I think it's a coincidence.. Why would those cosmonauts be in space with Ukrainian themed suits?Originally Posted by lost in melb.
I think it's a coincidence.. Why would those cosmonauts be in space with Ukrainian themed suits?
BY THOMAS NEWDICK - The War Zone
The Russian military’s one-off T-80UM2 experimental main battle tank has been knocked out during recent fighting in Ukraine, marking one of the more unusual kills attributed to the country’s defenders, who continue to disrupt the Kremlin’s invasion plans. The fact that this unique fighting vehicle was even participating in combat in Ukraine is somewhat surprising, but it would not be the first example of new or experimental Russian weapons systems being deployed in the campaign.
The team of researchers at the Oryx blog, who have been compiling photo and video evidence of materiel losses on both sides of the conflict, identified the wreckage of the T-80UM2 and stated that it was destroyed on March 17, or that its remains were uncovered on this date. The tank is rumored to have been knocked out in Sumy Oblast, in northeastern Ukraine, apparently in the vicinity of the town of Trostyanets.
The T-80UM2 is said to have been part of a larger column of Russian vehicles that came under attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and photos show destroyed trucks alongside the T-80UM2. Its turret was knocked off and its hull burnt out, although it’s not immediately clear how it was hit and by what.
The story of the T-80UM2 is a complicated one, tied up with a new-generation tank project with the project name Objekt 640, better known as the Black Eagle. A mock-up of the Black Eagle appeared as long ago as 1997, at which point it was being promoted for the export market.
By 1998 it had become clear that work was also underway on the T-80UM2, as a further development of the Cold War-era T-80. There seems to be substantial overlap between the T-80UM2 and the Black Eagle, to the point that some sources consider them one and the same. If that’s the case, then the T-80UM2 may very well have been intended to serve as a prototype for the Black Eagle which, as it turned out, never entered production.
As for the T-80UM2, this vehicle was based on an upgraded T-80U chassis, the main new addition being a welded-steel turret with advanced armor protection, including Kaktus explosive reactive armor (ERA), panels of which were also applied to the front of the hull. More Kaktus was fitted to the track skirts, while there were anti-fragmentation screens around the front of the turret.
In its ultimate form, the T-80UM2 was also fitted with the Drozd-2 active protection system, a hard-kill system that uses radar to detect incoming anti-tank rockets and anti-tank missiles, before automatically firing high-explosive fragmentation munitions at them, with the aim of destroying, or at last disabling them, at a distance of 20-30 feet from the tank.
A video showing the earlier Arena-M active protection system tested on a T-72 tank. The Drozd-2 operates on a similar principal:
The T-80UM2 featured a different crew arrangement compared to the T-80U, with the gunner seated on the right and the commander on the left of the turret, swapping sides compared to the earlier tank.
Otherwise, the new tank used the same main armament as the earlier T-80 series, with a 125mm 2A45M smoothbore gun, but this was now fed ammunition via an improved type of automatic loading system. The magazine was moved from below the turret to the bustle, at the back of the turret, apparently in response to survivability concerns highlighted during fighting in Chechnya.
As originally completed, the T-80UM2 was powered by a gas turbine engine, as used in the other T-80 series tanks, although there are indications that there were at least plans to replace this with a more fuel-efficient diesel engine. It’s unclear if that modification was ever completed.
The history of the T-80UM2 is little known but it’s clear that despite the Black Eagle failing to reach series production, the Russian military found a use for the prototype. The tank may well have been useful for test purposes, perhaps also trialing other new systems and features, although there are suggestions that it was ultimately deployed within a frontline combat unit, rather than being assigned to an experimental facility.
The T-80UM2 appeared at the large-scale Zapad-2021 military maneuvers, at which point it was reportedly operated by the elite 4th Guards Tank Division, assigned to the Western Military District. Headquartered at Naro-Fominsk near Moscow, the division includes two tank regiments and one motor rifle regiment, all of which include different versions of the T-80. With this in mind, it may have not been too big a logistical and maintenance challenge to operate the unique T-80UM2 as well, although the exact reason for this also remains obscure.
Now that the T-80UM2 has met its demise on the battlefield, the big question is not why it was apparently fielded by a frontline unit, but why it was deployed to Ukraine in the first place.
