In the case of the Moskva, the radar of the Neptune missile that is thought to have hit it was able to stay off for as long as possible - preventing the ship from detecting it - because, when it was fired, the Ukrainians knew where it was going to be. "We think, in orbit… they're using some of their things as ASATS (anti-satellite weapons). Actually, just colliding with them, we can't prove that. And they may be able to disable some of them electronically as well." Providing Ukraine with access to Elon Musk's Starlink system has changed the game for its forces' ability to communicate in the field. Sources have revealed that in intercepted military communications, Russian soldiers have been frantic as soon as they realise one is nearby or above them, because it means they are likely to come under accurate fire. In the Ukraine invasion, Russia initially tried to use blitzkrieg tactics, learned from the Germans in WW2, by attempting to sweep down from the border with Belarus and take Kyiv within days, as Hitler had done in Poland in the late 1930s.
There have also been reports of troops landing by sea at the Black Sea port cities of Mariupol and Odesa in the south. Tanks and troops have poured into Ukraine at points along its eastern, southern and northern borders, Ukraine says. There are https://euronewstop.co.uk/how-did-boris-johnson-travel-to-ukraine.html of attacks on Ukrainian military infrastructure across the country, and Russian convoys entering from all directions. The success of anti-tank systems the UK and the West has given Ukraine shows that planners' decisions to commission some weapons to counter a Soviet invasion of Europe was right. NATO believed the main threat to Western Europe came from advancing Soviet tanks and developed equipment to use against them on the battlefield. The latest versions of those weapons includes the NLAWs (Next generation Light Anti-tank Weapons) and Javelins.
What about Putin’s international partners?
Much of the fighting appears to be centred around the east of the country. But clashes have also been taking place around Kyiv and the Black Sea port cities of Odesa and Mariupol. But later on Thursday President Zelensky said Ukraine had suffered losses and a lot of aircraft and armoured vehicles had been destroyed.
Russian missile strikes continue to strike population centres, with some of the most intense waves yet falling during the New Year. Yet the only threat to any civilian in Ukraine continues to come from Russia. Russia continues to impede access for humanitarian organisations to the millions of people in need. It orders its weapons from the DPRK, in violation of multiple resolutions agreed in this Chamber, under this Russian Foreign Minister’s instruction. Its purchase and use of Iranian drones involves both states violating a Security Council resolution.
Biden to host German chancellor to discuss Ukraine aid
True Russian cyberwarfare capabilities have proved something of a damp squib in Ukraine. Far from crippling the entire national infrastructure, the worst they are known to have done is briefly disrupt power and mobile phone networks. That, though, is partly because Ukraine had already learnt from previous Russian cyberattacks over the past decade. Right now, such scenarios tend to exercise only the minds of Ministry of Defence war-gamers and military thriller writers.
Last week, after President Putin ordered the first Russian troops into Ukraine, the Prime Minister confirmed the UK would sanction three wealthy allies of Vladimir Putin and five Russian banks. The Prime Minister called Russia’s attack a “massive invasion”, and accused President Putin of having “attacked a friendly country without any provocation and without any credible excuses”. If President Putin decides to extend his attacks beyond Russia and into a neighbouring Nato state, such as Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia, then the UK would be bound to go to war with Russia.
The chief of general staff highlighted the example of Sweden, which has just reintroduced a form of national service as it closes in on joining Nato. Ever since, Ukraine's military has been locked in a war with Russian-backed rebels in areas of the east near Russia's borders. A large diversion of citizens to military duty would leave gaps in the workforce to be filled, be it guarding food warehouses or building trenches and bomb shelters. Retired members of essential professions – doctors, nurses, morticians, police – would be urged back into service. As in Ukraine, office techies could be in demand to operate drones on the front lines and to fend off cyberattacks.