Don's Weekly, 16 November 2023: Part 3
(….continued from Part 2…)
Crimea
Ukraine continues to trade their missiles and drones for Russian naval craft and air defense systems.
The impact on the corvette that was hit almost two weeks ago. A Ukrainian reporter said that two SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles were shot down and two hit the ship...
https://twitter.com/SythUK/status/1721593899917939124
A view of the air defense efforts and one hit is recorded…
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1720869745304420566
The damage to the ship is too extensive to repair…
https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1721623959727112468
On September 13, a Russian submarine, landing ship and the dry dock they inhabited were hit by cruise missiles. The sub was described as too damaged to repair and the dry dock was seriously damaged. The landing ship since had all salvageable equipment stripped off of it, signifying that it was also too damaged to repair, and the hull was floated off the dry dock and tied up nearby…
https://twitter.com/MT_Anderson/status/1720090875307692062
The list of eliminated Russian ships…https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-war-naval-losses-photos/32674787.html#:~:text=A%20strike%20on%20a%20brand,sea%20trials%20in%20October%202022.
Two Russian landing craft at a dock were struck by sea drones and sunk. The landing craft both had a Tor-M2 system on board and acted as mobile air defense platforms…https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/sea-drones-attack-russian-landing-craft-in-crimean-port
https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1723443685105291592
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Russia
1) After the attack on the Berdyansk airfield destroyed so many helicopters, many of the remaining aircraft were moved to Taganrog air base, 50 km from the Ukrainian border. Last week, it was attacked…https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3783782-helicopters-on-fire-at-russian-taganrog-airfield-after-explosion-andriushchenko.html
2) Not in Russia, but only 8 km from the border, a repair base where helicopters were located was hit…
Of the 47 million Russians that have a loan, almost half are not paying them back. The amount of the total outstanding debt is $31 billion…
https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1721840603435077738
Near Moscow, two factories caught fire and a train was derailed. This was a gunpowder factory…
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1723338000195526952
Here is the derailed train…
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1723289062272872746
Free Russian forces conducted another raid that killed an FSB Lt Colonel in the Bryansk area…
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1723031516744216921
Interview with a Captain
Tartarigami is a Ukrainian in the intelligence field and is always a solid source of information. He interviews a company commander who offers the following views:
-Some Russians are not trained very well. Others crawl up to their positions at night. All of them fight, even without training or being well-equipped. An old tank is just as effective against infantry as a new tank until it is knocked out. When ten poorly trained men with rusty weapons attack you, they are still a threat.
-Competent NCOs are essential and junior officers need to be able to analyze and plan operations. There is no systematic training and development of effective officers and NCOs and people die because of it. It is something he would personally like to be a part of changing…
Leading the Way: A Company Commander's Experience
6 days ago · 10 likes · Frontelligence Insight
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Equipment
A third Patriot system is arriving soon… (if not already in Ukraine):
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1722876658040947067
Two more NASAMS launchers arrived from Lithuania…
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1723030552565952942
Rheinmetall received an order for 100k 120mm mortar shells. Without exaggeration, Ukraine needs a million of them…
https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1722516924976763117
Russia has been using drones but few missiles in recent attacks on Ukrainian cities…
https://twitter.com/UAControlMap/status/1722025062847353282
They are likely saving them for a winter campaign against Ukraine’s energy grid, much like they did last year. Ukraine estimates they have 870 missile in their stockpile…https://gur.gov.ua/en/content/u-zhovtni-2023-roku-rosiia-vyhotovyla-115-vysokotochnykh-raket-vadym-skibitskyi.html
***
US Aid
The MAGA wing of the Republican party wishes to cut off aid to Ukraine. This view is not shared by mainstream Republicans or Democrats who realize the value of aiding Ukraine on so many levels. The interests of the US are served by working with NATO and other allies to deter and counter aggression throughout the world. Worldwide stability benefits the US economy and standard of living.
From January, 2022, to July, 2023, the US sent $76.8 billion to Ukraine. In actuality, about $70 billion of that money stayed in the US with the defense industries and jobs in 38 states. Because of the war, European nations have placed orders for $90 billion worth of US weapons.
The weapons that money created has been tracked by 160 officials from 20 US agencies, making sure it reaches the troops on the front line. The weapons helped the Ukrainians inflict 300,000 casualties on the Russians, transforming the invading army into a diminished relic of itself, reducing the threat to its neighbors and its ability to project power in other regions. The aid sent to Ukraine is the equivalent to 5% of the annual military budget.
