1/ Continuing with Russian warbloggers' reactions to the overnight Oreshnik ballistic missile attacks against Ukraine, there's a great deal of criticism and bitterness about the Russian government's tactics. One asks: why not attack London instead? ⬇️
3/ 'Fighterbomber' suggests that the targets did have some military utility, but seems to be unenthusiastic and is ultimately sarcastic:
4/ "The airfield in Bila Tserkva and Kyiv were chosen as the retaliatory strike for Starobilsk. We apparently hit the airfield with Oreshnik missiles, and Kyiv with ballistic missiles and drones."
5/ "The strike and its targeting didn't yield any surprises.
It was a military strike with the added bonus of an Oreshnik missile.
There's no point in questioning why the Oreshnik missiles didn't reach Kyiv, but I think it has to do with their accuracy.
6/ "An airfield is a large, area-based target, like a factory, and the likelihood of one of the missiles hitting the wrong place and, God forbid, hitting Zelensky, for example, is minimal.
7/ "But the fact that we can afford to fire Oreshnik missiles wherever we want once every six months is encouraging."
Vasiliy Beltsev is just plain sarcastic:
"It's entirely possible that the Oreshnik missile targeted Bankova Street, but there was a deviation in flight."
8/ "For nuclear weapons, a deviation of a few hundred meters isn't critical. But a deviation of a hundred kilometers is impressive, even by AvtoVAZ standards."
Shadow of Rus' asks why Oreshnik was used, and answers bluntly: "The answer seems to be PR."
9/ "Oreshnik" is supposed to work as a news hook: to frighten, to convince, to pressure. But it doesn't work.
Hypersonics is no miracle. Ballistic missiles of this class already enter the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds and glow like Iranian missiles in Israel.
10/ "Multiple reentry vehicles are old technology.
The economics are even more murky. The exact cost is unknown, but a missile of this class can't be cheap. Estimates range from $40–100 million.
11/ "If this money is spent for show that impresses no one, one suspects that this isn't a combat deployment, but a presentation, and that we're dealing with theft, not war.
12/ "Secrecy, classified performance specifications, and the lack of independent verification—perfect for Potemkin technologies.
Funny? No, scary.
13/ "Because in that case, this "miracle," without which the war cannot be won, will most likely be mobilisation and a massive, bloody assault. Because we have no other miracles in store. No one intends to capitulate. Peace through the front line is not being offered.
14/ "A true Russian "miracle" looks a little different, and usually not as beautiful as the blue flashes in the sky.
First, they'll steal everything, and then they'll start patching up the holes with the people."
15/ 'Voenkor Kotenok' has a particularly bloodthirsty take, which he's disappointed wasn't realised:
16/ "Following the deaths of Russian children and teenagers (and not only in Starobilsk), the so-called "office of the President of Ukraine," which has long been a haven for and a haven for Russophobes, sodomites, and drug addicts, along with a number of other "offices" on…
17/ …Bankova Street and in Kyiv's "government quarter," must physically cease to exist.
These buildings were built during the Soviet era, which under this "ownership" was outlawed in Ukraine.
18/ "If so, then Russia has the right to deprive those who vote for the bastard Russophobic government, the very ringleaders of this misunderstanding on our borders, of this legacy."
'Tactical medical courses' likewise wants maximum bloodshed:
19/ "Remember! The whole country wants the hohols to receive a response not in the form of Oreshnik missile strikes in the fields, not in the form of substations "destroyed" for the 20th time, or stories about villages being 'borrowed'!
20/ "The whole country wants the terrorist regime decapitated, all decision-making centers struck! For the entire top brass of this vile state to be killed! For "debris" to stop falling on the heads of our citizens!
21/ "For us to move from empty words to action and give the order for the complete destruction of the enemy, without even mentioning that we are trying to minimize the damage!"
'Shakespeare' says it wasn't even good propaganda, as its media effect was wasted:
22/ "The media effect has been wasted again. Completely wasted. Fundamentally. They don't know how to wage an information war, much less a mental one, and don't want to learn."
23/ "It's the same old, inescapable principle: "It's possible. But why?"—for which I personally want to kick them. Well, and yes: once again, not a single information (or other) sacred facility in Kyiv (Bankova Street, Maidan, etc.) was hit.
