War Invasion of Ukraine News Megathread - Thread is only for articles and discussion of articles, general discussion thread is still in Happenings.

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President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that the United States will impose sanctions “far beyond” the ones that the United States imposed in 2014 following the annexation of the Crimean peninsula.

“This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Biden said in a White House speech, signaling a shift in his administration’s position. “We will continue to escalate sanctions if Russia escalates,” he added.

Russian elites and their family members will also soon face sanctions, Biden said, adding that “Russia will pay an even steeper price” if Moscow decides to push forward into Ukraine. Two Russian banks and Russian sovereign debt will also be sanctioned, he said.

Also in his speech, Biden said he would send more U.S. troops to the Baltic states as a defensive measure to strengthen NATO’s position in the area.

Russia shares a border with Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

A day earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to go into the separatist Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine after a lengthy speech in which he recognized the two regions’ independence.

Western powers decried the move and began to slap sanctions on certain Russian individuals, while Germany announced it would halt plans to go ahead with the Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

At home, Biden is facing bipartisan pressure to take more extensive actions against Russia following Putin’s decision. However, a recent poll showed that a majority of Americans believe that sending troops to Ukraine is a “bad idea,” and a slim minority believes it’s a good one.

All 27 European Union countries unanimously agreed on an initial list of sanctions targeting Russian authorities, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, and EU foreign affairs head Josep Borell claimed the package “will hurt Russia … a lot.”

Earlier Tuesday, Borell asserted that Russian troops have already entered the Donbas region, which comprises Donetsk and Lugansk, which are under the control of pro-Russia groups since 2014.

And on Tuesday, the Russian Parliament approved a Putin-back plan to use military force outside of Russia’s borders as Putin further said that Russia confirmed it would recognize the expanded borders of Lugansk and Donetsk.

“We recognized the states,” the Russian president said. “That means we recognized all of their fundamental documents, including the constitution, where it is written that their [borders] are the territories at the time the two regions were part of Ukraine.”

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Putin said that Ukraine is “not interested in peaceful solutions” and that “every day, they are amassing troops in the Donbas.”

Meanwhile, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday morning again downplayed the prospect of a Russian invasion and proclaimed: “There will be no war.”

“There will not be an all-out war against Ukraine, and there will not be a broad escalation from Russia. If there is, then we will put Ukraine on a war footing,” he said in a televised address.

The White House began to signal that they would shift their own position on whether it’s the start of an invasion.

“We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia’s latest invasion into Ukraine,” said Jon Finer, the White House deputy national security adviser in public remarks. “An invasion is an invasion and that is what is underway.”

For weeks, Western governments have been claiming Moscow would invade its neighbor after Russia gathered some 150,000 troops along the countries’ borders. They alleged that the Kremlin would attempt to come up with a pretext to attack, while some officials on Monday said Putin’s speech recognizing the two regions was just that.

But Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Tuesday that Russia’s “latest invasion” of Ukraine is threatening stability in the region, but he asserted that Putin can “still avoid a full blown, tragic war of choice.”

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I doubt Putin will ever be toppled by anything the West does. If he does get taken out it will be from inside Russia, and he will just get replaced by someone just like him or worse.

Russia can never be a Western style democracy.

All that video tells me is that Russia shouldn't be a fuckoff huge country like it is. Seeing as it is basically just 10-20 countries only being held together by threat of force. Why exactly does Russia need control of a bunch of areas populated by a bunch of non-Russians such as Yakuts in order to exist? Why exactly shouldn't Russia just be the areas actually inhabited by Russians ie: the areas surrounding St. Petersburg and Moscow? If I had to take a guess they're scared shitless that if they lost control of areas like Dagestan/Yakutia/Kaliningrad the ethnics might start getting uppity and unfriendly to the muscovites.
 
All that video tells me is that Russia shouldn't be a fuckoff huge country like it is. Seeing as it is basically just 10-20 countries only being held together by threat of force. Why exactly does Russia need control of a bunch of areas populated by a bunch of non-Russians such as Yakuts in order to exist? Why exactly shouldn't Russia just be the areas actually inhabited by Russians ie: the areas surrounding St. Petersburg and Moscow? If I had to take a guess they're scared shitless that if they lost control of areas like Dagestan/Yakutia/Kaliningrad the ethnics might start getting uppity and unfriendly to the muscovites.
I always had a similar line of thinking when it comes to Russia. They are too disorganized and prone to corruption to maintain such a cluterfuck. Not sure why they even want places like Chechnya, Karafuto Island or Konigsberg. They could have curried international favor, saved money and reshaped their awlful demographics repatriatiating their USSR era land grabs and tossing their dead weight like Dagestanis and Chechens. It's like a classic hoarder screaming about how much money their mold encrusted junk is worth.
 
I doubt Putin will ever be toppled by anything the West does. If he does get taken out it will be from inside Russia, and he will just get replaced by someone just like him or worse.

Russia can never be a Western style democracy.


Russias firm rule is going to last longer than the EUs technocratic coalition

Especially since most of the EU is shooting themselves in the foot by eschewing fossil fuels and nuclear fuel without a reliable replacement.

I always had a similar line of thinking when it comes to Russia. They are too disorganized and prone to corruption to maintain such a cluterfuck. Not sure why they even want places like Chechnya, Karafuto Island or Konigsberg. They could have curried international favor, saved money and reshaped their awlful demographics repatriatiating their USSR era land grabs and tossing their dead weight like Dagestanis and Chechens. It's like a classic hoarder screaming about how much money their mold encrusted junk is worth.
All countries are corrupt. It is in human nature.

Western countries do it in a more sophisticated way, and the laws/institutions/lobbying means that mainly the wealthy partake in it. Resulting in much better profits (without paying off every vested interest)
 
Russias firm rule is going to last longer than the EUs technocratic coalition

Especially since most of the EU is shooting themselves in the foot by eschewing fossil fuels and nuclear fuel without a reliable replacement.
Ironically this conflict is creating momentum to dump the grass roots environmentalists at the curb considering how Nuclear energy is gaining popularity and even the cucks in Germany canceled shutting down their last Nuclear plants while sending teams to evaluate their retired plants for serviceability.
 
