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#87451
4 hours ago, KYHorn said:
🤖🇺🇦 Ukraine will deploy full-fledged robotic units as part of the Armed Forces brigades on the front line. ❗️Ground drones are able to: - implement offensive and defensive operations; - provide logistical support to units; - evacuate the wounded; - mine and demine territories.

 

📉👀 The Russians have been decreasing the number of assault operations for the 7th day in a row, – DeepState with reference to the statistics of the General Staff. ❗️Thus, 80 attacks were recorded yesterday, while at the peak in December their number reached 292 per day.

 

Running out of gas/vodka?

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  • AUS-97HORN
    AUS-97HORN

    For the love of Christ woman,  stop posting the same fucking thing every 20 mins just to make your neurotic self feel better.     Bring something useful to the thread other than your inane babbli

  • Im_smarter_then_you
    Im_smarter_then_you

  • InkaUtexas
    InkaUtexas

    I volunteered today. Log/Admin role to replace people for 30-60 days. The operation is in the west, or should the Orcs win will be pulled back behind the NATO wall. Either way the humanitarian effort

Posted Images

#87455
9 hours ago, KYHorn said:
🤖🇺🇦 Ukraine will deploy full-fledged robotic units as part of the Armed Forces brigades on the front line. ❗️Ground drones are able to: - implement offensive and defensive operations; - provide logistical support to units; - evacuate the wounded; - mine and demine territories.

Interesting

📉👀 The Russians have been decreasing the number of assault operations for the 7th day in a row, – DeepState with reference to the statistics of the General Staff. ❗️Thus, 80 attacks were recorded yesterday, while at the peak in December their number reached 292 per day.

 

mirrCF.gif

#87456
44 minutes ago, Parliament said:

That's a nifty headline, but to me it just looks like two guys on a lark trying to blow off steam after being on the front line.  The real shit is buried deep in the article:

Quote

 

“Russian forces are sustaining heavy losses,” Ukrainian analysis group Frontelligence Insight explained. “However, they continue advancing in multiple areas where Ukrainian defenses are stretched thin due to manpower shortages—and where Russia has been able to concentrate superior numbers.”

 

 

#87457
6 hours ago, MissingInAction said:

Those morons are going to run like rabbits when they see a phalanx of machine gun drones coming their way.

I sure as fuck would.

IMG_0957.jpeg.de74a3e47d1d78535502ddbbede00ec5.jpeg

Joke on you, can’t see shit!

#87458
On 2/4/2025 at 2:41 PM, Laxtonto said:

This is good and bad, because if you throw up a map of rare earth minerals, you now have a defacto set of new boundaries for the Ukraine. 
 

Back to the carrot and the stick approach to all of these negotiations.  I don’t necessarily like the approach because it now implies that the aid we now gives comes at a “price”, but it also now provides a legitimate impetuous for the US to provide assistance that make sure that the mineral rights they get are now being protected. Also it puts added pressure on Russia to be careful of over running locations now in which the US has territorial mineral rights to.

The real question will be what aid does this buy and what, if any, conditions that aid comes with? Any new redlines in their use? Any old redlines removed?

The devil is in the details.

I know you know this, but it's always worth repeating in the off chance that somebody may read it for the first time, but we have many legitimate reasons other than just helping an ally and defending democracy (which should be enough by itself). The majority of money we've "spent" has never left the States. It's being spent all over the county in factories, providing munitions, supplies, thousands of jobs, etc. And all the vehicles, tanks and whatnot were a liability for us as we were paying to store, maintain and eventually pay to dispose of them. 

  • Popular Post
#87459

It’d be better if we were doing this only to help Ukraine, but to sell it we need to articulate more reasons:

1) Domestic manufacturing of highly technical weapons.

 1a) All the additional weapons we’re selling allied because of how good our shit kills things.

2) Mineral, oil and NG

3) The only good Russian is a dead Russian.  Since 1946, America has worked to make a World where Russia can’t project power outside the borders of their own shithole country.  Those of us raised in the 80’s and still love Reagan need to remind those of us raised in the 80’s who no longer believe in that.  We are SO close to stuffing those fuckwads in a box that Harry Truman started building a generation ago.  Let us not lose faith.

Edited by Parliament

#87460
21 minutes ago, Parliament said:

It’d be better if we were doing this only to help Ukraine, but to sell it we need to articulate more reasons:

1) Domestic manufacturing of highly technical weapons.

 1a) All the additional weapons we’re selling allied because of how good our shit kills things.

2) Mineral, oil and NG

3) The only good Russian is a dead Russian.  Since 1946, America has worked to make a World where Russia can’t project power outside the borders of their own shithole country.  Those of us raised in the 80’s and still love Reagan need to remind those of us raised in the 80’s who no longer believe in that.  We are SO close to stuffing those fuckwads in a box that Harry Truman started building a generation ago.  Let us not lose faith.

Fuck yeah.

