In a few seconds a remotely piloted aircraft destroyed a Su-57, the flagship of the Russian air force. A piece worth 150 million euros crumbled instantly, predictably sending Kiev’s military and political establishment into raptures, which even claims to have damaged a second one. By focusing (in every sense) on the Su-57, not liquidated in flight, but in the hangar of Akhtubinsk airport (in Astrakhan), we risk, however, overlooking the true significance of the event, perhaps even a turning point in the conflict.
For two consecutive days, it had already happened on Saturday in Mozdok (Ossetia), Ukrainian drones managed to penetrate the defenses of Russian airports up to 590 km from the border, without the use of high-speed missiles, but above all without encountering obstacles. The incidents raise a legitimate question: What happened to Moscow’s air defenses? Judging from Mozdok’s video, the protective equipment consisted of some anti-aircraft guns and some artillery pieces. There is a lack of bullets, not even a shadow of the deadly S-400s, and there is even a shortage of technicians and professional soldiers, largely deployed in Donbass.
The Tsar is naked in his house: until 2022 Russia exhibited the second most powerful military air defense in the world after that of the United States, crumbled week after week by drone blitzes. Kiev started by ordering them online on the Chinese AliExpress platform (like a book or a shirt), until over time using the deadly American-made MQ-9 Reaper and Switchblade 300. In the late afternoon Kiev forces struck an ammunition depot in Rakytne, about 80 km north of Belgorod. Penetrating for the umpteenth time in a few hours into the invaders’ territory, and doing so for the first time with a Mig-29 jet.
Leaving aside the propaganda, Kiev’s raw nerve continues to be the eastern front. The Russian army claims to have improved its positions in Kharkiv (captured the village of Hlyboke), thus disproving White House National Security Advisor Sullivan’s claims that he spoke of a stabilized front.
Problems also in Chasiv Yar, where Moscow’s military have conquered the eastern outskirts of the city, a fundamental hub for reaching Kramatorsk. Bombings were reported on Kherson, Nikopol, Luhansk and Sumy. The Northern brigades, as published exclusively by Il Giornale last May 13, were reinforced by African militiamen recruited in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. The news was reported yesterday by Bloomberg, who confirmed that the Kremlin is adding additional manpower for the offensive in Kharkiv. In addition to mercenaries, students and young foreign workers are forcibly recruited.
On the 837th day of the camp, NATO is considering the possibility of opening a representative office in Kiev. From Moscow Lavrov says he is not surprised, “after the French instructors in Ukraine it was to be expected.”
US President Biden has reached an agreement with his French colleague Macron on using the profits from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine. There will be 26 Mirages that Paris will deliver to Kiev. A Ukrainian drone damaged a Russian ship at the port of Yeisk in the Sea of Azov.
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