Putin is furious at how stoppable his "unstoppable" hypersonic missiles have proven to be against 30-year old American air defense tech. Murderously furious, in fact. Putin Goes After Scientists Behind 'Unique' Hypersonic Missiles https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...behind-unique-hypersonic-missiles/ar-BB1hIn2e At least 12 scientists in Russia have been detained in politically motivated arrests linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin's much-touted hypersonic missile program, it has been reported. Three have died since their arrests. Yevgeny Smirnov, a lawyer who represented the defendants, told news outlet BBC Russian that FSB sources told him every accusation was reported to Putin, and the arrests were to demonstrate that Russian missile technology is being hunted down. The cases aimed "to show that Russian missiles are the best and that they are trying to steal them," Smirnov told the outlet. In March 2018, Putin boasted to Russian lawmakers about Moscow's hypersonic missile program. He described the hardware as "super weapons," which are faster and more agile than standard ones and harder for missile defense systems to intercept. Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin by email for comment. Among them is the Kh-24 Kinzhal ("Dagger"), which Russian forces have regularly used in their full-scale invasion of Ukraine to hit infrastructure in cities. However, any connection to the program appears to come at a high risk, according to BBC Russian, which reported that at least a dozen scientists have been accused of transferring secrets about the program to other countries. The outlet said those detained were not even involved in weapons development and were simply working with foreign partners on the fundamental science. Those arrested had been working at the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (TsNIIMash), in the Moscow region; the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) in the Russian capital; as well as at the Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (ITPM) in Siberia. ITPM director Alexander Shiplyuk and researchers Anatoly Maslov and Valery Zvegintsev were arrested in May 2023, accused of passing secrets to China. Shiplyuk had insisted the information in question was not classified and was freely available online, Reuters reported. The trio's arrests prompted colleagues to publish an open letter, saying that the case threatened to damage Russian science. Zvegintsev founded the high-speed aerodynamics laboratory at the institute. He collaborated with his former colleague, associate professor at Tomsk Polytechnic University, Vladislav Galkin, whose arrest was reported in December 2023. TASS, Russia's leading news agency, reported that a treason case could be linked to a 2021 publication in an Iranian scientific journal. Maslov, Zvegintsev, and Shiplyuk, TsAGI and TsNIIMash were involved in the European Union's FP7 program, which allocates funds for space research. Meanwhile, in October 2023, TsAGI physicist Anatoly Gubanov was sentenced to 12 years in a maximum-security colony. He had been arrested in April 2021 and denied charges of passing materials to colleagues in the Netherlands, with whom he collaborated on the HEXAFLY-INT, the world's first civil hypersonic airliner. His colleague Valery Golubkin was also arrested but denied the charges against him. However, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison in June 2023. TsNIIMash physicist Vladimir Kudryavtsev faced a treason case, but the 78-year-old died of complications linked to cancer before he could stand trial, Russian media outlet RBC reported. Another TsNIIMash scientist, Roman Kovalev, was sentenced to seven years in 2020 but released due to ill health and in April 2022 died of cancer, state news agency Interfax reported. Dmitry Kolker from the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences also died. Six other employees from the institutions have also been accused of treason, BBC Russian reported, without naming them.
History shows that no ceasefire or treaty with Russia can be trusted https://thehill.com/opinion/interna...asefire-or-treaty-with-russia-can-be-trusted/
More meat for Putin's meat grinder. Russia is drafting huge numbers of troops to fight in Ukraine — but it might not have enough guns for all of them https://news.yahoo.com/russia-drafting-huge-numbers-troops-130256403.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
T-55 back to an assault vehicle role for lack of other vehicles, which it isn't doing too well in: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davida...ut-then-russia-got-desperate/?sh=883b2a73a294 What's next, T-34s?
(big smile/shakes head) Saw this one. Russians buckled up the arrows/bows production thus Ukrainians have to really watch out. Interesting to see it on Forbes tho since the last time i saw it was owned by Chinese. 200mm thickest at it's best. Asked chatGPT in best case scenario how thick Bradley could penetrate. Some of the modern tanks comes to 700mm. Anyways. Dinosaur bones yet moving. It must be a morning coffee cup / one-hand type of warm up for Ukrainian drone operators to take it down.
