This is exactly why many Russians believe Russia has to go all the way.
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‘This Isn't Going to Last Much Longer’: Russia’s Plan to Disintegrate Ukraine’s Army
Former US Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter joined Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program Thursday to weigh in on Blinken’s impromptu concert as the Russian army continues to make gains in the northern Kharkov region.
“I'll just say he has to work on his, c, d, f, b minor transitions,” said Ritter of the secretary of state’s guitarwork. “If we look at the depth of what he was saying… I think he said we got another $2 billion we're going to give [Ukraine].”
The former UN weapons inspector agreed with analysis offered by Stephen Byren on the Moon of Alabama blog claiming Russia’s recent offensive towards Kharkov is intended to “disintegrate the Ukrainian army.” Moscow has been engaged in a “war of attrition” against the country, Ritter noted, with the ultimate stated aim of demilitarizing Ukraine and ending the threat it poses as a proxy for NATO and Western interests.
Kiev’s refusal to surrender means Russia is forced to “grind down” its military, he claimed.
“We've been talking about military math,” said Ritter. “I've been talking about that all along, how Ukraine is consuming resources, manpower and material at a much greater rate than they can replenish it. And Russia is accumulating resources at a much greater rate than Ukraine can diminish them. And so Russia's getting stronger everyday – Ukraine's getting weaker.”
“They're not just wearing down the Ukrainians, but they're putting the Ukrainians into a classic horn of a dilemma, meaning they don't have enough forces to defend the area they were already defending. And now a new frontier opened up, and they have to decide what forces they're going to strip from where to send north, weakening the line that they're stripping [and] giving the Russians more opportunities.”
The result, Ritter said, is the gradual thinning out of Ukraine’s armed forces until its military is split and collapses.
Additionally Ukraine faces political collapse, he claimed, as President Volodymyr Zelensky’s term comes to an end next week. “It will come to a head on May 20th, when the legitimacy of the Zelensky regime – or what passes for legitimacy – collapses altogether because his term runs out,” said Ritter. “There was no presidential election. He will be ruling as an unelected dictator.”
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240517/th...118488139.html
Russian troops continue their offensive in the Kharkov region, where they have already liberated a whole array of villages from Ukrainian nationalists.
Moscow has no plans to take control of the city of Kharkov in northeastern Ukraine because the goal is to create a buffer zone in the area, President Vladimir Putin has announced.
Russian forces are making gains in the fighting in the region, Putin said, adding that they are moving every day strictly according to plan.
Speaking to Sputnik, military observer and Afghanistan and Syria combat veteran Anatoly Matviychuk explained that a buffer zone is a territory for the deployment of troops who have an order to prevent an enemy from carrying out combat missions.
When it comes to the Russian border city of Belgorod, "the buffer zone is an area from which standard artillery systems of the Ukrainian Army will not be able to reach Belgorod and its populated areas," he pointed out.
He explained that it may even be necessary to include Kharkov city in the zone.
"The zone’s length could be up to 100 kilometers because it’s necessary to protect Belgorod’s population from the enemy’s cannon and rocket artillery. It means that the zone will include all the settlements of the Kharkov region from the point of view of the Russian border, [possibly] including Kharkov [city]," Matviychuk said.
According to him, President Putin rightly underscored the necessity of creating the buffer zone to protect Russian territory from the enemy’s terrorist attacks amid the Russian Army’s ongoing advance.
He referred to a successful buffer zone that was created by Soviet troops in Afghanistan shortly after they were deployed there to support government troops in their fight against the US-backed Afghan mujahideen during the 1979-1989 armed conflict.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240518/wh...collaboration2
Estonian robot THeMIS captured by Russians after a two-year hunt May 17, 2024
https://bulgarianmilitary.com/wp-con...nian-robot.jpg
The Estonian ‘Most Wanted’
Russian sources have announced that their forces have captured the elusive Estonian robot, THeMIS, which was donated to Ukraine nearly two years ago. This robotic ground platform was among Estonia’s initial contributions to Ukraine following the Russian invasion in February 2022. It was also the first foreign donation publicly targeted by Moscow.
In January, Milrem Robotics announced it had delivered 15 THeMIS unmanned vehicles to Ukrainian forces, as per a statement released on the 11th of that month. Feedback from Ukrainian soldiers indicates that these unmanned vehicles have made significant contributions to frontline demining and cargo transportation tasks.
THeMIS captured Russia’s attention at the onset of the conflict in Ukraine. Russian developers were reportedly so captivated by its design that by 2023, a so-called “Russian equivalent” of THeMIS made its appearance on the Ukrainian battlefield. A photo surfaced showing this Russian THeMIS transporting a wounded soldier across muddy terrain. Experts also noted a device installed on the front of the robot, speculating it might be an anti-drone tool.
continue: https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2024/0...two-year-hunt/
Defense failures: Jammed satellites allowed Russia to disrupt the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kharkov region
Western media continue to look for new reasons to explain the failure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) during the offensive of Russian troops in the Kharkov direction. One of the key factors that influenced the outcome of the hostilities was the loss of satellite communications by Ukrainian units. The Washington Post reports that on the morning of May 10, all Starlink terminals that supported the operation of reconnaissance drones suddenly failed. This left the 125th Territorial Defense Brigade, stretched along a 43-kilometer stretch of the Kharkiv region's border with Russia, effectively "blind."