Even with Russian Ground Forces taking heavy losses — certainly far heavier than anticipated — it’s unlikely that stocks of high-end armored vehicles are being reduced to such an extent that even a one-off tank, perhaps with a primarily experimental role, was thrown into battle simply to make up the required numbers.
Among the many surprising elements of how the Russian military has gone about the invasion of Ukraine, there has been a seeming willingness to deploy vehicles that don’t appear ideal choices bearing in mind the type of warfare and the logistics challenges of highly varied fleets. For example, there has been at least one sighting of an unarmored UAZ-39094 van, reportedly used by the Russian forces, while even in the early days of the campaign trains were spotted transporting civilian vehicles toward the war zones, apparently intended for military use there. These examples suggest, at the very least, acute logistics failings on the part of the Russian war planners.
It could also be the case that despite — or even because of — the ferocity of the fighting on the ground, Russia is keen to test out different capabilities against modern battlefield threats. In such a scenario, it’s conceivable that the T-80UM2 was deployed to Ukraine specifically to assess how its protection features, and perhaps other systems, fared against some of the advanced weaponry, including anti-tank missiles, fielded now by Ukraine. As far as is known, the T-80UM2 was the only tank deployed by Russia in the fighting so far to feature an active protection system.
There would also be a precedent for sending advanced or experimental land systems to Ukraine, or at least to areas closer to it, in the apparent deployment of the rare BMPT-72 Terminator armored fighting vehicle, only introduced to frontline service last December, to the Ukrainian border area last month. On the other hand, the T-14 Armata advanced main battle tank, which reportedly underwent combat trials in Syria, is so far yet to appear in the Ukrainian campaign. Even Russia's claimed use of a hypersonic Kinzhal missile against a target in Ukraine is a reminder of how Russia likes to promote its latest weapons tech via use on real battlefields.
If the T-80UM2 was taking part in some kind of pre-planned combat evaluation, of the kind that we’ve also seen in Syria, then it would appear to have ended with the conclusion that the Drozd-2, and whatever other protection features the tank was fitted with, ultimately failed to do their job.
As it stands, the reason for the T-80UM2’s appearance in the Ukrainian conflict, let alone the cause of its demise, remains a puzzle. But with other rare Russian military vehicles also having been noted either in Ukraine or close to its borders, this will likely not be the first such mystery relating to the Kremlin’s deployment of such weapons.
lost in melb. (03-22-2022)
Bolton dominated this interview, I'm surprised this shitbag RT puppet didn't cut it off
Teh One Who Knocks (03-23-2022)
Moscow's claim about firing hypersonic missiles could be more hype, experts say
By Courtney Kube, Dan De Luce and Corky Siemaszko - NBC News
Russia claims it destroyed a Ukrainian ammunitions depot with hypersonic missiles capable of flying five to 25 times the speed of sound.
If confirmed, it would mark a dramatic escalation of Russia's brutal campaign to crush the pro-Western government in Kyiv and drag the country back into Moscow’s orbit.
But so far, U.S. officials and military experts say, what Russia has unleashed appears to be hypersonic hype about a potentially devastating weapon.
“It’s a bit of a head-scratcher to be honest with you,” a Pentagon official told NBC News on Monday. “If it’s true, why would you need a hypersonic missile fired from not that far away to hit a building?”
Military experts said the only reason Russian President Vladimir Putin would resort to using this kind of weaponry against the outgunned Ukrainians at this point would be to score propaganda points.
“Russia doesn’t have many of them and, frankly, doesn’t need to use them in this conflict,” said Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “They’re very, very fast and designed to evade missile defenses.”
But, he said, “Ukraine doesn’t really have missile defenses.”
If Russia did fire such a weapon, it would be more for propaganda value to let Ukraine and the rest of the world know "they’ve got them and will use them,” he said.
President Joe Biden said late Monday that Russia had "launched their hypersonic missile because it’s the only thing that they can get through with absolute certainty." He described it as a "consequential weapon," but added that "with the same warhead on it as as any other launch missile, it doesn’t make that much difference except it’s almost impossible to stop it."
"There’s a reason for using it,” Biden added.
Earlier, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin refused to “confirm or dispute” Moscow’s assertion that it destroyed an underground warehouse in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine with hypersonic missiles called Kinzhals.