Yeah Forbes isn't my preferred source either. I had noted that T-55s were deployed to the sector already in H2 2022, but it makes very much sense that they haven't been the preferred frontline tank. My own surmisal (semi-wild speculation) is that Russian game plan is to do a last offensive right now (Putin e.g. really wants the burnt to ground place Avdiivka for his "election" day so he can declare success, plus also secure natural river borders until then) - then to try to push on all channels for a peace where Russia gets keep current occupied terroritories. This based on the facts: a) Russia is gradually running out of tanks and thus offensive capability. b) The imbalance in artillery shells is probably as bad as it's going to get for Ukraine right now, new production is ramping up across Europe, while RU & NK huge stockpiles are ticking down. c) F-16s for UA are becoming ready in 2024 which will start moving air superiority away from RU to UA, in turn going to make a big help for UA actually being able to retake land. So we're going to see even more of "evil Zelensky does not want peace" rhetoric soon. Anecdotally, suddenly certain peace organizations in Sweden also started growing the last couple of months, with links exposed to Russia. And of course, Putin is expecting Trump to help if peace on Russian terms cannot be achieved until then. Of course if Putin manages to pull this off, in a few years he will be back for more, in UA or other European countries. One of the main reasons Hitler failed (and Putin must have studied this) is that he never took peaces when favorable alternatives were offered.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/05/europe/ukraine-drone-jet-skis-russian-warship-intl/index.html A Ukrainian pilot outlines how drones powered by jet skis sunk a Russian warship By Joseph Ataman, Frederik Pleitgen and Daria Tarasova-Markina, CNN 4 minute read Published 6:01 PM EST, Mon February 5, 2024 All it took was six sea drones, powered by jet skis, to fell a Russian guided missile ship last week, according to a rare interview with the secretive Ukrainian unit behind the attack. Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence said at the time that the small Russian warship, the Ivanovets, suffered multiple hits to its hull before it was sunk by drones in an inlet on the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula. One of the drone pilots behind the attack told CNN that ten “MAGURA” drones were used in the attack, six of which hit and ultimately sunk the Russian warship – the latest embarrassing loss for Russia’s Black Sea fleet. The “MAGURA” drones are only a few meters long and powered by jet skis, the pilot said, but they have a large range of around 800 kilometers (nearly 500 miles), giving his unit freedom to launch their drones from across large swathes of Ukraine’s coastline for missions against Crimean targets. The pilot, identified as call sign “13,” is a member of a special unit in Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency (GUR), which has been linked to a number of attacks on Crimea and into Russia itself, often using drones to hit far beyond the range of conventional weapons of Ukraine’s arsenal. Night-time footage released by the Ukrainians showed Russians firing at the drones as they raced towards the Ivanovets, before at least two drones struck the side of the ship, disabling it and causing massive explosions. The footage includes a striking scene of what appears to be the bow of the Ivanovets sticking out of the water as it sinks to the bottom of Lake Donuzlav. CNN could not independently verify Ukraine’s claim and which vessel was struck and when. There has been no official comment from Russia about Ukraine’s claims. Calls for more drones Kyiv is increasingly turning to drones to level the playing field with Russia, with a string of drone attacks hitting strategic targets in Russia in recent weeks. Moscow’s oil and gas infrastructure has come under threat, with a drone attack on a Russian oil terminal about 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Saint Petersburg. Russians “started waking up at night during explosions,” Ukraine’s defense intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov told CNN in late January. “They see the real picture of war.” The “MAGURA” drones are only a few meters long and powered by jet skis, the pilot said, and they have a large range of around 800 kilometers (nearly 500 miles). Peter Rudden/CNN On the battlefield too, Ukraine’s top general has called for more widespread use of drones, both to save the lives of Ukrainian troops and to negate Russia’s material advantage in arms and ammunition. “It is these unmanned systems – such as drones – along with other types of advanced weapons, that provide the best way for Ukraine to avoid being drawn into a positional war, where we do not possess the advantage,” Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, wrote in a CNN op-ed last week. “In short, this means nothing less than the wholesale redesign of battlefield operations – and the abandoning of outdated, stereotypical thinking,” he added. Since Russia’s takeover of Crimea in 2014 – and following further losses after Russia’s 2022 invasion – Ukraine no longer has a functioning navy in the Black Sea. But the sinking of the Ivanovets is another victory in Ukraine’s campaign against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. The most notable of its strikes was the attack on the Moskva in April 2022, which forced Russia to change the way it operates close to areas controlled by Ukraine. ‘Jeweler’s work’ The impact of the drones is impressive but it’s delicate work, said the pilot. “The main thing is to feel the drone,” he told CNN. “If you squeeze it a little, you can lose control of the drone. I would say it’s like jeweler’s work. Controlled from afar via a Starlink connection, the drones can also be pre-programmed for the long journeys across the Black Sea. A pilot is constantly monitoring the drone’s passage, he said, with the final run into the targets often controlled manually. The drone’s 250kg (551lb) payload can be increased to 300kg, he added, “but there is no need to do so.” Even against some of the toughest ships of Moscow’s Black Sea fleet, the drones have proved their effectiveness. Ukrainian drone pilots drove six drones into the Russian warship, causing it to sink. Peter Rudden/CNN At almost six meters long, the drones are imposing out of the water. But once afloat, they make a hard target for defending Russians. “They are quite difficult to see, especially in the open sea. This size makes it difficult to control it because the sea is choppy but it also makes it much harder for the enemy to hit us,” he said. The weaponry aboard Russia’s warships wasn’t designed with drones in mind, forcing targets like the IVAN to use cannons better suited to duels with other ships, the pilot said. Video of the attack shows rounds hitting the water as the drones home in on the Ivanovets. The ammunition is unable to stop the incoming bombs. At a demonstration of the drones on the Black Sea, CNN saw one drone – identical to those used against the Ivanovets – pull off tight turns at speed on autopilot. It’s agile by design, the pilot said. “No warship can be as manoeuvrable as these drones,” he added.