James Vasquez still at it. (Warning: a little swearing).

I had a crazy one year anniversary in Ukraine pic.twitter.com/Z8ehGl8E8Z

— James Vasquez (@jmvasquez1974) March 14, 2023

P.U.T.U said:

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A lot better combined arms than the Russians. The IFV could not hit the Russians except when they were in the trench in-line with the machine gun. Uke gets out of the IFV and fires a RPG almost immediately knocking out a few Russians, tank main gun and machine gun knock out the rest.

I do think the volume of IFVs and tanks should help Ukraine push a counter offensive if implemented properly. Russia is fortifying positions in the south and east. They will have trenches built and minefields ready as well as artillery positions pre-sighted. Unlike with most American conflicts recently Ukraine should not focus on a zero loss outcome, they will take losses of both men and systems. How they implement both together will determine the outcome.

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there is a couple more just like this on reddit from different assaults in the last few days.

Of interest is on all three videos:

• Uke armor rolled right up NO MINES.
• Uke armor rolled up no ATGM fired or even displayed.
• Uke armor rolled up no indirect fire support.
There is a delay though in coms and if your getting 30MM fired up your ass it clearly ain't easy to get a call for fire mission in.This is why I think the incoming light armor will be effective against russian lines. It will be interesting to see how much of the areas have been mined and if the heavily mined areas are the lines putin is willing to compromise to. I know we have seen the concrete anti tank barriers which are likely these lines.Regarding the drone take down. It was our drone that provided target location for the moskva hit. It even did BDA right over the top of the sink site the next day with transponder on and the russians did nothing. They are clearly getting desperate. putin has put his best troops and ADA around him in russia and is fortifying the beaches in crimea for a beach landing when Ukraine only has a couple of river boats. This dude has lost it. We need to help the ukes diminish a bit more of his arsenal or send in the dolphins for a couple more ship/sub sinkings and he will call it quits because he must insure he has a large enough arsenal to protect himself from his own peoples.

With how the Russians acted one would assume these are likely conscripts on the outskirts used to slow Ukraine down and make them use up some ammo. The Russians were sticking their guns up over the edge and firing blindlessly, and often from the same spot. No ATGM, no cover and move, and huddled together making them an easy target for the RPG.

With the slow down in the east I would be placing mines like crazy if I were Russia, you know in the next few months Ukraine will have armoured vehicles that do not have mine/IED resistant hulls. Dial in artillery and once Ukraine gets slowed down by a mine field start unloading. With help of US intelligence you can use this to your advantage by locating where the artillery is coming from. Not sure if the USA will want this technology this close to the front lines though

In all seriousness many counter-battery fire systems have been sent to Ukraine, for many years. This is not really new to any involved parties.

[Derail attempt deleted. You know this is not the thread for this. Plenty of other threads to pursue this angle, but not the tactics/strategy thread -- Staff]

Meanwhile, the brutal war rages on with loud talk about the armed Reaper drone that crashed off Crimea:

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• The Russian ambassador to the US called the incident a "provocation". Russia's RIA state news agency cited Anatoly Antonov as saying: "We do not want any confrontation between the United States and Russia. We are in favour of building pragmatic relations." Antonov made the comments after being summoned to the US state department. He later added: "We are concerned about the unacceptable activity of the US military in the immediate vicinity of our borders," accusing the US of supplying intelligence to Kyiv.
• The Pentagon said the drone was on a routine ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) mission. US air force Brig Gen Pat Ryders said Russia did not have the drone, but he declined to say whether Russia was seeking the wreckage so that its military intelligence could dissect it.
• Russia's defence ministry maintained that its fighters "did not use airborne weapons and did not come into contact" with the US drone. The ministry said fighters from its air defence forces were raised into the air to identify the drone, which the ministry said was heading "in direction of the state border of the Russian Federation".
• British defence secretary Ben Wallace has urged Moscow to respect international airspace.
• State broadcaster Suspilne is reporting that the Ukrainian city of Kharkivwas struck on Wednesday by a S-300 missile fired from the Belgorod region of Russia.

