Live Conflict Ukraine-Russia War

[Soldier30]

Rare footage of a direct hit by a Russian FAB-1500M-54 aerial bomb on a building in Kupyansk was published by a local resident. The bomb was dropped by a Su-34 fighter-bomber. Judging by the video, the operator knew that the bomb would hit. Apparently, the information that the abandoned 9-story building houses a control center for Ukrainian drones is true. It is worth noting that since last year, the Ukrainian army began preparing Kupyansk for defense, the outskirts of the city are already empty. The bomb did not hit the foundation of the building, thanks to which the house did not collapse, and the quality of the Soviet construction also has an effect.

 

[Soldier30]

Footage of a massive breakthrough by a Russian mechanized group in the area of the village of Malaya Tokmachka in the Orekhov direction. The goal of the breakthrough was to enter the eastern outskirts of the village of Malaya Tokmachka and land troops, which was ultimately achieved. In such a large battle, losses of equipment are naturally inevitable, this is shown in the video. It is worth noting that in this area, the Ukrainian army had a well-organized defense and the Zaporizhzhya section of the front was considered stable. The exact type of Russian equipment used could not be determined due to the poor quality of the video. It was reported that 15 armored vehicles and about 20 light vehicles were used, including ATVs, buggies and motorcycles. The Russian mechanized group used tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, BMDs and armored personnel carriers, the equipment is equipped with protection against drones. To repel the attack, the Ukrainian army used FPV drones and artillery. The Ukrainian army is reportedly planning a counterattack. The video is shortened and shows the use of equipment and the landing of troops.

 

[GoatsMilk]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1913498000078315673

 

[Spitfire9]

The Czech Republic has declared itself fully independent of Russian oil supplies in a further blow to Russia's beleaguered economy. Czech government officials said it was the first time in its history that the country had ended its supplies from the east.

The announcement came upon completion of upgrades to the Transalpine (TAL) pipeline which have boosted the capacity of oil flowing from the west. Prime Minister Petr Fiala told a news conference broadcast on Czech TV that the first increased supplies from the pipeline had reached a central oil depot.

MSN

 

[Soldier30]

Footage of a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile hitting a Ukrainian M142 HIMARS MLRS. The HIMARS MLRS was developed in the United States in 1996 and until recently was the most effective in the Ukrainian army. But over the past three years, at least 79 HIMARS MLRS installations have been destroyed in Ukraine, according to Russian media. Russian drone operators tracked the entire route of the HIMARS MLRS. The video was filmed on the outskirts of the village of Starovarvarovka, located northwest of the city of Druzhkovka in Donbass. Judging by the video, the HIMARS MLRS was destroyed with its personnel. The official Pentagon report states that as of October 14, 2022, Ukraine received 38 HIMARS MLRS, and additional MLRS may be delivered by the end of 2022. Also in 2022, another 11 M270 MLRS MLRS were delivered from the UK and Italy, and 5 MARS II MLRS were delivered by Germany. In total, in 2022, Ukraine officially already had 54 HIMARS MLRS, M270 MLRS, and MARS II MLRS in service.

 

[Soldier30]

The first footage of the use in Ukraine of the Russian UAV "Gerbera", equipped with a warhead. The UAV "Gerbera" is considered a junior version of the Russian drones "Geran-2". The video shows the strike of the Russian UAV "Gerbera" on the Ukrainian modified SAM "Buk-M1", also called FrankenSAM. The FrankenSAM project is an American program designed to adapt Western missiles for air defense systems of Soviet manufacture. It is supposed to equip Ukrainian air defense systems with AIM-9, AIM-7 and RIM-7 missiles. The location of the shooting is not reported, judging by the video, as a result of the drone strike, the radar of the Ukrainian air defense "Buk-M1" was damaged.

 

[Soldier30]

The first footage of North Korean M1991 Juche-100 MLRS in service with the Russian army. . The video shows the installation of Mangal-type protection on the M1991 MLRS, the location of the shooting is not reported. The 240-mm M1991 MLRS is equipped with 22 rockets and can hit targets at a distance of up to 60 km. In 2024, a firing range of 80 km was achieved, using a new rocket. The M1991 MLRS was adopted by North Korea in the late 1980s.

