The War in Ukraine

[KevinB]

Reckon I'll mosey on over to the Donetsk...

After Losing 15,000 Vehicles, Some Russian Troops In Ukraine Are Riding Horses​

It was perhaps inevitable, as Russian vehicle losses in Ukraine exceeded 15,000, production of new vehicles lagged and stocks of old Cold War vehicles ran low late last year, that Russian troops in Ukraine would eventually climb onto horses.

After Losing 15,000 Vehicles, Some Russian Troops In Ukraine Are Riding Horses

‘The lads in Ukraine saddled up.’

www.forbes.com

I feel bad for the horses that will be killed and maimed, and probably eaten.

 

[NavyShooter]

Horse doesn't taste that bad when cooked properly.

Then again, the various comments about WW2 equipment coming out....well....the last major world army that relied on horses as a primary means of transport and supply was the German army of WW2...so...yeah...there's that to consider.

We've seen T-54/55 tanks, WW2 artillery and AT guns, but no T-34's (yet). Maybe that'll be next.

 

[KevinB]

Not sure what capability 5 will add, but...

Ukraine receives first Mirage 2000 fighter jets from France

The warplanes arrived with Ukrainian pilots on board, after several months of training in France.

www.defensenews.com

 

[The Bread Guy]

ISW's assessment of the Kursk push, 6 months in ...

Institute for the Study of War

A small group of Ukrainian troops in Kursk Oblast have complicated the Russian military's efforts to advance in Ukraine over the last six months. Roughly a division's worth of Ukrainian troops have undermined the Russian military's ability to launch or

www.understandingwar.org

PDF of report also available here.

 

[Cloud Cover]

Sounds like there is a new Ukrainian operation in Kursk.

And a little commentary about it

 

[KevinB]

More on Kursk

Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1079: Ukrainian forces push deeper into Kursk Oblast - Euromaidan Press

Meanwhile, France has delivered its first batch of advanced Mirage 2000-5F fighters to Ukraine.

euromaidanpress.com

 

[ArmyRick]

Worth the watch

 

[dapaterson]

Not sure what capability 5 will add, but...

Ukraine receives first Mirage 2000 fighter jets from France

The warplanes arrived with Ukrainian pilots on board, after several months of training in France.

www.defensenews.com

Basic math: 5>0

 

[Kirkhill]

Worth the watch

Did you see the Shotgun video? C-UAS.

 

[dapaterson]

Basic math: 5>0

More seriously, and more cynically, France probably wants some recent war fighting cred for their platforms to support the export market.

 

[Maxman1]

The laser system had better look like this:

 

[Skysix]

A British take on escalation management...

565K views · 173K reactions | “Now one of the world’s most evil beings returns to your life, Princess Leia!” Princess Leia receives some advice from an unexpected guest… Dead Ringers | Listen on BBC Sounds | BBC Radio 4

“Now one of the world’s most evil beings returns to your life, Princess Leia!” Princess Leia receives some advice from an unexpected guest… Dead Ringers | Listen on BBC Sounds.

www.facebook.com

 

[Colin Parkinson]

The push and pull of weapon systems evolution continues.

 

[Maxman1]

Kursk incursion stopped Russian invasion of Zaporizhzhia, Zelensky claims

The president said the cross-border offensive was "one of our most successful operations" and that it forced Russia "to give up their military units from the Zaporizhzhia direction."

kyivindependent.com

 

[markppcli]

More seriously, and more cynically, France probably wants some recent war fighting cred for their platforms to support the export market.

For the Mirage 2000? Weird to be considering exports for an air craft that hasn’t been made in 18 yrs.

 

[dapaterson]

For the Mirage 2000? Weird to be considering exports for an air craft that hasn’t been made in 18 yrs.

Sensors and weapon systems...

Plus real world employment data.

 

[markppcli]

Sensors and weapon systems...

Plus real world employment data.

I mean it’s been used in every conflict France has participated in since the mid 1980s so I don’t know what else there would be to prove. Seems more likely that as it’s getting phased out by Rafale they had spare to donate.

 

[KevinB]

I mean it’s been used in every conflict France has participated in since the mid 1980s so I don’t know what else there would be to prove. Seems more likely that as it’s getting phased out by Rafale they had spare to donate.

The NATO junk drawer has been continually emptied out to Ukraine. Then people point to the use of antiquated or commercial garbage being used by the AFU as to a reason why that equipment could be used by the CAF, without understanding that when you are in a fight for your life, a rusty dull butter knife is better than nothing.

 

[MilEME09]

Well the Ukrainian Mirage's have been given the same mods as the Greek's to be able to fire SCALP cruise missiles, and Hammer bombs, this is to supplement the Su-24 fleet which is in rough shape. One off the added advantages of integrated support, is before with the Su24 the targets were preprogrammed, now with data link and natural integration, they could change targets mid light if needed.

 

[GR66]

According to the ISW website Germany was unable to down suspected Russian UAVs operating around the Schwesing Airbase last month.

German authorities reportedly failed to down suspected Russian reconnaissance drones flying near a German military facility in January 2025 where Ukrainian forces have undergone training. German outlet Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on February 8, citing a classified internal German report, that the German Ministry of Defense (MoD) is investigating possible espionage connected to six drone sightings near the Schwesing Airbase, where Ukrainian forces have trained to operate Patriot air defense systems, from January 9 to 29, 2025.[9] Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that German forces attempted to jam or down the drones, including with HP-47 jammers, RADIS drone detection systems, and Wingman counter-drone systems, but that German forces failed to down the drones or locate the operators in all six instances. Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that German authorities described the drones as "specialized objects" with modifications and are likely not commercially available. Süddeutsche Zeitung noted that authorities suspect that the operators launched the drones from ships in the North or Baltic seas and that the operators could be connected to Russia. A Bundeswehr spokesperson reportedly told Süddeutsche Zeitung that the German military has observed an increase in drones flying over German military facilities in an unspecified timeframe.

I wonder if NATO were able to identify the ships the UAVs were being launched from we'd have the legal justification to board and seize them?