24/ "What can I say? They're unteachable. Is that a surprise to you?"
Yuri Podolyak says that the missiles went to the wrong place, and should have hit London instead:
"Which [target]? Their bunkers, where those ghouls (who gave the order to strike) are hiding?"
25/ "We won't be able to reach them. An empty Verkhovna Rada? How would that be a response?
26/ "And it seems to me that's all they're waiting for, so that this fact becomes a precedent for them (so that they can strike Moscow, for example, at purely civilian targets (as their "response to a response").
27/ "I think that's one of the reasons they're carrying out such provocations.
28/ "London (the place where key decisions are made and where such strikes are being pushed)? At this stage, such a strike obviously won't happen. Although it should. And there, specifically at the decision-making centers. But, I repeat, that won't happen.
29/ "And therefore, there are no other options. We must continue to strike specific targets, destroying the enemy's potential (on an ever-increasing scale). Which, in fact, is what we're doing." /end
1/ Russia's Oreshnik missile is clearly losing its cachet as a 'wonder weapon'. Many Russian warbloggers express frustration and weariness, calling it a propaganda gimmick. One says it's a "humiliating circus, a clown dance on the bones of Russians." ⬇️
2/ The ultra-nationalist 'Russian Movement of Strelkov' (a group of supporters of the imprisoned Igor Girkin) is scathing about the use last night of Oreshnik against targets in Kyiv and Bila Tserkva:
3/ "Hmm...
Just another bunch of empty shells that, aside from being “kind of a cool special effect,” don’t really accomplish anything—or are we supposed to be thrilled about the craters they leave behind, which won’t punish the enemy for Starobilsk in the slightest?
1/ Ukraine's Hornet drones are continuing to attack Russian targets across the occupied territories, seemingly without hindrance. A Russian warblogger fighting in the region expresses deep frustration at Russia's inability to prevent the drone strikes. ⬇️
2/ Writing on the 'Donetsk infantry' Telegram channel, one of the contributors (a member of the "Club of Anonymous Commanders") is clearly exasperated by the situation. He calls for urgent action:
3/ "The road to Crimea, the Donetsk-Novoazovsk and Donetsk-Mariupol highways, the Donetsk outskirts, and so on—all roads in the DPR are now under daily mass attacks by Hornet UAVs, also known as Martian-2. These attacks are escalating daily.
1/ Russian soldiers fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region say they have run out of medications due to their officers' incompetence, and are having to rely on folk remedies such as pine needles for coughs, salt and soap for fungal infections, and vodka with garlic to treat pain. ⬇️
2/ 'Brothers in Arms' writes:
"Brothers from the 166th Motorised Rifle Regiment sent a message via chat ... about medicine in their regiment's units."
3/ "They write: they're searching for medications themselves, first aid kits are empty, medical assistance can be postponed, and sometimes, instead of normal medications, people are prescribed folk remedies.
1/ The Russian government has ordered ports to improve their anti-drone defences. However, that reportedly involves electronic warfare systems which installers admit is ineffective, low-paid security guards, and massively inflated costs. ⬇️
2/ 'Combat Reserve' posts an extract from an order issued by Rosmorrechflot, the Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport. It orders transport infrastructure (OTI) operators on the Sea of Azov to:
3/ "equip the OTI with additional electronic warfare systems capable of suppressing aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles, including those controlled via satellite communications channels, as well as the deployment of additional mobile task force crews on board ships."
1/ Vladimir Putin's reversion to 'February 2022 mode' is meeting with a stony response from Russian warbloggers. Many have refrained from commenting, but some are reacting with open and sharp criticism, calling him "completely divorced from reality". ⬇️
"The situation on the front for the Ukrainian Armed Forces is turning from difficult to catastrophic; neither Western aid nor forced mobilisation are helping them."
3/ "I call on the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers not to carry out the criminal orders of the Kyiv regime."
1/ With Russian logistics vehicles now regularly being blown up by Ukrainian drones far behind the front lines, Russian warbloggers are angrily demanding to know why the military leadership didn't anticipate this and put in place anti-drone protections. ⬇️
2/ As illustrated in this excellent post by @clement_molin, Ukraine is managing to extend its 'kill zone' into Russia and Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, severely hindering Russian logistics across the region.