I'd say staging ground in Belarus should be fair game too. Belarus brought this upon themselves by allowing Russia to strike from their territory, they're directly involved, they have no right to be outraged if Russian shit starts blowing up on their bases.

I'm of the opinion that this MUST happen. Allowing Russian forces to safely gather just beyond the border to reinforce the frontline from their side as they lob long-range missiles at Ukraine might very well be the reason Ukraine eventually exhausts its capabilities and loses. They should've been given long-range missiles to strike these targets from the start.
That's my layman perspective, anyway.
I think that's overstated, the really strategic targets aren't just beyond the border they're deep inside Russia. Ultimately men and material are going to always get from Russia to Ukraine, the same way supplies from western Europe get to Ukraine.

What stopped the Russians from driving on Kyiv wasn't a load of Steven Segal types firing NLAW's at tanks, it was two entire brigades of 152mm guns firing until their barrels were close to melting. The barrels on those guns have probably long since been shipped to someplace like Czechia and gotten re-rifled, and there is an endless supply of artillery ammunition going to Ukraine.

The Ukrainians can essentially do what the Germans were trying to do at Verdun in WWI, fight an artillery battle that costs the Ukrainians shells and the Russians men.

It's made worse by the fact that Russia still can't clothe or feed their troops. Ukrainian soldiers are well paid and well equipped. Nobody is stealing their rations, or extorting them for their pay, or forcing them to work as slave labour on some farm. Ultimately it's going to be last man standing, and the Ukrainians are looking pretty good.
 

Moscow, Tehran Advance Plans for Iranian-Designed Drone Facility in Russia​

The two countries are deepening a military partnership that has alarmed the West​


Moscow and Tehran are moving ahead with plans to build a new factory in Russia that could make at least 6,000 Iranian-designed drones for the war in Ukraine, the latest sign of deepening cooperation between the two nations, said officials from a country aligned with the U.S.

As part of their emerging military alliance, the officials said, a high-level Iranian delegation flew to Russia in early January to visit the planned site for the factory and hammer out details to get the project up-and-running. The two countries are aiming to build a faster drone that could pose new challenges for Ukrainian air defenses, the officials said.

Tehran has already provided Moscow with hundreds of drones it has used to hit military and civilian targets in Ukraine, U.S. officials have said. And the Biden administration has warned that Russia and Iran are developing a “full-fledged defense partnership.” The White House says Moscow was training Iranian pilots to fly Russian jet fighters, with the intent of sending Tehran those jets by year’s end.

In December, the White House warned that Moscow and Tehran were considering whether to build a joint drone-production line in Russia.

Now, the U.S.-aligned officials said, the talks have morphed into concrete plans with the Jan. 5 visit to the Russian town of Yelabuga, about 600 miles east of Moscow. They toured the empty site where leaders from the two nations are planning to build a new factory that can produce at least 6,000 drones in the coming years, they said.

The officials said the Iranian delegation was led by Brig. Gen. Abdollah Mehrabi, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization, and Ghassem Damavandian, the chief executive of Iran’s Quds Aviation Industry, a key defense manufacturer that the U.S. says is central to developing and building the country’s drones.

Russian and Iranian officials didn’t respond to requests for comment.

So far, Iran has provided Russia mostly with so-called suicide drones, known as the Shahed-136, that contain a modest amount of explosives that detonate when the unmanned vehicles crash into their targets, U.S. and Ukrainian officials say.

Russia has used the drones to target Ukraine’s power grid in an attempt to cripple the country’s electricity supply during the cold winter and undermine morale. Over time, Ukraine’s air defenses have succeeded in largely neutralizing the drone threat. The Shahed-136 is a slow-moving and loud drone with propeller engines, making it relatively easy to spot and shoot down. Ukraine has shot down more than 540 drones since they started appearing over the country’s skies last fall, according to the nation’s air force.

Now, the officials said, Iran is working with Russia to develop a Shahed-136 model expected to include a new engine to make it fly faster and farther. The new factory would produce the advanced drone. That could pose new challenges for Ukraine and other nations that could be targets for the drones.

Ground hasn’t been broken on the factory, so the production line isn’t expected to have an immediate impact on the balance of power in Ukraine, where signs point to Russia mounting a new offensive in the coming weeks.


The drone factory is part of a $1 billion deal between Russia and Moscow, the officials said. Moscow has provided Iran with weapons seized on the battlefield in Ukraine that they are trying to reverse engineer, the officials said.

The U.S. has warned that Iran has agreed to provide Moscow with ballistic missiles. So far, U.S. and allied officials said, there is no indication that Tehran has sent such missiles to Russia.

Russia and Iran continue to develop closer ties on various fronts. The two countries recently connected their interbank payment messaging systems, paving the way for all Iranian banks to transact with Russian lenders. Both countries face strict international sanctions on their banking industries.

In an apparent coincidence, on Jan. 6, the day after Iranian officials flew to Russia to discuss the drone factory, the U.S. imposed economic sanctions on Mr. Damavandian, the Iranian aviation executive accused by America of overseeing Iran’s supply of drones to Russia and training of Russian forces to use the weapons. The U.S. imposed economic sanctions on Brig. Gen. Merhabi in 2021, when America accused the Iranian military commander of building and buying drone engines for the country’s fleet of unmanned vehicles.

Benoit Faucon, Ann M. Simmons and Aresu Eqbali contributed to this article.

Write to Dion Nissenbaum at Dion.Nissenbaum@wsj.com and Warren P. Strobel at Warren.Strobel@wsj.com

 
@Useful_Mistake Not quite sure why I can't reply to your post.... However the Iranian and Russian defense industry is extremely reliant on western consumer electronics. eg their state of art drone uses a canon 250 as it's main sensor.

They might be able to manufacture the airframes, motors, warheads etc for drones, but they're going to struggle with a guidance system that uses anything other than simple base station command using commercial frequencies. The Ukrainians are getting a lot of the leftover ECM from Iraq and Afghan so I'm not sure this is going to be any biggie.
 
@Useful_Mistake Not quite sure why I can't reply to your post....
My post is too long. Use this:
Screenshot 2023-02-06 000111.png
 
What stopped the Russians from driving on Kyiv wasn't a load of Steven Segal types firing NLAW's at tanks
I would hope nobody on either side is dumb enough to want Steven Segal in their military given the fact that the guy is a huge pussy and fraud. But Putin and Lukashenko both hang out with him so who knows. Maybe he's actually pulling Putins strings and they really invaded Ukraine so Segal can take Zelenskys acting gigs 🤔.
 
