Russian Invasion of Ukraine

[China]

Leaked Documents Suggest Ukrainian Air Defense Is in Peril if Not Reinforced

 

For more than a year, Ukrainian air defenses, reinforced by Western weaponry, have kept Russian planes at bay.

 

But without a huge influx of munitions, Ukraine’s entire air defense network, weakened by repeated barrages from Russian drones and missiles, could fracture, according to U.S. officials and newly leaked Pentagon documents, potentially allowing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to unleash his lethal fighter jets in ways that could change the course of the war.

 

In the early days of the invasion, Russian aircraft flew hundreds of combat flights to bomb targets in Ukraine. But a combination of quick thinking by Ukrainian commanders and poor intelligence and bad aim by Russian pilots left many of Ukraine’s warplanes and air defenses intact, preventing Moscow from gaining control of the skies above the battlefield and forcing Russia to keep much of its air force out of the fight.

 

Now Pentagon officials are worried that Moscow’s barrage of attacks from afar is draining Ukraine’s stores of the missiles it uses to defend itself. And a Pentagon assessment from late February contained in the trove of leaked documents that were discovered circulating online last week paints an even grimmer picture.

 

Stocks of missiles for Soviet-era S-300 and Buk air defense systems, which make up 89 percent of Ukraine’s protection against most fighter aircraft and some bombers, were projected to be fully depleted by May 3 and mid-April, according to one of the leaked documents. The document, which was issued on Feb. 28, based the assessment on consumption rates at the time. It is not clear if those rates have changed.

 

The same document assessed that Ukrainian air defenses designed to protect troops on the front line, where much of Russia’s air power is concentrated, will “be completely reduced” by May 23, resulting in strains on the air defense network deeper into Ukrainian territory.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[CousinsCowgirl84]

This leak is quite the cluster****….

[Gurgeh]

18 hours ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said:

This leak is quite the cluster****….

 

Yeah and apparently there's more out there.

 

Leak of secret US defense papers could be ‘tip of the iceberg’, report says | US national security | The Guardian

 

Several Discord users told Bellingcat that the original source of the leak was a server used only by 20 people, which went by a variety of different names, most frequently Thug Shaker Central. It was set up by followers of a popular YouTuber called Oxide, who posts videos about weapons and other military paraphernalia.

 

The sources said that the first leaks on Thug Shaker Central dated back to last October, and involved far more documents than have so far come to light. The most recent leaked documents are dated as recently as early March. The leaker allegedly was acting as the server’s administrator and set up a channel within Thug Shaker Central called “Bear vs Pig”, about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

 

The documents did not spread beyond Thug Shaker Central until late February, when one of the users of the “Bear vs Pig” channel, a teenager who went by the name Lucca, started posting 107 of the photographed documents on a more widely used server

 

 

.. and as to who leaked it, there are literally hundreds of thousands of people who have access to that level of information, but considering it was leaked to a gaming group not even large enough to be called a fringe element, it shouldn't be too hard to track them down.

 

[Cooked Crack]

Quote

President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi of Egypt, one of America’s closest allies in the Middle East and a major recipient of U.S. aid, recently ordered subordinates to produce up to 40,000 rockets to be covertly shipped to Russia, according to a leaked U.S. intelligence document. 

 

A portion of a top secret document, dated Feb. 17, summarizes purported conversations between Sisi and senior Egyptian military officials and also references plans to supply Russia with artillery rounds and gunpowder. In the document, Sisi instructs the officials to keep the production and shipment of the rockets secret “to avoid problems with the West.” 

 

The Washington Post obtained the document from a trove of images of classified files posted in February and March on Discord, a chat app popular with gamers. The document has not been previously reported.

 

[China]

Russia nearly shot down British spy plane near Ukraine – leaked document

 

A Russian fighter jet nearly shot down a British surveillance plane last year, according to a leaked US military document circulating online.

 

The near miss occurred on 29 September off the coast of Crimea, the Washington Post reported, citing the document which is among an apparent leak from the Pentagon. The authenticity of the documents has not been verified.