 

[Soldier30]

Servicemen of the 40th Guards Marine Brigade of Russia demonstrated the use of kamikaze drones "Prince Vandal Novgorodsky" in battles in Ukraine.
The video shows rare high-quality footage of Russian FPV drones on the Ukrainian self-propelled howitzer "CAESAR" and the artillery tractor ATS-59G. The 155-mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer "Caesar" has been produced in France by Nexter since 2002. One could say that the drones literally hunted for the Ukrainian self-propelled howitzer "CAESAR".
First, the Russian drone attacked the self-propelled howitzer "CAESAR" in a camouflaged position, after which the Ukrainian crew tried to take the howitzer to a safer place. During the trip, the Russian drone attacked the howitzer again. After that, the servicemen abandoned the howitzer. Then, to evacuate the self-propelled gun "CAESAR", a Ukrainian artillery tractor ATS-59G arrived, but after another drone attack, the artillery tractor was also abandoned. It is worth noting that the artillery tractor ATS-59G was not damaged by the first drone strike and the howitzer could have been saved. Later, the drones simply destroyed all the equipment.

 

[Relic]

Russia continues to throw unfathomable numbers of people and armored vehicles into the wood chipper that is the open fields of Eastern Ukraine. Here has another disastrous attack today, thwarted by one of Ukraine's best brigades, the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade.

29 armored vehicles and some 140 estimated Russian troops were crushed in this attempt.

NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com)

A massive Russian assault in the Zaporizhzhia axis was crushed by the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade — over 300 troops and 40+ vehicles, including tanks and IFVs, advanced but were spotted early by Ukrainian drones. 29 enemy vehicles and around 140 troops were destroyed.

bsky.app

 

[Relic]

It's taken a while to get to this point (multiple years) but Ukraine has started to cause of absolute chaos for high value Russian targets such as costly air defense systems and radars. They're also targeting Russian leadership at great distances.

How are they doing it? Ukrainian Special Forces are finally using German HF-1, AI powered loitering munitions, immune to Russian jamming. These units can loiter for approximately 1 hour and and they have an effective range of up to 50km. Germany has now delivered 1050 HF-1 Drones and will deliver a total of 4000 units by the end of 2025. Ukraine has also ordered 6000 upgraded HX-2 Drones, which work similarly and boast a range of up to 100km. The first HX-2 drones are expected to arrive over the summer months, while a steady flow of HF-1 Drones arrive monthly.

What's more is that Ukraine is now building American Switchblade 600 Anti-Armor Drones under license in Ukraine. Rather than procure them directly from USA, they've integrated them into their own domestic production. The Switchblade 600 has range between 50-80km and uses a Javelin ATGM warhead to explode in a top down attack. It's ideally suited for smashing Russian MBTs, IFVs, APCs and Artillery.

Frontline report: German wooden AI drones just smoked Putin’s troops in Ukraine - Euromaidan Press

Ukraine is using HF1 loitering drones with plywood frames to strike Russian air defenses more than 50 kilometers behind the front.

euromaidanpress.com

 

[contricusc]

Ukraine has also ordered 6000 upgraded HX-2 Drones, which work similarly and boast a range of up to 100km. The first HX-2 drones are expected to arrive over the summer months, while a steady flow of HF-1 Drones arrive monthly.

More about this here:

Helsing to produce 6,000 additional strike drones for Ukraine – Helsing

helsing.ai

The good news is that Helsing is going to build more factories spread towards Europe, creating the base for future mass production of intelligent and high precision European drones.

The more Europe invests in weapons production facilities and R&D, the least likely it is for Putin to ever be able to get a peace under favorable terms. The future doesn’t look very bright for Russia.