“I would not see it as a game changer,” the Pentagon chief said of the hypersonic missiles Sunday on CBS’ "Face the Nation."
“I think the reason (Putin) is resorting to using these types of weapons is because he is trying to re-establish some momentum,” Austin said. “And again, we’ve seen him attack towns and cities and civilians outright (and) we expect that to continue.”
U.S. officials agreed, saying Russia’s use of hypersonic missiles would be viewed as a show of strength by Moscow, but wouldn’t fundamentally change the dynamics of the three-week-old war that began with an invasion by Russian forces and is reaching a bloody stalemate.
The Russians, they said, have more than enough traditional rockets, missiles and other weapons to continue decimating Ukraine’s defenses and cities.
The United States has been working to develop hypersonic missiles since the 2000s, but it continues to lag behind China and Russia.
The next-generation weapons are extra hard to shoot down because of their maneuverability, Cancian said.
Intercontinental ballistic missiles fly much faster, but they travel in a predictable path, making it possible to intercept them before they strike any targets.
But existing U.S. missile defense systems, including the Navy’s Aegis system, would have trouble intercepting hypersonic missiles, the experts said.
Well lets not antagonize them and make them prove it.
lost in melb. (03-24-2022), Teh One Who Knocks (03-24-2022)
PETER WEBER - The Week
Most of Russia's military offensives in Ukraine continue to be stalled amid fierce Ukrainian resistance, but Russia's military continues to fire dozens of missiles and rockets at Ukrainian civilian and military targets every day, a senior U.S. defense official said at a briefing in Brussels on Wednesday.
The U.S. estimates that Russian President Vladimir Putin has "around 75 percent of his total military committed to the fight in Ukraine," the official said, clarifying later that the 75 percent figure mostly refers to "battalion tactical groups, which is the units that he has primarily relied upon."
"At the height of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we were about 29 percent committed," former U.S. Army Europe commander Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges noted Tuesday at the Center for European Policy Analysis think tank. "And it was difficult to sustain that."
Britain's Ministry of Defense said Tuesday that given Putin's significant "personnel losses" in Ukraine, "Russia is redeploying forces from as far afield as its Eastern Military District, Pacific Fleet, and Armenia. It is also increasingly seeking to exploit irregular sources such as private military companies, Syrian and other mercenaries."
The U.S. official said the Pentagon has seen the Russians "deliberate and discuss the possibility of resupply to include replacement troops," and given the deaths, injuries, and defections they are suffering every day, "it certainly stands to reason that they would want to be exploring options to replenish those losses." However, "we haven't seen any indications that anything is moving right now outside of what they have already in Ukraine," the official said, cautioning that "we still assess that they have the vast amount of their combat power available to them" in Ukraine.
"It's pretty clear that Russian generals are running out of time, ammunition, and manpower," CEPA's Hodges wrote. "There is no suggestion that the Russians have big units lurking in the woods somewhere," and "it's apparent that the notional 900,000 strength of the Russian military is a hollow number. " Russia will call up another 130,000 conscripts on April 1, he added, but while "the Ukrainian diaspora is flocking home to help the fight; Russians are not coming back home — and indeed, many are leaving to avoid Putin's fight."
RBP (03-24-2022)
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
Ukraine claims to have destroyed a huge Russian ship just days after state media filmed it unloading reinforcements at a captured port, as Putin's army continues to suffer punishing losses at the hands of Kyiv's men.
The Ukrainian navy said early Thursday that it had scored a direct hit on the Orsk, a 370ft Russian Alligator-class tank carrier, as it was sitting at anchor in the captured port of Berdyansk, in the south of Ukraine.
Multiple photos and videos showed flames and thick black smoke towering over the port. Just three days before the strike, Russian state media had filmed the Orsk at the port unloading armoured vehicles which it said would reinforce troops in nearby Mariupol - prompting speculation that Ukraine could use the video to target the vessel.
H I Sutton, a respected naval analyst, later said it is 'beyond reasonable doubt' that an Alligator-class ship had exploded at the port. It marks the largest ship that Ukrainian forces have managed to strike so-far and represents another embarrassing loss for Vladimir Putin's beleaguered army.
