Kyiv:Ukrainian forces advance deep into Russian Defense lines in Kharkiv region.

Correct, but the high tech Abrams tanks have a user friendly SMI.

 

They are bigger and heavier than the Russian models. That's one potential logistics challenge.

 

Yes, but Winter Is Coming.

 

Ukraine Conflict Updates


Key Takeaways

• Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announced “partial mobilization” will not materially affect the course of the war in the coming months.
• Putin did not explicitly threaten to use nuclear weapons if Ukraine continues counter-offensive operations to liberate occupied areas after Russian annexation.
• Ukrainian forces likely continued offensive operations around Lyman.
• Ukrainian forces conducted strikes north and east of Kherson City as part of an operational-level interdiction campaign against Russian logistics, military, and transportation assets in Kherson Oblast.
• Ukrainian and Russian sources identified three areas of kinetic activity on September 21: northwest of Kherson City, near the Ukrainian bridgehead over the Inhulets River, and south of the Kherson-Dnipropetrovsk Oblast border around Vysokopillya.
• Russian federal subjects (regions) are continuing crypto-mobilization efforts regardless of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s declaration of partial mobilization.
• Russian-appointed occupation administrators are likely increasing law enforcement and filtration measures in occupied areas of Ukraine in preparation for Russia’s sham annexation referenda. . . .

Ukrainian forces likely continued counteroffensive operations toward Lyman on September 21. Russian milbloggers claimed that Ukrainian forces attempted to break through Russian defenses around Yampil (just southeast of Lyman) and in Lyman itself.[10] Russian milbloggers also claimed that Russian and Ukrainian troops are actively fighting in Drobysheve (just northwest of Lyman). While ISW cannot independently verify these claims, they are consistent with previous visual evidence of Ukrainian counteroffensive operations along the Lyman-Yampil-Bilohorivka line. The Ukrainian General Staff also reported that Ukrainian troops repelled an attempted Russian attack near Kupyansk, eastern Kharkiv Oblast, along the Oskil River.[11] This report indicates that Russian troops are likely engaged in limited attempts to threaten newly recaptured Ukrainian positions along the right bank of the Oskil River. . . .

Ukrainian military officials maintained operational silence regarding Ukrainian ground attacks in Kherson Oblast on September 21 and reiterated that Ukrainian forces are conducting an operational-level interdiction campaign in Kherson Oblast. Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command and the Ukrainian General Staff both noted that Ukrainian strikes targeted Russian equipment, logistics, transportation, and command and control assets in southern Ukraine throughout the day.[12]

Social media footage provided visual evidence of the continuing Ukrainian interdiction campaign against Russian positions north and east of Kherson City on September 20 and 21. Geolocated footage showed the aftermath of Ukrainian strikes on Kherson City that reportedly hit a factory, a semiconductor plant, a Russian base, and a ferry crossing near the Antonivsky Bridge.[13] Ukraine’s Southern Operation Command noted that Ukrainian troops hit Russian equipment and manpower concentrations and a command post of the 7th Guards Air Assault Division just north of Kherson City in Chornobaivka.[14] Social media footage from September 20 also showed that Ukrainian forces struck Russian positions in Nova Kakhovka, about 60km east of Kherson City, corroborating Ukrainian claims of Ukrainian strikes on Russian positions in Nova Kakhovka.[15] Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command additionally stated that Ukrainian troops hit Russian command posts in Beryslav Raion (65km east of Kherson City).[16] . . .

 

Not to mention at 65 tons they are to heavy for mist bridges in Ukraine. Oh, and they require a lot of maintenance to keep that turbofan engine working then there is the fact that they run on jet fuel while the Ukrainians are used to fueling all of their equipment with diesel. That would cause additional supply complications.

 

Russia's military divided as Putin struggles to deal with Ukraine's counteroffensive,

 

The engine is described as a "multifuel gas turbine". The thing is heavy, but it should be able to move around during a solid freeze.

"Multifuel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to searchMultifuel automobiles, from several manufacturers, popularly known as "flex" autos, that run on any blend of ethanol and gasoline.
Multifuel, sometimes spelled multi-fuel, is any type of engine, boiler, or heater or other fuel-burning device which is designed to burn multiple types of fuels in its operation. One common application of multifuel technology is in military settings, where the normally-used diesel or gas turbine fuel might not be available during combat operations for vehicles or heating units. Multifuel engines and boilers have a long history, but the growing need to establish fuel sources other than petroleum for transportation, heating, and other uses has led to increased development of multifuel technology for non-military use as well, leading to many flexible-fuel vehicle designs in recent decades.

