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Russia's Air War Intensifies as Ukraine Strikes Refineries
Confirmed
In Short: According to analysis by Foreign Policy, Russia's use of advanced Iranian-supplied drones, capable of flying at speeds up to 375 miles per hour, aims to intensify the conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party secured 355 out of 450 seats in the Duma, according to Professor Emeritus of Russian History Robert Service at the University of Oxford.
Putin's electoral strategy, described as a 'crusade against Western atheism and Ukrainian 'Nazis',' has been marked by a deeply unpopular 'partial mobilization' in September 2022, leading to nearly 1,200 arrests.
Despite war weariness inside Russia, Putin's support remains high, with polls showing his approval ratings above 60 percent.
Ukraine's intelligence estimates suggest that the Russian armed forces are experiencing 30,000 casualties a month, making it difficult to replenish numbers with volunteers alone.
The potential for Russia to launch an offensive from the north, specifically from the Bryansk region, is being considered by Ukrainian officials.
Ukrainian officials believe that stretching the front and depriving Ukraine of its reserves is a likely scenario, as confirmed by several data sources.
Belarusian leadership is unlikely to allow its territory to be used as a staging area for an offensive operation, according to a National Security Journal report.
Background
Ukraine's Defense Ministry claimed late Sunday that recent strikes on refineries in cities including Moscow, Yaroslavl, Ust-Luga, Perm, Saratov, and Syzran had put 51% of Russia’s oil refining capacity out of action.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry claimed late Sunday that recent strikes on refineries in cities including Moscow, Yaroslavl, Ust-Luga, Perm, Saratov, and Syzran had put 51% of Russia’s oil refining capacity out of action.
What's confirmed
- Russian President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party secured 355 out of 450 seats in the Duma, according to Professor Emeritus of Russian History Robert Service at the University of Oxford.
- Putin's electoral strategy, described as a 'crusade against Western atheism and Ukrainian 'Nazis',' has been marked by a deeply unpopular 'partial mobilization' in September 2022, leading to nearly 1,200 arrests.
- Despite war weariness inside Russia, Putin's support remains high, with polls showing his approval ratings above 60 percent.
- Ukraine's intelligence estimates suggest that the Russian armed forces are experiencing 30,000 casualties a month, making it difficult to replenish numbers with volunteers alone.
- The potential for Russia to launch an offensive from the north, specifically from the Bryansk region, is being considered by Ukrainian officials.
- Ukrainian officials believe that stretching the front and depriving Ukraine of its reserves is a likely scenario, as confirmed by several data sources.
- Belarusian leadership is unlikely to allow its territory to be used as a staging area for an offensive operation, according to a National Security Journal report.
What's still developing
- Putin tried what he called a “partial mobilization” in September 2022, but it was a deeply unpopular move that produced rare protests across the country and led to almost 1,200 arrests.
- Putin, writes Service, “presents himself as the father of the Russian nation and wishes to demonstrate in public that most Russians freely vote for him and his party.” Although few believe that these results accurately reflect his actual popularity, the most highly regarded polling agency in Russia, the Levada Center, still publishes survey findings showing his numbers above 60 percent.
- In the future, when people type the words “who was this century’s most prolific practitioner of rigged elections” into Google, the photo and bio at the top of the search results will be those of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- The parties that remained on the “approved” voting list of course supported Putin’s war in Ukraine.
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- At speeds of up to 375 miles per hour, they can fly more than three times as fast as the original Iranian-supplied propeller drones, which makes them much harder to intercept.