Russia-Ukraine War 2022

TB2 and the still very new Bohdana 155mm SPG was used to bombard the Snake Island.

https://news.sky.com/video/ukraine-war- ... d-12643146

This was only a matter of time.

Snake Island was only going to be a very public graveyard for Russia. Re-supply and other ships would have undergone conversion to submarines and barrier reef's, via Ukranian Penguine and Harpoon missiles. The island itself would have made a fantastic target range for Ukranian artillery, and bombing range for Ukranian drones/fixed wing assets.

How many Russian lives were lost in taking/defending it? How many missiles, artillery rounds, pilots in fixed, rotary wing and other assets were wasted? More importantly, what was gained? Anything??

Nothing. Snake Island remains a Ukranian rallying cry.

War really is sad sometimes. Especially when you're dealing with a country who doesn't care much for how many lives are lost, to accomplish its objective (or not, as in this case).

Good news.

The US Department of Defense recently unveiled its 14th package of military support to Ukraine in the fight against Russia.
Here, the USA confirms, among other things, that they will buy two Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) to Ukraine. It is developed by Kongsberg Defense amp; Aerospace and produced in collaboration with American Raytheon.

The 14th package also include additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), up to 150,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition and 4 additional counterbattery radars.

Second missile hit some 500m from the the Kremenchuk mall. A different type. It was barely inside the peremeter of the industrial site.

Edit: One surprising feature of the HIMARS launcher is how small it is. Uragan and Smerch is much larger than this.

2nd missile

HIMARS

Circled missile looks like a kh-32.

"Look, the road ahead has been mined, let's drive in the field parallel to the road. Follow me, you cowards."

https://weibo.com/7203164256/LzGabiBMj? ... 001030103_

Edit1:

Russian Su-30 bombed the Snake Island too. Two misses, one hit, one dud. No flares because no one is shooting back.

https://weibo.com/1855440125/LAmx11usl? ... 001030103_

Edit2:

First recorded use of SMArt 155 sensor-fused munition. BONUS is a similar system, but uses winglets instead of a parachute.

https://weibo.com/6686681073/LAqLW8kdy? ... 001030103_

First recorded use of SMArt 155 sensor-fused munition. BONUS is a similar system, but uses winglets instead of a parachute.

https://weibo.com/6686681073/LAqLW8kdy? ... 001030103_

Well here's the lesson about public statements: they don't tell you everything... I don't remember anyone bragging about offering sensor fuzed 155mm to Ukraine yet here we are finding out only after documented kill... BTW I didn't see parachute so BONUS it is? If I were to bet they came with French CAESAR who has more aged inventory that might as well be used than otherwise be disposed of.

Correct me if I'm wrong but as far as I remember it's also the first combat employment of this class of weapon ever, we might yet find out whether they'll live up to the hype. The operation concept sounds to me very much like catching a fly with chopsticks while blindfolded(using sensors that can fit in a submunition, survive acceleration from being fired from tubed howitzer, detect target in the spinning motion and land a hit with EFP from a fair standoff distance away during the said motion), but in this case it apparently did exactly that.

Also a good reminder that "SEAD" is not a mission that's exclusive to Wild Weasel planes. MLRS can very much also have a SEAD role and could reach everything below and including Buk battery or air defense command post, if they can find and locate them. It could very well buy them back some safe space to operate MALE UAV above MANPADS(which are improbable to thoroughly suppress) ceiling in some parts of the frontline. It's after all the few means Ukraine have to deliver precision effect.

All in all they're showing off that they can properly bag big games with sophisticated weapons so send more.

I take the white thing as the parachute, too big to be submunition itself.

Remember reading about the Sensor Fuzed Weapon in the 1990s. It is a way to deal with concentrated armor. An area weapon with less submunitions while being more precise. CBU-delivered Sensor Fuzed Weapon has been documented use in Yemen. Delivered by 155mm round is recorded for the first time in my account. An indirect fire and forget precision weapon not attached to the air power is well suited for the use of Ukraine. Hope this war will renew the interest in such weapons.

Edit1: Reportedly, Melitopol airport under rocket attack over night. Big fires burning. That's what I called a "juicy target".

https://weibo.com/1657157900/LAzm5mxLP? ... 001030103_

https://weibo.com/3197759105/LAA3Oc9Cg? ... 001030103_

Edit2: T-80BV blew up

https://weibo.com/6065250161/LAAtKdZAT? ... 001030103_

Edit3: On Jul 4, finally the Z-force crossed the Siversky Donets River at Bilohorivka AFTER capturing Lysychansk. Now the battle line is along Slovyansk and Bakhmut.

parachute

Snizhne, which is deep inside the DPR, ammo dump exploded over night.

https://liveuamap.com/en/2022/4-july-ex ... in-snizhne
https://weibo.com/1960482073/LAIMymHBP? ... 001030103_

Torez and Khartsyzsk also reported attacks.

