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Recall what the 'experts' were saying at the beginning of the Ukraine/Russia conflict?

"Russia is a backward country with an inferior military using antiquated hardware left over from the old failed Soviet Union ... blah, blah, blah."

Fast forward to reality. From the UK Telegraph:

America is defenseless against Russia’s new Oreshnik hypersonic missile
by Rebekah Koffler

The US military is years behind Moscow in this new form of missile warfare

Nato foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss the rapidly escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict. On the agenda, among other things, is Russia’s recent attack on Ukraine with an experimental new hypersonic missile, never used in war before. Neither the US nor the UK currently has the capability to shoot down such a missile. But what threat does the Oreshnik pose to Europe and the US?

Russia first launched the Oreshnik on Nov 21, striking a weapons production plant in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, in retaliation against Ukrainian strikes on a Russian military facility in Bryansk with US-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles. Following the launch, Putin threatened to target “military, military-industrial facilities or decision-making centres, including in Kyiv” with the Oreshnik, characterising such an attack as “comparable in strength to a nuclear strike”. President Zelensky’s residence and Ukrainian Parliament would be included under Putin’s definition of a decision-making centre.

The Oreshnik is unique. An arms-control treaty-breaking missile system, it is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) masquerading as an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM). ICBMs are designed to wage a nuclear war. The Oreshnik’s design is based on the RS-26 Rubezh, an ICBM, and its instrumentation (sensors, electronics, and the data acquisition capabilities installed on the missile) are those of the Rubezh. Flying at hypersonic speeds of Mach 11 (eleven times the speed of sound), the missile can carry either a conventional (non-nuclear) or nuclear payload. It is also a MIRV, or multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle, another signature of an ICBM. The Oreshnik fired at Dnipro carried six such warheads.

The range of this missile is between 500 km and 5000 km – enabling it to target most of Europe and the West Coast of the United States. Once launched, it can strike various targets in Europe, including Britain, in 12 to 20 minutes. In other words, the Oreshnik can do the job of an atomic ICBM, but without producing a nuclear mushroom.

Hypersonic missiles are nearly impossible to defend against because they fly many times faster than the speed of sound and, unlike ballistic missiles and slower cruise missiles, are highly maneuverable. Tracking this type of missile is highly problematic as it is designed to evade missile defence interceptors by continuously changing direction in flight.

The detection, characterisation, and tracking of an Oreshnik-type missile – a prerequisite for shooting one down – is also a very tall order. This is because early warning systems (a combination of satellites, hosted payloads in various orbits, ground-based radars, and various supporting computer software) are looking for so-called “signatures”, i.e. unique characteristics to a specific missile (shape, size, speed, heat/temperature, emissions, plume), to determine the type of missile fired. And since Oreshnik’s instrumentation is that of an ICBM, the technical means could interpret it as an ICBM.

Creating confusion – what the pre-eminent Prussian military strategist Carl Von Clausewitz called “The Fog of War” – is an integral part of Russia’s war-fighting strategy. The aim is to seek strategic advantage over the adversary by unbalancing him psychologically, while delaying and complicating his response.

By firing the Oreshnik, Putin sought to send a message to the US and Nato to stop arming Ukraine, without provoking a disproportionate escalation. To prevent a response to what could have been determined to be a nuclear attack, Moscow pre-notified Washington through a nuclear arms control channel prior to striking Ukraine with the Oreshnik. During wartime, if Russia and Nato were in a direct kinetic war, Putin would almost certainly not issue such an alert.

Russia’s growing arsenal of hypersonic missiles also includes the Kinzhal and the Zircon. As of December 2023, Russia also deployed the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), operated by the country’s Strategic Rocket Forces. Launched from an ICBM, Avangard can carry a nuclear warhead. Once the HGV detaches from the ICBM, using its own propulsion system, it glides towards its target at hypersonic speeds, while conducting sharp horizontal and vertical evasive manoeuvres.