A multifuel engine is constructed so that its compression ratio permits firing the lowest octane fuel of the various accepted alternative fuels. A strengthening of the engine is necessary in order to meet these higher demands.[1][dubious – discuss] Multifuel engines sometimes have switch settings that are set manually to take different octanes, or types, of fuel.[2]" Wiki

 

I am very aware that it can run on just about anything including Kerosine but to run best it needs aviation fuel (JP5). You cause a lot of issues using other fuels which would only increase maintenance issues. Oh, and there are no mechanics trained to work on Abrams so it just isn't a good idea to send them. Especially since Ukraine has captured thousands of Russian tanks which they are already familiar with.

 

Ukraine Conflict Updates


Key Takeaways

• 
  
  • The Kremlin’s heavy-handed approach to partial mobilization may successfully meet the Kremlin’s internal quota of mobilized personnel, but is unlikely to generate effective soldiers and is prompting significant domestic backlash for little gain.
  • The Kremlin is openly not adhering to its promised conditions for partial mobilization.
  • Kremlin quotas will likely force local officials to mobilize men regardless of their military status and will likely incentivize the mobilization of ethnically non-Russian and immigrant communities at a disproportionate rate.
  • The Kremlin likely attempted to downplay a prisoner swap with Ukraine that is deeply unpopular among Russian nationalists and milbloggers by undertaking the swap the same day Putin announced partial mobilization.
  • IAEA negotiations around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant are unlikely to significantly improve the situation at the plant and may provide an opportunity for Russian forces to stage provocations.
  • Ukrainian forces likely continued limited counteroffensive operations along the Kharkiv-Luhansk Oblast border and continued attacks toward Lyman on September 22.
  • Ukrainian military officials maintained their operational silence regarding Ukrainian ground attacks in Kherson Oblast on September 22 and reiterated that Ukrainian forces are conducting an operational-level interdiction campaign in Kherson Oblast.
  • Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks along the frontlines in Donetsk Oblast on September 22.
  • Russian forces did not conduct any confirmed ground attacks west of Hulyaipole on September 22 and continued routine strikes throughout western Zaporizhia Oblast.
  • Russian occupation forces are hurriedly setting conditions to hold sham annexation referenda across occupied Ukraine from September 23-27.
  • Russian officials created polling stations in parts of Russia, ostensibly to enable displaced (in many cases meaning kidnapped) Ukrainian residents of occupied territories to “vote.”
  • Russian occupation officials in Ukraine likely expect to be forced to provide personnel to meet Russian regional mobilization quotas after the Kremlin illegally annexes occupied Ukrainian territories. . . .

Ukrainian forces likely continued limited counteroffensive operations along the Kharkiv-Luhansk Oblast border on September 22. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian troops repelled a Russian attack on Kupyansk (northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, near the Kharkiv-Luhansk Oblast border).[21] The General Staff report is consistent with Russian milblogger claims that Ukrainian troops succeeded in breaking Russian defenses along a line that runs between Dvorichna (15km northeast of Kupyansk) to bypass Kupyansk from the north and cross the Oskil River to threaten Russian positions just east of this area.[22] The Russian milblogger also indicated that Ukrainian forces have taken ground east of Dvorichna and are fighting in Tavlizhanka, which is reportedly still contested territory.[23] While ISW cannot independently confirm these Russian claims, they are consistent with previous reporting on continued Ukrainian efforts to penetrate the current Russian defensive lines that run along the Oskil River and push eastward. . . .

Ukrainian military officials maintained their operational silence regarding Ukrainian ground attacks in Kherson Oblast on September 22 and reiterated that Ukrainian forces are conducting an operational-level interdiction campaign in Kherson Oblast. The Ukrainian General Staff and Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command noted that Ukrainian forces continued to strike Russian manpower and equipment concentrations, control points, logistics nodes, and transportation assets through Kherson Oblast.[27] . . .

 

What do you think about the German Leopard tanks that they seem to want? Better option than Abrams?

 

Ukraine War: How is the Ukrainian offensive going?

 

31 min ago
Ukraine says it's taken more territory in Donetsk and improved positions around Bakhmut

From CNN's Tim Lister and Olga Voitovych

Ukraine has taken another settlement in the Donetsk region, the Ukranian military says as it continues the consolidation of an offensive in the "tri-border" area where Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions meet.

As a result of assault actions, the village of Yatskivka in Donetsk region was now in Ukrainian hands, said Oleksii Hromov, deputy head of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff.

