Russians critical of losing aircraft near border and attacks on logistics
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Russian media reported that two Russian Mi-8 helicopters, a Su-34 bomber, and an Su-35 fighter crashed in Bryansk Oblast on May 13, which some Russian sources claimed was caused by Ukrainian air defenses. Geolocated footage shows the aftermath of crashes near Surestskii Muravei and Klintsy, about 50km from the Ukrainian border.[11] Russian milbloggers speculated that all four aircraft crashed as the result of a coordinated Ukrainian strike using air defense systems pulled to the border area of Chernihiv Oblast.[12] The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has not yet responded to the incident at the time of publication. Ukrainian officials have similarly refrained from commenting on the incidents. However, several Russian milbloggers seized on the incident to criticize aspects of how the Russian aerospace forces conduct air operations and to accuse the leadership responsible for these aircraft of gross negligence and incompetence. Milbloggers warned about Ukrainian capabilities and called for harsh retaliation against Ukraine. Some milbloggers questioned why the two Mi-8 helicopters were flying so close to the border in the first place and called for aerospace commanders to take better steps to move such assets further into the rear.[13] Moscow Duma Deputy Andrey Medvedev warned that Ukrainian counteroffensive actions will not manifest only in mechanized warfare, suggesting that Russian authorities should prepare for further strikes on such aviation assets as part of a wider Ukrainian counteroffensive strategy.[14] Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) Deputy Information Minister Daniil Bezsonov accused the Russian aerospace command of “tyranny” and “fraud.”[15]
Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces struck rear Russian areas in Luhansk Oblast with British Storm Shadow cruise missiles on May 12 and 13, prompting heightened Russian anxiety about potential Ukrainian abilities to target Russian logistics. The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed on May 13 that Ukrainian aircraft struck industrial facilities in occupied Luhansk City with a Storm Shadow cruise missile on May 12.[16] Geolocated footage published on May 13 shows the aftermath of Ukrainian strikes on Yuvileyne (7km west of Luhansk City) on May 13, and Russian sources widely claimed that Ukrainian forces also used Storm Shadow cruise missiles in the subsequent strike.[17] A Russian milblogger claimed that a Storm Shadow cruise missile would have caused more damage, however, and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) Internal Ministry claimed that Ukrainian forces used “Hrim-2” missiles to conduct the May 12 strike.[18] United Kingdom Defense Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed on May 12 that the UK is supplying Ukraine with the missiles but did not specify when or even if Ukraine received them.[19] ISW has not observed visual confirmation that Ukrainian forces have used Storm Shadow cruise missiles to strike Russian positions in Ukraine. Russian milbloggers claimed that the strike illustrates that Ukrainian forces may be able to target airfields and rear deployment and logistics centers in areas previously considered to be completely safe.[20] A prominent Russian milblogger compared the alleged use of the cruise missiles to the summer of 2022 when Ukrainian forces began using HIMARS rockets to target Russian logistics in Kherson Oblast and argued that the Russian information space is similarly attempting to downplay the impact that such systems may have.[21]
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It becomes clear why the Russians have been reluctant to use their most modern aircraft in Ukraine. Their vulnerability to missiles has been made clear. The call for retaliation against Ukraine does not make much sense because they have been attacking Ukraine since the war began. The British media has indicated they would supply the Storm Shadow cruise missiles in their own media. Regardless of whether the strike in question was by Storm Shadow missiles or some other type of cruise missile, it does demonstrate Ukraine's expanded ability to attack Russian logistics deeper in their rear.
See, also:
Storm Shadow missiles in devastating strikes far behind Russian lines
Shadow cruise missiles have been fired for the first time by Ukrainian forces, hitting Russian supply depots located 80 miles behind the frontline.
The missile attacks on Friday and Saturday destroyed a factory in Luhansk City used by the Russian army as a depot to store military equipment.
Luhansk City was considered by Russian forces to be beyond the range of Ukrainian firepower.
They used it as a supply hub, for soldiers to rest and recover, and to host visiting Russian dignitaries who did not want to get too close to the fighting.
Videos showed a giant fireball and thick, black smoke billowing up into the sky, while photos published by Russian media showed an alleged fragment of missile casing inscribed with the “Storm Shadow” name.
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Analysts said at least one US MALD decoy missile, which does not carry an explosive warhead but uses sophisticated electronics to distract missile-defence systems, had also been fired in the attacks.
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This report is from the British Telegraph.
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Air Force reveals that Patriot system that took down Russian Kinzhal was operating autonomously
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"Targets such as the Kinzhal, as ballistic missiles, are destroyed automatically. The 'automatic' button is activated and everything that flies, it will destroy. The radar detects it, and the missile flies to meet the falling Kinzhal. But everything works under human control.”
Ihnat added that the Ukrainian military has no information on where the missile could have been targeted at, as it was shot down at a high altitude.
Read also: Air Force cautions against hype after Kinzhal downing, citing Ukraine's inadequate air defense capabilities
According to Ihnat, earlier theories floated by media outlet such as CNN, that the Kinzhal was targeting the Patriot system itself using the Patriot’s own radar or EM emissions, doesn’t seem correct.
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The electrician-turned-solider took aim at an exploding Shahed drone with his Kalashnikov rifle.
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Ukraine’s Advances Near Bakhmut Expose Rifts in Russian Forces
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Russia’s pro-war bloggers were quick to claim that Ukraine’s long-anticipated counteroffensive had begun, but Ukrainian officials downplayed the advances and described them in more local terms. Ukrainian soldiers broke through Russian lines south of Bakhmut on Wednesday, they said, and then exploited that breach, assaulting Russian forces near the city and threatening Russian flanks to the north and south.
A video that appears to have been posted first by the Ukrainian news outlet Channel 24, which said it was provided by Ukraine’s 77th Airmobile Brigade, showed parts of northern Bakhmut on fire Friday evening.
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“The defensive phase of the battle for Bakhmut is ending,” said Andriy Biletsky, who has ultimate command of the brigade, among other units in the Ukrainian army. Now, he said, Ukraine would ramp up the pressure on the Russians from the north and south.
“We advanced a little more on our flank,” said a drone operator in the Adam Tactical Group, who asked to be identified only by his nickname, Sem. In an interview Friday, he described an overnight seesaw battle to the south of Bakhmut, in which Russian soldiers tried to recapture a position but were repelled by a Ukrainian artillery bombardment.
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To date, the Russian military has launched thousands of missiles and drones against Ukrainian critical infrastructure and urban centers, killing and wounding hundreds of civilians.
But those strikes have depleted Russia's missile stocks, and Western sanctions are making it harder for Moscow to buy or make a small but critical component: microchips.
Russia's scramble to find microchips for its weapons hints at struggles the US and China could face in a future war.
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Taiwan has been one western source of the chips although some US companies are building production for the chips in the US.
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