MouthBQ98 said:

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A lot of the missiles they use are modified attack weapons, designed to hit a thing, not a place. They have basic guidance to get them to the target area, and then a seeker looking for a specific size and shape of target. Say for example a long range anti-ship missile. Goes to an area then its seeker looks for a ship sized object and executes an attack. Many of these Russian missiles are using an adaptation of that guidance. They use internal gyroscopic navigation to get to the target area, and then a seeker warhead looking for a building sized target. Sometimes, the guidance is good enough that it seeks out the intended building. Often, it's a little bit off and it picks "a building".

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Rare use of Kinzhal missile

The use of such a wide and unpredictable array of weaponry seemingly marks a shift in the Kremlin's strategy.

The Kinzhal, an air-launched variant of the Iskander short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) which has also, more frequently, been used in Ukraine, was unveiled by Putin in 2018 as a cornerstone of a modernized Russian arsenal.

Like virtually all ballistic missiles it is hypersonic, which means they travel at least five times the speed of sound, but it is also particularly difficult to detect because it can be launched from MiG-31 fighter jets, giving it a longer range and the ability to attack from multiple directions.

"Russia likely developed the unique missile to more easily target critical European infrastructure … (its) speed, in combination with the missile's erratic flight trajectory and high maneuverability, could complicate interception," according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Russia's use of the missile on Ukrainian targets last March was its first known use in combat, according to CSIS, and it was subsequently used again in May.

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docb said:

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nortex97 said:

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Correct, the Russians are still in a 'phase 2' by most accounts of mobilizations.

It's interesting to read how irrelevant Bakhmut is now, after Zelensky said just yesterday or the day before it was critical and the Russians would have an 'open path' through Ukraine if it falls. Apparently, fewer people take his word seriously than I thought.

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I don't think anyone said it was irrelevant. All of Ukraine is relevant. That is just more of your opinion which most of us who have been following this thread for a long time are well aware of. I hope Ukraine does defend the town and keep laying to waste as many Russian invaders as they can there. Zelensky is the president of Ukraine. He is never going to say that losing something will not change the outcome.

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Russian forces will have an "open road" to seize other critical settlements in eastern Ukraine if they capture Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN, reiterating his bid to continue the city's defense.

"This is tactical for us… after Bakhmut, they could go further. They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Sloviansk," Zelensky said in an interview from Kyiv. "That's why our guys are standing there."
The report comes a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address to Ukrainians that there was consensus between him and Ukraine's top military leadership that Ukrainian forces should continue to hold the city.

Citing unnamed sources in the Ukrainian government, Bild reported on March 6 that Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi disagree on how the military should handle the situation in Bakhmut.

The battle for Bakhmut, a city in Donetsk Oblast, has been raging for the past seven months. The Russian military is attempting to increase its grip over the entirety of the oblast, around half of which it currently occupies.

Zelensky also told CNN that "Russia needs at least some victory a small victory even by ruining everything in Bakhmut, just killing every civilian there," adding that if Russia can "put their little flag" on top of Bakhmut, it would help "mobilize their society to create this idea they're such a powerful army."

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"The Ukrainians… will be withdrawing into defensive zones in the Kramatorsk areas that they have had eight years to prepare. And the city sits on higher, more defensible ground than Bakhmut. Any advance on the Kramatorsk region is likely to be every bit as bloody for the Russians as its campaign for Bakhmut."

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• The private mercenary group Wagner appears to be taking a "tactical pause" in Bakhmut, the US thinktank the Institute for the Study of War said in its daily update. The ISW believes that Wagner is waiting until enough reinforcements of conventional Russian troops have arrived before taking a backseat in the fierce battle.
• Oleh Synyehubov, governor of Kharkiv, has said the energy situation is difficult after Russia's barrage of attacks on Thursday. In a message on Telegram, he said "the energy system has suffered significant damage. Nevertheless, critical infrastructure has already been restored in the city, and water supply has been almost completely restored". However, public transport remains closed.
• The UN nuclear watchdog's 35-nation board of governors on Friday backed the reappointment of Argentina's Rafael Grossi to a second four-year term as director general, diplomats at the closed-door meeting said.
• Ukraine handed suspicion notices on Friday to three former senior managers of the aircraft manufacturer Antonov for obstructing the country's military and allowing Russia to destroy the giant Mriya cargo plane at the start of the war.
• Russian president, Vladimir Putin, congratulated Xi Jinping on Friday after the Chinese leader secured an unprecedented third term as president. In a telegram, Putin said he was sure the two leaders could advance their cooperation on the most important regional and international issues
• The Kremlin said on Friday it sees risks of possible "provocations" in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two Russian-backed breakaway regions of Georgia, after days of protests in Georgia over a "foreign agents" bill. Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said on Friday that Moscow was watching the situation "with concern".
• The war in Ukraine is driven by the interests of several "empires" and not just the "Russian empire", Pope Francis said in an interview published on Friday.

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