I would hope nobody on either side is dumb enough to want Steven Segal in their military given the fact that the guy is a huge pussy and fraud. But Putin and Lukashenko both hang out with him so who knows. Maybe he's actually pulling Putins strings and they really invaded Ukraine so Segal can take Zelenskys acting gigs 🤔.
jannies no ban pls this is funny

Speaking of Seagal, way back I saw this photo from Ukraine of some dude who looks suspiciously similar:
ZBYObqz.pngpDK2Ffi.png

He's already there boys, the Ghost of Hollywood Career.
 
From some Turkish newspaper literally no one has ever heard of and doesn't even have a wiki entry:

Allegation: Ukraine and Russia casualties according to Mossad

As the first anniversary of the Russian-Ukrainian war approaches, the war casualties allegedly revealed by Israeli intelligence reveal the horrific dimensions of the war.


According to the claim, the field data for January 14, 2023, based on Israeli intelligence, are listed as follows:

RUSSIA:

418,000 troops (plus 3,500,000 reservists) and a growing number of Wagner mercenaries:

23 Aircraft

56 Helicopter

200 (S)UAV

889 Tanks and armored vehicles

427 Howitzer (Artillery systems)

12 Air defense systems

18,480 Dead

44,500 Injured

323 Captive

UKRAINE:

With 734,000 troops (plus 100,000 reservists) and NATO officers, soldiers and mercenaries on the ground, Ukraine's losses are as follows:

302 airplanes

212 Helicopters

2,750 (S)UAV

6,320 Tanks and armored vehicles

7,360 Howitzer (Artillery systems)

497 Air defense system

157,000 dead

234,000 wounded

17.230 Captives

234 Dead - NATO military trainers (US and UK)

2.458 Dead - NATO soldiers (Germany, Poland, Lithuania, ...)

5.360 dead - Mercenaries

(Agencies)

I mean if this is the case, it would make 0 sense to keep funding this war, honestly
 