Yatskivka is to the east of the Oskil river. Large areas west of the river, including the city of Izium, were captured by the Ukrainians in a sudden offensive earlier this month.

The situation further south around Bakhmut was "difficult but controlled," Hromov said in a briefing in Kyiv on Friday, adding that Russia "continued offensive actions in order to expel our units" from their positions around Bakhmut and elsewhere along the front lines in Donetsk.

Ukrainian troops had improved their positions around Bakhmut, which has been under siege for several months, Hromov said.

"Thanks to the timely regrouping of units of one of the mechanized brigades and high-quality organization of the battle, we managed to restore the previously lost position and ensure control over the positions south to Bakhmut," he said.

Elsewhere in Donetsk, near Avdiivka and Novopavlivka, Russian forces were conducting offensive actions with the goal of taking the settlements of Nevirske and Novomykhailivka, Hromov said.​

Live updates: https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-09-23-22/index.html

 

Ukraine's stunning counter-offensive: Commanders explain Kyiv's military success • FRANCE 24

 

Update from Ukraine | They were sent for their final Journey to Ukraine. Many run Away

 

Ukraine Conflict Updates


Key Takeaways

• Russian partial mobilization efforts are suffering from serious and systemic problems in their first days, generating popular resentment and setting conditions to produce a mobilized reserve force incapable of accomplishing the tasks Russian President Vladimir Putin has set for it.
• Protests, attacks against recruiting centers, and vandalism have occurred across Russia in the first 48 hours after the announcement of partial mobilization.
• Ukrainian forces continued to advance north and northwest of Lyman.
• Ukrainian forces continued their interdiction campaign in Kherson Oblast and maintained operational silence regarding Ukrainian progress on the axis.
• Russian forces continued to launch unsuccessful assaults near Bakhmut and northwest of Donetsk City.
• Ukrainian forces reportedly shot down an Iranian-made Mohajer-6 drone in an unspecified area of the Black Sea, likely near Odesa.
• Russian occupation authorities began the voting period for their sham annexation referenda on September 23 with overt coercion and falsified turnout numbers.
• Russian occupation authorities remained on high alert to prevent partisan attacks against sham election workers, polling stations, and government facilities. . . .

Ukrainian sources reported that Ukrainian forces continued to repel Russian effort to regain lost positions around eastern Kupyansk on September 23.[15] Ukrainian officials also reported that Russian forces again unsuccessfully targeted a dam over the Pechenihy Reservoir likely in an effort to flood the Siverskyi Donets River and disrupt Ukrainian logistics on its eastern bank.[16]

Ukrainian forces continued to advance north and northwest of Lyman. Russian milbloggers reported that Ukrainian forces have driven into the rear of Russian positions in Lyman from the north, after reportedly breaking through Russian defenses around Karpivka and Ridkodub (about 22km northwest of Lyman).[17] Another milblogger noted that there are no communications with a Russian BARS-13 reservist detachment that was occupying a defensive position near Drobysheve (7km west of Lyman).[18]

The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian strikes wounded the commander of the 144th Motorized Rifle Division of the 20th Combined Arms Army of the Western Military District (WMD), Major General Oleg Tsokov in Svatove (about 37km east of the new frontline in Kharkiv-Luhansk Oblast).[19] . . .

Ukrainian military officials maintained their operational silence regarding Ukrainian ground attacks in Kherson Oblast but noted that Russian forces continued efforts to restore lost positions and fired along the entire line of contact on September 23. Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command reported on September 23 that Russian forces continued to organize their defense of occupied Ukrainian territories and are using aerial reconnaissance to search for opportunities to regain Ukrainian-held positions.[20]

Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command reported continued Ukrainian interdiction efforts against Russian positions in Kherson Oblast on September 22-23. . . .

 

Have you seen Ursula's latest?

EU Commission President Threatens Italy On Eve Of Election, Says Brussels Has 'Tools' If Wrong Parties Win

...a 'mask-off' moment for EU's totalitarian regime...

'European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is being accused of election interference after threatening to use “tools” if the 'wrong' election result is achieved in Italy’s national elections, set to take place this Sunday, Sept. 25.'

TOTALITARIANISM.

'Giorgia Meloni’s electric performances at political rallies have made her a virtual shoo-in to become Italy’s first female prime minister in Sunday’s ballot.

Von der Leyen demands that Italy not elect her, or else: 'adding that those same tools are already being used against Hungary and Poland.'

“We will see the result of the vote in Italy,” said von der Leyen.