#87461

Some nice explosions here

❗️A 🇷🇺Russian assault group on a buggy is blown up by anti-tank mines

 

 

#87463

intriguing - link opens only in the app though

Russian telegram channels report that the Ukrainian Armed Forces may be advancing toward Ulanok in the Kursk region, which is causing serious concern among Russians. https://t.me/c/1377735387/3218

 

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#87465
On 2/3/2025 at 6:49 AM, Schulz2.0 said:
The aftermath of Ukrainian debris. At least 11 fire spots at the Volgograd refinery and 1 fire at the Astrakhan gas processing plant, according to NASA FIRMS fire monitoring.
Another week begins with fire for Russia’s oil industry, as overnight, drones strike the Astrakhan gas plant and the Lukoil refinery in Volgograd. The refinery has already been hit before. Multiple explosions are heard at the sites. The fire rages.

 

The strike on the Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant is "kind of a big deal." The mother of all fuel-air bombs.

image.thumb.png.772cc8ac16cd115ec14e0eda21567fd7.png 

Damaging a Russian facility that makes transportation fuels, and money, is a prime target. Astrakhan is a world class Gas Processing Facility, with a capacity of ~ 1 BCF/day (Billion FT3/day) comparable to some of the larger facilities in the US, producing ~  9,000 tons/day of sulfur, ~ 5% of current world output. 9,000 tons/day is about 90 rail cars, or a train over a mile long.

image.thumb.png.5dcc985c05cb87302114a868d9c7be51.png 

Gas from the USSR's Astrakhan field is one of the most difficult ever to be processed.

Acidic components comprise more than 38% of the composition, including 14% by vol carbon dioxide. "Acid Gas" refers to impurities that are acidic, namely Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), and other related sulfur compounds.  The sulfur compounds is what gives off the rotten egg smell associated with natural gas.

38% acid gas implies a very large % of H2S, possibly as high as 20+%.  Hydrogen Sulfide is lethal at concentrations of 500 parts per million (ppm).  Anything over 1,000 ppm (0.1%) is drop dead lethal. 

 Per Russian officials, 

 "Dear citizens, this morning the city was covered by a cloud of natural gas, which has a specific smell that appears after processing. I would like to warn Astrakhan residents that in the coming days before the plant returns to its scheduled operating mode, such situations are possible."

 "Natural gas is not hazardous to health in open spaces, and the air quality will return to normal in the near future."

As Jenny shouted when she sensed danger, "Run, Forrest! Run!

Processing gas includes removing the impurities, especially the ones that are dangerous and make the gas unsalable. Pure methane is odorless, and processed gas may have a faint sulfur smell due to the acceptable levels of impurities. The smell at Astrakhan is from the unprocessed gas being flared (bad) or vented (worse). 

If the gas is burned at high rates, incomplete combustion and lethal byproducts (sulfuric acid/acid rain) are probable.

If the gas is leaking unburned, that is a worst case scenario. It is lethal, and explosive.

It would be extremely unusual to have a flare system capable of flaring the full capacity of the plant. It appears that each of the well sites has a flare system. 

Per the screen shot from Google, you can see the 3 sets of flare stacks northeast of the plant, where gas would be burned in a controlled setting, with the flame at the top, ~ 200 feet above the ground.  Compare that to the picture in the OP with the uncontrolled fireballs at ground level. 🙂 !!!  This area is ~ 65 feet below sea level; very different than the high plains of West Texas.

Please note the size of the facility, the "process area" is ~ 1 mile long. That's a big f*cking gas plant.

image.thumb.png.80caf83aa9625a459428fe20a58fd431.png

The plant is expected to be offline for some time, which makes for difficult choices. In the US, the plant would be down for a long time, given the potential threat to the general public. At least the "How did it happen?" part of the fire investigation is pretty easy. 

The smart move would be to shut-in he production, and not produce the gas. But shutting in the gas means shutting down the oil production. Depending on many related factors, shutting in the wells may damage the wells to the point of decreasing production, long term.

Newsweek - Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant - Russians Told Not to Panic as Attack on Gas Plant Unleashes Putrid Smell

Quote

 

Published Feb 05, 2025 at 11:28 AM EST
Updated Feb 05, 2025 at 4:08 PM EST

By Brendan Cole
Senior News Reporter

Authorities in Russia have tried to ease concerns about a strong odor that followed a suspected Ukrainian drone strike on a natural gas processing facility.  Debris struck the Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant in the southern Russian region on Monday in a drone attack which sparked a fire and caused a shutdown.

After residents complained about breathing difficulties and the smell caused by the attack, Astrakhan's regional governor insisted there was no danger to health. 

The strike on Astrakhan, which is a city of nearly half a million people, shows the reach of Ukraine's drone capabilities. The damage to the processing plant is a particular blow to Moscow, as it is among the world's largest gas chemical complexes. The plant was hit because it was one of Russia's key energy facilities which processes gas condensate and produces gasoline and diesel fuel. Ukraine's General Staff also said its defense forces struck an oil refinery in Volgograd.

Residents in Astrakhan have complained of a smell and reported breathing problems. Astrakhan's governor, Igor Babushkin, said the city was covered by a cloud of natural gas which has a distinctive smell due to processing.

But he insisted that natural gas is not hazardous to health in open spaces, and he added that the air quality will return to normal soon as the gas moves away from the city.