The UK currently has no equivalent to the Oreshnik, although the UK Ministry of Defence has a programme aiming to develop “future hypersonic concepts and technologies”. The first UK domestically-produced hypersonic cruise missile is not expected until 2030.

The United States is also behind Russia (and China) when it comes to hypersonics. In an effort to catch up, the US military successfully tested, after multiple delays, the Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), known as Dark Eagle in June, from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, in Kauai, Hawaii. A June Government Accountability Office report, however, blasted the Pentagon for using last-century’s engineering techniques in at least four of its six ongoing hypersonic missile development programmes. The target dates for the US military to field hypersonic missiles are between 2027 and 2029.

Russia’s hypersonic missiles, including the Oreshnik, pose a grave threat to the UK homeland and British Armed Forces as the country’s ballistic missile defence sensor capabilities are very limited. The Royal Air Force does operate an early warning radar at Fylingdales, which is capable of detecting objects 3,000 miles into space, but the facility is hosted by British personnel on behalf of the United States. The UK has no dedicated ballistic missile interceptor of its own.

Russia is highly unlikely to strike the UK with a hypersonic missile, outside of an ongoing direct kinetic conflict between Russia and Nato. Ultimately, however, without the threat of an in-kind retaliation, Putin cannot be deterred from using hypersonic missiles to target Europe until at least 2030.

Rebekah Koffler is a strategic military intelligence analyst, formerly with the US Defense Intelligence Agency. Currently a national security consultant and freelance editorial writer, she is the author of Putin’s Playbook; Regnery 2021. Her podcast Censored But Not Silenced is available on most social media platforms @Rebekah0132

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/comment/2024/12/04/america-defenceless-against-russia-new-oreshnik-hypersonic/

RayAmerica says

An arms-control treaty-breaking missile system

What arms control treaty would that be? The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty ended when the US withdrew in 2019.

RayAmerica says

it is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) masquerading as an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM)

No shit. ALL IRBMs are ICBMs that have just been purposely limited in range. Or, ALL ICBMS are just IRBMs that have expanded range.

DUH.

But the author clearly is counting on the average reader not understanding that in order to smear Russia with 'masquerade'.

RayAmerica says

ICBMs are designed to wage a nuclear war.

Really? Then explain the ones that have chemical and biological payloads?

Jesus. This whole thing is just Deep State Newspeak blah-blah-blah for propaganda purposes.

RayAmerica says

Rebekah Koffler is a strategic military intelligence analyst, formerly with the US Defense Intelligence Agency.

There you go!

RayAmerica says

Currently a national security consultant and freelance editorial writer,

Translation: Deep State propagandist.

Next time you get something like this, please post it here: https://patrick.net/post/1344073/2022-03-11-thread-for-exposing-blatant-propaganda

RayAmerica says

Russia first launched the Oreshnik on Nov 21, striking a weapons production plant in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, in retaliation against Ukrainian strikes on a Russian military facility in Bryansk with US-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles.

So what's the problem? We have the ability to strike Russia and did? Russia has a few missiles? This is a European problem. They couldn't even strike Alaska if they wanted. They tested a rocket with no payload, conventional or otherwise. Big metal object hits ground says cave man.

Drop a MOAB over Moscow. See how tiny the paper tiger is. Again, I have no pony in this race. Both sides look stupid. We just get to test weapons and they work.

https://x.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1864804141735842253

Russia’s longtime foreign minister describes the war with the United States and how to end it.

(0:00) Is the US at War With Russia?
(12:56) Russia’s Message to the West Through Hypersonic Weapons
(17:47) Is There Conversation Happening Between Russia and the US?
(23:18) How Many Have Died in the Ukraine/Russia War?
(28:21) What Would It Take To End the War?
(36:11) What Happened to Alexei Navalny?
(39:45) Boris Johnson Wants the War to Continue
(45:43) Sanctions on Russia
(56:31) The Chinese/Russian Alliance
(1:02:18) Who Is Making Foreign Policy Decisions in the US?
(1:05:05) Biden Pushes the US Toward Nuclear War Before Trump Takes Office
(1:08:52) What’s Happening in Syria?
(1:13:08) Lavrov’s Thoughts on Trump

Remember how we were told that the Abrams Tanks were going to be a 'game changer?'