Archive

RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, FEBRUARY 4, 2023​

Feb 4, 2023 - Press ISW
6a151fd0f0c6ea0990858bc2c100740f3cc64982.jpg


Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, February 4, 2023
Kateryna Stepanenko, Riley Bailey, Grace Mappes, Angela Howard, and Frederick W. Kagan
February 4, 7:15 pm ET
Click here to see ISW’s interactive map of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This map is updated daily alongside the static maps present in this report.
Russian decisive offensive operations are unlikely to target Zaporizhia City from the western Donetsk–Zaporizhia frontline as the Russian military continues to prepare for an offensive in western Luhansk Oblast.
Advisor to the exiled Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andryushenko, stated that Russian soldiers in Mariupol are telling residents that the Russian military ordered offensive operations against Vuhledar, areas southwest of Bakhmut, Zaporizhia City and Zaporizhia Oblast.[1] Andryushenko added that Russia is also building up forces at barracks and settlements on roads leading to frontline positions, and that Russia had brought an extra 10,000–15,000 troops to Mariupol and its outskirts.[2] Andryushenko noted the Russian forces reportedly have 30,000 troops in the greater Mariupol area. ISW continues to assess that Russia is concentrating troops and military equipment to stage a decisive offensive on the western Luhansk Oblast and Bakhmut areas.
Western and Ukrainian military officials have repeatedly noted that Russian forces are likely setting conditions to reach the Luhansk and Donetsk oblast borders — an objective that Russian Chief of General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov had also outlined on December 22.[3] ISW continues to observe Russian transfers of military equipment and elite units and the preparations of logistics in occupied Luhansk Oblast that support Western, Ukrainian, and Russian forecasts for the western Luhansk Oblast–Bakhmut offensive.[4] Russian forces are also intensifying attacks on Bakhmut while neglecting frontlines around Donetsk City.[5] The Ukrainian military has reported that Russian forces have not massed a powerful enough strike group to conduct an offensive in the Zaporizhia direction.[6]
Russian sources have been claiming Russian forces have been making territorial gains in Zaporizhia Oblast in late January, claims that ISW assesses were likely an information operation aimed at dispersing Ukrainian forces ahead of the decisive offensive in the east.[7] Andryushenko had previously stated that Russian officials were restricting Mariupol residents from accessing non-Russian information and were misrepresenting the situation on the frontlines, so Russian forces spreading rumors about an attack on Zaporizhia City may be a continuation of such information operations.[8] Andryushenko has also consistently reported increases of Russian forces in Mariupol throughout different stages of the war and noted that Russian forces are using the city as a military base due to its proximity to Russia.[9]
Russia has not shown the capacity to sustain the multiple major offensive operations that would be necessary to simultaneously reach the Donetsk Oblast administrative borders and take Zaporizhia City. Andryushenko’s reported Russian troop concentration of 30,000 servicemen in the Mariupol area is not sufficient to attack Zaporizhia, a city of roughly three-quarters of a million people, while continuing offensive operations to encircle Bakhmut and launching a new major attack in Luhansk Oblast. Russian conventional forces, reserves, and Wagner forces have committed tens of thousands of troops to the effort to seize Bakhmut already, reportedly suffering many thousands of casualties in that effort.[10] Bakhmut had a pre-war population of slightly over 70,000.
The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has launched a series of efforts to restructure and consolidate the mismatched blend of irregular forces supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine into Russia’s conventional military forces. A Russian MoD map published on February 3 included occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia oblasts in the Southern Military District’s (SMD) area of responsibility.[11] The SMD press service also announced that the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Militias are integrating into the Russian Armed Forces.[12] The UK MoD assessed on February 4 that integration of occupied Ukrainian territories into the SMD zone likely follows Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu‘s January 17 reform announcement about the formation of “self-sufficient force groupings” in Ukraine.[13] The UK MoD further assessed that these integration efforts aim to integrate occupied territories into Russia's long-term strategic posture but are unlikely to generate an impact on combat operations in the near term. ISW has also previously assessed that the Kremlin’s effort to reconstitute the Russian Armed Forces is a long-term commitment in its preparations both for a protracted war and to rebuild Russia’s conventional military might generally.[14]
The Russian MoD might be taking some steps to integrate volunteer battalions into its framework. A prominent Russian milblogger stated on February 4 that the Union of Volunteers of Donbas military units elected to create a single Russian Armed Forces Volunteer Corps from Russian Armed Forces volunteer units.[15] A DNR Telegram channel claimed on February 2 that Russian officials coerced mobilized miners into taking military oaths to Russia despite months of prior service.[16] Russian media outlet TASS also reported on February 4 that the Russian government expanded military medical commissions’ mandate to provide care for volunteer formations as well.[17]
The Russian MoD may be rushing to integrate and professionalize irregular forces into its conventional structure while Chief of the Russian General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov has the favor of Russian President Vladimir Putin.[18] Russian irregular forces in Ukraine include contract soldiers, mobilized soldiers, the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics‘ (DNR and LNR) forces, volunteer battalions, Russian Combat Army Reserve (BARS) forces, Cossack and Chechen units, and Wagner Group mercenaries. These formations have different objectives, limitations, pre-requisites, hierarchies, and legal statuses. The Russian MoD has initiated several professionalization efforts since Gerasimov’s appointment as the Commander of the Joint Grouping of Forces in Ukraine on January 11, and it is logical that the Russian MoD would seek to cohere the current odd mix of forces into a more traditional structure.[19] These integration efforts coincide with the launching of decisive offensive operations, however, and will likely generate short-term disruptions and pushback among units needed for those operations. Undertaking complex structural and administrative changes while launching major offensive operations is an unusual step, however appropriate the changes. Gerasimov likely feels that he has a limited window to make changes to Russian forces before the impossibility of achieving the grandiose objectives he has apparently been set causes him to lose Putin’s favor once again.
Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin is likely overcompensating for his declining influence by continuing to frame himself as the sole victor in the Bakhmut area and attempting to leverage his remaining influence online. Prigozhin responded to a question on February 4 about rumors of a new Russian offensive by comparing Wagner Group forces’ battle strategy to a chess game in which players must “hit [their opponents’] head with a chessboard.”[20] Prigozhin also called for Russian authorities to investigate US-based Russian-language international media outlet RTVI for disseminating “slanderous information,” one of many recent calls for Russian officials to take action based on his demands alone.[21] Select Russian milbloggers no longer flock to Prigozhin’s defense, however. One Russian milblogger, for example, characterized Prigozhin as a “brilliant troll” and claimed that DNR and LNR mobilized forces suffer significant casualties on the entire Donbas frontline without sufficient support while Wagner Group forces concentrated their efforts around Bakhmut.[22]
Russia and Ukraine conducted a prisoner of war (POW) exchange on February 4, exchanging 63 Russian POWs for 116 Ukrainian POWs.[23] The Russian MoD claimed that the Russian POWs included personnel of an unspecified “sensitive category,” and the MoD credited the United Arab Emirates leadership for mediating the exchange. A Russian milblogger expressed continued frustration at uneven Russo–Ukrainian POW exchanges.[24]
Key Takeaways
  • A Russian decisive offensive operation is unlikely to target Zaporizhia City from the western Donetsk–Zaporizhia frontline.
  • Russian forces have not shown the capacity to sustain the multiple simultaneous large-scale offensive operations that would be necessary to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk Oblast and seize Zaporizhia City.
  • The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has launched a series of efforts to restructure and consolidate the mismatched blend of irregular forces supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine into Russia’s conventional military forces.
  • The Russian MoD’s decision to undertake significant structural reform while preparing for a major offensive in eastern Ukraine likely represents an effort by Russian Chief of the General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov to complete reforms while he has Russian President Vladimir Putin’s often fleeting favor.
  • Wagner financier Yevgeny Prigozhin is overcompensating for his declining influence by continuing to frame himself as the sole victor in the Bakhmut area.
  • Russian and Ukrainian officials exchanged 63 Russian POWs for 116 Ukrainian POWs.
  • Russian forces conducted limited offensive operations northwest of Svatove and continued offensive operations around Kreminna.
  • Russian forces continued offensive operations around Bakhmut and Vuhledar but have slowed the pace of their offensives along the western outskirts of Donetsk City.
  • Ukrainian forces continue to target Russian military assets in east (left) bank Kherson Oblast.
  • Russian authorities are attempting to reinvigorate force generation efforts by drawing from broader pools of manpower.

We do not report in detail on Russian war crimes because those activities are well-covered in Western media and do not directly affect the military operations we are assessing and forecasting. We will continue to evaluate and report on the effects of these criminal activities on the Ukrainian military and population and specifically on combat in Ukrainian urban areas. We utterly condemn these Russian violations of the laws of armed conflict, Geneva Conventions, and humanity even though we do not describe them in these reports.
  • Ukrainian Counteroffensives—Eastern Ukraine
  • Russian Main Effort—Eastern Ukraine (comprised of one subordinate and one supporting effort)
  • Russian Subordinate Main Effort—Capture the entirety of Donetsk Oblast
  • Russian Supporting Effort—Southern Axis
  • Russian Mobilization and Force Generation Efforts
  • Activities in Russian-occupied Areas
Ukrainian Counteroffensives (Ukrainian efforts to liberate Russian-occupied territories)
Eastern Ukraine: (Eastern Kharkiv Oblast-Western Luhansk Oblast)

