TWO BIG REVELATIONS

A US Colonel at the FIRES conference revealed that a German supplied Patriot battery with truck mounted missiles, was responsible for shooting down the Russian A-50U AWACS plane back in January. 1/n She described it as a ‘SAMbush’ - a delightful new word to add to the military lexicon. To prove it was the unit suggested, somebody did their research, found a photo of the launcher truck with its crew and there among the black silhouettes of the aircraft they shot down 2/

RUSSIA WITHDRAWS MILITARY FORCES FROM CRIMEA

Russian Southern Command has ordered the withdrawal of all Russian air defences from the peninsula. Troops, equipment and the families of stationed troops have been ordered to withdraw to the Krasnodar region. 1/n It appears that ATACMS has created such a dilemma for them that they can no longer justify the losses relative to the defence capabilities. Removing defences means the targets become easy to hit, 2/

RADARS & FIRING RIGHTS

1/7- In what some see as dangerous and some see as entirely acceptable, Ukraine has now damaged two of Russia’s early warning radars. While they are part of Russian strategic early warning systems for a nuclear attack, these radars have the ability to see 2/7- far into Ukraine anything that flies - including ATACMS which use a ballistic trajectory. To Ukraine that makes them viable targets. Russian early warning radars are notoriously fickle and often not even switched on. These don’t even look for an ICBM strike,

UKRAINIAN COUNTER ATTACK

1/4 Ukraine launched a counter attack south east of Ivaniske on the Chasiv Yar sector of the front. The Russians have been using this village as the southern gathering point for their attacks to envelop Chasiv Yar itself. 2/4 By launching the attacks the Ukrainian forces have undermined the ability of the Russians to attack. Using extensive drone and artillery preparation - apparently shells have reached this section from the new aid package, Ukrainian troops managed to wipe out

TAURUS: THE REAL REASON GERMANY WON’T SUPPLY IT

1/16 Germany is not a nuclear power. It has access to and can deliver American nuclear weapons of the B-61-12 tactical bomb type. But it can only use them if the US gives active permission. They are not a partly German bomb. 2/16 None of the Nuclear Partnership weapons are. Partner nations merely deliver American weapons. Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG are a lesser variant of the much more advanced Taurus. You can easily find the technical details on the Taurus online - it has the most incredible warhead

WHAT ARE THE RUSSIANS SAYING ABOUT THE AID PASSING?

1/9 I personally feel like a ten ton weight has been lifted off me. God knows how Ukrainians must feel. There are reports that whole units were watching on their phones as the vote went through - 2/9 one texted that ‘you could hear the entire trench line cheer’ - it was almost 1am in the trenches and they were that keen to find out nobody could sleep. Russia seems stunned. I think they were honestly expecting nothing to happen. The vibe was so toxic and the

WHO SAID SANCTIONS DON'T WORK?

1/6 Russia has been exporting gas in LNG form from the LNG2 facility in the arctic. However it’s run into problems, and this week NOVTEK who operate the plant has issued ‘force majeure’ notices to customers saying they can't deliver 2/6 on their contracts.
One of the main reasons is the shortage of ice breakers to get the LNG ships - already hard to come by due to global demand, in and out of the port. Three were under construction but the owners SOVCOMFLOT, who operate Russian owned oil tankers,

PUTIN'S CHERNOBYL

1/3 As millions of Russians now face the loss of their homes and vast tracts of land are flooded - on a scale that hasn’t been seen in decades - the Moscow government doesn’t do a thing. It has nothing and it doesn’t care. Its focus is on the war. Not dealing with this and raising the ire of millions who have lost everything will lead to problems Putin hasn’t even thought about. Chernobyl was a key catalyst in the fall of the Soviet Union - the lies were so detached from the reality for so many people enough was enough.

SHOIGU & LECORNU SPEAK - THE RUSSIANS ARE BOTHERED

1/5 Now we have an understanding of an unusual telephone call from the Russian war minister to the French defence minister. The first call in over 22 months. Shoigu was on the phone for a reason - 2/5 he wanted to make it clear that French troops in Ukraine in any capacity ‘would make things very difficult for France’. Anyone would think that President Macron didn’t know that. But what the call really shows is that the idea that France or Poland or anyone else,