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Russian stuff blowing up: The sorry state of Russian air defense [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-04-14
The sorry state of Russian air defense.
x 1/ The air defence system that Russia inherited from the USSR is reported to be severely undermanned and under-equipped, despite the Kremlin's efforts to renovate it. Post-Soviet cutbacks have left it unable to counter Ukrainian drone attacks. ⬇️
[image or embed] — ChrisO_wiki (@chriso-wiki.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 3:11 AM
3/ The Soviet Union had more than 250 regiments of specialist Air Defence Radio-Technical Units guarding its airspace along the borders. Only a few now remain. As a source says: "there is no early warning for air defence systems, so all sorts of UAVs easily fly… 4/ ...across the entire territory of Russia and freely attack military and industrial infrastructure facilities and even the air defence missile systems themselves." 5/ "It was the radio-technical troops that provided the air defence missile systems with timely reconnaissance, giving targeting instructions. There is no such scheme now, they are more or less able to cover only the approaches to the capital, and even then only against primitive drones." 6/ The Kremlin is reported to be trying to recreate the Soviet-era air defences, but as VChK-OGPU comments: "the entire industrial complex that produced radio-technical control equipment has been completely lost, as well as the human resource." 7/ "Now there is no money, enterprises and, most importantly, people who could produce all this.
A Russian military blogger lays out the “self-perpetuating cycle” of Russian manpower losses.
x Ongoing milblogger complaints about the Russian military's conduct of the war in Ukraine reinforce ISW’s assessment that Russian tactics will degrade Russia’s manpower and materiel resources and contribute to slowing Russian advances along the frontline. isw.pub/UkrWar041325
[image or embed] — Institute for the Study of War (@thestudyofwar.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 11:04 AM
A Russian milblogger and former Storm-Z instructor claimed on April 12 that the Russian military command is using a "thousand cuts" tactic against Ukraine to the detriment of Russian forces and complained that deploying poorly equipped and poorly trained Russian infantry to attack Ukrainian defensive positions only results in marginal gains and heavy losses. (23] The milblogger argued that the Russian military command is attempting to present high manpower and materiel losses as necessary by falsely portraying the preceding combat engagements as evidence of Russia's coordinated "grinding" down of Ukrainian defenses. 24] The milblogger claimed on April 12 and 13 that the Russian military command is ignoring the fact that Russian forces are facing shortages of materiel necessary for offensive operations, which contributes to issues conducting assaults and to the failure of small group assaults along the frontline in Ukraine. 25) The milblogger claimed that frontline Russian commanders are under significant pressure from their superiors to conduct more infantry assaults, do not have sufficient time to plan new assault routes, and that some frontline commanders order assaults simply to be able to report something back to their superiors. ISW previously assessed that these grinding assaults will ikely degrade available Russian manpower and materiel significantly enough that Russian forces will have to decrease offensive tempo on lower-priority sectors of the front. [26] The milblogger speculated that Russian forces are in a self-perpetuating cycle, where poorly trained infantry killed or injured in failed assault attempts are replaced with similary poorly trained infantry, who are again sent into doomed assaults. [27) The milblogger's claims reflect the general trend of slowing Russian advances along the frontline recently and highlight some of the critical issues that Russian forces will have to address if they intend to make significant territorial gains or conduct more sophisticated offensive operations in Ukraine in the future. [28]
It is generally considered to be a bad sign when your citizens try to flee the country with their gold.
x ‼️ Russia: “Russia to tighten control over purchase and sale of coins and bars in banks” Because the Ministry of Finance is worried people will take their gold and flee. www.rbc.ru/finances/08/...
[image or embed] — Prune60 (@prune602.bsky.social) April 8, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Russian armor experiences rapid unscheduled disassembly.
x Good morning, unless you think a double tap on civilians was just a mistake!☕️🔥
Russian APC rapid unscheduled disassembly by anti-tank mine during an assault on Ukrainian positions.
[image or embed] — Challengerinua (@challengerinua.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 3:12 AM
North Korean armor experiences rapid unscheduled disassembly.
Greatest Hits of Russian Armor Blowing Up.
Audio on or you’ll miss “Disco Inferno” by The Trammps
Did Russia run out of kindergartens to target?
x ⚡️Russian drone attack injures 5, causes fires in Odesa. The strike also damaged the roof, windows and operating room of a medical facility in Odesa, according to Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov.
[image or embed] — The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) April 13, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Trump excuses Russia’s Palm Sunday massacre in Sumy as a “mistake.”
Translation: I’m not going to be able to negotiate an end to the war so I'm going to shift the blame to Biden and Zelenskyy.
x Trump states the Russo-Ukrainian war is "Biden's war, not mine." In a Truth Social post, the US President claims it never would have happened under his watch. He blamed both Zelenskyy and Biden for allowing the "travesty to begin" while insisting he's now "working diligently" to end the fighting.