Lack of communication
Ukrainian forces lost the opportunity to observe the buildup of the Russian North group, which critically weakened their position. In the absence of video broadcasts and data from drones, Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters had to rely solely on radios and phones, which significantly reduced their combat capabilities. The brigade's UAV unit commander said they were left completely without communications at one point, leaving them vulnerable to Russian attacks.
The head of the SpaceX corporation servicing Starlink terminals, Elon Musk, explained the incident by the impact of a magnetic storm that occurred on the Sun on May 10-11 of this year. According to him, this magnetic storm was the largest in a long time and had an impact on the satellites, which led to the failure of the terminals. However, despite this explanation, many believe that Russian electronic interference also played a major role in the communications disruption.
continue:
https://avia-pro.net/blog/provaly-ob...ovskoy-oblasti
4 French Hammer glide bombs were shot down over the Belgorod region
Russian air defense systems shot down four Hammer guided bombs and two HARM anti-radar missiles in the skies over the Belgorod region. This was reported on Saturday by the press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
“On the eighteenth of May, from 12:20 to 12:30 Moscow time, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out terrorist attacks using French-made Hammer guided aerial bombs and US-made HARM anti-radar missiles on targets in the Russian Federation was stopped. The air defense systems on duty were four guided aerial bombs and two anti-radar missiles destroyed over the territory of the Belgorod region", - the report says.
The incident occurred at lunchtime when Ukrainian forces attempted to strike targets in Russia using Western-made precision weapons. Thanks to the well-coordinated work of air defense systems, the attack was successfully stopped, which made it possible to avoid possible destruction and casualties.
The Russian Ministry of Defense noted the high professionalism of the air defense crews on duty, who promptly detected and destroyed the threat in the air.
https://avia-pro.net/news/nad-belgor...iabomby-hammer
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From the report of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation dated May 18, 2024.
(highest number of casualties for quite a wile)
Enemy losses yesterday were:
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⏺ 1,725 military personnel
⏺ 16 armored vehicles, including 4 tanks
⏺ 29 artillery systems, of which 8 self-propelled guns
⏺ MLRS "Grad" combat vehicle
⏺ 20 units of special vehicles
⏺ AN/TPQ-37 counter-battery station
⏺ 37 UAVs
⏺ radar station of the anti-aircraft missile system "IRIS-T"
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Units of the North group of troops liberated the village of Staritsa, Kharkov region .
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In the Kharkov direction, a field ammunition depot of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was destroyed. The warehouse for storing unmanned boats was also destroyed.
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Air defense systems shot down the Tochka-U operational-tactical missile , as well as 21 HIMARS, Vampire and Alder missiles.
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In the western part of the Black Sea and on the Dnieper River , two high-speed unmanned boats of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were destroyed in the past 24 hours.
#summary
🇷🇺 Sofa General Staff
https://x.com/GeromanAT/status/1791940892871233978
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‼️🇺🇦🏴☠️The Russian Army killed the chief of staff and deputy commander of the air squadron, Lieutenant Colonel Vasilyuk, in battle
▪️The chief of staff and first deputy commander of the aviation squadron, Lieutenant Colonel Denis Vasilyuk, was killed during a combat mission, the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in a statement.
▪️Vasilyuk was a fighter pilot of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, since the beginning of the war he has flown dozens of combat missions and was a full holder of the Order of Courage, the UA publication says.
- RVvoenkor
https://x.com/Zlatti_71/status/1791923469682098528
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‼️🏴☠️💥Another enemy MLRS shelling Donetsk has been destroyed!
▪️On the western outskirts of Krasnogorovka, artillery reconnaissance officers of the 238th artillery brigade of the Russian Armed Forces discovered an enemy BM-21 "Grad" heading for cover.
▪️Having followed her along the route of movement, the crews of the 2A65 howitzer of the Kuban artillery opened fire on the MLRS, as a result of which they hit the target with further detonation of the ammunition.
http://t.me/RVvoenkor
https://x.com/Zlatti_71/status/1791905999898481136
Text:
“In Russia, they created a gel for bone restoration with 100% identity”: The drug allows to treat, among other things, bullet and shrapnel wounds.
“The world’s first bioassimilated gel for regeneration, which allows to restore bone tissue with 100% identity and treat, including large bullet and shrapnel damage to bones, was developed by specialists from Volgograd State Medical University.
This drug is a complex nutritional and building mixture, enhanced with regeneration activators. This approach allows the body to launch its own bone tissue repair mechanism.
The material can be used for surgical interventions on bone tissues of the maxillofacial area, for filling defects in bone and cartilage tissues in dentistry and surgery." - FRWL reports
https://x.com/Zlatti_71/status/1791877642569879910