(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
More Russian stuff blowing up, plus U.S. to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-07-06
The U.S. will finally provide a weapon that could make a big difference in the war in Ukraine โ cluster munitions.
These are artillery shells that each contain dozens of small bomblets that spread out over a wide area and detonate. They are particularly effective against troop concentrations and trench fortifications.
They are also controversial because cluster bombs in the past have had high dud rates, leaving unexploded bomblets scattered on the ground for decades after the war is over which can still detonate and kill or injure someone.
Most countries have banned their use through the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, though not the United States or Ukraine or Russia. The cluster bombs in U.S. stocks are known as DPICM, dual-purpose improved conventional munition.
The best arguments in favor of using cluster bombs are that while they present a danger in the future, the bomblet failure rate is far lower than it used to be, they will help Ukraine bring the war to an end sooner and that since these are being used on Ukrainian territory it should be Ukraineโs decision.
x Cluster munitions have a chance not to explode and kill civilians later.
But russians aren't shooting flowers and butterflies at us.
People who are against helping Ukraine with cluster munitions have to wake up. It's not a fucking game. It's fucking genocidal war. โ โ๐ Constantine ๐โ (@Teoyaomiquu) July 6, 2023
There are also practical, logistical reasons for using cluster bombs now.
Ukraine has been using artillery shells at a tremendous rate and it has been difficult keeping them supplied. Cluster bombs require fewer standard artillery shells to be used, allowing supply chains to catch up, reducing wear on gun barrels, cutting down on the number of truckloads that have to be carried to the front.
x Ukraine's offensive will likely ultimately culminate due to attrition or ammunition expenditure. By tapping into the DPICM stockpile, Ukraine may be able to continue its offensive for longer than otherwise. It could also affect how Ukraine conducts the rest of its offensive.
https://t.co/IMXHP7XPqu โ Rob Lee (@RALee85) July 6, 2023
----------------------------------------------------โ
The ammo dump explosion in Marivika a few days ago โ the one which included the appearance of Ammo Dump Jesus โ is one of several large ammo dump explosions recently. Those used to be standard fare back when HIMARS first appeared on the Ukrainian battlefield.
But then Russia got smart and moved its ammo dumps out of range and scattered them into smaller piles.
So why have them moved them back now?
Brynn Tannehill has a plausible theory:
x We're seeing dumps go up along the southern front and in Luhansk as well. They appear to be much closer to the front than in the past year. 2/n
https://t.co/FaRiO5UC4y โ Brynn Tannehill (@BrynnTannehill) July 5, 2023
Iโm quoting the theory from her Twitter thread for those who canโt access Twitter:
Well, my working theory is that it is because Ukraine changed its tactics during the offensive to exploit these long round trips. Which is another short discussion. The basics of the tactic are: a. Advance to contact b. Press hard enough that Russian artillery opens up c. Rely on Russian arty doctrine to fire everything d. Pull back / hunker down from arty e. Use your own artillery for counter battery fire. f. Wait until Russians are low on ammunition to press forward again g. Use armor / IFVs for longer range fire support before clearing trenches with infantry Ukraine knows that they have a window of opportunity while adversary artillery is either in a duel, or waiting on re-supply.The Russian response may have been to start surreptitiously bringing smaller ammunition dumps closer to the front again to reduce round trip distance. Problem for Russia is Ukrainian ISR and C3I has only gotten better since last summer. So, these dumps are not only within GMLRs and artillery range, we're seeing drones hitting some of them in Luhansk too (per the CNN video). This follows the move / counter-move pattern we're seen throughout the war at the tactical scale.It also may show Ukraine's use of the Russian doctrine of "reflexive control". Basically, Ukraine knows that Russian defense doctrine relies on mines and heavy artillery barrages for defense. So, they're exploiting a known behavior to get the response they want (exhausting local ammo stores, exposing arty position to counter-battery fires).