Babushkin said a team was working to repair the site and that the process to get production restarted was underway, which includes flare-burning, although he did not clarify which production was being restarted.

Social media users made sarcastic comments about the reassurances, with one posting on Telegram to "breathe in deeply," while another said that the governor should "tell us what else is good for your health."

Astrakhan Governor Igor Babushkin said in a statement: "Dear citizens, this morning the city was covered by a cloud of natural gas, which has a specific smell that appears after processing. I would like to warn Astrakhan residents that in the coming days before the plant returns to its scheduled operating mode, such situations are possible."

He added: "Natural gas is not hazardous to health in open spaces, and the air quality will return to normal in the near future."

Motor fuel production at the site is likely to be suspended for several months, according to Reuters, citing industry experts.

Ukrainian attacks on Russian military and industrial facilities will likely continue.

 

 

#87467
3 hours ago, Chopper said:

intriguing - link opens only in the app though

Russian telegram channels report that the Ukrainian Armed Forces may be advancing toward Ulanok in the Kursk region, which is causing serious concern among Russians. https://t.me/c/1377735387/3218

 

UPD: lol

😏😏😏

 

  • Popular Post
#87468

Oligarchs are finally getting some relief

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-disbands-task-force-targeting-russian-oligarchs-2025-02-06/

Quote

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department under President Donald Trump is disbanding an effort started after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine to enforce sanctions and target oligarchs close to the Kremlin.


A memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi, issued on Wednesday during a wave of orders on her first day in office but not previously reported, said the effort, known as Task Force KleptoCapture, will end as part of a shift in focus and funding to combating drug cartels and international gangs.

"This policy requires a fundamental change in mindset and approach," Bondi wrote in the directive, adding that resources now devoted to enforcing sanctions and seizing the assets of oligarchs will be redirected to countering cartels.

The effort, launched during Democratic President Joe Biden's administration, was designed to strain the finances of wealthy associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin and punish those facilitating sanctions and export control violations.

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It was part of a broader push to freeze Russia out of global markets and enforce wide-ranging sanctions imposed on Moscow amid international condemnation of its war in Ukraine.

The task force brought indictments against aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska and TV tycoon Konstantin Malofeyev for alleged sanctions busting, and seized yachts belonging to sanctioned oligarchs Suleiman Kerimov and Viktor Vekselberg.

Cases investigated by the task force are likely to continue, but the work will no longer be centralized at Justice Department headquarters.

"Are we going to suddenly see a surge of sanctioned oligarch wealth flood into the United States? I don’t think so," said Andrew Adams, the first leader of the task force who is now at law firm Steptoe. "What you will see is a sharp decline in the pace of charges that target facilitators that are specific to Russia."

 

  • Popular Post
#87469
10 minutes ago, Captainant said:

I was just reading and fuming about this. Basically this fucking AG's first official act was to protect russian oligarchs, and her second was to make it openly apparent that russia (and China) can interfere in US elections.

well look at that [contains quote post or other embedded content]

 

Edited by Chopper

#87470

Saw some "leaked" peace plan but it looks like it was just made up by a pro Russian tabloid

ok the "leak" came from a ..........readyukranian supermarket tabloid..... no officials quoted....the owner hates president Zand the "newspaper" is under sanctions for printing.... FAKE NEWS....

1887704186566909989?t=8EkIwYypOKjfeLh0Ia

 

 

#87472

Go to Settings > Moderation and you can alter them there, to include making your own moderation markings.

#87473
39 minutes ago, MillerEP said:

Go to Settings > Moderation and you can alter them there, to include making your own moderation markings.

Ok got it figured out. They have a lot of moderation settings. 

#87474
12 minutes ago, NorthLoop said:

Ok got it figured out. They have a lot of moderation settings. 

You can even create your own advanced moderation rules and share them out. NAFO has one that will mark propagandists for you, etc. BlueSky has a lot of really cool features.

#87475
23 hours ago, Chopper said:

intriguing - link opens only in the app though

Russian telegram channels report that the Ukrainian Armed Forces may be advancing toward Ulanok in the Kursk region, which is causing serious concern among Russians. https://t.me/c/1377735387/3218

 

If anyone likes a map to visualize 

Russian sources still downplaying Ukrainian advances in Kursk. While geolocated footage clearly shows Ukrainian presence inside Cherkasskaya Konopel'ka, Fanaseevka and deeper east of Fanaseevka, Russian sources still claim Ukrainians are only 'scattered' in forest strips.

1887917264248426614?t=lW1aNdlykabt0urO0d

  • Popular Post
#87476
☠️☠️☠️ [contains quote post or other embedded content]

 

#87477

More from his visit to Ukraine.  These guys seem very professional and to have good equipment, up to and including a SCAR-L (drool):

 

  • Popular Post
#87478

2nd best army in the world, moving to donkey powered transportation 

The same Russian media. Two different articles. A difference of 4 years.

1887911147216548070

 

 

Edited by Viper

#87479
6 hours ago, MillerEP said:

Go to Settings > Moderation and you can alter them there, to include making your own moderation markings.

I think to do this you need an account.