 

Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, had disclosed the incident to parliament in October, when he said a Russian fighter jet had “released a missile” in the vicinity of an unarmed British spy plane patrolling in international airspace over the Black Sea.

 

Wallace said at the time that the UK did not consider the case as a deliberate escalation, but that it had been down to a technical malfunction. He also accused Moscow of acting recklessly.

 

The leaked Pentagon document refers to the incident as a “near-shoot down of UK RJ,” a reference to the Rivet Joint moniker common for RC-135 reconnaissance planes. It also detailed several other encounters between Russian jets and US, British and French aircraft on surveillance flights between October and February.

 

Under article 5 of Nato’s treaty, an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against the alliance as a whole.

 

The report shows the incident was more significant than was previously disclosed and that it could have drawn the US and Nato allies directly into the Ukraine war, the Post reported.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[DCSaints_fan]

NATO article 5 probably wouldn't apply, because if you read article 6, it defines attacks against aircraft while within the national territories of the signature nations and certain other regions - namely the North Atlantic and the Mediterrean Sea.
 

Quote

 

Article 6 ¹

For the purpose of Article 5, an armed attack on one or more of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack:

• on the territory of any of the Parties in Europe or North America, on the Algerian Departments of France ², on the territory of Turkey or on the Islands under the jurisdiction of any of the Parties in the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer;
• on the forces, vessels, or aircraft of any of the Parties, when in or over these territories or any other area in Europe in which occupation forces of any of the Parties were stationed on the date when the Treaty entered into force or the Mediterranean Sea or the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer.

 

•  

 

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_17120.htm
 

Edited April 11, 2023 by DCSaints_fan

[China]

Putin was waiting for Donald Trump's 'wink' before sending troops to invade Ukraine

 

Vladimir Putin was hoping for a sign from former US president Donald Trump before he sent Russian troops to invade Ukraine.

 

Andrew Weissmann, a former member of the team investigating wrongdoing during Trump’s presidency, said the Russian leader had been waiting on a "wink" from Trump before launching his invasion.

 

Weissmann told PBS radio that Trump lackey Paul Manafort and Russian intelligence officer Konstantin Kilimnik had discussed the idea of Russia claiming part of Ukraine, and a "wink" from the former president was needed to "make this work”.

 

He said the conversation was "such a clear indication of what Vladimir Putin was trying to do".

 

Trump has recently admitted he would have "made a deal" for Moscow to claim large chunks of Ukrainian territory in order to bring the war to a swift end.

 

Weissmann was part of the team investigating Russian interference in 2016’s US presidential election, which found significant evidence that Putin had ordered an "aggressive, multifaceted effort to influence, or attempt to influence, the outcome of the 2016 presidential election".

 

In the team’s 2020 report, it was stated that ”Kilimnik and Manafort formed a close and lasting relationship that would endure to the 2016 U.S. elections and beyond”.

Investigators say Manafort "discussed with Kilimnik a peace plan for eastern Ukraine that benefited the Kremlin”.

 

The report also said that Manafort's high-level access and willingness to share information with individuals closely affiliated with the Russian intelligence services, particularly Kilimnik, represented a "grave counterintelligence threat”.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Cooked Crack]

 

[China]

Russian forces in Crimea brace for possible Ukraine assault

 

The Moscow-appointed leader of Crimea said Tuesday the region is on guard for what may be an impending Ukrainian counteroffensive.

 

Sergei Aksyonov told reporters that Russian forces in Crimea had built “modern, in-depth defenses” and had “more than enough” troops and equipment to repel a possible Ukrainian assault after 13 months of war following Russia's full-scale invasion.

 

“We cannot underestimate the enemy, but we can definitely say that we are ready (for an attack) and that there will be no catastrophe,” he said.

His comments came days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reaffirmed Kyiv’s intention to take back the Black Sea peninsula that Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

 

Aksyonov first announced the beginning of fortification works in Crimea in November, without giving details. In February, at a security meeting chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said that the works were set to finish by April.

