The so called Special Operation conducted by the Russia's Terror in Chief continues for the fourth day as Iranian supplied kamikaze drones are launched into Ukraine's administrative center and capital city.
AP news reporting overnight UAV strikes in Kyiv
As the ongoing campaign of genocidal aspirations, now in it's seventh month, fails to closely approximate a well fought engagement on the part of the aggressor, many in that country have turned toward using speech referencing that which should not be named.
These utterances come even as the prohibition against their employ carries yet unanswered promises and threats of retribution. Indeed, one could posit were it not for the strikes against the Ukrainian population at large, this could almost but not quite be described as a campaign of bluster and hyperbole.
These multitudes of strident voices raised in anger, affronted in outrageous indignation by the successes of the Ukrainian offensive find themselves greatly offended at the RAF (Russian Armed Forces) ineptitude. This has escalated into numbers of them utilizing the three letter word ‘war,’ a nomenclature specifically prohibited in the censorship theater of putzer absurd.
It is surmised and widely reported this unwarranted attack is the answer of choice, constructed by the putternutz administration to appease this increasingly cacophonous chorus. That this four day double down crusade to further the Russia's spiral into the depths of insanity by targeting implicitly civilian entities is previously planned and this week implemented speaks volumes.
The response reeks highly of implosion from within the ruling classes of the motherland, passive aggressively reacting in knee-jerk fashion to the impotence of the father. This is a strategy long proven ineffective, one that quickly consumes the aspiring manipulator— the solution devolves into destruction. The death spiral intensifies exponentially in rate, capacity, and uniformity with each overture.
We can't yet uncover readily specific details of this madness, except to note Ukraine maintains the upper hand militarily while the bulk of eligible and available draftees in the Russia balk at entering the fray. That doesn’t even add the materiel component of the engagement, or consider logistics, both areas where the offending party remain sorely lacking.
We don't know, for instance, the current inventory of available drones Iran initially supplied. We do have access to that data (see Russia’s major assault) for those inclined to parse the numbers, but we can be sure that unless resupply is ongoing, or the Russia has miraculously managed their manufacture, that number is limited.
The linked AP release states
Kyiv regional governor Oleksiy Kuleba said the strike occurred in the area around the capital. It wasn’t yet clear if there were any casualties in those attacks, but Ukrainian officials said that 13 people were killed and 37 wounded over the past 24 hours in the Russian strikes throughout the country. Deputy head of the presidential office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said on Telegram that “critical infrastructure facilities” in the area were hit, without offering any details on which ones.
Make no mistake, while these attacks do little to further any imperialist aspirations of the Russia, these casualties-- whose numbers may seem light-- are not in any way insignificant.
Ukrainian officials in its Air Forces Command said a total of nine regions of Ukraine were targeted during Thursday’s morning strikes.
The AP adds that there was also overnight shelling in Mykolaiv, the administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast, located on the Southern Bug River. A five-story apartment building was said to be destroyed in continued fighting in Ukraine’s south but casualties of that strike have not yet been officially reported. The article did make mention that
Mykolaiv regional governor Vitali Kim said an 11-year-old boy was rescued from under the rubble, where he had spent six hours, and rescuers on Thursday morning were searching for seven more people, Kim said.
I think most of us can agree to ignore the quotes in the article from the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, State Duma’s own Vyacheslav Volodin, and the pooter toot supreme, alleging the “massive barrage of missile strikes all across Ukraine was carried out in retaliation for what he called Kyiv’s “terrorist” actions targeting the Kerch Bridge.” As has been consistently stated, these air assaults have been in planning many days in advance of the activity that disabled major portions of that military target October 8, 2022. And while some may argue the case for ‘he said, she said,’ we are talking about the Russia— so who you gon believe?
In the good news department, western response has been decisive and swift, if that last descriptor can be said to truly apply. Britain said it will supply missiles for Pentagon committed advanced NASAM anti-aircraft systems, two of these six which are expected to arrive in Ukraine over the next week or two. The UK has also pledged aerial drones that are intended to provide information gathering and logistics support, plus 18 more howitzer artillery guns. The result is that more air defense weapons are promised and committed, though as yet only the country of Germany has delivered one. And while it’s true, as
U.K. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that “these weapons will help Ukraine defend its skies from attacks and strengthen their overall missile defense alongside the U.S. NASAMS.”
the bulk of the promised systems, as noted, are not yet in theater.
Whether through oversight, logistical nightmare, training, delays in manufacture, et al, we understand Ukraine needs them, like, yesterday. Yet I think it’s important we comprehend collectively we could not have supplied the sheer volume of these systems sufficient to provide the medium- to long-range defense against missile attacks they are designed to afford.
We’re talking after all about covering the more than 1500 km stretch of front north to south the RAF (Russian Armed Forces) established when they moved their failed Kyiv offensive into Ukraine’s easternmost geography, stretching along its land border. This figure is my estimate, based on previous reports and diaries, though I will note the border between the Russia and Ukraine is measured to be 2,295.04 kilometers (1,426.07 mi) long, with 1,974.04 kilometers (1,226.61 mi) of that representing the border that lies along the land mass. The remaining 321 klicks (199 mi) is comprised of sea border.
They of the aggressors supplied this area with an unknown quantity of artillery and munitions, a herculean task of David and Goliath legend to defend against. That the AFU (Armed Forces Ukraine) further eroded this front in their month plus offensive has made the decision to furnish this equipment a much more achievable and rational one. Of course, the remaining geography of Ukraine, which the Russia feels obligated to target, is also critical to defend, and the western alliance leadership are feeling this acutely.
NATO defense ministers are even now meeting in Brussels, aiming to help bolster Ukraine’s aerial defenses, deemed essential after Monday’s widespread Russian assault which has continued unabated. That the Russia persists in this unwarranted, illegal, unethical, and immoral assault only strengthens everyone’s resolve.
In spite of these deficiencies, Ukraine is not without the ability to defend. Unnamed military officials claimed its current air defenses just this week intercepted a number of incoming Russian missiles and Shahed-136 drones. These are the kamikaze drones Iran has supplied, and have been increasingly employed to deadly use in this campaign. Disturbingly, AP again notes
Ukraine’s air force command said Thursday its air defense shot down six Iranian drones over the Odesa (sic) and Mykolaiv regions during the the past night. Ukrainian officials said that Iranian instructors based in the occupied regions of Ukraine have been training Russians on how to operate the drones.
I had not seen that reported before, but I’m definitely concerned that Iranian personnel supporting the Russia are on the ground in any capacity.
Slava Ukraini!