#87480

The story of a SU-25 in 2 parts -- edit but part 2 may be fake, i dunno

Minus Russian SU-25 ✈️🔥
❗️After the fall of the 🇷🇺Su-25 shot down from 🇺🇦MANPADS, a rescue team arrived at the place of its pilot's landing. But at the moment of landing, 🇷🇺Mi-8 was attacked by three 🇺🇦Ukrainian FPV drones, which were waiting for an opportunity.

 

Edited by Chopper

#87482
⚠️ Caution: the video does not end well. This is an old video circulating on Russian Telegram channels. Presumably, the two guys were trying to defrost something on the vehicle. They did not think things through...

 

#87484
The AFU regained positions inside Kotlyne and Pishchane, south of Pokrovsk.
#87485
https://surlyx.com/Breaking911/status/1888334392411779414
 
Rare earth access for the US to finance Ukraine, while limiting access to those minerals to Russia/China/Iran...
Seems very similar to the push for Greenland. Starting to feel like the access to rare earth materials is the AI driven resource need that oil was during the 1960s to the 2010s.

Make the deal now to stay alive. Then renegotiate after and say “but it was that fucking guy and we had to do it to live.” Every one will understand.
#87486
2 hours ago, Chopper said:
⚠️ Caution: the video does not end well. This is an old video circulating on Russian Telegram channels. Presumably, the two guys were trying to defrost something on the vehicle. They did not think things through...

 

Season 2 of Land Man is gonna be lit!

#87487

 

💯🛢️ "The sanctions are not well enforced. This is a general problem with many economic sanctions. Even the U.S. doesn’t enforce as effectively as it should the sanctions we impose. And the EU hardly enforces sanctions at all," — @AmbJohnBolton Watch here 👀👇 https://youtu.be/n3ykNstVVA8?si=pj_Wy3pmX18GeaHJ
Russia & NK sharing lessons about war is hardly a surprise. However, this will drive a wave of learning about modern war, and restructuring, in the NK armed forces which will be problematic for the Ukrainians, and for ROK & US forces to defend against any NK attack. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20250208_05/

 

#87488

Details about the first ever combined arms drone assault.

https://www.counteroffensive.news/p/the-first-ever-all-drone-assault

Spoiler

Inside the first ever all-drone assault by Ukraine

The Counteroffensive is the first to give a detailed play-by-play of a major milestone in military drone history. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at its planning, execution and impact on future wars.

 

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https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.ama

 
 

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Editor’s Note: This is story-telling you can’t get anywhere else, with a human-first news style emblematic of The Counteroffensive. Subscribers help us fight apathy about the war in Ukraine by producing fascinating, first-hand accounts of those fighting for democracy.

What are you waiting for? Upgrade now!

Upgrade now!

 

https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.ama

 

A ground kamikaze drone similar to those used in the assault. Note the green device mounted on the drone, made to imitate an American claymore mine.

KHARKIV REGION, Ukraine — In the early dawn hours, as the sun rose in the first week of December 2024, a symphony of drones began to sound.

But this was no ordinary drone wave.

In fact, this one was the first attack of its kind: a successful, all-drone assault on Russian positions. The assault, deserving of a place in the history books, took place near Lyptsi, in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine.

It was a test – initially expected to fail – of whether multiple units could orchestrate a mission with dozens of FPV, recon, turret-mounted, and kamikaze drones all working in tandem on the ground and in the air.

The Counteroffensive is the first news outlet to publish a detailed play-by-play of this milestone in drone warfare, following interviews with some of the unit’s military officers.

 

https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.ama

 

True to his nickname, a military officer with the call sign ‘Happy’ grins in front of the Khartiia Brigade emblem.

'Happy,' the call sign for a soldier from Mykolaiv Oblast, is known for his ever-present smile and a moustache groomed to evoke the facial hair of a Zaporizhzhian Cossack – he wanted a style that stood out. He asked to be identified only by his call sign for security purposes.

At just 22 years old, he is the commander of a platoon known as the Ground Unmanned Robotics Unit, which has the informal nickname ‘Deus Ex Machina,’ or literally in Latin, ‘a God from a machine.’

“We will be here until the end, we will defend our land, and we will move forward to victory with confidence,” the young military officer told The Counteroffensive earlier this week.

He graduated from a military university in Kyiv, becoming an officer, and sometime after that moved to the Khartiia Brigade. His background is in military engineering, mostly involving demining and emplacing mines, he explained alternating between curling his Ukrainian-styled mustache and taking drags from his cigarette.

He began commanding the platoon this past summer. Within just months, he and his unit have had to become fast experts in using, innovating with, and repairing Ukrainian ground drones – to say nothing of establishing a set of tactics and procedures to use them effectively with other types of weaponry.

“When we felt discomfort, we developed. We did not [previously have expertise in] drones, it was uncomfortable for us,” ‘Happy’ explained. “And it forced us to work more intensively on ourselves and with drones.”

Planning the first successful all-drone mission:

 

 

The unit itself has a less-strict culture than the rest of the Ukrainian military, one that reflects its role as laboratory for cutting-edge military innovations.

