning radar installations before, but Russia’s nuclear capabilities have never been called into question at this scale since the full-scale Russian invasion of 2022.


Just as important is the claim that the attack struck one or more of Russia’s A-50 early warning aircraft. These planes, while unarmed, are equipped with powerful radars that serve as the eyes and ears of the Russian air force, similar to the U.S. AWACS planes.


Worse still, Russia likely only has five such aircraft operational after Ukraine reportedly shot down two of them in early 2024. If any of them are even temporarily unavailable, it could change Russia’s air operations and reduce their awareness of Ukrainian air defense and their ability to find targets for the air force to bomb.


The strike, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said was 18 months in the planning, is a disaster for Russia as it seeks to promote a sense of strength ahead of another round of negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul beginning Monday.


Putin had a lot to brag about in theory: The new U.S. administration is seemingly scared of punishing Russia for its attacks on civilians, his forces are pushing to take more Ukrainian territory, and he has dramatically increased the scale of drone attacks against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.


Now, the narrative of the conflict has temporarily shifted to Ukraine’s side. Even if an operation as complex as “Spider’s Web” cannot be replicated in the near term, Russia will still need to plan for contingencies and contend with Ukraine’s long-range drones, which routinely target Russian airfields.

How Russia will respond to the attack is an open question. Russian media is attempting to downplay or ignore the damage, but footage of the attacks is already widely available on social media.


Historically, the way Russia regains the narrative in the war is to punitively bomb Ukrainian civilians. The very first drone attack on Ukraine’s cities came after Kyiv successfully bombed the Russian-built bridge connecting Crimea to Russia.


Russia has already been scaling up its drone attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities, but Putin may opt to launch an even larger large salvo of missiles and drones to show the Russian bomber fleet is not entirely out of the fight.


Politically, Putin could try to use the strike to drive a deeper wedge between the U.S. and Ukraine, but it’s unlikely to work.


The White House claimed that they were not warned of the attack, but the mood in the White House has also seemingly shifted from blaming Ukraine to pleading with Russia to cease bombing Ukraine and work towards peace.


These factors make it more likely that the U.S. will prove indifferent to the strike.

For Russia, there is no silver bullet to protect its airbases from future acts of sabotage. The Kremlin cannot simply move all of its aircraft out of range—one of the bases struck was thousands of miles from the Ukrainian border.


They could redouble their efforts to build hardened shelters for their aircraft, but those will still take a while to finish. Or they could increase the number of air defense systems and jammers at their bases, at the risk of disrupting operations and diverting sorely needed counter-drone systems from the front line.


Whatever course the Russian military takes, they will have now to deal with the constant fear that Ukrainian drones will be over their heads.

Putin’s Whole Trump Strategy Is in Tatters After Epic Drone Humiliation

Originally Posted by bsnub

This is the biggest attack of the war by Ukraine. The loses of the ruzzian strategic bomber fleet can not be replaced.

So far, of the 41 claimed to have been hit, 13 have been confirmed destroyed.

I'm surprised the Russians haven't dispersed their aircraft more. However, I guess they thought them reasonably safe so far from Ukraine.

This will affect Western airfield defence stategies as well.

Originally Posted by Troy

I'm surprised the Russians haven't dispersed their aircraft more.

They are not very bright mate. After three years of this war you should be able to see that.

Originally Posted by Troy

This will affect Western airfield defence stategies as well.

Not just that. It changes everything. Every strategic target in every nation is now vulnerable until someone catches up to this. Ukraine is rewriting the books of modern warfare.

Good watch here...

Apparently Russian News makes no mention of the recent attacks.

What a surprise.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Apparently Russian News makes no mention of the recent attacks.

They've declared the bridge closed for now

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Apparently Russian News makes no mention of the recent attacks.

What a surprise.

Russia Today has given it plenty of coverage.

Originally Posted by bsnub

Not just that. It changes everything. Every strategic target in every nation is now vulnerable until someone catches up to this. Ukraine is rewriting the books of modern warfare.

It makes those New Jersey “mystery drones” flying near a US arsenal more serious.

Originally Posted by misskit

It makes those New Jersey “mystery drones” flying near a US arsenal more serious.

It is all coming full circle now, isn't it.

Getting a little off topic, but…

Mass Drone Attack On Exposed Russian Bombers Puts Spotlight On Hardened Aircraft Shelter Debate

New details continue to emerge about Ukraine’s unprecedented covert drone attacks on multiple Russian air bases, but the full scale and scope of the resulting losses remain unclear. It is the latest global event to put a spotlight on an already fierce debate about whether the U.S. military should be investing in more hardened aircraft shelters and other new fortified infrastructure at bases abroad and at home, something TWZ has been following closely. What we just saw in Russia is a nightmare scenario that we have been sounding the alarm on for years now, which broadly underscores the growing threats posed by drones.

FULL ITEM Mass Drone Attack On Exposed Russian Bombers Puts Spotlight On Hardened Aircraft Shelter Debate

Originally Posted by Molle

They've declared the bridge closed for now

Apparently re-opened. Surprising really because a carefully planned attack like this could have caused catastrophic damage. If you look at the bridge design those concrete piers sit on multiple steel pipes, sticking up like straws from the substrata. They certainly look vulnerable. The bridge might yet fail.