The Ukraine Situation

[gnirtS]

Really does look like Russia is retreating from Kyiv big time.
Sadly appears to be a scorched earth genocidal retreat with huge amounts of looting (look at the CCTV from a Belarus post office showing them posting back trophies and the burnt out supply truck full of stolen washing machines).
Sentinel is showing the main SU-25 base in Belarus has now emptied as well.

Of course a likely problem is this lot will be heading round to Donbass to reinforce that rather than disappearing totally.

What Ukraine really seems to need are mid range air defence. Starstreak and Stinger are all very good, especially for helis and CAS, but ultimately lack the range and altitude to take on the fast jets at more of a stand-off range.

Part of me does worry if Russia is pulling far away rapidly because its planning to unleash something very nasty on the area too.

[pg1610]

Really does look like Russia is retreating from Kyiv big time.

What Ukraine really seems to need are mid range air defence. Starstreak and Stinger are all very good, especially for helis and CAS, but ultimately lack the range and altitude to take on the fast jets at more of a stand-off range.

SU-35 down today, from all the notes here whilst its states shot down (Downed) it is still unclear if this is the case or it had tech issues,

https://theaviationist.com/2022/04/03/f ... n-ukraine/

[seven]

With the later (unverified) footage of it coming down, it's safe to say either it was shot down, or had a TWA800 esque failure of some kind!

[gnirtS]

https://twitter.com/AslanBozkurt209/sta ... 8669648896 its claimed this footage is it coming down.
Assuming its accurate, the tech issue was it was on fire so looks like it was hit.
FWIW the pilot ejected, minor injuries and has been captured.

[gnirtS]

Far more sinister today was an Op-Ed in a state controlled media outlet (Ria Novosti):

https://twitter.com/francska1/status/15 ... 4481788930

Effectively calls for the entire elimination of the people, ethnic group, culture and country. Its exceedingly similar to Nazi Germany in wording.

"However, besides the elite, a significant part of the masses of the people, who are passive nazis, are accomplices to Nazism. They have supported the Nazi authorities and indulged them..."

"The name Ukraine can seemingly not be retained as the title of any fully denazified state formation on the territory liberated from the Nazi regime"

"Denazification is inevitably also deukrainisation – a rejection of the large-scale artificial inflation of the ethnic element of self-identification of the population of the territories of the historical Malorossiya and Novorossiya begun by the Soviet authorities"

"The Banderite elite must be liquidated, its reeducation is impossible. The social 'swamp' which actively and passively supports it must undergo the hardships of war and digest the experience as a historical lesson and atonement"

The full article is worse. Full translation article is here: https://twitter.com/bratanov/status/1510913121669550080

Remember due to the outlet publishing it would NOT have been released without an official government approval.

[C24]

Background info

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagner_Group

[pg1610]

Some IL-76 losses, note some will have been WFU airframes and/or may have been destroyed bu Ukrainian forces before the airfield was over run

https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/stat ... 4912636929

Edit now I'd as 76322 which has not flown for 10 years apparently

[slogen51]

Jeremy Corbyn avoiding the word ' Russia '

The horrific discovery of mass graves in Bucha must be investigated and those responsible held accountable.

There must be an urgent and immediate ceasefire in Ukraine to end the bloodshed that has already taken so many lives.

https://mobile.twitter.com/jeremycorbyn ... 4292600833

[gnirtS]

He won't mention Russia by name, certainly won't condemn and issues statements that assume both parties are guilty and need to stop.
Standard response from him and others. (Same tactic India uses in the UNSC)

[pg1610]

https://theaviationist.com/2022/03/30/u ... rn-europe/

Forces News commented that the aircraft have moved to Spangdahiem(sp?)

Sorry (very) late response,

the article in Forces news is about the USN EA-18G`s rather than the USMC F/A-18 C/D`s
these are believed to be in Poland hence the return of the 494FS to Lakenheath although I have noted a few USMC C130 flights into Lithuania so they might be split between two bases ?

[Rhubarb]

Listening to bbc5 live news about Boris Johnsons visit to Ukraine to personally meet with their inspiring president ! Wow what a brave move by Boris . I'm not sure how many people Boris has in his team ? One wonders how this was done ? Hercules, C17, Boris in the back of a two seater Typhoon ? Perhaps an Osprey with the sas ? A C17 souronded by a fighter armada from NATO air forces, dilberatlly inviting a possible Russian Air Force attack thus allowing NATO into the game ? The Russian radar operators assuming they could see them must have been spitting feathers How would you all have planned the sortie ?

[NorvilleRogers]

Listening to bbc5 live news about Boris Johnsons visit to Ukraine to personally meet with their inspiring president ! Wow what a brave move by Boris . I'm not sure how many people Boris has in his team ? One wonders how this was done ? Hercules, C17, Boris in the back of a two seater Typhoon ? Perhaps an Osprey with the sas ? A C17 souronded by a fighter armada from NATO air forces, dilberatlly inviting a possible Russian Air Force attack thus allowing NATO into the game ? The Russian radar operators assuming they could see them must have been spitting feathers How would you all have planned the sortie ?

He flew in on one of the Titan A321s in the VIP scheme.

[Nighthawke]

Nothing unusual really - several other heads of state and VIPs have already been to Ukraine and not BJ's first visit either IIRC.

[Kurnass]

From next Wednesday New Zealand is gonna supply one C-130 to Europe to fly supplies to arm Ukraine. Some personnel being stationed in Germany (Ramstein?).

[iainpeden]

Ukraine:Where's the line?

BBC Radio 4 tonight at 8.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0016rvz

Some informed discussion, I suspect.

[welshandy]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61239075

I'd like to know what our Government think they could provide, a few Hawk T1's perhaps???

[cat1]

the hand-me-down of aircraft?

[pg1610]

She doesn't say for the UK to send planes just the west in general,so ex Eastern block countries who have similar types to those room by the UKAF,

That said the UK,USA, Germany France etc could look to buy ex Soviets types from a 3rd country to supply Ukraine in the same way the UK is currently trying to buy up certain types of ammunition to use in Ukrainian systems

[d555]

It's all very well supplying more aircraft but they won't fly themselves. Does the Ukraine have enough combat capable pilots to fly them? Or will the west supply the crews as well?

[HighFlyer21]

Lizz Truss really is an absolute gaslighting hawk in this issue. I really cringe that every time some woman is in the current governmental cabinet they always like to portray themselves as an "Iron lady".

Giving all these hand me downs to at cost (to Ukraine) to to make the weapons industrial complex lick their lips at all the future contract to replace them all just make me see the Ukrainian as nothing more than cannon fodder for the profits of the western militaries.

You'd thing that if Ukraine means so much to the west that not supplying them in order to reduce or to actually end the conflict would be the aim of the game but nope, it seems drip feeding the Ukrainians old, out of date, scraps from the west to prolong the war is the only objective that I can see from all of this at the moment.

Utter scam.