"It doesn't really matter what your rank is. It depends on people. If you have people who can do stuff efficiently, we don't care about your rank. It can be some [random] soldier who does better work than some very high-profile officer. So we don't care about this," said ‘Mathematician,’ the call sign of an officer who advises units in the brigade about how to use drone technology for maximum tactical effect.

The units involved in this assault were tasked by the Khartiia Brigade commander with an experiment: could they organize an all-drone assault within a week – and actually pull it off?

"I was skeptical… and didn't expect at all some [level of] success,” ‘Mathematician’ said.

The higher-ups were half-expecting that they would very quickly get word that the drone force had been decimated early in the mission.

 

https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.ama

 

A Ukrainian military officer with the call sign ‘Mathematician’ poses in a garage with drones belonging to his unit. His tattoo reads: “No Human is Immortal”

To do this right, they would have to invent a new playbook entirely. After all, it was a completely novel approach to an assault. As part of the planning, they established checkpoints, routes and designated communications channels.

The assault was rehearsed on three occasions, with one of the main concerns being that the Russians would spot the incoming wave of Ukrainian drones, and move to destroy them before they could be effectively deployed.

Because of the significant amounts of ordinance being deployed with the ground drones, an early Russian counter-attack could cause the kamikaze drones to explode and destroy the rest of the assault elements.

Forty-eight hours before the mission began, drones began being moved to their starting points. Success was defined in the mission planning as all drones arriving on target and striking their designated assignments.

 

https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.ama

 

The Khartiia Brigade demonstrates some of the drones at their disposal.

How the mission went down:

The mission itself involved complex logistics and communications requirements. No drone swarm technology was used, which meant that each individual drone was piloted by an individual pilot.

Less than 100 soldiers were involved in the operation, including pilots, logisticians, planners and support staff – all to launch an assault of around 30 drones, ‘Mathematician’ said.

About a half a dozen kamikaze and machine-gun-mounted ground drones were used. Also involved in the assault were several FPVs, including one with a mounted assault rifle. Large copter drones dropped munitions, while dozens more surveillance/recon drones provided battlefield awareness.

Multiple units were involved in the attack, although the Ukrainian military declined to specify which units or how many. They also declined to say how the troops communicated with one another.

What we do know is that ground and aerial drones were working together, with pilots spaced out in different locations, coordinating the mission while watching the battlefield context simultaneously from a common video feed.

What took days to plan took just one or two hours to play out, along a heavily-fortified Russian position near a large forest.

 

https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.ama

 

A ground drone that has the capability for mounting a turret on top of it, similar to one used during the assault in early December.

The waves of drones from air and ground simultaneously took the Russian position off guard – and inspired a sudden panic. While aerial drone attacks are common along the frontlines, the use of ground drones in tandem is not.

Ukrainian units intercepted Russian communications that showed chaos and fear among Russian troops, who were fighting machines with no human troops in sight, ‘Mathematician’ said. This was its intended effect: to create some pressure on the Russian lines and suppress the enemy.

Due to careful planning, they didn't lose any drones to Russian electronic warfare, which often disrupts communications between pilots and drones. A number of Russian FPV drones tried to strike the attacking Ukrainian ones, but were unsuccessful.

Terrain, it turned out, was a major challenge. Ukrainian mud is famous for its thick, sticky texture. The black 'chernozem' soil has been the source of the country's ultra-productive agricultural sector, but also causes incredible challenges for cars, tanks and ground drones alike.

The conceptual tradeoff between air and ground drones fundamentally comes down to payload. Air drones can largely fly free of the constraints created by obstacles, but they can carry far less than ground drones can; ground drones can carry much more, but have to contend with Ukraine’s famously thick mud, foliage, and other surface-level impediments.

In fact, during the mission, one of the Ukrainian ground drones got stuck in the mud (one of the unit’s planners brightly noted that it was never destroyed and was eventually recovered from the field by Ukrainian forces).


 

The Khartiia Brigade demonstrates a recon dog-like drone, a ground kamikaze drone, and a mine-laying drone they have in their inventory.

The mission succeeded beyond expectations: right after the ground drones finished their mission, infantry rushed into the area and secured the positions, ‘Mathematician’ told The Counteroffensive. In fact, he said, Ukrainian troops still hold this particular position today.

It’s obvious that the innovators in these units want first and foremost to save Ukrainian lives. Using more drones for more missions means less blood shed.

"The advantage is obvious: that robots do it, not people. And, let's say, if robots are destroyed, it will not feel pain. It’s just a tin can. It is much better to lose a drone than the life of a human,” said ‘Happy,’ the platoon commander.

The success of this mission will likely mean more iteration, more tinkering, more missions, and experimentation with different scales of attacks.

"This is just the beginning of the process. We will work to do more and more similar missions -- and even better ones," ‘Happy’ said.

When not working with drones, the officer is a devotee of Stephen King novels – so he’s no stranger to the horror of unintended consequences.

 

https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.ama

 

A recon dog drone does a ‘downward dog’ yoga pose – or so it seems – during a demonstration by the Khartiia Brigade. This was not used during the assault described in the story.

In particular, he said he’s scared about how artificial intelligence may merge with drone technology. As of yet, drones cannot make most decisions on their own without humans – yet.