US admits much-hyped tanks failed in Ukraine

Kiev already retired its dwindling stock of M1 Abrams earlier this year

American-made M1 Abrams tanks were “not useful” to the Ukrainian military, despite being billed as a potential “game changer” in the conflict with Russia, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has admitted.

After months of requests from Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and his officials, the White House approved the transfer of 31 M1 Abrams main battle tanks – enough to equip an entire tank battalion – to Ukraine in January 2023. President Joe Biden said the tanks would help “counter Russia’s evolving tactics and strategy on the battlefield in the very near term,” while multiple US media outlets described them as a “game changer” ahead of Kiev’s planned counteroffensive against Russian forces that summer.

This was not the case, Sullivan said at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California on Saturday. Asked whether the Biden administration could have better prepared Ukraine for the counteroffensive had it supplied Kiev with more heavy weapons, he cited the Abrams tanks as an example of how not everything in America’s arsenal worked in Ukraine.

”When it comes to Abrams tanks, we sent Abrams tanks to Ukraine,” he replied. “These Abrams tank units are actually undermanned because it’s not the most useful piece of equipment for them in this fight.”

Shortly after their deployment, the Russian Defense Ministry began releasing videos of Abrams tanks burning on the battlefield. According to some estimates, as many as 20 of the 31 tanks sent to Ukraine in 2023 have since been destroyed, and Ukrainian commanders began withdrawing the rest from service earlier this year, American officials told AP.

The M1A1 variants sent to Ukraine were first stripped of their depleted uranium armor, leaving them vulnerable to Russian drones and anti-tank missiles.

One of the heaviest main battle tanks in service worldwide, the M1 Abrams weighs in at 60 tons, with the latest M1A2 variant increasing this heft to more than 73 tons. An M1 Abrams tank costs more than $450 per mile in fuel and repairs, according to a 1991 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report adjusted for inflation.

The GAO report stated that the average M1 Abrams needs its track replaced after as little as 710 miles, with engines typically suffering catastrophic “blowouts” after 350 hours of operation.

Even before Biden authorized their delivery to Ukraine, US military officials warned that the Abrams tanks would prove unsuitable for Kiev’s needs.

“The challenge with the Abrams is, it’s expensive. It’s difficult to train on. It is very difficult to sustain. It has a huge, complicated turbine engine that requires jet fuel,” US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl warned in early January 2023. “Frankly, our assessment is just that the Abrams is not the right capability at this time.”

https://www.rt.com/news/608990-abrams-tanks-failed-ukraine/

Yep, any day now the Russians will be hoisting that white flag of surrender ...

Russian Forces Reach Outskirts of Key Donetsk City of Pokrovsk – Chief Ukrainian General in Donetsk Ousted – Last Coking Coal Mine Stops Operations (VIDEOS)



As Russian Federation forces conquer territory faster than at any other point since the start of the war, the MSM had to upgrade their game, abandon most (but not all) of the narrative copes and, in an effort to get things right and fast, started doing what we have been doing here for 2 years: reading the Russian military bloggers and reporting upon it.

Now, Ukraine is about to lose one of the most important Donetsk cities it still holds, a road and rail hub vital for logistics and supply, and the last coking coal plant – in a blow to its once mighty steel industry.

Reuters reported:

“Russian forces are just 1.5 km (1 mile) outside the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk [Russian name Krasnoarmeysk] after Russian units pushed up from the south towards the road and rail hub which had a pre-war population of 60,000 people”

Russia has conquered and incorporated about 20 percent of the former Ukrainian territory.