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4/ #Russian sources additionally claimed that #Wagner is advancing northwest of #Bakhmut in the direction of Orikhovo-Vasylivka (12km northwest of Bakhmut), Zalizianske (9km northwest of Bakhmut), and Minkivka (15km northwest of Bakhmut). https://t.co/M2f56IOXtu

— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) March 15, 2023

GAC06 said:

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It was recently reported that a number of ancient BTR-50 APCs were delivered to Russian forces in #Ukraine- we obtained a photo of one of them.

This unit appears to be a BTR-50PU command&staff subvariant, adopted in 1958, however it is unclear for what role it will be used now. pic.twitter.com/kHkAKLSQQ3

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 13, 2023

More museum pieces to the front

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That roll of paper may come in handy when they get their **** blown away while using that museum piece. OR, they could be using the roll of paper and some Fantastic to clean the outside of the IFV to make it visibly more attractive.

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Russian Su-24 was reportedly shot down near Bakhmut

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https://liveuamap.com/en/2023/15-march-russian-su24-was-reportedly-shot-down-near-bakhmut

Pulling out the big guns with the SU-24, pretty advanced flight system...in the 1960s

What I find interesting and something that nobody has brought up is the background of Dmitry Utkin who leads the Wagner group. Utkin has several Nazi tattoos and has been linked to white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups in Russia.

Where did Wagner get it's name? Utkin's military call sign was Wagner who both Utkin and Wagner founder Prigozhin idolized Adolf's Hitler's favorite composer Richard Wagner. So the Wagner group which consist of a bunch of Neo-nazis is trying to de-nazify Ukraine? The old saying of all politics is local rings true, the Wagner group is just a bunch of criminals fighting for money. Whether it being former prisoners or soldiers committing war crimes all over the world in the name of Wagner.

To this day several countries have imposed sanctions against Wagner or have done stuff to "penalize" them, as you can see a lot of good it has done. No country wants to touch Wagner due to their direct ties to Putin, including the USA. With a large amount of Spetsnaz troops being knocked out of commission Wagner appears to be Putin's go to infantry and SOF in Ukraine

Short history of Wagner

BREAKING: This morning, a Russian Su-27 aircraft struck the propeller of a U.S. MQ-9 drone, causing U.S. forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters, according to @US_EUCOM.

— Lara Seligman (@laraseligman) March 14, 2023

This "follows a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots while interacting w/ U.S. & Allied aircraft over international airspace, including over the Black Sea. These aggressive actions by Russian aircrew are dangerous & could lead to miscalculation & unintended escalation."

— Lara Seligman (@laraseligman) March 14, 2023

https://t.co/SGHGQa4ijX

— Patrick Fox (@RealCynicalFox) March 14, 2023

We're not getting into a hot war with Russia over this, but Moscow is trying to send us a message.https://t.co/R5PDJsLtRs

— Patrick Fox (@RealCynicalFox) March 15, 2023

Rossticus said:

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BREAKING: This morning, a Russian Su-27 aircraft struck the propeller of a U.S. MQ-9 drone, causing U.S. forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters, according to @US_EUCOM.

— Lara Seligman (@laraseligman) March 14, 2023

This "follows a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots while interacting w/ U.S. & Allied aircraft over international airspace, including over the Black Sea. These aggressive actions by Russian aircrew are dangerous & could lead to miscalculation & unintended escalation."

— Lara Seligman (@laraseligman) March 14, 2023

https://t.co/SGHGQa4ijX

— Patrick Fox (@RealCynicalFox) March 14, 2023

We're not getting into a hot war with Russia over this, but Moscow is trying to send us a message.https://t.co/R5PDJsLtRs

— Patrick Fox (@RealCynicalFox) March 15, 2023

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Gen James Hecker (head of US Air Forces Europe) statement from article:

"Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9,"

"In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash."