I think it's a matter of time before a person makes a big mistake,” he said.

Still, the officer lives up to his nickname, and is optimistic about the immediate next steps. He’s also quite happily disinterested in his role during a significant achievement in military technology.

In the meantime, he isn’t sure how to put this achievement in context. Maybe he will only understand the significant years from now, with the passage of time, he mused.

Right now, it’s too close to what happened.

And there’s so much more work to do.

Inside the first ever all-drone assault by Ukraine
The Counteroffensive is the first to give a detailed play-by-play of a major milestone in military drone history. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at its planning, execution and impact on future wars.
Tim Mak, Oleksandr Matviienko, and Mariana Lastovyria
Feb 08, 2025
222
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A ground kamikaze drone similar to those used in the assault. Note the green device mounted on the drone, made to imitate an American claymore mine.
KHARKIV REGION, Ukraine — In the early dawn hours, as the sun rose in the first week of December 2024, a symphony of drones began to sound.

But this was no ordinary drone wave.

In fact, this one was the first attack of its kind: a successful, all-drone assault on Russian positions. The assault, deserving of a place in the history books, took place near Lyptsi, in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine.

It was a test – initially expected to fail – of whether multiple units could orchestrate a mission with dozens of FPV, recon, turret-mounted, and kamikaze drones all working in tandem on the ground and in the air.

The Counteroffensive is the first news outlet to publish a detailed play-by-play of this milestone in drone warfare, following interviews with some of the unit’s military officers.


True to his nickname, a military officer with the call sign ‘Happy’ grins in front of the Khartiia Brigade emblem.
'Happy,' the call sign for a soldier from Mykolaiv Oblast, is known for his ever-present smile and a moustache groomed to evoke the facial hair of a Zaporizhzhian Cossack – he wanted a style that stood out. He asked to be identified only by his call sign for security purposes.

At just 22 years old, he is the commander of a platoon known as the Ground Unmanned Robotics Unit, which has the informal nickname ‘Deus Ex Machina,’ or literally in Latin, ‘a God from a machine.’

“We will be here until the end, we will defend our land, and we will move forward to victory with confidence,” the young military officer told The Counteroffensive earlier this week.

He graduated from a military university in Kyiv, becoming an officer, and sometime after that moved to the Khartiia Brigade. His background is in military engineering, mostly involving demining and emplacing mines, he explained alternating between curling his Ukrainian-styled mustache and taking drags from his cigarette.

He began commanding the platoon this past summer. Within just months, he and his unit have had to become fast experts in using, innovating with, and repairing Ukrainian ground drones – to say nothing of establishing a set of tactics and procedures to use them effectively with other types of weaponry.

“When we felt discomfort, we developed. We did not [previously have expertise in] drones, it was uncomfortable for us,” ‘Happy’ explained. “And it forced us to work more intensively on ourselves and with drones.”

Does defense technology in Ukraine interest you? Did you know we have a sister publication that covers the ins-and-outs of Ukrainian miltech innovation? Check out www.counteroffensive.pro today!

Planning the first successful all-drone mission:


The unit itself has a less-strict culture than the rest of the Ukrainian military, one that reflects its role as laboratory for cutting-edge military innovations.

"It doesn't really matter what your rank is. It depends on people. If you have people who can do stuff efficiently, we don't care about your rank. It can be some [random] soldier who does better work than some very high-profile officer. So we don't care about this," said ‘Mathematician,’ the call sign of an officer who advises units in the brigade about how to use drone technology for maximum tactical effect.

The units involved in this assault were tasked by the Khartiia Brigade commander with an experiment: could they organize an all-drone assault within a week – and actually pull it off?

"I was skeptical… and didn't expect at all some [level of] success,” ‘Mathematician’ said.

The higher-ups were half-expecting that they would very quickly get word that the drone force had been decimated early in the mission.


A Ukrainian military officer with the call sign ‘Mathematician’ poses in a garage with drones belonging to his unit. His tattoo reads: “No Human is Immortal”
To do this right, they would have to invent a new playbook entirely. After all, it was a completely novel approach to an assault. As part of the planning, they established checkpoints, routes and designated communications channels.

The assault was rehearsed on three occasions, with one of the main concerns being that the Russians would spot the incoming wave of Ukrainian drones, and move to destroy them before they could be effectively deployed.

Because of the significant amounts of ordinance being deployed with the ground drones, an early Russian counter-attack could cause the kamikaze drones to explode and destroy the rest of the assault elements.

Forty-eight hours before the mission began, drones began being moved to their starting points. Success was defined in the mission planning as all drones arriving on target and striking their designated assignments.


The Khartiia Brigade demonstrates some of the drones at their disposal.
How the mission went down:

The mission itself involved complex logistics and communications requirements. No drone swarm technology was used, which meant that each individual drone was piloted by an individual pilot.

Less than 100 soldiers were involved in the operation, including pilots, logisticians, planners and support staff – all to launch an assault of around 30 drones, ‘Mathematician’ said.

About a half a dozen kamikaze and machine-gun-mounted ground drones were used. Also involved in the assault were several FPVs, including one with a mounted assault rifle. Large copter drones dropped munitions, while dozens more surveillance/recon drones provided battlefield awareness.