The world’s response to Ukraine is being observed by China. A strong response increases Taiwan’s security. The US is providing Taiwan with more weapons, and faster than previously scheduled, as a deterrent against the instability caused by the war in Ukraine.
Aiding Ukraine increases the stability of Europe. Europe, as a whole, is a bigger trading partner for the US than China is. As a whole, the Europeans have pledged more support for Ukraine than the US has, and are spending a higher percentage of their GDP.
Additional facts and details…https://www.hudson.org/foreign-policy/fourteen-facts-about-us-aid-support-cost-ukraine-luke-coffey
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Diplomacy
Ukraine says if their energy grid is attacked this winter they might retaliate by attacking Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure…
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1723288357659152508
In September, Zelensky met with the head of the Sudanese Sovereign Council at Ireland’s Shannon airport. A month ago there was video reportedly showing unacknowledged Ukrainian drones attacking Wagner troops in Sudan. Now there is a video said to be of Ukrainian special forces stalking Wagner troops in a building and engaging them with an RPG. Later, Wagner troops fire out of the building and some run out of it…https://www.kyivpost.com/post/23722
From May of 2022 to May of 2023, Russia spent $1 billion to maintain Wagner forces…https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/world-news/2023/06/28/649c0ca4268e3e32038b45cb.html
Wagner makes its money by exploiting the natural resources in a country in return for propping up a regime. In the Central African Republic, Wagner is earning $1 billion from timber, at least $2.7 billion from one gold mine, plus they are mining diamonds…https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-wagner-group-ukraine-war-putin-prigozhin-africa-plundering-resources/
Wagner has a 30% interest in the mines of Sudan…https://www.euronews.com/2023/04/27/why-is-russias-wagner-group-in-sudan-and-what-does-it-have-to-do-with-the-war-in-ukraine
Hungary believes that discussions with Ukraine over EU membership should not happen but Hungary should still receive EU funds despite its oppressive undemocratic rule…
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1722907274748756312
Germany will double the aid to Ukraine from 4 billion euros this year to 8 billion euros next year…
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1723363511886020866
Macron believes there is a time limit on Ukrainian freedom…
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1723335226431057983
There are many African countries that are understandably resentful of the history of colonization. In pursuit of its own objectives, the Soviet Union supported many liberation movements with arms. The AK-47 was a state symbol for a few countries that gained independence, currently or previously…https://www.rbth.com/travel/331797-countries-with-ak-47-on-flags
It is because of this history that many African nations support Russia over Ukraine, even as Russia seeks to subjugate Ukraine. South Africa abstains in any vote to condemn Russia. It participated in war games with the Russian navy, and it loaded weapons and ammo onto a sanctioned Russian cargo ship…https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/28/africa/south-africa-russia-manganese-mine-anc-intl-cmd/index.html#:~:text=Their%20list%20is%20long%3A%20South,a%20sanctioned%20Russian%20cargo%20ship.
Against that backdrop, the Ukrainian foreign minister visited South Africa. The South African foreign minister voiced a desire for a negotiated peace. The Ukrainian foreign minister noted that as part of the Soviet Union, they, too, supported South Africa’s struggle against apartheid and is working to keep the grain flowing to Africa and the world…https://www.voanews.com/a/ukrainian-foreign-minister-s-south-africa-visit-overshadowed-by-gaza-/7343782.html
(Apparently, and just like most of the West, South Africans do not associate ‘USSR’ with ‘used to include Ukraine’: it’s almost tragic that people have to bring that back to their minds….)
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Miscelaneous
The 23rd International Fighter Conference met in Spain. The consumption of ammunition during a near-peer conventional war was discussed. “Think of a ludicrous number, double it, add a zero, and you’re still not there.”…
https://twitter.com/GarethJennings3/status/1721908082756735268
A 122mm shell hit a pile of AT mines, but I mainly included this for the spectacle of the pressure wave…
https://twitter.com/AndrewPerpetua/status/1721726639799779751
Russians hide in a destroyed BTR, but without a door it isn’t protection from a well-flown drone…
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1724047702906871810
One drone for one soldier is an effective rate…
https://twitter.com/666_mancer/status/1724081002035773735
Another collaborator was eliminated…
https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1722363122726346965
The lament of a geolocator…
https://twitter.com/AndrewPerpetua/status/1722791897511424459
Thank you so very much. The interview is fantastic and should be read by everyoner.
Another great article...staggering news on the debt that the Russians are not paying back,