 

[MaciekRS]

It looks like Ukraine started to use their first Saab 340 ACS-890 AWACS aircraft.
"
Kyiv has received the first of two Saab 340 AEW&C (ACS 890) airborne early warning aircraft promised by Sweden, which was spotted over Western Ukraine, the Turkish press reports.

The first ACS-890 AWACS aircraft has arrived in Ukraine and has already made a test flight, appearing in the sky over Lviv. As local residents reported, the aircraft circled not only over the city for some time, but also flew in different directions, almost reaching Ternopil. It is assumed that the equipment was tested during the flight."

https://en.topwar.ru/263398-pojavilsja-v-nebe-nad-lvovom-kiev-poluchil-pervyj-iz-dvuh-obeschannyh-shveciej-samoletov-drlo-acs-890.html

Flightradar24 showed today that second Saab flew today from Sweden to Poland and is propably ready for action too.

 

[Relic]

Ukraine has successfully penetrated Russian air defenses and targeted the 51st GRAU arsenal, 65km from Moscow. This was another substantial storage site for artillery shells, MLRS rockets, air defense missiles and ballistic missiles.

This is the 4th GRAU arsenal in Western Russia that Ukraine has destroyed this year, depleting Russian munition advantage.

Those explosions are ongoing and look glorious!

🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social)

💥/1. Just now, Russian ammunition depot, 65km from Moscow was targeted, secondary detonations are ongoing!

bsky.app

NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com)

"Many people have their windows blown out. And the explosions are not stopping. There is an ongoing sound of rockets whistling in all directions," locals report about the attack on the 51th GRAU arsenal.

bsky.app

 

[Spitfire9]

(Reuters) -Slowing economic growth and reduced demand for large purchases like cars, electronics and household appliances have curtailed the volume of Russia's imports from China, first-quarter customs data showed, just as Beijing faces serious trade headwinds from U.S. tariffs.
Trade between Russia and China has soared since Western countries shunned Moscow over its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, ballooning to a record 1.74 trillion yuan ($239 billion) last year, despite payment disruptions caused by western sanctions.

https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2025-04-21/russias-slowing-economic-growth-cuts-demand-for-chinese-imports

Expensive finance depressing demand? Reuters interviewed 25 cognoscenti in the last few days. 25 out of 25 thought that the central bank will hold the rate at 21% in their 25/04/2025 meeting to review base rate.

No easing of the pain Russian industry (non-military) is feeling then, just a continuation in its decline.

 

[contricusc]

No easing of the pain Russian industry (non-military) is feeling then, just a continuation in its decline.

But there is also a silver lining for Putin when it comes to Russia’s economic collapse. When Russians will be dirt poor, they will be willing to enroll in the meat waves for a much lower price

 

[Soldier30]

The Russian Orbita system, designed for remote control of drones, was used for the first time in battles in Ukraine. The operator of the Russian FPV drone Ovod was in Moscow, the drone was launched in the Donbass, near the city of Chasov Yar. With the help of a remote relay command and telemetry channel, the drone attacked the positions of the Ukrainian army in the vicinity of the city of Chasov Yar, at a distance of 11 kilometers from the launch site. The use of the Orbita system will protect drone operators and allow the creation of large remote centers with them.

 

[Soldier30]

Russian FPV drone operators from the 98th Airborne Division showed footage of a drone attack on a column of armored vehicles of the Ukrainian army near the town of Chasov Yar. The Ukrainian column included the 24th King Danylo Brigade, a tank, an M113 armored personnel carrier, two infantry fighting vehicles and other equipment. The Ukrainian group was moving to evacuate the wounded after a previous unsuccessful attack. The column of armored vehicles was reportedly destroyed as a result of FPV drone attacks and running over mines. The video has been shortened, and the dead servicemen have been removed from the video.

 

[mTT]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1913997738980557213

North Korean M1991 rocket launcher spotted
In service with Russian armed forces
Comes with a 240mm caliber
Range from 40km to 60km
Capable of carrying 22 rockets

 

[contricusc]

North Korean M1991 rocket launcher spotted
In service with Russian armed forces

The Russians are using equipment from the North-Koreans.