Multiple units were involved in the attack, although the Ukrainian military declined to specify which units or how many. They also declined to say how the troops communicated with one another.

What we do know is that ground and aerial drones were working together, with pilots spaced out in different locations, coordinating the mission while watching the battlefield context simultaneously from a common video feed.

What took days to plan took just one or two hours to play out, along a heavily-fortified Russian position near a large forest.


A ground drone that has the capability for mounting a turret on top of it, similar to one used during the assault in early December.
The waves of drones from air and ground simultaneously took the Russian position off guard – and inspired a sudden panic. While aerial drone attacks are common along the frontlines, the use of ground drones in tandem is not.

Ukrainian units intercepted Russian communications that showed chaos and fear among Russian troops, who were fighting machines with no human troops in sight, ‘Mathematician’ said. This was its intended effect: to create some pressure on the Russian lines and suppress the enemy.

Due to careful planning, they didn't lose any drones to Russian electronic warfare, which often disrupts communications between pilots and drones. A number of Russian FPV drones tried to strike the attacking Ukrainian ones, but were unsuccessful.

Terrain, it turned out, was a major challenge. Ukrainian mud is famous for its thick, sticky texture. The black 'chernozem' soil has been the source of the country's ultra-productive agricultural sector, but also causes incredible challenges for cars, tanks and ground drones alike.

The conceptual tradeoff between air and ground drones fundamentally comes down to payload. Air drones can largely fly free of the constraints created by obstacles, but they can carry far less than ground drones can; ground drones can carry much more, but have to contend with Ukraine’s famously thick mud, foliage, and other surface-level impediments.

In fact, during the mission, one of the Ukrainian ground drones got stuck in the mud (one of the unit’s planners brightly noted that it was never destroyed and was eventually recovered from the field by Ukrainian forces).

Does defense technology in Ukraine interest you? Did you know we have a sister publication that covers the ins-and-outs of Ukrainian miltech innovation? Check out www.counteroffensive.pro today!

What’s next for all-drone warfare

The Khartiia Brigade demonstrates a recon dog-like drone, a ground kamikaze drone, and a mine-laying drone they have in their inventory.

The mission succeeded beyond expectations: right after the ground drones finished their mission, infantry rushed into the area and secured the positions, ‘Mathematician’ told The Counteroffensive. In fact, he said, Ukrainian troops still hold this particular position today.

It’s obvious that the innovators in these units want first and foremost to save Ukrainian lives. Using more drones for more missions means less blood shed.

"The advantage is obvious: that robots do it, not people. And, let's say, if robots are destroyed, it will not feel pain. It’s just a tin can. It is much better to lose a drone than the life of a human,” said ‘Happy,’ the platoon commander.

The success of this mission will likely mean more iteration, more tinkering, more missions, and experimentation with different scales of attacks.

"This is just the beginning of the process. We will work to do more and more similar missions -- and even better ones," ‘Happy’ said.

When not working with drones, the officer is a devotee of Stephen King novels – so he’s no stranger to the horror of unintended consequences.


A recon dog drone does a ‘downward dog’ yoga pose – or so it seems – during a demonstration by the Khartiia Brigade. This was not used during the assault described in the story.
In particular, he said he’s scared about how artificial intelligence may merge with drone technology. As of yet, drones cannot make most decisions on their own without humans – yet.

“I think it's a matter of time before a person makes a big mistake,” he said.

Still, the officer lives up to his nickname, and is optimistic about the immediate next steps. He’s also quite happily disinterested in his role during a significant achievement in military technology.

In the meantime, he isn’t sure how to put this achievement in context. Maybe he will only understand the significant years from now, with the passage of time, he mused.

Right now, it’s too close to what happened.

And there’s so much more work to do.

 

Edited by KYHorn

  • Popular Post
#87489

maybe a little turnabout?

⚡️Russia says its undersea telecom cable in Baltic Sea damaged by 'external impact.' The damage comes amid a series of recent disruptions to undersea telecom and power cables in the Baltic Sea. https://kyivindependent.com/russia-says-its-undersea-telecom-cable-in-baltic-sea-damaged-by-external-impact/

 

#87490
15 hours ago, Laxtonto said:

https://surlyx.com/Breaking911/status/1888334392411779414

 

Rare earth access for the US to finance Ukraine, while limiting access to those minerals to Russia/China/Iran...

Seems very similar to the push for Greenland. Starting to feel like the access to rare earth materials is the AI driven resource need that oil was during the 1960s to the 2010s.

Rare earth minerals arent actually rare and we already have a lot of them. The issue isnt access to them. It is the ability to mine and process them. 

#87491
10 hours ago, Chopper said:

maybe a little turnabout?

⚡️Russia says its undersea telecom cable in Baltic Sea damaged by 'external impact.' The damage comes amid a series of recent disruptions to undersea telecom and power cables in the Baltic Sea. https://kyivindependent.com/russia-says-its-undersea-telecom-cable-in-baltic-sea-damaged-by-external-impact/

 

Possibly done by the Allies, but also coulda done via Russian navy fuckup  (They're Aggy.)