Russian sources reported that Russian forces conducted limited offensives northwest of Svatove on February 4. The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed that Russian forces conducted successful offensive actions near Dvorichne, Kharkiv Oblast (53km northwest of Svatove) and pushed Ukrainian forces out of the western outskirts of the settlement.[25] Other Russian sources amplified the claim, although ISW has not observed any visual confirmation that Russian forces have advanced in the area.[26] A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces also conducted an attack in the direction of Stelmakhivka (15km west of Svatove).[27]
Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Kreminna area on February 4. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces repelled Russian assaults near Kreminna itself and Hrekivka (27km northwest of Kreminna), Nevske (18km northwest of Kreminna), and Dibrova (5km southwest of Kreminna).[28] Russian milbloggers claimed that elements of the 144th Motorized Rifle Division of the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Western Military District launched an offensive along the Chervonopopivka-Kreminna line a few days ago and advanced close to Yampolivka, Donetsk Oblast (16km west of Kreminna), where fighting is reportedly ongoing.[29] A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces pushed Ukrainian forces out of positions south and southwest of Dibrova and advanced closer to Hryhorivka (11km south of Kreminna).[30] Russian milbloggers continue to make contradictory claims about Bilohorivka (12km south of Kreminna), with one milblogger claiming that Russian forces captured the settlement and are currently clearing it and another claiming that Russian forces are still fighting to capture Bilohorivka.[31]
Ukrainian forces reportedly continue to strike Russian logistics in Luhansk Oblast. Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces struck an industrial facility in Svatove with HIMARS rockets on February 4.[32]
A fire at an industrial facility in Belgorod Oblast may further disrupt Russian logistics in Ukraine. Russian, Ukrainian, and social media sources posted footage on February 4 showing an oil depot burning at a facility in Borsivka, Belgorod Oblast that reportedly produces metal structures for the repair of the Kerch Strait Bridge in Crimea.[33] Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Vladimirovich claimed that Ukrainian forces struck an industrial facility in Borisvka Raion in Belgorod Oblast.[34] The fire may have damaged the industrial facility and could disrupt ongoing Russian repair efforts for the Kerch Strait Bridge, a critical ground line of communication (GLOC) for Russian forces in southern Ukraine.

Russian Main Effort—Eastern Ukraine
Russian Subordinate Main Effort—Donetsk Oblast (Russian objective: Capture the entirety of Donetsk Oblast, the claimed territory of Russia’s proxies in Donbas)

Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Bakhmut area on February 4. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar stated that Russian forces have committed a substantial portion of their forces to offensive operations in the direction of Bakhmut intending to break through Ukrainian defenses in the past week but that they have been unsuccessful.[35] The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces repelled Russian assaults near Bakhmut itself, within 31km northeast of Bakhmut near Verkhokamianske, Krasna Hora, and Paraskoviivka; and 6km west of Bakhmut near Ivanivske.[36] Geolocated footage published on February 4 indicates that Russian forces likely advanced west of Sil (13km north of Bakhmut).[37] Russian sources claimed that Wagner Group fighters continued assaults near Rozdolivka (17km northeast of Bakhmut) and Vasyukivka (15km north of Bakhmut), and that Russian forces attempted to advance in the direction of Spirne (28km northeast of Bakhmut).[38]Russian sources claimed that Russian forces continue offensive operations southwest of Bakhmut attempting to reach the T0504 Highway between Chasiv Yar and Bakhmut.[39] Former Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) Minister Vitaly Kiselyov claimed that Russian forces between Ivanivske and Stupochky (12km southwest of Bakhmut) advanced to within a kilometer of the highway, although other Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces were still several kilometers away from the highway.[40] ISW has not observed visual confirmation of Russian forces being closer than 2.5km to the T0504 highway.
Russian milbloggers are attempting to portray Russian offensives northeast of Bakhmut and south of Kreminna as being a complementary effort to encircle Siversk. A prominent milblogger claimed that the simultaneous advances of the Wagner Group from the direction of Soledar and Russian forces claimed advances in the direction of Lyman and around Bilohorivka, Luhansk Oblast create the prerequisites for encircling Siversk from the south, north, and east.[41] Another Russian milblogger claimed that renewed Russian offensive operations south of Kreminna indicate that Russian forces plan to encircle Siversk.[42] These Russian milbloggers may believe that Russian forces only need to cut off sections of the T0513 highway north and south of Siversk to operationally encircle the settlement, but Ukrainian forces would still be able to supply forces in the settlement from country roads leading west. Russian forces would need to advance upwards of 15km to come close to cutting off all the ground lines of communication (GLOCs) likely required to encircle Siversk. That level of advance would require a substantially more concerted Russian offensive effort in the direction of Siversk from the north, east, and south than ISW has hitherto observed.
Russian offensive operations along the western outskirts of Donetsk City appear to have slowed in recent days. The Ukrainian General Staff has reported that Russian forces have not conducted assaults on specified settlements in the Donetsk City-Avdiivka area for the previous three days.[43] Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces conducted an assault near Paraskoviivka (34km southwest of Avdiivka) and amplified footage claiming to show elements of the 150th Motorized Rifle Division of the 8th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District clearing a captured Ukrainian fortified position in the western part of Marinka (27km southwest of Avdiivka).[44] The slowed pace of Russian assaults in the Avdiivka–Donetsk City area may support ISW’s assessment that Russian forces likely lack the combat power to sustain multiple large offensive operations in Ukraine, and thus, Russian forces may have slowed their pace of assaults in this area to prioritize their offensive to capture Bakhmut and their likely imminent offensive in Luhansk Oblast.
Russian forces reportedly continued offensive operations around Vuhledar (30km southwest of Donetsk City) on February 4. Geolocated footage published on February 4 shows Russian forces with armored vehicles attempting to advance north of Mykilske (27km southwest of Donetsk City) towards the T0524 highway leading into Vuhledar from the northeast.[45] Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces continued offensive operations near the dacha areas south and west of Vuhledar and unsuccessfully attempted to bypass the settlement in an unspecified direction.[46] One Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces have denied Russian forces the opportunity to gain a foothold on the outskirts of the settlement.[47] Russian milbloggers amplified footage purporting to show units of the 40th and 155th Naval Infantry Brigades of the Pacific Fleet conducting assaults near Vuhledar.[48] A Ukrainian military officer reported that Russian forces continue to bring in artillery and infantry personnel into the Vuhledar area and are likely preparing for the slow grinding assaults characteristic of Russian offensives in the rest of eastern Ukraine.[49] Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian personnel transfers and probing of Russian defenses in the area may suggest that Ukrainian forces intend to launch a localized counteroffensive around Vuhledar, although ISW does not make assessments about specific future Ukrainian operations.[50]

