Russian President Vladimir Putin said that over the next six years, Ukraine's illegally occupied regions "must reach the all-Russia level" by developing in certain "key areas."
One of Russia's top narratives is that it invaded Ukraine to "denazify" this multi-ethnic democracy led by a president with Jewish roots and holocaust survivors in his lineage. In fact, Russia's public obsession with "fighting Nazis" masks how its closest relations among European political parties are with those on the
One of Russia’s top narratives is that it invaded Ukraine to “denazify” this multi-ethnic democracy led by a president with Jewish roots and holocaust survivors in his lineage.
When asked how Russia can claim that it is fighting to “de-Nazify” Ukraine when President Volodymyr Zelensky is himself Jewish, Mr Lavrov said: “I could be wrong, but Hitler also had Jewish blood. [That Zelensky is Jewish] means absolutely nothing. Wise Jewish people say that the most ardent anti-Semites are usually Jews.”
The minister’s statement was met with outrage across Israel’s political spectrum.
I get that The Great Patriotic War is a big thing in Russia and fighting Nazis sells well, but I wonder if Lavrov and company ever look at the narrative they’re working on and think “you know, maybe a different narrative would be easier to support”.
The munitions used by Russian troops in southeastern Ukraine on Jan. 29 were likely K-51 grenades with chloropicrin, according to Oleksandr Shtupun, the spokesman for the Tavria group of forces.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Hungary had sent a compromise offer. The counter-proposal, which Orban considered to be the result of EU "blackmail," would require the aid package to be reviewed on a yearly basis.
I was under the impression that the EU is not amenable to the yearly renewal bit, as they fully expect Orban to use it as - and we’ll use Orban’s own words against him here - “blackmail” on an annual basis.
Orban is playing with fire.
I really do think that the EU needs to actually pull the trigger and revoke their voting rights. Yes, a likely outcome is that Hungary threatens to (or actually does) leave the EU. At this point… good. Orban has pushed Hungary far enough down the authoritarian track, and is moreover specifically undermining the EU’s strategic and geopolitical goals - both regionally and globally - that inciting them to leave is starting to look like the right move for a lot of reasons. Perhaps they can rejoin once that populist/authoritarian streak gets played out, but for now, they’re hurting everyone… and unlike Turkey, they don’t unilaterally control access to any strategically meaningful areas, so Orban really doesn’t have much of a hand to play if the EU decides they’re done entertaining his fuckery.
This month, I managed to wrap up many overdue matters. It seems to me that I responded to the majority of lingering emails, and a few issues turned out to be so important that they took a few extra days. I also dealt with [a certain aspect related to the project, about which I'll be able to share more in a few weeks....
László Toroczkai, leader of the Hungarian far-right Mi Hazank party, has announced claims to Ukraine’s Zakarpattia Oblast if Ukraine loses its statehood as a result of the war.
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) announced on Jan. 27 the discovery of a corruption scheme related to the procurement of almost 100,000 mortar shells, amounting to nearly $40 million.
People treat these stories as signs of corruption, but it is quite literally the system working and catching corruption. That’s a very, very good thing.
Yeah, that’s gonna exacerbate existing demographic issues that are affecting Ukraine (as well as the rest of Europe). It was one of the first issues that I remember raising back when the war kicked off and a bunch of refugees left, that Ukraine’s going to have to deal with stabilizing its post-war population…and that’s something that the EU even as an aggregate hasn’t done a great job with thus far, and for Ukraine, it’s only going to be a tougher job if there’s gonna be freedom of population movement with the EU as a whole, as population tends to flow from poorer areas to wealthier ones.
That’s UN projections for Europe as a whole, not just the EU, but it’s already just past the peak and is entering a period of quite-significant projected population decline.
"We are able to produce something that flies, costs from $350 per item up to something that flies to St Petersburg this night. It’s produced in Ukraine. So we hit the target this night. This thing flew exactly 1250 kilometers," — Kamyshin said.
“We are able to produce something that flies and costs $350 per item, something that flew to St. Petersburg this night. It’s produced in Ukraine. So we hit the target that night. This thing flew exactly 1,250 kilometers,” Kamyshin said at a panel discussion of the Deciding Your Tomorrow project in Davos, Switzerland.