 

Satellite photos from Maxar Technologies show a complex web of trenches and other fortifications dug near Medvedivka, a small town near a crossing between Crimea and mainland Ukraine, suggesting Russian concerns about a possible Ukrainian attack there.

 

Military analysts expect Kyiv to take advantage of improving weather to seize the battlefield initiative with new batches of Western weapons, including scores of tanks, and fresh troops trained in the West.

 

Click on the link for the full article 

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[ixcuincle]

@The Evil Genius

@PleaseBlitz

 

 

[88Comrade2000]

Joe may run for president on the No Labels ticket. As a third party candidate. 

[The Evil Genius]

4 minutes ago, 88Comrade2000 said:

Joe may run for president on the No Labels ticket. As a third party candidate. 

 

No thanks. 

[PleaseBlitz]

I would hire Zelensky as head coach for this season. 

[Long n Left]

25 minutes ago, ixcuincle said:

@The Evil Genius

@PleaseBlitz

 

 

Let’s go Mandon!

[TradeTheBeal!]

Zelensky’s GPA must’ve been ass.  Otherwise, he’d be enjoying some sweet Charlottesville breezes.

[skinsmarydu]

3 hours ago, Cooked Crack said:

 

 

Brad Paisley is a damn genius. So is the war hero/comedian. 

Who's the moron in the photo?  

[PleaseBlitz]

5 hours ago, TradeTheBeal! said:

Zelensky’s GPA must’ve been ass.  Otherwise, he’d be enjoying some sweet Charlottesville breezes.

He didnt wear a tie to the Oval or to speak to a joint session of Congress, he sure as **** isn’t wearing one to a football tailgate. 

Edited April 13, 2023 by PleaseBlitz

[The Evil Genius]

18 hours ago, TradeTheBeal! said:

Zelensky’s GPA must’ve been ass.  Otherwise, he’d be enjoying some sweet Charlottesville breezes.

 

The breeze from a good bonfire you say?

 

[TradeTheBeal!]

I know a West Virginia Byrd-watchers wouldn’t dare bring up any sort of Klan-related smack.  I must be hallucinating.

Edited April 13, 2023 by TradeTheBeal!

[Cooked Crack]

 

[CousinsCowgirl84]

Wasn’t even a hack just some random bro dude trying to impress his internet freinds.

[PokerPacker]

1 hour ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said:

Wasn’t even a hack just some random bro dude trying to impress his internet freinds.

Sounds familiar...

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/war-thunder-forum-military-technology-leaks/

[China]

Russian T-90 Tank From Ukraine Mysteriously Appears At U.S. Truck Stop

 

The folks at Peto’s Travel Center and Casino in Roanoke, Louisiana see all kinds of vehicles pull up, but Tuesday night was different. What ended up in their parking is certainly something of a mystery, to say the least.

 

Someone left a Russian T-90A tank, which open source intelligence (OSINT) trackers say was captured by Ukraine last fall, on a trailer after the truck hauling it broke down and pulled into this truck stop off U.S. Interstate 10. An employee at Peto's and the individual who first posted the images on Reddit shared them with The War Zone.

 

 

The T-90A is modern by Russian standards, having been introduced two decades ago, which makes its puzzling voyage from battlefield Ukraine to a truck stop in Louisiana all that much more puzzling.

 

“I’ve been here seven years,” assistant manager Valerie Mott told The War Zone Thursday morning. “I’ve never seen [a tank] here before.”

 

Neither Mott nor manager Cody Sellers knew who left the tank, where it came from, or where it was heading.

 

“The transmission went out on the truck that was hauling this big old trailer,” said Sellers.

 

Whoever was hauling the tank had to go back to Houston and get a new truck and asked if they could store it at Peto’s, said Mott, adding that she is not concerned about security.

 

“We have guards 24 hours a day,” she said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[TradeTheBeal!]