"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again."

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced over $700 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine on Wednesday while visiting Kyiv.

The State Department said the assistance will "continue to support Ukraine and its people against Russia's war of aggression," according to a press release.

The aid package includes $325 million to support Ukraine's energy infrastructure, approximately $290 million in humanitarian assistance and over $103 million to "address landmines and unexploded ordnance left behind by Russia's forces," according to the release.


 
''...Asked about the risk of escalation, the US secretary of state added: "We've now seen this action of Russia acquiring ballistic missiles from Iran, which will further empower their aggression in Ukraine. So if anyone is taking escalatory action, it would appear to be Mr Putin and Russia..."

 
''...Asked about the risk of escalation, the US secretary of state added: "We've now seen this action of Russia acquiring ballistic missiles from Iran, which will further empower their aggression in Ukraine. So if anyone is taking escalatory action, it would appear to be Mr Putin and Russia..."


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''...The escalator here is Putin. Putin has escalated with the shipment of missiles from Iran. We see a new axis of Russia, Iran and North Korea." Lammy urged China "not to throw in its lot" with what he called "a group of renegades".

British government sources indicated that a decision had already been made to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow cruise missiles on targets inside Russia, although it is not expected to be publicly announced on Friday when Starmer meets Biden in Washington DC
...''

 
So I'm watching yet more footage of slow moving Ukrainian drones flying through Russian airspace. Maybe I was wrong about using the Warthog.

The drones that hit Moscow a few days ago had to fly through the exact same AAA/AAM curtain that would, putatively, kill any A-10s. There's solid reasons for the Ukrainians not wanting A-10s but given Ukr drones penetrations, I bet A-10s could operate without excessive losses.
 
There are countless instances where Ukrainian A-10s would have raped Russian forces without challenge.

Aside from the fact that the A-10 can deliver precision standoff weapons, there have been situations such as Russian troops holed up in a block of flats that were barraged by FPV drones or an M2 Bradley.
Russian AFVs darting across open terrain without support, that were dodging FPV drones and artillery.

The list goes on, but as it stands, Russia has lost it's ability to operate with a well trained, supported and disciplined function.
 
The drones that hit Moscow a few days ago had to fly through the exact same AAA/AAM curtain that would, putatively, kill any A-10s. There's solid reasons for the Ukrainians not wanting A-10s but given Ukr drones penetrations, I bet A-10s could operate without excessive losses.

It rather depends on the RCS of the drones. Small, mostly-plastic, drones probably don't have a large RCS and may be harder to track than a traditional combat aircraft.

There's also the cost ratio challenge (something that the West is wrestling with, too). Do you shoot your multi-million dollar/ruble/pound/euro missile at a drone that only cost a few hundred and which can be replaced easily? Yes, that drone causes a lot of damage but, equally, shooting off a limited stock of SAMs against cheap drone targets will quickly leave your country undefensible...at which point, the F-16s (or A-10s) CAN come in with impunity.
 

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