Videos posted over the past ten days by a Russian Telegram channel associated with the VDV’s 106th Airborne Division of Russian Su-25 attack aircraft operating in the Bakhmut - Chasiv Yar area. 2/
Videos from the past two weeks showing reported Russian FAB-250 and FAB-1500 UMPK, UK RBP Grom, and artillery or S-8 strikes in the Chasiv Yar area. 3/
This was an interesting article about how Ukraine reopened grain exports by putting Russian ports at risk, particularly given Ukraine's current campaign targeting Russian oil refineries.
From HUR's Vadym Skibitsky:
-Russia produced ~2 million 122mm/152mm artillery rounds in 2023 and received 1 million 122mm/152mm rounds from North Korea
-Russia produces ~115-130 "strategic" (>350km range) missiles per month
-~330-350 Shahed drones can be produced per month
He notes that actual production of Shaheds and missiles each month varies due to parts.
-Russia can produce 100-115 operational-tactical class of missiles (e.g. Kh-31, Kh-59) per month
-He says ~4% of Shahed drones fail to launch or explode immediately 2/ rbc.ua/rus/news/vadim…
Compared to last year, Russia's missile campaign this winter hasn't focused on energy infrastructure, but instead primarily on other infrastructure like Ukraine's defense industry and C2. He says Russia has started to use Shahed drones against military targets at the front. 3/
Video of an unsuccessful assault by Russia’s 155th Naval Infantry Brigade on Novomikhailovka with BMP-3 and an MT-LB. The naval infantrymen dismount after their BMP-3 hits a mine. They would retreat after coming under mortar + SAF.
I've largely drawn the opposite lesson from this war. I think tracked armored vehicles and tanks are still indispensable in a large-scale conventional land war, and any army that relies too heavily on wheeled vehicles assumes serious risks if they find themselves in one.
For 6-8 weeks every fall and spring, the ground conditions are quite poor in Ukraine. It is more difficult to operate heavy wheeled vehicles offroad than vehicles with tracks. Old MT-LBs are still useful as a result. 2/
The ground along the front line is littered with metal fragments and detritus. Armored wheeled vehicles often lose one or more wheels at the front even when they aren't struck, and artillery or AP mines are a greater problem for wheels than tracks. 3/ en.defence-ua.com/events/ukraini…
Video of FPV loitering munition strikes on Russian T-72B3 tanks, BMP-2, BMP-2M, a self-propelled howitzer, and trucks by Ukraine's Kraken unit. t.me/kraken_kha/452