It comes after NATO said Russia has lost up to 40,000 men either killed, wounded or captured in just over a month of fighting - or a quarter of the150,000 troops assembled ahead of the invasion. It means the force that remains is at risk of becoming combat ineffective, making it vulnerable to Ukrainian counter-attacks.
Counter-attacks appeared to be well underway on Wednesday, with Ukraine claiming to have recaptured territory to the west of Kyiv - leaving Russian forces at Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel at risk of being surrounded.
Should those men get cut-off from the rest of the Russian army - leaving them without food, ammunition and fuel - it could spark mass surrender and deal one of the most-crushing defeats of the war to date.
After days of conflicting reports about the situation near Kyiv, Britain's Ministry of Defence said late Tuesday: 'Ukrainian forces are carrying out successful counter attacks against Russian positions in towns on the outskirts of the capital, and have probably retaken Makariv and Moschun [to the west and north-west].
'There is a realistic possibility that Ukrainian forces are now able to encircle Russian units in Bucha and Irpin.'
A further update on Thursday morning added that 'Russian forces have almost certainly suffered thousands of casualties' and that Vladimir Putin is looking to reinforce using private military companies - such as the Wagner Group - and foreign mercenaries, likely from Syria.
But, it added, it is unclear how these forces would be integrated into the regular Russian army and how effective they would prove to be in combat.
As Putin's invasion continues to falter, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy called on people worldwide to gather in public Thursday to show support for his embattled country as he prepared to address U.S. President Joe Biden and other NATO leaders gathered in Brussels on the one-month anniversary of the Russian invasion.
'Come to your squares, your streets. Make yourselves visible and heard,' Zelenskyy said in English during an emotional video address late Wednesday that was recorded in the dark near the presidential offices in Kyiv. 'Say that people matter. Freedom matters. Peace matters. Ukraine matters.'
When Russia unleashed its invasion Feb. 24 in Europe's biggest offensive since World War II, a swift toppling of Ukraine's government seemed likely. But a month into the fighting, Moscow is bogged down in a grinding military campaign of attrition after meeting fierce Ukrainian resistance.
Ukraine's navy reported Thursday that it had sunk the Russian ship Orsk in the Sea of Asov near the port city of Berdyansk. It released photos and video of fire and thick smoke coming from the port area. Russia did not immediately comment on the claim.
Russia has been in possession of the port since Feb. 27, and the Orsk had debarked armored vehicles there on Monday for use in Moscow's offensive, the Zvezda TV channel of the Russian Defense Ministry said earlier this week. According to the report, the Orsk was the first Russian warship to enter Berdyansk, which is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) west along the coast from the besieged city of Mariupol.
To keep up the pressure on Russia, Zelenskyy said he would ask in a video conference with NATO members that the alliance provide 'effective and unrestricted' support to Ukraine, including any weapons the country needs.
Biden was expected to discuss new sanctions and how to coordinate such measures, along with more military aid for Ukraine, with NATO members, and then talk with leaders of the G7 industrialized nations and the European Council in a series of meetings on Thursday.
On the eve of a meeting with Biden, European Union nations signed off on another 500 million euros ($550 million) in military aid for Ukraine.
Heading in to the talks, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters the alliance had already stepped up military support but needed to invest more to make good on pledged commitments.
'The meeting today will demonstrate the importance of North America and Europe standing together facing this crisis,' he said.
In its last update, Russia said March 2 that nearly 500 of its soldiers had been killed and almost 1,600 wounded. NATO estimates, however, that between 7,000 to 15,000 Russian troops have been killed - the latter figure about what Russia lost in a decade of fighting in Afghanistan.
A senior NATO military official said the alliance's estimate was based on information from Ukrainian authorities, what Russia has released - intentionally or not - and intelligence gathered from open sources. The official spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by NATO.
Ukraine also claims to have killed six Russian generals. Russia acknowledges just one dead general.
Ukraine has released little information about its own military losses, and the West has not given an estimate, but Zelenskyy said nearly two weeks ago that about 1,300 Ukrainian troops had been killed.
With its ground forces slowed or stopped by hit-and-run Ukrainian units armed with Western-supplied weapons, Russian President Vladimir Putin's troops are bombarding targets from afar, falling back on the tactics they used in reducing cities to rubble in Syria and Chechnya.