Edit1:

The Russians tried to deploy Tornado-G on the Snake Island, which was destroyed, with other vehicles, on the jetty by TB2 at a close range. The jetty was destroyed when the MLRS exploded.

https://weibo.com/2149981442/LAsXfdS38? ... 001030103_

Tornado-G is about the only thing can reach the land while being light enough to be put on a landing craft. There was a Pantsir-S1 on the island. Poor Ivans must be sleeping.

Edit2:

Two Russian T-80BV got captured. One of them lost most of the ERA on the right front side of the turret.

https://weibo.com/7749618309/LAQWk4gn7? ... 001030103_

The Pentagon announced an $820 million aid package to Ukraine that includes the same advanced Norwegian air defense systems used to protect the White House. Coupling that with recently arrived multiple-launch rocket systems, the Defense Department said it expects rapid battlefield gains in the Donbas region. “This is something that we have been asking for,” Yuriy Sak, adviser to the minister of defense of Ukraine, told Air Force Magazine. “These are modern, NATO standard systems which are capable of protecting ... the Ukrainian sky from these missile strikes.”

Ukrainain forces withdrew from the city of Luhansk

https://www.overtdefense.com/2022/07/05 ... ws-return/

sad news but strategically smart. Russian forces aren't good at urban tactics so instead Russian military decided to indiscrimately shell sections of the city. Not to sound like I am couch coaching I would let Russian military take the city and use what resistance and conventional forces I have to hit supply mines.

French Caesar in action. Bombarded by both sides, it is very tough for the civilians. Depopulated and infrastructures destroyed, a familiar sight of the places the Russians are going to occupy. Who is going to feed the locals and rebuild this place? The Russian victory is a pyrrhic victory.

https://news.sky.com/story/ukrainian-tr ... e-12645887

Three HIMARS launchers together. There are only four, or six depend on the source, of them in service.

https://news.sky.com/story/himar-system ... s-12646263

Ukrainian air defense in action.

https://weibo.com/6178143965/LAW8duvUM? ... 001030103_

A few Uragan launcher and transloader got destroyed

https://news.sky.com/video/video-releas ... d-12646825

The Russian MoD releaded a video of the purported destruction of two HIMARS launchers, but I see nothing. Never trust Russian propaganda.

https://weibo.com/7208477348/LB3WKaul6? ... 001030103_

Replenishing the ammo of PzH 2000

https://weibo.com/7744980156/LAUqtpD4V? ... 001030103_

How much of Russia's military failures in Ukraine can be attributed to bad tactics and poor training over wide spread corruption?

Same problem as usual. The Z-force doesn't have enough man power to hold such a large territory without the collaborating locals. They were spread too thin. A BMP parked in this village, a tank parked beside that house. A squad went house to house in search of loot and partisans. The local officials went into hiding. The society stopped functioning. The infrastructures deteriorated. The occupation became a stupid business. It is safe to assume that the Z-force in the south and east is as incompetent and venal as those in the north, but the local circumstance was different.

KAMAZ center within the densely-populated area of Donetsk. A very small target. The residential blocks and road nearby was not affected. The strike was very accurate.

https://weibo.com/5741508438/LAU82xjXz? ... 001030103_

Not sure if those were Iskander failures, but certainly appeared to be strange.

https://weibo.com/1657157900/LBaBSzb71? ... 001030103_

Bridge between Novobohdanivka-Troitske destroyed in Zaporizhzhia region

https://liveuamap.com/en/2022/7-july-br ... stroyed-in

A fragment from the HIMARS warhead.

https://avia-pro.net/news/ukraisnkie-hi ... anzhenkovo

Ukrainian soldiers planted the flag on the Snake Island

https://weibo.com/1960482073/LBbSYw9OU? ... 001030103_

The often censored HIMARS control display in the CNN report.

https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/20 ... sr-vpx.cnn

Surely this is a Kalibr launch failure.

https://weibo.com/7749618309/LBixFhczz? ... 001030103_

Another obnormal launch.

https://weibo.com/2877250764/LBb81n9VM? ... 001030103_

Something is on fire reportedly near the Hydroelectric Power Plant in Nova Kakhovka, Kherson Oblast

https://liveuamap.com/en/2022/8-july-so ... roelectric

Ammunition depot exploded in Shakhtarsk

https://weibo.com/7749618309/LBjkTnd2S? ... 001030103_

A different view. A big fireball.

https://weibo.com/3951218339/LBkcvATCY? ... 001030103_

Russian Frogfoot tossed ten rockets and went home in dramatic music. What a relief! Are they censoring the GPS device?

https://www.mojevideo.sk/video/37cd9/ru ... ajine.html

Z-force lost five MBTs in one go.

And the Russian armor mass drowning event previously.

Inside PzH2000. Very high rate of fire.

https://weibo.com/1960482073/LBovjj2rq? ... 001030103_