Supporting Effort—Southern Axis (Russian objective: Maintain frontline positions and secure rear areas against Ukrainian strikes)
Ukrainian forces continue to target Russian military assets in east (left) bank Kherson Oblast. Geolocated footage shows Ukrainian forces striking a Russian Tor M2DT air defense system 12km southwest of Nova Kakhovka, Kherson Oblast and 8km from the east (left) bank of the Dnipro River on February 3, the second instance in two days.[51] The presence of these short-range air defense systems optimized for Arctic warfare near the riverbank suggests that the Russian 80th Separate Arctic Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Northern Fleet is operating close to the riverbank and has brought its own air defense systems.[52] The Tor M2DT was clearly unable to defend itself against whatever system Ukraine used to destroy it in a single shot.
Russian forces continued to conduct routine fire west of Hulyaipole and in Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Mykolaiv oblasts on February 4.[53] A Ukrainian source claimed that Russian forces shelled Kherson City with incendiary munitions.[54]


Mobilization and Force Generation Efforts (Russian objective: Expand combat power without conducting general mobilization)
Russian authorities are attempting to reinvigorate force generation efforts by drawing from broader personnel pools. The Ukrainian General Staff stated on February 4 that Russian forces have expanded convict recruitment efforts to target women, reportedly recruiting about 50 women from a women’s correctional colony in occupied Snizhne, Donetsk Oblast over the course of a week.[55] Russian State Duma parliamentarian (and a member of the Russian Mobilization Working Group) Dmitry Gusev proposed that Russian authorities mobilize scientists, engineers, and IT specialists in an interview with a state-affiliated outlet on February 2.[56] Gusev advocated that Russian officials deploy these professionals within specialized units but acknowledged that such a framework would require increased subtlety within the Russian “mobilization machine.”[57] Russian State Duma parliamentarian Maksim Ivanov stated on February 3 that he supports the mobilization of unemployed Russians in place of valuable specialists and engineers.[58] Kremlin-affiliated outlet reported that the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights criticized Ivanov’s suggestion and that a council member claimed that every Russian is valuable.[59]
The war in Ukraine has likely created a domestic shortage of Russian medical professionals, fueling limited protests. A Russian source stated on February 3 that Russian residents in Volchikha, Altai Krai demanded the resignation of a head physician and held a rally to show their dissatisfaction with local healthcare after the death of a local child at a hospital with no doctor on site.[60] A separate source reported that the regional minister of health heard complaints from local residents and an investigative committee opened a case investigating criminal negligence following the death of a child in Gorny, Zabaykalsky Krai.[61] The child was discharged from a hospital and died while waiting for an ambulance after her condition deteriorated.[62] The sources reporting on both instances attributed the personnel shortages, deaths, and publicized dissatisfaction to heavy Russian military recruitment of medical specialists.[63]
Russian authorities continue to frame limited Russian efforts to sabotage military infrastructure as terrorism in an effort to crack down on sources of resistance. A Russian news source from Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai reported on February 2 that Russian authorities opened a criminal case under laws prohibiting the public justification of terrorism against leaders of an unregistered regional youth organization. The organization allegedly justified the sabotage of Russian railways and the arson of military registration and enlistment offices.[64] A Russian opposition news source reported on February 3 that Russian authorities are investigating a blogger from Moscow Oblast for preparing a sabotage attack on a Russian railway because the man maintained a microblog on Instagram (an illegal platform in Russia) and demonstrated an “unhealthy interest” in rail transit items including military cargo.[65] An independent Russian news outlet reported on February 3 that a court in Podolsk, Moscow Oblast ordered a 70-year-old pensioner who committed an arson attack on a military enlistment office to receive psychiatric treatment.[66]
The Russian Armed Forces continue to struggle with desertion and disorder among soldiers. Several Russian sources reported on February 3 and 4 that Russian authorities apprehended a deserter who fled his unit near Volnovakha, Donetsk Oblast and two soldiers who left their positions in Russia without proper authorization.[67] An Ulyanovsk Oblast news source reported on February 3 that an Ulyanovsk court sentenced two mobilized soldiers to 5.5 and 5 years in a correctional colony for committing “violent acts” against their commanders.[68]
Russian State Duma Deputy from Novosibirsk Dmitry Savelyev quietly went to Moscow after publicizing his decision leave Novosibirsk to join the Vega battalion in Ukraine.[69] Savelyev’s apparent ruse that he would serve on the front lines in Ukraine was likely an effort to deflect criticism that Russian officials avoid mobilization, ignore the challenges of ordinary Russians, and do not contribute to the war effort.
Activity in Russian-occupied Areas (Russian objective: consolidate administrative control of and annexed areas; forcibly integrate Ukrainian civilians into Russian sociocultural, economic, military, and governance systems)
The Ukrainian General Staff reported on February 4 that occupation authorities and their families are preparing to leave Troitskyi Raion, in northwestern Luhansk Oblast.[70]
Russian authorities continue to forcibly deport Ukrainian children from occupied Ukraine to Russia. The Ukrainian Resistance Center reported that Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) and Republic of Karelia officials discussed a scheme to send Ukrainian children from occupied Luhansk Oblast to Karelia under a scheme for “rest and rehabilitation.”[71] The Resistance Center reported that Russian regional authorities aim to import certain quotas of Ukrainian children under the rest and rehabilitation scheme to improperly write off budget funds. The Resistance Center also noted that there is evidence that some Russian officials may be using these efforts to engage in human trafficking.
Advisor to the exiled Ukrainian Mariupol Mayoral, Petro Andryushenko, reported that Russian occupation officials banned all Protestant and non-Orthodox churches from operating in Mariupol and began nationalizing the assets of these churches.[72] Russian officials have notably run an information operation falsely claiming that Ukrainian officials discriminate against certain religions, including the Kremlin-affiliated Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.[73] ISW previously reported that Russian occupation officials in Zaporizhia Oblast reportedly nationalized and closed places of worship belonging to the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Christian communities.[74] Mariupol occupation officials may have banned and nationalized these churches as part of a larger Russian effort to establish the Kremlin-affiliated Moscow Patriarchate Orthodox Church as the dominant faith in the occupied territories.[75]
An unspecified actor shot Russian soldier Igor “Bereg” Mangushev at close range in the back of the head at a checkpoint in occupied Kadiivka, Luhansk Oblast on February 4.[76] Russian authorities declined to release more information about the attack, but Russian milbloggers condemned the attack and speculated that Mangushev may have been on his knees and shot from behind.[77] Mangushev previously called for the destruction of the Ukrainian population while holding a skull, which he claimed belonged to a Ukrainian defender of the Azovstal Plant in Mariupol.[78] One Western expert noted that Mangushev has ties to Wagner Group and that an attack against Mangushev may have indirectly targeted Wagner Group and its financier, Yevgeny Prigozhin.[79]
Significant activity in Belarus (ISW assesses that a Russian or Belarusian attack into northern Ukraine in early 2023 is extraordinarily unlikely and has thus restructured this section of the update. It will no longer include counter-indicators for such an offensive.
ISW will continue to report daily observed Russian and Belarusian military activity in Belarus, but these are not indicators that Russian and Belarusian forces are preparing for an imminent attack on Ukraine from Belarus. ISW will revise this text and its assessment if it observes any unambiguous indicators that Russia or Belarus is preparing to attack northern Ukraine.)