A senior U.S. defense official said Wednesday that Russian ground forces appear to be digging in and setting up defensive positions 15 to 20 kilometers (9 to 12 miles) outside Kyiv, the capital, as they make little to no progress toward the city center.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military assessments, said it appears the forces are no longer trying to advance into the city, and in some areas east of Kyiv, Ukrainian troops have pushed Russian soldiers farther away.
Instead, Russian troops appear to be prioritizing the fight in the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions in the Donbas, in what could be an effort to cut off Ukrainian troops and prevent them from moving west to defend other cities, the official said. The U.S. also has seen activity from Russian ships in the Sea of Azov, including what appear to be efforts to send landing ships ashore with supplies, including vehicles, the official said.
Despite evidence to the contrary, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted the military operation is going 'strictly in accordance' with plans.
In an ominous sign that Moscow might consider using nuclear weapons, senior Russian official Dmitry Rogozin said the country's nuclear arsenal would help deter the West from intervening in Ukraine.
'The Russian Federation is capable of physically destroying any aggressor or any aggressor group within minutes at any distance,' said Rogozin, who heads the state aerospace corporation, Roscosmos, and oversees missile-building facilities. He noted in his televised remarks that Moscow's nuclear stockpiles include tactical nuclear weapons, designed for use on battlefields, along with far more powerful nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles.
U.S. officials long have warned that Russia's military doctrine envisages an 'escalate to deescalate' option of using battlefield nuclear weapons to force the enemy to back down in a situation when Russian forces face imminent defeat. Moscow has denied having such plans.
Rogozin, known for his bluster, did not make clear what actions by the West would be seen as meddling, but his comments almost certainly reflect thinking inside the Kremlin. Putin has warned the West that an attempt to introduce a no-fly zone over Ukraine would draw it into a conflict with Russia. Western nations have said they would not create a no-fly zone to protect Ukraine.
Zelenskyy noted in his national address that Ukraine has not received the fighter jets or modern air-defense systems it requested. He said Ukraine also needs tanks and anti-ship systems.
'It has been a month of defending ourselves from attempts to destroy us, wipe us off the face of the earth,' he said.
In Kyiv, where near-constant shelling and gunfire shook the city Wednesday as the two sides battled for control of multiple suburbs, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least 264 civilians have been killed since the war broke out. The independent Russian news outlet The Insider said Russian journalist Oksana Baulina had been killed by shelling in a Kyiv neighborhood on Wednesday.
In the south, the encircled port city of Mariupol has seen the worst devastation of the war, enduring weeks of bombardment and, now, street-by-street fighting. But Ukrainian forces have prevented its fall, thwarting an apparent bid by Moscow to fully secure a land bridge from Russia to Crimea, seized from Ukraine in 2014.
In their last update, over a week ago, Mariupol officials said at least 2,300 people had died, but the true toll is probably much higher. Airstrikes in the past week destroyed a theater and an art school where civilians were sheltering.
Zelenskyy said 100,000 civilians remain in the city, which had a population of 430,000 before the war. Efforts to get desperately needed food and other supplies to those trapped have often failed.
In the besieged northern city of Chernihiv, Russian forces bombed and destroyed a bridge that was used for aid deliveries and civilian evacuations, regional governor Viacheslav Chaus said.
Kateryna Mytkevich, 39, who arrived in Poland after fleeing Chernihiv, wiped away tears as she said the city is without gas, electricity or running water, and entire neighborhoods have been destroyed.
'I don't understand why we have such a curse,' she said.
lost in melb. (03-24-2022), RBP (03-24-2022)
I don't think they were Ukrainian-themed, but from my understanding they had a few to choose from and "coincidentally" chose this colour.
Thanks for the huge update, Lance..
Teh One Who Knocks (03-24-2022)
Russia seems to have bitten off a bit more then they can chew
Everything to know about Switchblades, the attack drones the US is giving Ukraine
https://www.popsci.com/technology/sw...explained/?amp
Godfather (03-26-2022)
Russian MoT claims to have shot down 35 Uranian Bayraktar TB2 combat drones.... Ukraine only ever owned 18 of them
lost in melb. (03-26-2022)
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