This is the map we have been staring at for months without much movement in the frontlines. The black and red lines are the Russian lines of communication (*). These are vital. It’s a big deal that Ukraine is finally able to attack them. Something must have changed. Ukraine never tried to attack them before and Russia should be defending them tooth and nail.
Maybe it’s the HIMARS and other artillery. Maybe Russian forces are falling apart. Whatever it is, the fact that Ukraine can capture important targets like these should spark a lot of optimism.
(*) for those that don’t know: lines of communication is just a fancy military term for logistics.
I probably told this story in whatever iteration of the forum we were in back then, but shortly after Trump took office, I was living in a high rise in Baltimore not too far from the Inner Harbor. Being on a late night poker schedule, I’d wake up between 11am and 1pm. Well, one day I wake up around 9:30 or 10:00 to the sound of fighter jets buzzing my building. It was super loud and the building shook.
I look outside and I see like four or five fighter jets flying circles over downtown Baltimore and the Inner Harbor. I’m thinking, “WHAT THE FUCK? ARE WE AT WAR?” and remembering that on 9/11 there were fighter jets up for defense reasons, so maybe something like that happened?
They looped back around and flew in between my building and the high rise across from it, through not a particularly large gap - maybe a couple hundred yards. A few minutes later I finally figured out what was going on, when the Blue Angels took their turn practicing for the upcoming air show.
https://mobile.twitter.com/uamemesforces/status/1567968558663217154
orc defenses cannot belief what fell
https://mobile.twitter.com/tonchev_/status/1567986443867533313
some info from russian telegram channels that a counteroffensive attack started on Liman, south of Izyum
A successful attack here is what would be necessary to complete the encirclement.
at least one more account saying rhe AFU entered Izyum
I don’t believe that, unless they are talking about the larger district.
well, a couple of things here. Ru Mod is dead silent on counteroffensive. we have had 3 days of Ua claims confirmed and nothing in response. that’s not quite true, Ru fired upon Kharkiv again last night.
And we have ISW published claim that Izyum will be taken over in 72 hours, which should sound sillier than the o g “Kyiv will fall in 72 hours”. except it doesn’t sound silly at all somehow.
The ISW was talking about Kupyansk, not Izyum.
I always wondered what those “Speed limit enforced by aircraft” signs really meant. When I was a prosecutor, as near as I could figure, they were total bullshit.
oh sorry, you are right it was kupyansk. i saw it’s bridge over Oskol was already taken out, by either AFU offensive unit or retreating Ru units.
I’ve seen a documentary of cops using light aircraft, a stopwatch and marks on the road to gauge driver speed, which they relay to cars nearby. They probably put the signs in wherever the marks also exist.
just to be clear, the bridge over Oskol around Isyum is claimed to be taken out, which counts as AFU is possibly around some Izyum outskirts.
the bridge over Oskol around Kupyansk was confirmed to having been taken out yesterday. we have photos and video.
They even had a bear in the air!
even more messages that gunbattles have started in the city of Izyum.
a separate report that russian riot police post was shot in a drive-by. In Kursk region, on territory of Russia.
also reports of forced mobilization in Belgorod and Kursk. that one is very hard to belief
Those signs existed in the jurisdictions I worked in and that was definitely not a thing that was happening, or had ever happened, in those jurisdictions.
Wish these generals would slow the advance down, I’m trying to get some work done here.
Don’t worry, I’ve got some documentary footage summarizing the last few months of the war up to today:
