1/ Overnight news of a devastating Ukrainian HIMARS strike against a Russian ammunition train suggests to me that the Ukrainians have been rather clever in exploiting the limitations of the local rail network.
2/ The attack took place at Brylivka railway station, south-east of Kherson. Coincidentally, it's an area I remember from a visit many years ago. The whole area is a vast, flat, arid and frankly mononous farming region watered by irrigation canals.
3/ Brylivka owes its existence to the railway line, which was built in 1944 under Stalin to provide a second rail route to Crimea (the main line is further east, running from Melitopol to Simferopol). The village was founded the following year, presumably to house railway staff.
4/ But the line at Brylivka has three peculiarities. First and most importantly, the entire line from Kherson to Dzhankoy is only a single track line. Single track lines have a very limited capacity to carry trains. (Thanks to bueker.net for the map.)
5/ There had been a plan to upgrade the line to double tracks with electrification during the 2010s, but this fell through due to Russia's seizure of the Crimea in 2014.
6/ Second, Brylivka is equipped with a large set of passing loops (or passing sidings) which are long enough for large freight trains. Passing loops allow trains to pass in both directions on a single-line track. The Russian ammo train would have been stopped here.
7/ Third, Brylivka is just south of the North Crimean Canal, which waters the entire area (and Crimea). The railway line crosses it on a single-tack bridge – given its strategic importance, I wouldn't be surprised if Mr HIMARS paid it a visit soon.
8/ The line has not been very busy in recent years. Russia's takeover of the Crimea meant that long-distance and freight traffic ceased in 2014. Prior to the 2022 invasion, it reportedly only had 2 passenger trains a day between Kherson and Vadim, the last Ukrainian-held station.
9/ However, given Russia's dependency on railways for its military logistics (as noted by @TrentTelenko and others), the Russians are likely to have been making heavy use of the line to resupply their forces in occupied areas of Kherson oblast.
10/ They have also within the last month reopened the line from Kherson to Dzhankoy for passenger traffic, though I would imagine the timetable will be somewhat disrupted now. ria.ru/20220630/melit…
11/ So I think it's likely that the Ukrainians could predict where the ammo train would be stopping, because the single-track layout of the line likely required a stop at Brylivka's passing loops.
12/ The damage at Brylivka certainly looks severe, though I would imagine the Russians will be able to repair the track within a few days. But there's nothing they can do about the track's layout.
13/ Whatever else happens, the track is likely to remain single, there will continue to be a need for a passing loop at Brylivka, and trains will continue to need to stop there to allow other trains to pass. So this vulnerability isn't going to go away. /end
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1/ Ukraine is using quadcopter drones carried by uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) to hunt down and destroy Russian anti-drone teams in occupied Crimea, according to a Russian source. ⬇️
2/ Ukrainian drone carrier USVs have been observed in use in the Black Sea in recent months. The Russian warblogger 'Veterans' Notes' describes how they are being used to support Ukraine's middle-strike campaign, by suppressing air defences in the occupied regions:
3/ "Regarding mobile task forces (MOGs) on the peninsula, the enemy has begun actively hunting them. There have already been numerous cases of MOG crews coming under fire from Ukrainian drones and suffering losses. These attacks were carried out on the coast using FPV drones.
1/ The Russian government is a "great hypnotoad" that is trying to distract the population from the fact that things are bad and about to get worse, says Russian warblogger Anastasia Kashevarova. She complains that the government is attempting to "zombify people". ⬇️
2/ A common complaint among Russian warbloggers in recent months has been that the Russian government frequently but ineptly tries to play down the deteriorating situation with the Ukraine war, through so-called "anti-crisis" propaganda or simply not mentioning Ukrainian attacks.
3/ They point out that this is highly ineffective and erodes trust in the government, as anyone with an Internet connection can see – even on Russian pro-war Telegram channels – that things are not going well.
1/ Russian commanders are being accused of failing to ensure that their soldiers do not wear neo-Nazi and far-right insignia. The practice is said to be widespread. However, a crackdown is apparently underway, with offenders being sent to die in assault units. ⬇️
2/ Throughout the war in Ukraine, Russian soldiers have been photographed wearing unofficial patches representing extremist ideologies, such as death's-head insignia, Nazi runes, and the "black sun" Sonnenrad symbol.
3/ This reflects the appeal of far-right and neo-Nazi ideology among Russian nationalists. (Indeed, there is an entire neo-Nazi paramilitary group, the Sabotage Assault Reconnaissance Group (DShRG) 'Rusich', fighting alongside the Russian regular forces.)
1/ Russian warbloggers have steadily become bolder in calling for Russia's leadership to be replaced to overcome the current stalemate in Ukraine. Calling the current situation "hopeless", 'Verum Regnum' calls for new leadership in Russia so that it can win the war. ⬇️
2/ While well aware that open criticism of Vladimir Putin is still too dangerous a step, many warbloggers are willing to criticise "the system" in general terms or call out specific officials regarded as failing, such as Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov
3/ This kind of approach, which could be summed up as "the Tsar should replace his boyars", is clearly visible in what 'Verum Regnum' writes on Telegram:
"Do you know what a "hopeless situation" is? It's a situation where we don't like the simple, obvious way out."
1/ Russia's air defence teams are manned by "homeless people, alcoholics, deserters, disabled people, idiots", complains a Russian warblogger. In the face of continued failures to stop Ukrainian drone attacks, urgent investment in robotic defence systems is advocated. ⬇️
2/ 'Military Chronicle' argues that "recent incidents involving the use of attack drones against targets in Moscow and Voronezh demonstrate that the human factor is becoming the most critical vulnerability in modern air defence systems."
3/ 'Dead Heads' explains that Russia's mobile fire teams are attracting the wrong kind of recruits: "We're forming Mobile Task Forces (MOGs) and assembling them by units: homeless people, alcoholics, 500s, disabled people, idiots – why aren't they shooting down anything?"
1/ The Russian warblogger 'Fighterbomber', a retired Russian air force pilot, is taking heavy flak from other warbloggers for disclosing a fuel delivery to Crimea that the Ukrainians promptly blew up. "Go fuck yourself. Preferably holding hands," he responds. ⬇️
2/ On 17 June, in an apparent attempt to refute widespread accounts of fuel shortages in Crimea, 'Fighterbomber' wrote on his Telegram channel: "The audience is saying that fuel has arrived in Crimea. Lots of it. There's more coming. 😍"
3/ Three days later, Ukrainian forces struck the Kerch oil terminal's fuel depot, causing a major fire. An official Ukrainian Telegram channel trolled Fighterbomber by crediting the warblogger for the strike (it's unlikely that he had any influence on it).