-----------------------------------------------------------
These videos show destruction of Russian armor and rocket launchers.
x The destruction of the Russian MLRS 2B26 9K51 BM-21 Grad based on KamAZ 5350 "Mustang" in the Zaporozhye region. pic.twitter.com/2dEy7vSNzA โ Getty๐บ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐ผ (@region776) July 6, 2023
x Destruction of the hangar with two hidden Russian BTR. By the 74th battalion of the 102nd brigade of territorial defence of Ukraine.
https://t.co/mOidpzfwUN pic.twitter.com/iydgbhGCyC โ Special Kherson Cat ๐๐บ๐ฆ (@bayraktar_1love) July 6, 2023
--------------------------------------------------โ
The role of snipers is one that gets very little attention in this war.
x Sniper with the call sign Alpha from the group "Pryvid" OPBr named after hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi "shot" a Russian correctional officer from a distance of 1,800 m pic.twitter.com/YIUsiTjRm9 โ Getty๐บ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐ผ (@region776) July 6, 2023
--------------------------------------------------โ
What strikes me about this video are the people and the dog who seem to be going about their business while the building burns from an artillery strike.
x Vuhledar is under heavy shelling by the Russians. This front line city is also mostly destroyed and abandoned. pic.twitter.com/BakTvdzF1m โ NOELREPORTS ๐ช๐บ ๐บ๐ฆ (@NOELreports) July 6, 2023
------------------------------------------------โ
Letโs hope this means that Klishchiivka has already been or is about to be liberated.
x Vuhledar is under heavy shelling by the Russians. This front line city is also mostly destroyed and abandoned. pic.twitter.com/BakTvdzF1m โ NOELREPORTS ๐ช๐บ ๐บ๐ฆ (@NOELreports) July 6, 2023
WARNING: This video shows a Russian soldier killing himself. It takes him a few tries to do it.
x โ ๏ธ Sensitive content
Another occupier decided not to waste the time of the AFU and did all the work for them. pic.twitter.com/58GeHTAuOO โ NEXTA (@nexta_tv) July 6, 2023
--------------------------------------------------โ
Here we have another entry in the turret tossing competition.
---------------------------------------------------โ
Wooden armor? I suppose itโs better than nothing.
x Russian monster trucks with new generation armor "Board Edition" pic.twitter.com/ubsExIfkmh โ Getty๐บ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐ผ (@region776) July 5, 2023
-----------------------------------------------------------
I doubt that Lviv has a Patriot battery. It should get one. Ukraine needs several more. The death toll in this attack is up to 6.
x Russian nighttime missile attack on Lviv in Ukraine's west kills at least 4, injures 9, destroying more than 50 apartments
Ukraine's Air Force says Russia had launched 10 Kalibr missiles from the Black Sea; air defenses and aircraft destroyed 7 of them.
https://t.co/Vd7okHJ63f โ Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) July 6, 2023
----------------------------------------------------โ
An American Marine veteran was among the victims of the Russian missile attack on the restaurant that also killed writer Viktoria Amelia.
x The American Marine Corps veteran, Ian Tortorici was killed in the Russian missile strike on a pizza restaurant in Kramatorsk.
He moved to Ukraine after falling in love with a Ukrainian woman during a vacation in Europe.
He served as a paramedic with the Ukrainian Army.
๐บ๐ธ๐บ๐ฆ pic.twitter.com/5CTEISJvq8 โ Visegrรกd 24 (@visegrad24) July 6, 2023
----------------------------------------------------โ
Russiaโs formidable army looks less formidable with each passing day.
x Bloomberg: Ukraine now has more tanks than #Russia#Ukraine now has about 1,500 tanks (987 before the war), and #Russia has 1,400 (3,400 before the war). pic.twitter.com/zP4aZGwLTr โ NEXTA (@nexta_tv) July 6, 2023
-------------------------------------------------------โ
The beaches are great this time of year but weโre going to have to take you there on one of our fabulous guided missile cruisers. It may or may not be targeted by an anti-ship missile or a drone, but thereโs an open bar.
x Russian government suggests bringing tourists to Crimea by warships.
Russian authorities are planning to use warships to ease the load on the Crimean Bridge, near which there was a multi-kilometer traffic jam - head of the Russian Transport Ministry, Vitaliy Savelyev reported atโฆ pic.twitter.com/vm0fP7Otoj โ Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) July 6, 2023
-------------------------------------------------------โ
The steaks will be well done tonight.
x ๐ฅPushkin restaurant is on fire in Moscow pic.twitter.com/0OibOOt4SL โ Getty๐บ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐ผ (@region776) July 6, 2023
----------------------------------------------------โ
And finally, some good news. During the recent prisoner exchange that brought home 45 Ukrainians, a mother was reunited with her kidnapped children.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/6/2179564/-More-Russian-stuff-blowing-up-plus-U-S-to-supply-Ukraine-with-cluster-munitions
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