[image or embed] — Euromaidan Press (@euromaidanpress.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 10:23 AM
x Trump full-on accusing Zelensky of starting the war Russia launched against Ukraine in 2014, before Zelensky was even president, and escalated in 2022 with it unprovoked, full-blown invasion. Not a single criticism toward Putin, a day after the deadliest single attack of the war by Russia this year.
[image or embed] — Christopher Miller (@christopherjm.ft.com) April 14, 2025 at 11:28 AM
The death toll from the Sumy attack has risen to 35.
x The death tall following the russian missile attack on the downtown of Sumy yesterday has risen to 35. Among the deceased are 11-year-old and 17-year-old boys. Additionally, 117 people were injured, including 15 children.
[image or embed] — Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 9:14 AM
x Russian propagandists received instructions to lie about the Russian strike on Sumy yesterday. Solovyev said "If you read Deutsche Welle, you get the feeling that traditional German propaganda, of course, coupled with British propaganda, is trying to create another Bucha."
[image or embed] — Anton Gerashchenko (@antongerashchenko.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 5:46 AM
The hero of the day in Sumy was this 13-year-old who saved several people on the bus that was hit in the attack on Sumy.
x ⚡️ Teenager escapes burning bus, rescues others after deadly Russian strike in Sumy. Kyrylo Illiashenko and his mother were on a city bus when it was struck and caught fire after the attack, Kordon Media reported.
[image or embed] — The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) April 14, 2025 at 2:58 AM
Russia continues to target Kharkiv.
x This morning, a Russian drone struck a food storage facility in Kharkiv, effectively defeating boxes of pasta and porridge.
[image or embed] — Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 6:05 AM
Another 1,310 Russians for whom the war is over, plus 19 tanks, 59 artillery systems and 179 other vehicles.
Another 33 dead Russian officers identified, including three majors.
x At least 5 833 Russian officers have been eliminated in the Russian invasion of Ukraine since 24 February 2022.
Weekly update: +33 newly registered.
Sources: public Russian obituaries and graves.
[image or embed] — KIU • Russian Officers killed in Ukraine (@killedinukraine.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 7:10 AM
Some more dead Russian officers for the next tally.
x On April 11 a Ukrainian HIMARS strike hit the forward command post of Russia’s 30th Motorized Rifle Regiment (unit 72162) in Guevo, Kursk region, killing seven—including the deputy regimental commander, a communications officer, and members of the reconnaissance company—and wounding four others,
[image or embed] — NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) April 14, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Merz and Germany have no more fucks to give.
x ⚡️ Merz signals Ukraine could use Taurus missiles to target Crimea, Kerch Bridge. In an interview with ARD, Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting emphasized the need to support Ukraine in moving from a reactive to a proactive stance on the battlefield.
[image or embed] — The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) April 14, 2025 at 2:00 AM
If Germany sends Taurus missiles to Ukraine, Putin promises to double the supply of donkeys, electric scooters, Chinese golf carts and Scooby vans.
The worst kind of traitor.
x ⚡️ Ukraine detains instructor plotting killings of training base commanders on Russia's behalf, SBU says. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained an instructor at a training center in Lviv Oblast who was planning assassinations of the base's commanders, the SBU said on April 14.
[image or embed] — The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) April 14, 2025 at 4:46 AM
Viktor Orban is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kremlin.
x 🇭🇺❌🇺🇦🇪🇺 Szijjártó: "Hungary will block the deployment of EU military instructors in Ukraine." ▪️Hungary will not support sanctions against the Russian nuclear industry and on the purchase of Russian energy resources; ▪️Hungary will veto Ukraine's rapid accession to the EU.
[image or embed] — The Ukrainian Review (@theukrainianreview.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Just another war crime by Russia.
x ❗️⚠️ The enemy systematically uses poison gas discharges at the front, — GUR
In the Zaporizhzhia region, cases of the enemy using poison gas ammunition by dropping it from UAVs on the positions of the defenders are increasingly being recorded. Most often, we are talking about RG-VO grenades.
[image or embed] — MAKS 24 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Zelenskyy also says that Ukraine wants to buy 10 more Patriot systems.
x When children and adults are killed by missiles, I do not understand why we cannot agree on additional Patriot systems, – President Zelenskyy during his interview with 60 minutes.
[image or embed] — Anton Gerashchenko (@antongerashchenko.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Happy Moskva Sinking Day. It has been three years since the flagship was promoted to submarine duty.
Trump’s spiritual adviser says “I was wrong.”
x "I was wrong. I now believe that supporting Ukraine is 'America First'. And once you see the atrocities at the hands of the Russians, that is just pure evil. Politics goes out the window," - Pastor Mark Burns. Thank you,Pastor Burns.I pray that your words will be heard by all who need to hear them.
[image or embed] — Anton Gerashchenko (@antongerashchenko.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 6:24 AM
This is the musician who was killed in the Sumy strike.
[END]
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