Yeah, this is why I was excited about those Australian cardboard drones – as un-sexy as they may be, they are very cheap, and effective air defenses against really cheap drones is not something that we really have today. If Russia wants to build air defense against something that runs $350/unit, it’s going to have to be a lot more cost-effective than what’s out there already. If it costs $3,500/unit to stop something that costs $350/unit to launch, the party launching the drone already wins, even if there is a 100% intercept rate. And that’s before one even gets to the issue that the attacker can generally choose the point of attack, which complicates things for the defender; with static air defenses, the attacker can concentrate their attack to aid in overwhelming defenses, whereas the defender is forced to disperse their defenses or forego defending some things.
I’d also note, though, that this goes both ways: if Ukraine develops a particularly-successful inexpensive drone and puts it into use, then Russia will probably aim to clone it. If one assumes that launching low-end drones is an effective tactic in today’s environment, then I think the real contest becomes who can deploy effective air defenses against low-end drones.
From what I’d read in the past, this is something that had been on the US’s radar prior to Russia’s invasion – China is the world’s dominant producer of (non-military) low-end drones. That’s a dual-use capability that could be put to military ends, and people were already concerned about the possibility of employment of swarms of them; we don’t really have a good counter to that yet.
America’s adversaries, including both state and non-state actors, have developed creative ways of using cheap, commercially available, and easily weaponized drones to assassinate opponents, destroy tanks, wage surprise attacks, smuggle drugs, and even conduct aerial dogfighting. Most recently, extremist groups such as the Houthis in Yemen have used drones to attack commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The democratization of drone technology means that countries, as well as terrorist organizations and “lone wolves,” are now able to conduct attacks with near impunity. This includes attacks against U.S. military forces deployed abroad, America’s commercial interests on land, sea, and air, and even critical infrastructure and population centers on the homeland.
In response to this drone proliferation crisis, the U.S. government has largely focused on a narrow “right-of-launch” approach. This relies on defeating tactical drones after they are en route to their targets with a variety of point and stationary defenses — small-arms fire, arresting nets, dazzling lasers, frequency jammers, and even other drones. This prevailing approach is reflected in the administration’s Domestic Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Action Plan, as well as the Department of Defense’s Counter Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Strategy, both of which focus mostly on mitigation technologies.
Yet our research suggests that a right-of-launch strategy is too reactionary. It cedes the initiative to America’s adversaries, and it requires expending costly munitions that are not designed to counter drones. This problem will only worsen as a new generation of drones, enabled by artificial intelligence, begin to collaborate in large numbers to overwhelm stationary and mobile military positions with swarm tactics. Defending every target, right-of-launch, with a “bullet-on-bullet” approach is likely to be technically difficult, costly, and insufficient. The Houthis’ recent drone attacks in the Red Sea are prima facie evidence that America’s current ad hoc and tactical response to these low-cost and easy-to-use capabilities is not working. This is not to say that mitigation efforts are not worth pursuing — the use of microwave energy to disorient and ultimately defeat drones holds particular promise. But this is only part of the solution.
I’m not so much interested in that author’s particular take on what should be done (and I’m not sure that it’s relevant to the Russo-Ukrainian War anyway…I’m not sure that it’s practical to destroy drones in that case before they leave the ground) so much as his summary of the situation today – that is, we really aren’t to the point of having a solid counter yet.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The Pentagon’s counter-drone office will focus on neutralizing swarms of unmanned aircraft in its next demonstration planned for June 2024, according to a slideshow displayed during an Aug. 8 presentation by the office’s director.
The proliferation of drones on the battlefield is rising. For example, Ukraine is losing 10,000 per month while defending itself from Russian invaders, according to the Royal United Services Institute think tank. Flooding the battlefield with a large number of drones, especially those able to fly in a coordinated fashion, is a threat the U.S. military is still trying to address.
But that will take a layered approach, Maj. Gen. Sean Gainey, who leads the Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office, told an audience at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium.
“To get after a large amount of UAS [unmanned aerial systems], because you won’t have enough interceptors … you have to leverage the [electronic warfare] capability, the high-powered microwave,” as well as kinetic interceptors like 30mm guns, he explained.
The counter-drone office released a request for whitepapers from industry on Aug. 4, seeking demonstrations of “fixed/stationary or mobile/mounted Detect, Track, Identify, and/or Defeat (DTID) capabilities against [small UAS] Swarm systems.”
What have you learned from the Russian invasion of Ukraine about the use of drones in battle? Has the capacity exceeded your expectations?