"U.S. and Allied aircraft will continue to operate in international airspace and we call on the Russians to conduct themselves professionally and safely," he continued.
"This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional," the press release added.

"This incident follows a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots while interacting with U.S. and Allied aircraft over international airspace, including over the Black Sea. These aggressive actions by Russian aircrew are dangerous and could lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation."

Russian response. Lol.

They have stated that No Collision occurred between the the 2 Aircraft and the Drone with No Damage being reported to either Su-27.

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 14, 2023

The Situation in Bakhmut is continually looking Untenable for the Ukrainian Defenders still in the City.

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 15, 2023

With Russia reportedly going to try to recover MQ-9 wreckage from the Black Sea, Joint Chiefs Chairman Milley commented this afternoon 15 March: "We know where it landed in the Black Sea. It’s probably in about 4-5 thousand feet of water. So any recovery operation will be... pic.twitter.com/jMwvTBJh2O

— Chris Cavas (@CavasShips) March 15, 2023

...As far as the loss of anything of sensitive intelligence etc., as normal we would take – and we did – take mitigating measures. So we are quite confident that whatever was of value is no longer of value...We do have options, we do have friends and allies in the region...

— Chris Cavas (@CavasShips) March 15, 2023

Note that all US govt property that goes into the sea remains govt property regardless how it got there. Codified in the Sunken Military Craft Act of 2004: https://t.co/jV5ZD5QCGs

— Chris Cavas (@CavasShips) March 15, 2023

Thread: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1636188256340439040.html

2/ Ukrainian military sources have noted a markedly decreased number of attacks in and around #Bakhmut, particularly over the last few days. https://t.co/LoibkT2OKU

— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) March 16, 2023

A close-up map of the approximate situation around the city of Bakhmut.

🇷🇺 continue to advance up the highway northwest of the city. pic.twitter.com/dP5CmXtUUi

— War Mapper (@War_Mapper) March 16, 2023

Officers of the 93rd Brigade filmed the takedown of a Wagner Su aircraft in Bakhmut using Igla MANPADS today.

The press service of the brigade was lucky enough to see with their own eyes how the bomber was shot down and to film the launch of a rocket at https://t.co/KEAHD8DRE2… https://t.co/no4afho7wL pic.twitter.com/pZJytl4rXE

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) March 15, 2023

Drone kerfuffle video released:

JUST IN - U.S. releases a video showing the collision of the Russian fighter jet with the MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea.pic.twitter.com/MHuGIUkxyL

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) March 16, 2023

PJYoung said:

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So what is the purpose of dumping fuel on the drone here? What is the ultimate goal? Is that expected to be able to crash the drone? I assume it's primarily just the weight of the fuel that would cause the damage. I'm just not sure how dumping fuel on it was expected to harm the drone.

Had the propeller not been hit, would the fuel have had any impact?

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Fire at warehouse in Maloyanisol village near Mariupol with detonations audible

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https://liveuamap.com/en/2023/16-march-fire-at-warehouse-in-maloyanisol-village-near-mariupol

Probably to try to mess up the camera and sensors, or they were just being stupid.

Not as simple as some assume.
https://defense.info/global-dynamics/2022/03/a-polish-perspective-on-the-mig-29-issue/

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Although the "MiG deal" seems to be dead at least as long as the United Stated does not change its approach it is important to equip readers not only with opinions, but also hard facts.
Poland has up to 28 MiG-29 jets, but not all of them are still operational.
All Polish MiG-29s are old and are expected to be retired soon.

Apart from political problems, there are also technical ones.

As noted by a leading Polish defense expert Juliusz Sabak (Defence24), in Polish MiG-29s "altitude is displayed in feet, distance in miles and speed in knots. Russian standards, used also in Ukrainian aviation, are meters, kilometers and kilometers per hour.