#87492
3 hours ago, Dahobbs said:

Rare earth minerals arent actually rare and we already have a lot of them. The issue isnt access to them. It is the ability to mine and process them. 

I agree, "Rare" is a misnomer as far as % of the upper crust or even full-scale scarcity, but the big pain in the ass is that they are spread all over and most land that they could be found on/in is already claimed or under control by someone else. That and the process of mining them tend to be somewhat regulatory and cost-prohibitive in the US. This is also why Greenland is such a talking point; a huge landmass and little red tape to mine them. 

The projection in 2020 was that Ukraine would be the 2nd largest producer of REs by 2030 in the world... Not so much now..

I think from a mineral richness standpoint, the value really is that 1/3 of Li for Europe and the Middle East comes from the Ukraine, same with things like Graphite, Titanium, and Uranium. Add into that the RE's and financial and geo-political "value" is there, even before the basic common sense of not letting Putin and Russia expand.

 

Every move being done now is not with an eye of corralling Russia initially, but limiting China. In many ways, the current geopolitical strategic thinking for this (and to some extent the last) administration is that the Cold War has shifted from Russia/US from out childhoods to China/US and we need to approach our viewpoints with that shift in mind. We have to accept that it is viewed that Russia is no longer the greatest threat to the sovereignty of the nations of the globe, and though the invasion of the Ukraine is horrific and barbaric, all moves will be done with limiting China in mind as well.

#87493
2 hours ago, Laxtonto said:

I agree, "Rare" is a misnomer as far as % of the upper crust or even full-scale scarcity, but the big pain in the ass is that they are spread all over and most land that they could be found on/in is already claimed or under control by someone else. That and the process of mining them tend to be somewhat regulatory and cost-prohibitive in the US. This is also why Greenland is such a talking point; a huge landmass and little red tape to mine them. 

The projection in 2020 was that Ukraine would be the 2nd largest producer of REs by 2030 in the world... Not so much now..

I think from a mineral richness standpoint, the value really is that 1/3 of Li for Europe and the Middle East comes from the Ukraine, same with things like Graphite, Titanium, and Uranium. Add into that the RE's and financial and geo-political "value" is there, even before the basic common sense of not letting Putin and Russia expand.

 

Every move being done now is not with an eye of corralling Russia initially, but limiting China. In many ways, the current geopolitical strategic thinking for this (and to some extent the last) administration is that the Cold War has shifted from Russia/US from out childhoods to China/US and we need to approach our viewpoints with that shift in mind. We have to accept that it is viewed that Russia is no longer the greatest threat to the sovereignty of the nations of the globe, and though the invasion of the Ukraine is horrific and barbaric, all moves will be done with limiting China in mind as well.

Yes, China is our principle economic and military competitor. That has been true for about two decades. It is not new. Military and civilian leadership have recognized that for quite some time now. But let's not pretend our moves are necessarily coherent. For instance, Greenland is a property of a close economic and military ally. At least up until we indicated we wanted to take it, there wouldn't have been a real concern that American companies would be denied to the opportunity to develop resources there if the economics supported it. The problem has been that the economics aren't great. China has a many year head start on generating the technologies and workforce necessary to mine and refine rare earth minerals. Chinese companies also own intellectual property that restricts development. It wasn't the raw material we lacked, but rather the economic incentive to develop this industry. Were we truly concerned with combating China, a stimulus bill similar to the CHIPS Act would have made a lot more sense and wouldn't have risked severe blowback. Similarly, restricting the sale and development of EVs further erodes any economic incentive by decreasing the demand that could have fueled development (e.g., lithium for batteries and neodymium for electric motors). 

As to Russia, the war in Ukraine is largely the result of losing sight of Russia as a rival and destabilizing geopolitical element. It isn't a good idea to double down on that failed strategy. 

#87494
On 1/30/2025 at 11:51 AM, Gatorubet said:

He said “if you ever meet a member of the 82nd airborne, buy them a drink for me.”

Buy your son a drink for my father, and us middlemen will figure logistics out later.

More affirmation of my dad’s feelings. 

Listen to this Battle of the Bulge veteran tanker giving you his opinion of the 82nd airborne.

edit: starts at the 9:33 mark

Edited by Gatorubet

  • Popular Post
#87496

In heated battle against the target, it's all about the execution.

❗️A 🇷🇺Russian infantry fighting vehicle driver, frightened by the drone's flight, accidentally crushed his own infantrymen who had just disembarked.

 

#87497
1 hour ago, Chopper said:

In heated battle against the target, it's all about the execution.

 

Boris's 3-hour driving school doesn't work very well on the battlefield when you are under fire.

#87498
🔥👀 Rostec helicopter plant, Kuibyshev-Lisichansk oil pipeline, oil depot, three oil refineries and LPDS station have been attacked by drones in Russia over the past two days, - ASTRA

 

 

#87500
15 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

August 2nd Paratroopers Day in Russia gonna be slightly different this year

IMG_3255.jpeg.4e27468e327e4f54000930d7226c42c6.jpeg

That looks like some mashup scene from Breaking Bad and the Blind Melon video.  

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