Nothing significant to report.
Note: ISW does not receive any classified material from any source, uses only publicly available information, and draws extensively on Russian, Ukrainian, and Western reporting and social media as well as commercially available satellite imagery and other geospatial data as the basis for these reports. References to all sources used are provided in the endnotes of each update.

[1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/signs-of-coming-russian-offensive-on-multip...
[2] https://www.wsj.com/articles/signs-of-coming-russian-offensive-on-multip...
[3] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign... https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign...
[4] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign... https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign...
[5] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign... https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-ass...
[6] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign... https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-ass...
[7] https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Russian%20Offensive...
[8] https://t.me/andriyshTime/5575; https://t.me/andriyshTime/6398
[9] https://t.me/andriyshTime/6405; https://t.me/andriyshTime/3609; https://t.me/andriyshTime/4537; https://t.me/andriyshTime/4549; https://t.me/andriyshTime/4562; https://t.me/andriyshTime/2639; 7 https://t.me/andriyshTime/2963;
[10] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign... https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign...
[11] https://tass dot ru/armiya-i-opk/16953133; https://structure.mil dot ru/structure/okruga/south/news.htm
[12] https://tass dot ru/armiya-i-opk/16953133
[13] https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1621756279726145536; https://www.u... https://don24 dot ru/rubric/specoperaciya-na-ukraine/shoygu-budut-sozdany-samodostatochnye-gruppirovki-voysk-v-novyh-subektah-rf.html
[14] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign...
[15] https://t.me/wargonzo/10710
[16] https://t.me/mobdnrlive/1774; https://t.me/astrapress/20433; https://n...
[17] https://t.me/tass_agency/179333
[18] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign...
[19] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign...
[20] https://t.me/concordgroup_official/409
[21] https://t.me/concordgroup_official/399
[22] https://t.me/concordgroup_official/399
[23] https://t.me/rybar/43261; https://t.me/mod_russia/23949 ; https://t.me/mod_russia/23950; https://t.me/readovkanews/51953; https://t.me/readovkanews/51957; https://gur.gov dot ua/content/vidbuvsia-cherhovyi-velykyi-obmin-polonenymy.html
[24] https://t.me/rybar/43261
[25] https://t.me/mod_russia/23952
[26] https://t.me/boris_rozhin/77228 ; https://t.me/russkiy_opolchenec/35754
[27] https://t.me/wargonzo/10698
[28] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02QwNbTFftZDGBSSASe3...
[29] https://t.me/rybar/43256 ; https://t.me/dva_majors/8678
[30] https://t.me/rybar/43256
[31] https://t.me/rybar/43256 ; https://t.me/wargonzo/10698
[32] https://t.me/rybar/43254 ; https://t.me/kommunist/15481
[33] https://t.me/readovkanews/51945; https://t.me/readovkanews/51948 ; ht...
https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1621792376539807745 ; https...
[34] https://t.me/belgorod_informant/2970; https://t.me/belgorod_informant/2...
[35] https://armyinform dot com.ua/2023/02/04/rosijski-vijska-kynuly-vsi-syly-na-proryv-nashoyi-oborony-ta-otochennya-bahmuta-ale-uspihu-ne-dosyagly-ganna-malyar/
[36] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02QwNbTFftZDGBSSASe3...
[37] https://twitter.com/PaulJawin/status/1621557585542352897
https://twitter.com/auditor_ya/status/1621883886740414466
[38] https://t.me/wargonzo/10698 ; https://t.me/boris_rozhin/77228 ; http...
[39] https://t.me/kommunist/15489 ; https://t.me/dva_majors/8678 ; https:...
[40] https://t.me/kommunist/15489 ; https://t.me/wargonzo/10698 ; https:/...
[41] https://t.me/rybar/43256
[42] https://t.me/dva_majors/8678
[43] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0MueyRcqn5VUaTqWyeeT...
[44] https://t.me/Sladkov_plus/7151 ; https://t.me/milinfolive/96519 ; ht...
[45] https://twitter.com/auditor_ya/status/1621883914582122499
https://twitter.com/PaulJawin/status/1621808880157134848
[46] https://t.me/namarshe/4374 ; https://t.me/grey_zone/16996; https://t....
[47] https://t.me/grey_zone/16996 ;
[48] https://t.me/notes_veterans/7777; https://t.me/voenacher/38884 ; http...
[49] https://twitter.com/Tatarigami_UA/status/1621815955482447873
[50] https://t.me/aleksandr_skif/2573 ; https://t.me/NeoficialniyBeZsonoV/2...
[51] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign...https://twitter.com/666_mancer/status/1621769300934639617?s=20&t=WaWGZqo... ; https://t.me/lost_warinua/27851 ; https://twitter.com/intel_pigeon/sta... https://twitter.com/666_mancer/status/1621769300934639617?s=20&t=WaWGZqo... https://t.me/lost_warinua/27851; https://twitter.com/intel_pigeon/status/1621613564975890435; https://tw... https://t.me/m0sc0wcalling/19170
[52] https://twitter.com/Danspiun/status/1621090517265293315?s=20&t=hI3vgkIPy...
[53] https://t.me/vilkul/2669 ; https://t.me/Yevtushenko_E/2389; https://t.me/zoda_gov_ua/16413; https... https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0MueyRcqn5VUaTqWyeeT...
[54] https://t.me/hueviyherson/34254
[55]https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0MueyRcqn5VUaTqWyeeT...
[56] https://t.me/uranews/73398
[57] https://t.me/uranews/73398
[58] https://t.me/maksim_ivanon/1020
[59] https://lenta dot ru/news/2023/02/03/react/
[60] https://t.me/Govorit_NeMoskva/3917
[61] https://t.me/news_sirena/10621; https://notes.citeam.org/mobilization-f...
[62] https://t.me/news_sirena/10621; https://notes.citeam.org/mobilization-f...
[63] https://t.me/news_sirena/10621; https://notes.citeam.org/mobilization-f...
[64] https://t.me/chitaru75/27816; https://notes.citeam.org/mobilization-feb...
[65] https://t.me/ostorozhno_moskva/3466; https://notes.citeam.org/mobilizat...
[66] https://t.me/sotaproject/53353; https://t.me/sotaproject/51639; https:...
[67] https://www.kavkazr.com/a/vernuvshegosya-iz-ukrainy-voennosluzhaschego-v...
[68] https://ulnovosti dot ru/i-lenta-novostej-i/strong-v-ulyanovske-mobilizovannye-poluchili-sroki-za-izbienie-svoih-komandirov-strong/; https://notes.citeam.org/mobilization-feb-2-3
[69] https://theins dot ru/news/259128; https://t.me/m0sc0wcalling/19215; https://tayga ot info/180603; https://t.me/theinsider/16999
[70] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02QwNbTFftZDGBSSASe3...
[71] https://sprotyv.mod dot gov.ua/2023/02/04/ditej-z-luganshhyny-gotuyut-do-vidpravky-u-kareliyu/
[72] https://t.me/andriyshTime/6412
[73] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign... https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign...
[74] https://isw.pub/UkrWar012623
[75] https://isw.pub/UkrWar012623
[76] https://t.me/mig41/24117; https://t.me/voenkorKotenok/44998; https://t.me/notes_veterans/7786; https://t.me/notes_veterans/7784; https://t.me/notes_veterans/7779; https://t.me/wehearfromyanina/1322; https://t.me/ghost_of_novorossia/9598;
[77] https://t.me/notes_veterans/7786; https://t.me/notes_veterans/7784; https://t.me/notes_veterans/7779; ht...
[78] https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/russian-mercenary-brandishes-sk...
[79] https://twitter.com/MarkGaleotti/status/1621862756591738880
It would seem that keeping the Russians tied up & stalled in the Bakhmut area for what, six going on seven months now, has functionally stalled and made cumbersome an attack on Zaporizhya.

