"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (4 Viewers)

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"Agnostic?" Someone at L3Harris really wanted it to spell Vampire.
 
On October 10, Russian forces executed nine Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered in the Kursk region, according to the Ukrainian monitoring group DeepState.

The incident reportedly took place near the settlement of Zelenyi Shlyakh, with the group describing it as a gross violation of international law.

According to analysts, the Ukrainian soldiers believed they were advancing into a relatively secure area but unexpectedly encountered Russian forces. After engaging in a firefight, the Ukrainians, with limited ammunition, surrendered to the Russian troops.

In response, Ukraine's Human Rights Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, condemned the incident as a severe breach of the Geneva Conventions, which govern the treatment of prisoners of war. "These actions are a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war," Lubinets stated on his Telegram channel.

Lubinets further confirmed that official letters regarding the incident have been sent to both the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), calling for accountability for what he described as another war crime committed by Russian forces. "Russia is a terrorist state that disregards all rules and customs of war. The international community must not turn a blind eye to these crimes," he added.

Russian troops execute nine surrendered Ukrainian soldiers

On October 10, Russian forces executed nine Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered in the Kursk region, according to the Ukrainian monitoring group DeepState. The incident reportedly took place near the settlement of Zelenyi Shlyakh, with the group describing it as a gross violation of...
defence-blog.com
 

Germany will no longer provide heavy combat vehicles to Ukraine, according to reports from the German newspaper Bild, which cites an internal document from the German Ministry of Defense.

The transfer of such equipment, which included Leopard 2 tanks, Marder infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), and Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000) howitzers, has reportedly been completed.

According to Bild, the German Ministry of Defense does not believe Ukraine will be able to conduct a successful counteroffensive in the near future, despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's efforts to continue pushing against Russian forces. This perspective comes at a critical time, as Ukraine's counteroffensive, which began in the summer of 2023, has faced significant challenges, with progress slower than initially hoped.


Germany halts supply of heavy combat vehicles to Ukraine

Germany will no longer provide heavy combat vehicles to Ukraine, according to reports from the German newspaper Bild, which cites an internal document from the German Ministry of Defense. The transfer of such equipment, which included Leopard 2 tanks, Marder infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs)...
defence-blog.com
 
SaparotRob said:
That thing ain't going anywhere.
Click to expand...

... especially since its crew has been debarked and used as an armored assault unit:


Russia's military has formed a mechanized assault group, codenamed "Fregat," using the crew of its only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, according to a report from Militarnyi.

According to the report, the battalion is composed of personnel from military unit No. 78987.

The formation of this battalion has raised questions about Russia's ongoing personnel shortages in the conflict. Initially deployed in the Kharkiv region, the "Fregat" battalion has since been relocated to the Pokrovsk direction.

The battalion's role in the conflict became more evident after it was revealed that one of the sailors from the Admiral Kuznetsov had gone missing in July during an assault on the border village of Sotnytskyi Kozachok in Kharkiv. The sailor, also from unit No. 78987, was never found.

Russia forms assault group from aircraft carrier crew

Russia's military has formed a mechanized assault group, codenamed "Fregat," using the crew of its only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, according to a report from Militarnyi. According to the report, the battalion is composed of personnel from military unit No. 78987. The formation of...
defence-blog.com
 
SaparotRob said:
"Agnostic?" Someone at L3Harris really wanted it to spell Vampire.
Click to expand...

This weapon has such an interesting development history, and it's weird to see it being used as an ersatz SAM.

VAMPIRE uses APKWS, which is a Hydra 70 with a mid-body guidance kit and semi-active laser homing. And Hydra 70 is really just a modernised version of the 2.75 inch FFAR, which was originally designed (in the early 1940s) as an air-to-air weapon.

So, the progression has gone: unguided air-to-air weapon -> unguided air-to-ground weapon -> guided air-to-ground weapon -> guided surface-to-air weapon.

The good news for Ukraine is that there are plenty of compatible rockets around. Canada announced in September that it was donating about 80,000 rocket motors from the CRV7s it was planning to decommission, along with a couple of thousand warheads.

If this really works well as a short range SAM against drones, the cost per kill is going to be pretty low compared to more specalised missiles. It might also be a much more cost effective use than lobbing volleys of unguided rockets from helicopter pop-up attacks.
 
This looks fairly straight forward: There's varying levels of support from NATO nations, but the most support is from the countries that are right next to Russia since they're afraid of Russia deciding to become emboldened and expand into their territory.

Snowman said:

View: https://x.com/igorsushko/status/1845877517498171720
Click to expand...
While I could be wrong, it doesn't sound to be a bizarre claime: It would make it easier to track the targets they intend to destroy.
 
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