Ukr War Update EXTRA: Propagandists' Gloom, Kofman on Bakhmut, Massicot on Missiles
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This summary has been produced automatically by an AI Large Language Model (LLM) without any human intervention. Whilst every effort has been made to prompt the LLM to produce accurate output, there may be inconsistencies, inaccuracies or hallucinations!
Table of Contents 📖
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"If you're looking for one enabling technology that's critical to the war effort, it's Starlink. That's it. I see it everywhere. It's essential. Everybody has it."
Hello Team!
Jonathan shares some extra nuggets and tidbits to give viewers a greater understanding of the war. He has a backlog of content he wants to cover.
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Gloom Envelops Putin's TV Propagandists
- Julia Davis of The Daily Beast wrote a piece for CEPA (Center for European Policy Analysis) on how gloom has enveloped Putin's TV propagandists
- Propagandists like Vladimir Solovyov are starting to acknowledge the possibility of Russia losing the war
- They claim Russia is fighting NATO, not Ukraine (which they say doesn't exist) - setting up excuses in case of defeat
- Reality is starting to set in as Russians see the high casualties after a year of war that was supposed to be a 3-day operation
Michael Kofman's Observations from Bakhmut
- In a podcast, Michael Kofman shares insights from his recent visit to Bakhmut and the front lines
- Top priorities for Ukraine are artillery, air defense, and ammunition - force quality is an issue with many experienced troops lost
- Ukraine needs more armoured fighting vehicles and mechanized infantry for offensives
- Breaching equipment and assault bridging vehicles are critical capability gaps for Ukraine to overcome Russian minefields and defenses
- Starlink is absolutely essential to Ukraine's war effort - Kofman says it's the one enabling technology most critical
Dara Massicot's Analysis of Recent Russian Missile Attacks
- The recent 81-missile attack was not the largest but featured a wide variety of missiles launched from different locations, making it complex to defend against
- Russia used 6 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles (largest combat use so far), Kh-22 anti-ship missiles, and S-300 SAMs in a ground attack role - some of which are very difficult for Ukraine to intercept
- Russia is experimenting with different missiles, shifting launch locations, using decoys like balloons to probe weaknesses in Ukrainian air defenses and exhaust their interceptor missiles over time
- The strikes mainly target critical infrastructure but also hit residential areas - they don't seem to directly support the Donbas effort, contrary to Putin's stated war aims
- Russia is facing precision-guided munition inventory issues and using what they have left, but the attacks strain Ukrainian air defenses which is a problem over time
Wrap up
Jonathan appreciates all the support and welcomes new channel members. He reads out the names of several new "Deep Geopolitical Thinkers" who have joined recently.
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🤖❓ AI Debrief (post task) - anything the AI didn't understand
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