When it comes to training, even pilots flying the Ukrainian MiG-29 would need no less than a few months to get used to NATO's MiGs.

Moreover, it would be necessary not only to train pilots, but also to replace on-board equipment, including with new communication and IFF (Identification Friend-or-Foe) systems, which would have to compatible with Ukrainian standards.

Probably the first aircraft and crews could be ready not be ready earlier than in 2-3 months.

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UPDATES: war crimes, spy ring

That is a good question, I think it would be hard to catch it on fire, but I guess that is possible. I believe you could make the intake mixture so rich it could kill the engine. I think you could restart it before it crashed.

Don't know. Just some annoying Russian thing to do.

I did kind of laugh at our protest that it was "environmentally irresponsible". I am sure that admonishment will stop it….

74OA said:

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UPDATES: war crimes, spy ring

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re: Spy ring:...Operating near the Jasionka airport in SE Poland ~60 mi from UKR border...big US presence there.

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/03/15/7393577/

Russian spy network planning sabotage exposed in Poland, 6 accomplices detained
EUROPEAN PRAVDA WEDNESDAY, 15 MARCH 2023, 17:47
80043
The Polish Internal Security Agency (ABW) has exposed a spy network that worked for Russia and was tasked with preparing sabotage operations in Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda, referring to RMF FM, Polish news agency

Details: The ABW workers detained six people during the investigation. An alert was issued on railroads and national critical infrastructure facilities due to the network's activities.
The arrested persons are foreigners "from the eastern border" allegedly working for the Russian secret services. The ABW agents detained them after hidden cameras were discovered on important routes and railroad junctions. The cameras recorded movement on railway tracks and transmitted images to the network.

As the RMF FM reports, the cameras had been mainly installed at the railroad sections in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, specifically near the airport in the settlement of Jasionka near the town of Rzeszw. The airport is the main transit point for the Western armaments and ammunition going to Ukraine.
The cameras had been installed in other parts of Poland as well.

Great video with supporting maps on progress of russians along entire front.

Today's SITREP: MIG-29's

[url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ukraine-situation-report-delivery-of-polish-mig-29s-imminent][/url]

#UPDATE Slovakia will donate 13 MiG-29 warplanes to Ukraine, the Slovak prime minister said Friday, making it the second NATO member to announce such a shipment following a similar move by Poland.

📸 Two MiG 29 fighter jets take part in NATO exercises in October 2022 pic.twitter.com/RjgZmzGtUy

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 17, 2023

Customs data proves China has been supplying offensive and defensive military equipment to Russia for over a year. China has been assisted by NATO member Turkey to get the arms to the frontlines. Meanwhile Turkey has blocked US ships from the Black Sea. https://t.co/7dLEw5AykQ

— @amuse (@amuse) March 17, 2023

The Slovak Mig-29AS aircraft are 1980's builds, and they've been planning on this for over 6 months, having retired the type somewhere around August. These are also Nato-standard fulcrums, as with the Polish ones (displaying altitude in feet etc).

https://theaviationist.com/2022/08/31/slovakia-retires-mig-29-freeing-fulcrum-jets-for-ukraine/

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/retiring-mig-29as-jet-fighters-and-purchasing-mim-104-patriot-systems-how-russias-invasion-of-ukraine-is-influencing-slovak-air-force/

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Even though there are several MiG-29AS (upgraded MiG-29A version to NATO standards) currently operating in the Slovak Air Force, several sources claim that the country's air space was guarded only by a single lone pilot (as the rest of the pilots are ongoing training in the US) with only one MiG-29AS being in the active service. What's more alarming is the fact that the aircraft's only functional weapon is its gun, a GSh-30-1, as Slovakia is lacking air-to-air missiles (R-27 and R-73) used by the Fulcrum.

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Explosion reported at military base in Perevalne village, occupied Crimea

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https://liveuamap.com/en/2023/17-march-explosion-reported-at-military-base-in-perevalne