1 November, 2023
1. Russian has enhanced its AAD potential vs Ukraine
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu claimed on November 1, 2023 that the entire fleet of F-16 warplanes pledged to Kiev by Western donors could be destroyed in less than three weeks. He based his claim on the high rate of success displayed by Russian air defenses in shooting down Ukrainian military aircraft last month.
Speaking at an enlarged ministerial meeting in Moscow, Shoigu praised Russian forces for conducting over 1,400 successful intercepts in October 2023.
He said the figure included 37 Ukrainian planes downed in the air during very limited timeframe, almost twice the number of F-16s that NATO nations promised to supply to Kiev. If Russian Air Defense Forces work this way, the total amount of the F16 fleet to be sent to Ukrainian Air Force will be destroyed roughly in 20 days,” he predicted
The aircraft that Russian forces took down last month were predominantly Soviet-designed MiG-29s and Su-25s, according to the Russian MoD. Shoigu previously claimed that Russian troops had been using new systems to improve interceptions.
A source cited by TASS has claimed that Russia has been using A-50 airborne radar planes (Russian AWACS) to detect Ukrainian targets earlier and at lower altitudes. The hits were reportedly achieved by long-range guided anti-aircraft missiles fired from S-400 launchers, armed with new warheads. The maximum firing range of such missiles have not been disclosed, but experts claim that they are capable to knock down various hostile jets at longer distances that before.
Ever since the start of the conflict with Moscow, Kiev has been pushing its allies to supply increasingly advanced weapons. Ukrainian pilots are currently being trained to fly F-16s with unsatisfactory results.
The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Belgium without making precise and correct calculation of the developments have pledged to provide Kiev with the fighter jets over the next few years.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced on October 30, 2023 that the first batch of F-16s allocated by his Government would arrive within two weeks in Romania, where the training of Ukrainians is conducted.
Reports on the number of F-16 that Ukraine could get have been inconsistent. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky claimed in last August that he was promised 42 jets by The Netherlands and Belgium, but a joint statement by the donors did not mention any specific number.
Kiev’s supporters previously suggested that Western-designed weapons would become a gamechanger in the conflict, with their hopes pinned at various points on HIMARS MLRS, Storm Shadow cruise missiles, Leopard main battle tanks, and ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles. The Kremlin has dismissed the notion, saying that the newly-supplied Western weapons will burn like the rest of them, meaning tanks, APC/ACVs etc.
2. President Putin made critical remarks on massive killings of civilians in the Gaza sector
At the meeting with members of the Russian Security Council and Government, and heads of security agencies held on October 30, 2023 in the outskirts of the Russian capital Vladimir Putin made several emotional remarks on the recent developments in the Middle East.
He said: “We remember how the current phase of the Middle East crisis began: it was a terrorist attack against Israeli civilians and civilians from other countries who happened to be in Israel at that time. We see that, unfortunately, instead of punishing criminals and terrorists, they started to retaliate according to the principle of collective responsibility.
There is no justification for the terrible events taking place in Gaza now, where hundreds of thousands of innocent people are being killed indiscriminately, without having anywhere to flee or hide from the bombing.
When you see blood-stained children, dead children, the suffering of women and old people, when you see medics killed, of course, it makes you clench your fists as tears well in your eyes. There is no other way to put it”.
The UNICEF has reiterated its call for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, saying the conflict is killing thousands of kids in Gaza and putting many more at risk from the violence and a water crisis. “Gaza has become a graveyard for thousands of children,” UNICEF spokesman James Elder told reporters on October 31 in Geneva, “It’s a living hell for everyone else.” He noted that more than 3,450 children in the Palestinian enclave have already been killed, and the death toll rises significantly every day.
At the meeting Vladimir Putin also noted that, unlike the West, Russian approaches towards the situation in the Middle East have always lacked mercenary interests, intrigues and double standards. He stressed that Moscow’s position has not changed at all.
“The key to resolving the conflict lies in establishing a sovereign and independent Palestinian state, a full-fledged Palestinian state.
We have repeatedly said this openly and honestly during our contacts with the Palestinian and Israeli leaders”, Russian leader underlined.
He made rather open critical remarks on the U.S. role in the Middle East by stating that the USA ruling elites and their satellites are the major beneficiaries of the global instability.
“They are deriving bloody profits from it," he said at the meeting.
It looks very alarming that contemporary Jews who suffered the tragic Holocaust from Nazi Germany during the WW2 are now waging the Holocaust 2.0 against Arab civilians, kids, elders. women, medics and social infrastructure on a massive scale.
Written by Vladimir P. Kozin