What we’ve seen is the validation that the threat is real, the threat is evolving. And we at the DoD are taking this seriously. What we’re seeing in Ukraine really is a validation of what we’re seeing inside of U.S. Central Command’s [area of responsibility]. And our methodology of how to get after this threat is a layered approach integrated in a common C2.
Globally, we’re seeing the threat continues to grow, and you’ll see a range of employment of that threat from large to small amounts, depending on where you are.
Russian Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev took to Telegram on Wednesday to argue, not for the first time, that Ukraine should not exist in any form.
Russian Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev took to Telegram on Wednesday to argue, not for the first time, that Ukraine should not exist in any form.
In a mini-essay titled “Why Ukraine is dangerous for its residents,” Medvedev argued that from now on, any independent state that lies on “historical Russian territories” will serve as a “pretext for renewed hostilities” for as long as it exists.
And it is that logic, fellow citizens of the glorious Motherland, that leads us to the utter necessity for today’s announcement: the concurrent declarations of war upon, with the aim of eliminating their existence, the following so-called “countries”, tumors that contain territory once controlled by the Russian Empire:
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan
Uzbekistan
Turkmenistan
Mongolia
Djibouti
Moldova
Romania
Georgia
Belarus
Iran
Finland
Estonia
Lithuania
Latvia
Greece
Turkey
The People’s Republic of China
The United States of America
We anticipate a brief, victorious war of about three days.
"The main goal is to do everything possible to ensure that as many of these drones as possible are also delivered to Ukraine," Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds said.
Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe. NATO's Strategic Concept states that Russia is the most significant and direct threat to Allies' security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area. Russia wants to establish spheres of influence and control other countries through...
Last week, I dealt with formalities related to the project and a few personal matters associated with the new year. Unfortunately, there was quite a lot to handle. Today is the last day I'm dealing with this, and I'm returning to the code for the regular devlogs. I'll also take care of current matters on the instance. On Tuesday...
Welcome back! I hope you had a nice holiday between the formalities and the personal matters.
Besides the federation issues a couple of weeks ago, I think the user experience here has been great lately. Looking forward to see what the new year has in store!
Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked a supplemental funding bill that included $61 billion in aid for Ukraine in a procedural vote held on Dec. 6, insisting that any further military aid must include major significant domestic border changes.
Russia's capacity for operational rotations is expected to sustain the pace of localized offensives in eastern Ukraine in the short term, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest update on Jan. 11.
Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Deputy Chief Major General Vadym Skibitskyi stated on January 11 that Russian forces have 462,000 personnel in Ukraine and that this represents the entire land component of the Russian military.
Georgia, Japan, Finland, China, now's your chance!
American fast food chain Subway has been added to Ukraine's list of "international sponsors of war" for its continued presence in the Russian market, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) announced on Jan. 10.
Not a huge surprise. Subway as a company sucks. I’ve heard horror stories from franchise owners when I worked there. Plus, I think John Oliver did an episode on them for how shitty the subway overlords are. Also come on, when it was $5 to get a footlong sub, I could wrap my head around it, but now the same sandwich is like $12.
A few days earlier, the White House confirmed media reports of North Korean missile shipments to Moscow, saying that Russia had already attacked Ukraine with them at least three times — on Dec. 30, Jan. 4, and Jan. 6.
In his column, the prime minister claimed that the Western strategy has "failed," saying it did not succeed in collapsing the Russian economy and Moscow continues to control parts of Ukraine.
Putin: Occupied Ukrainian regions to be integrated with Russia by 2030 (kyivindependent.com)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that over the next six years, Ukraine's illegally occupied regions "must reach the all-Russia level" by developing in certain "key areas."
EU leaders approve €50 billion deal for Ukraine after Orbán lifts veto (www.euronews.com)
European Union leaders reached on Thursday morning a deal to establish a €50-billion plan for Ukraine after Viktor Orbán lifted his veto. #EuropeNews
AfD’s rise in Germany set to disrupt Berlin’s lead in supporting Ukraine (kyivindependent.com)
One of Russia's top narratives is that it invaded Ukraine to "denazify" this multi-ethnic democracy led by a president with Jewish roots and holocaust survivors in his lineage. In fact, Russia's public obsession with "fighting Nazis" masks how its closest relations among European political parties are with those on the
Official: Russia launches 5 attacks with chemical weapons on southeastern front lines in past day (kyivindependent.com)
The munitions used by Russian troops in southeastern Ukraine on Jan. 29 were likely K-51 grenades with chloropicrin, according to Oleksandr Shtupun, the spokesman for the Tavria group of forces.