'Von Der Leyen was making a clear reference to the European Commission’s ability to cut funding to member states it views as violating “rule of law,” a powerful tool Brussels can use to punish any democratically-elected government in Europe. Just last week, the commission proposed cutting €7.5 billion in funding to Hungary over its opposition to mass migration and support for traditional values.'

“If things go in a difficult direction — and I’ve spoken about Hungary and Poland — we have the tools.”

 

Leo2s are better from a fuel POV - run on diesel - but still have some of the other issues. They are a similar weight to Abrams and will require their own logistics setup. They might be a more practical option going forward. I'm not sure if they can be easily integrated into the Ukranian army during the war (if so go for it), but they certainly can be afterward.

Ukraine will end up like Poland - running several very different types of MBTs simultaneously. It might be that top tier units get Leo2s while others get to keep the better quality Russian derived stuff for the moment. With whole factories in Ukraine set up to support that sort of equipment it makes sense to keep it in service. Ukraine will be able to pick & choose the best, get help from former WARPAC countries upgrading it and use it to supplement better NATO standard gear.

Ukraine will be spending a LOT of money on new kit. If there is old stuff that can sensibly be kept in service they will do it. More practical (and arguably important) to replace the airforce than the entire tank inventory.

 

Lyman should fall in the next day or two.

 

More resupply for Ukranian forces then.

 

Ukraine Conflict Updates

Key Takeaways


Local military commissars are carrying out mobilization orders in a way
that suggests a possible disconnect between Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu’s guidelines for partial mobilization and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands for haste.

• • Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely continuing to address systemic issues in Russian senior command by replacing individual senior subordinates.
  • Russia may be preparing to forcibly mobilize Ukrainian prisoners of war in what may constitute a violation of the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War.
  • Ukrainian forces likely continued to make gains along the Kharkiv-Luhansk Oblast border and northwest of Lyman.
  • Ukrainian military officials indicated that the continued Ukrainian interdiction campaign in southern Ukraine is degrading Russian combat capabilities.
  • Russian sources identified three locations where Ukrainian troops conducted ground operations in Kherson Oblast- northern Kherson Oblast, western Kherson Oblast near the Inhulets River, and northwest of Kherson City near the Mykolaiv-Kherson Oblast border.
  • Russian forces conducted ground attacks around Bakhmut, Donetsk City, and in western Donetsk Oblast.
  • Russian authorities continue to coerce residents of occupied Ukrainian territory into voting in sham referenda. . . .

Ukrainian forces likely continued to make localized gains along the Kharkiv-Luhansk Oblast border on September 24. A Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian assault detachments occupied the settlements of Hrianykivka and Horobivka in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast (about 70km east of Chuhuiv).[12] Russian sources additionally indicated that Ukrainian forces are continuing positional battles further south along the Oskil River near Kupyansk.[13] These Russian claims are consistent with a statement made by the Ukrainian General Staff that Ukrainian troops repelled a Russian attack on Petropavlivka, 7km east of Kupyansk, which indicates that Ukrainian forces have made further gains east of Kupyansk.[14] Geolocated combat footage posted on September 23 showing Ukrainian forces destroying a Russian tank just east of Petropavlivka supports this assessment.[15] . . . .

Ukrainian military officials maintained operational silence regarding Ukrainian ground maneuvers in Kherson Oblast on September 24 but reiterated that the current Ukrainian interdiction campaign in southern Ukraine is continuing to have tangible impacts on Russian capabilities on this axis. Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command noted that Russian units are attempting to rotate units and conduct limited ground maneuvers in unspecified areas and are setting up new defensive lines that are further removed from the current frontline.[20] These statements suggest that Russian forces are trying to restore and preserve current combat capabilities by rotating likely exhausted units and moving further back into rear areas in the face of continued Ukrainian strikes on Russian concentration areas. Unit rotation suggests that the Russians will be unable to add additional forces to this axis since it implies removing exhausted units likely on a one-for-one basis with relatively fresher units. . . .

 

Nice thought but the regular Russian Army units already left Lyman. All that is left is puppet state conscripts. They were basically left to fight or die.

 

If the goofy Krauts ever vote to send them.

 

I am more interested in what was left behind with them. Won't be as much fun as the huge haul over the past month, but I feel certain the Ukranians will find some useful stuff.

Sadly I suspect the eleventysquillion conscripts Russian is apparently raising as we speak will bot have much of value with them. Just warm bodies to hold an AK until such time as they drop it & run.

 

It will happen. There are plenty of nations in Europe in with Leo2s ready to hand over. Germany will cave.

 

You know what stinks? There are basically no consequences for violations of the Geneva Conventions.