Otherwise, sources seem confident "da big push" is gonna come in Luhansk or northern Donetsk rather than a strike in the southwest or Kiev Feint II: Dug in Enemy Boogaloo
 
@Fanatical Pragmatist said:
Otherwise, sources seem confident "da big push" is gonna come in Luhansk or northern Donetsk rather than a strike in the southwest or Kiev Feint II: Dug in Enemy Boogaloo

Whatever it is, it's going to be tough. Just talked with my brother, they're still chilling in some undisclosed position. I can't say much other than they have rotations and they get to go home periodically, albeit not for long. Good sign though. Got everything they need in terms of equipment. Hearing him say "I'm prepared for the worst" frankly fucked me up.

This war be damned.
 
Is there any documentation of modified sedans being used near the front? I saw a couple photos but no footage of actual use.
Territorial defense guys and especially volunteers tends to use whatever they can get their hands on, but I've never seen them ride into combat in anything less than truck or an SUV, they're more preferable, though neither would protect you from bullets, let alone grenades.
A lot of people just trying to help however they can, driving people around and transporting supplies, they just drive their own cars which could be anything.

What you see in the picture is likely local volunteer/territorial defense hunting infiltrators/saboteurs reasonable distance away from the front, in that case you probably don't really need armor.
 

Reznikov Out, Budanov In As Ukraine's Defense Minister, Top Lawmaker Says

Oleksiy Reznikov said at a news conference in Kyiv on February 5 he was not planning to resign, but added that any decision about his future would be made by the president.
KYIV -- Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov is being replaced by General Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the country's military intelligence agency, according to the leader of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's faction in parliament.
David Arakhamia, the leader of the Servant of the People faction in parliament, said on Telegram on February 5 that Reznikov would be transferred to the post of minister for strategic industries to strengthen military-industrial cooperation.
"War dictates personnel policy," Arakhamia said. "Time and circumstances need to be strengthened and regrouped. This is happening now and will happen in the future."
"The enemy is preparing to attack. We are preparing to defend ourselves and return ours," he added.
Arakhamia did not specify when the changes would take place.
An official ministry statement has not yet been issued about the changes.
Arakhamia said the Interior Ministry will be headed by Ihor Klymenko, currently chief of the National Police.
Rumors of a possible Reznikov resignation or ouster have mounted after a series of accusations of corruption within the ministry.
In a news conference hours earlier, Reznikov said he was not planning to resign but added that any decision about his future would be made by the president.
"He nominates an appointee, and the [parliament] appoints. Therefore, only by the decision of the president of Ukraine will I make certain decisions, and I will do what the president of Ukraine tells me," he said.
In January, Ukrainian media reported that the Defense Ministry had allegedly purchased products for the military at inflated prices through a "gasket" company. Other charges of corruption were also alleged in the media.
The 56-year-old Reznikov denied the allegations as authorities launched an investigation.
Deputy Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who was responsible for supplying troops with food and equipment, resigned on January 24, citing "media accusations" of corruption that he and the ministry said were baseless.
 
Ironically this conflict is creating momentum to dump the grass roots environmentalists at the curb considering how Nuclear energy is gaining popularity and even the cucks in Germany canceled shutting down their last Nuclear plants while sending teams to evaluate their retired plants for serviceability.
It takes about 8 years to bring a nuclear power plant online, using existing plans.

Krauts will take much long, as they will want to fuck with the design and go through the usual bureaucratic and environmentalist hoops.

Sounds like the Ukrainians getting serious about cracking down on corruption, or at the very least are putting on a show about it. I suspect it's a mix of both, nothing like a war to motivate some actual problem solving. At the same time that shit takes generations to really root out.
What will be happening is a top echelon of corrupt officials will be working out how to funnel money officially, and cut everyone else out.

The west has perfected this.
 
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