Orban says he is willing to compromise on $54 billion Ukraine aid package (kyivindependent.com)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Hungary had sent a compromise offer. The counter-proposal, which Orban considered to be the result of EU "blackmail," would require the aid package to be reviewed on a yearly basis.
RTR#52 Busy month
This month, I managed to wrap up many overdue matters. It seems to me that I responded to the majority of lingering emails, and a few issues turned out to be so important that they took a few extra days. I also dealt with [a certain aspect related to the project, about which I'll be able to share more in a few weeks....
If Ukraine falls, we will demand Zakarpattia – Hungarian party leader (www.pravda.com.ua)
László Toroczkai, leader of the Hungarian far-right Mi Hazank party, has announced claims to Ukraine’s Zakarpattia Oblast if Ukraine loses its statehood as a result of the war.
SBU uncovers mass fraud in weapons procurement (kyivindependent.com)
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) announced on Jan. 27 the discovery of a corruption scheme related to the procurement of almost 100,000 mortar shells, amounting to nearly $40 million.
Ukraine Situation Report: Long-Range Drone Strikes Expand To St. Petersburg (www.thedrive.com)
6/10 Ukrainian refugees hope to return, study says (kyivindependent.com)
More than half of Ukrainians surveyed said they plan to return to Ukraine in the future, a 2023 study by Vox Ukraine released Jan. 16 says.
Minister confirms Ukraine hit 'a target' near St Peterburg with homegrown drone (kyivindependent.com)
"We are able to produce something that flies, costs from $350 per item up to something that flies to St Petersburg this night. It’s produced in Ukraine. So we hit the target this night. This thing flew exactly 1250 kilometers," — Kamyshin said.
Dmitry Medvedev says Ukraine should not exist in any form, calling it a ‘cancerous growth’ — Meduza (meduza.io)
Russian Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev took to Telegram on Wednesday to argue, not for the first time, that Ukraine should not exist in any form.
Latvian-led coalition to arm Ukraine with 'thousands' of drones (kyivindependent.com)
"The main goal is to do everything possible to ensure that as many of these drones as possible are also delivered to Ukraine," Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds said.
3 months of Russian Avdiivka Assaults (phillipspobrien.substack.com) Ukrainian
De-bunking Russian disinformation on NATO (www.nato.int)
Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe. NATO's Strategic Concept states that Russia is the most significant and direct threat to Allies' security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area. Russia wants to establish spheres of influence and control other countries through...
RTR#51 End of a short break
Last week, I dealt with formalities related to the project and a few personal matters associated with the new year. Unfortunately, there was quite a lot to handle. Today is the last day I'm dealing with this, and I'm returning to the code for the regular devlogs. I'll also take care of current matters on the instance. On Tuesday...
Biden: Republicans will have 'a lot to pay for' if they don't pass Ukraine aid (kyivindependent.com)
Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked a supplemental funding bill that included $61 billion in aid for Ukraine in a procedural vote held on Dec. 6, insisting that any further military aid must include major significant domestic border changes.
ISW: Russian forces' operational rotations will likely sustain offensive tempo in eastern Ukraine (kyivindependent.com)
Russia's capacity for operational rotations is expected to sustain the pace of localized offensives in eastern Ukraine in the short term, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest update on Jan. 11.
‘Spymania’ sees Russia accuse US of plan to meddle in its election (www.theguardian.com)
Head of foreign intelligence service says US may mobilise ‘fifth column’ of exchange programme graduates
Ukraine designates Subway as 'international sponsor of war' (kyivindependent.com)
American fast food chain Subway has been added to Ukraine's list of "international sponsors of war" for its continued presence in the Russian market, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) announced on Jan. 10.
South Korea: Pyongyang may send new models of tactical guided missiles to Russia (kyivindependent.com)
A few days earlier, the White House confirmed media reports of North Korean missile shipments to Moscow, saying that Russia had already attacked Ukraine with them at least three times — on Dec. 30, Jan. 4, and Jan. 6.
Slovak PM decries Western strategy on Ukraine, says Russia 'also needs security guarantees' (kyivindependent.com)
In his column, the prime minister claimed that the Western strategy has "failed," saying it did not succeed in collapsing the Russian economy and Moscow continues to control parts of Ukraine.