And now, the Red Army is advancing at the fastest pace since the early days of the 2022 invasion.

As the main forces approach and encircle the town, special forces reportedly have penetrated ahead and are already in the city.

“The fall of Pokrovsk, an important logistics center for the Ukrainian military, would be one of Ukraine’s biggest military losses in months.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/12/russian-forces-reach-outskirts-key-donetsk-city-pokrovsk/

RayAmerica says

Russia has conquered and incorporated about 20 percent of the former Ukrainian territory.

And now, the Red Army is advancing at the fastest pace since the early days of the 2022 invasion.

Look at all those GAINZZZ Russian meat waves have been able to accomplish this past year!

Totally worth getting hundreds of thousands of Russians and Ukrainians killed!

socal2 says

Look at all those GAINZZZ Russian meat waves have been able to accomplish this past year!

Totally worth getting hundreds of thousands of Russians and Ukrainians killed!

socal2 says

https://bioclandestine.substack.com/p/the-biolabs-in-ukraine-are-the-deep

You all should recognize Russia’s chart of the US bio-network in Ukraine. I’ve shared it many times.

Russia allege that Soros, Obama, Clinton, Biden, USGov, NGOs, and Big Pharma, are creating bioweapons in Ukraine.

The CIA/Ukraine just assassinated the guy who made this chart.

The Russian General in charge of the Military investigation into the biolabs in Ukraine, was just blown up by an IED.

This is more confirmation that the Deep State greatly fear facing accountability for their crimes against humanity. Anyone who tries to expose this secret faces extreme resistance from the Deep State.

Now that Trump is soon about to take over, they are resorting to assassinations.

Well, that's not quite how it happened. When Northern Ireland was kept back in the empire the Demographics heavily favored Protestants who didn't want to be in the Republic. Also, in WW1 the Brits were faced by a Protestant Revolt: "Either we'll fight in France for you, or we'll fight in Ireland against you." So the Brits promised Ulster stayed in the Union while the troops raised served in WW1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5Mtidqo4vg

Now Ulster is more conservative, anti-Paki, and anti-abortion than the Republic, including the Catholics there.

I find it hard to imagine proddies in Northern Ireland fighting against Britain.

Anyway, at this point the Catholics are more numerous:

Results from the 2021 census released on Thursday showed that 45.7% of inhabitants are Catholic or from a Catholic background compared with 43.48% from Protestant or other Christian backgrounds.

So why is the north not allowed a democratic secession from Britain?

Patrick says

So why is the north not allowed a democratic secession from Britain?

A surprisingly large number of Catholics Don't want it. If it was 1:1, it would have happened long ago. Once it was the better welfare, now it's the CHEAPER cost of living but wider job choices.

Also, Stormmond is a flipping mess and nothing gets done.

A similar pattern: Rich Protestant Factory owners encouraged mass migration of Irish Catholics into the north to keep wages down.
Then sold out the Protestant middle-and-working classes down the road. Just like the US since the late 60s. One of the reasons the DUP replaced the "RINO" old Protestant Parties.

Patrick says

I find it hard to imagine proddies in Northern Ireland fighting against Britain.

We forget in ye olden times the Catholic-Protestant rivalry was more passionate than support for the British Empire.

My Great-grandfather was a Prussian Protestant (Reformed?) who threw rocks at Churches, and would cross the street to let Catholic Priests know what he thought of them and their middleman meddling with the Word.

The Knownothings and the NYC Riots including Orange-Green Riots were a feature of the USA in the 19th Century. As was the Fenian Raider attempted invasion of Canada.

Trump's father was a KKK member against Irish Catholic nepotism and control of the NYC Civil Service, not because of Blacks (who didn't come in large numbers until after WW2! In the 1940s the Bronx and Brooklyn and all the burroughs were 90-95% White. Only Haarlem had a Black Plurality)