Ukrainska Pravda Russians' train blown up in Melitopol cutting them off petrol and ammunition supply Story by Olena Roshchina •8h https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...e&cvid=aff67771091948cab517ebf1dbd6906c&ei=54
Latest item Russia is running out of in the Ukraine war: Body bags. No word on sunflower seeds. Avdiivka: So Many Dead Russian Soldiers, Volunteer Asks for Body Bag Donations In a sign that things are not going well for Russia's assault on the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, near Donetsk, a volunteer posted a tweet on X calling for body bag donations. https://www.kyivpost.com/post/22710
Putin can't be happy about how this week has gone. Ukrainians struck the two major railroad hubs on the land bridge that have hitherto been out of reach for the Ukrainians. One is at Tokmuk which they hit, apparently with one of their newer long range missiles. The other is wayyyy the hell over at Melitopol almost or actually on Sea of Asov. They struck that with sabotage by the local partisans. That pretty advanced stuff, considering their front line has not moved much. And on top of that, they have harassed and done actual damage to the Russian navy. Getting to be twice-weekly occurence now. Putin is not going to be able to "fire" his way out of some of this. He has replaced his eastern front commanders and navy commanders several times over. Some of them were idiots but a couple were his best. The two biggest idiots still left are his top commanders. Gerasimov and Shoigu. And then he got rid of General Armegeddon because, let's face it, his siding with Prigo/Wagner against Putin was not helpful, eh? I put my usual caveat in that no one should get cocky because Ukraine is up to their arses in casualties and problems and they are vastly outnumbered. Nevertheless, Putin's grip on all of Crimea and the fleet protecting it and land bridge leading to it looks even shaky-er this week. Crimea Bridge coming down by December 1. Christmas coming early for Vlad. You are welcome Vlad. And no, the Israeli thing is not going to save ya. The Americans are just going to say they don't have the resources and money and energy to deal with you so will pass longer range missiles and air power to the Ukrainians and tell them to finish the land bridge off. (Not to be confused with the strike on the patrol boat yesterday or the day before. ) Ukraine hits Russian navy ships with sea drones An official with Ukraine’s State Security Service, the SBU, said a joint operation with Ukraine’s navy had damaged the Buyan missile carrier on Friday in the port of Sevastopol. The Pavel Derzhavin patrol boat was hit two days earlier. The Russian submarine Alrosa came under attack on Thursday but escaped damage, the official said. Ukraine hits Russian navy ships with sea drones (msn.com)
Here's the 'experimental' sea drone, called the 'Sea Baby,' that Ukraine claims has carried almost 1,900 pounds of explosives and has been attacking Russia's Black Sea Fleet https://news.yahoo.com/heres-experimental-sea-drone-called-060455172.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
Russian governor has been reported to police after saying there's 'no need' for the war in Ukraine (msn.com) Think I hear a tea kettle coming to a boil.
Russia Has Lost '3,000' Personnel During Costly Avdiivka Advance: Ukraine https://www.newsweek.com/russia-lost-3000-personnel-costly-avdiivka-advance-ukraine-donetsk-1834889
Let's catch up with the latest news from Ukraine. All 31 Abrams Tanks in Ukraine, US Military Confirms to VOA https://www.voanews.com/a/all-31-abrams-tanks-in-ukraine-us-military-confirms-to-voa/7313918.html ==========================================
Ukraine uses secretly shipped U.S. missiles to launch surprise strike Lara Seligman, Paul McLeary, Alexander Ward and Veronika Melkozerova Tue, October 17, 2023 at 9:49 AM EDT·3 min read 2.6k John Hamilton/U.S. Army via AP The Ukrainian military on Tuesday used U.S.-supplied longer-range missiles to strike nine Russian helicopters in eastern Ukraine, after Washington secretly shipped the weapons in recent weeks. The delivery and use on the battlefield, confirmed by two people familiar with the move, marks a major ramp up of the administration’s defense of Ukraine, for the first time providing Kyiv’s forces with the ability to strike Russian targets far behind the front lines. President Joe Biden had been hesitant to deliver the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, for fear of escalating the conflict. The transfer indicates the administration’s calculus has changed after a slow-moving Ukrainian counteroffensive. The two people who confirmed the transfer and usage in Ukraine were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news that the missile had been transferred and used. The acknowledgment that the ATACMS are in Ukrainian hands and already in use comes after months of secrecy around Biden’s decision to send the longer-range weapons. Ukraine announced Tuesday that its forces had destroyed nine Russian helicopters, as well as other military equipment, in an attack on the cities of Berdyansk and Luhansk in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian special forces early on Tuesday struck two Russian military airfields, saying they successfully destroyed nine Russian military helicopters, an anti-aircraft missile system, and an ammunition warehouse. The attacks took place in occupied Berdyansk, a southern city in the Zaporizhzhia region; and at an airfield in Luhansk, an occupied city in eastern Ukraine. The special forces also managed to successfully damage airfield runways, Ukraine said, in what it called “Operation Dragonfly.” “The ammunition depot in Berdyansk detonated until 4 a.m. The detonation in Luhansk continued until 11 a.m. Losses in the enemy’s manpower amount to dozens of dead and wounded. Bodies are still being pulled from the rubble,” Ukrainian Special Operations Forces said in a statement. Biden relayed his decision to send the missiles during a Sept. 21 White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Biden said Ukraine would get a version of ATACMS, if not the long-range variant Kyiv had sought for so long, but it was unclear when, exactly, the weapons would be in Ukrainian hands. The decision also comes as the administration has grown concerned about a Russian buildup of troops and equipment for a fall offensive, in what could be the largest Russian movement in months. Russian forces have launched a series of mostly unsuccessful attacks against Ukrainian positions in Avdiivka in the eastern Donetsk region over the past week, but have been repelled with large losses. The Russians have resorted to the relatively crude tactics of its earliest assaults in February 2022, one of the people acknowledged, throwing lightly equipped forces against Ukrainian lines in attacks that have been repulsed by the Ukrainian defenders. More attacks along the hundreds of miles of Ukrainian front lines are expected in the coming weeks, making it critical that Ukraine has the longer-range ATACMS to hit airfields and ammunition depots to blunt any Russian logistical advantages. The news could end more than a year of criticism from pro-Ukraine advocates who argued the U.S. should have delivered ATACMS to Ukraine much earlier. Kyiv wanted the missiles to more efficiently attack Russian targets inside Ukraine and launched an influence campaign to pressure the administration to hand them over. Lara Seligman, Paul McLeary and Alexander Ward reported from Washington. Veronika Melkozerova reported from Kyiv. https://www.yahoo.com/news/ukraine-uses-secretly-shipped-u-134918099.html