Russia's military aggression against Ukraine 21/03

Russia's military aggression against Ukraine 21/03

1. 1. Vilyen Pidgornyy – MOD Spokesperson RUSSIA’S MILITARY AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE (weekly update)
2. 2. Day-by-day review of cease-fire violations against UAF (March 13 – 19) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Cease-fire violations Heavy arms
3. 3. Number of cease-fire violations by the Russia-backed militants Luhansk sector Donetsk sector Mariupol sector 122 257 239
4. 4. Enemy drone activity 9 episodes
5. 5. Russia’s supplies to militants • 24 railroad tank cars with fuel • 8 trucks with ammunition • 62nd “humanitarian convoy” consisting of 40 trucks carrying over 500 tons of unidentified cargo
6. 6. Enemy losses 11 militants – killed 27 militants – wounded
7. 7. Combat casualties of Ukrainian Forces 7 – KIA 40 – WIA
8. 8. Civilian casualties Injured during enemy shellings 1 teenager in Valuiske 1 woman in Luhanske 2 women and 1 man in Avdiivka
9. 9. Civil buildings and infrastructure damages • 29 residential buildings across the front line in the Donetsk & Mariupol sectors • 3 non-residential building in Avdiivka & Krasnohorivka • a kindergarten in Avdiivka • a humanitarian supplies distribution center in Zaitseve • power line in Hnutove • railway track sections in the frontline area in the Donetsk sector

Ukraine Pitches To Break Russian Monopoly in India

Ukraine has launched an aggressive effort to manage multiple overloaded armaments and weaponry that New Delhi acquired during the Soviet era and which have become a liability for the Indian defense forces.

Armed with the salutations of a government-level delegation (to negate the strains in the relationship between the two countries since Ukraine sold T-80 U tanks to Pakistan in the early 1990s) and with over a dozen defense companies showcasing new programs at Defexpo, Ukraine is attempting to embrace India and break the Russian monopoly on the Soviet-era platforms.

Perto Fedoruk, chief adviser to Ukraine’s largest defense industry consortium, Ukroboronprom, said: “We are here now [in] India for the long term to manage Soviet-era headaches, which India cannot manage alone.”

“For nearly a decade Russia has forcefully blocked our entry," Fedoruk said. "We have offered multiple solutions to give new life to Soviet-era weaponry [with Indian defense forces], as we are the original equipment manufacturer.”

According to a Ukrainian diplomat, “India cannot resolve the headaches of overloaded Soviet-era platforms without Ukraine."

Nikolay Gordienko, head of Ukroboronprom naval projects, said: “India has now permitted us to participate in defense programs independently, and we are offering a new solution to manage and refit the Soviet-era aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov [renamed as INS Vikramaditya], which is 50 percent cheaper than the Russian offer."

The Indian Navy is evaluating a proposal by Ukraine for overhaul and maintenance of gas turbines used in Delhi-class warships and the carrier Admiral Gorshkov.

The Ukroboronprom deputy director general of strategy, Artur Kheruvymov, said India plans to organize a “joint military technical commission for providing service support for Soviet-era weaponry."

"In addition, the two countries are also planning to form joint ventures in India for upgradation and overhaul and manufacture of spares for Soviet-built air defense systems, including the Kvadrat, OSA-AKM Strela-1, Tunguska, Shilka, portable IGLA and Strela-2 systems," Kheruvymov said.

Ukraine is doing more than $100 million in annual defense business with India, and aims to increase it to $500 million in the next three years, he said.

Over 700 defense contracts related to the delivery of spares, repair and upgrade valued at over $2 billion were signed and completed in the last 10 years.

“We have now managed to make a breakthrough,” according to the Ukrainian diplomat, who added: “India has now decided not to buy [the] electronic support measure system used to detect and track stealth aircraft and Vympel R-27 medium-range air-to-air missiles from us instead of from Russia.”

Ukraine has also offered to collaborate with India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to jointly develop multiple rocket launcher systems with a range of 100 kilometers — similar to Russian Grad systems.

“In addition, we will also be developing a variety of new electronic warfare systems with DRDO and a partnership has been sealed recently,” Fedoruk said.

Ukroboronprom is also sealing a partnership with state-owned Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) to indigenize Russian T-90 main battle tanks and set up a facility to manufacture spares in India.

Ukraine has also entered into a partnership with state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics for supply of crucial spares for Russian Sukhoi aircraft.

US Navy in Talks To Use Iceland's Keflavik Air Base Again

HELSINKI — The government of Iceland is engaged in a dialogue with the United States over the proposed future deployment of Navy P-8 Poseidon submarine "hunter" aircraft from a renovated Keflavik Air Base.

The US Navy, which withdrew aircraft assets and personnel from the airport in 2006, plans to spend an initial $22 million to renew hangar facilities and restore infrastructure at Keflavik as part of a project to house P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft for maritime patrol operations in the North Atlantic.

The capital investment plan is included in the US Defense Department’s 2017 fiscal budget. Under the proposal, the Navy would use Keflavík Air Base to house P-8 Poseidon aircraft as needed. In effect, this would give the Navy the capacity to establish regular patrol rotations at the base in the future.

Iceland’s prime minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, said the US plan would add a new tier of security to the defense of the North Atlantic island.

However, Gunnlaugsson added that in ongoing discussions the US has made no mention of locating a permanent force at Keflavik at the level that existed before 2006 when the Navy operated P-3 Orion planes to police North Atlantic waters around Iceland and Greenland.

At peak, about 2,500 US Navy and Air Force personnel were stationed at the Keflavík Naval Air Station.

"The US proposal for Keflavik is welcome, but we have had no talks about increased operations from there. Should more flights and operations happen, then this is already covered under our current defense agreements with the US," said Gunnlaugsson,

The Navy’s decision to withdraw from Iceland in 2006 happened against a backdrop that saw the US shift its operational focus in Europe away from the North Atlantic and toward the Mediterranean Sea.

Established in 1951, the Keflavik Naval Air Station became an important base for the US as it is strategically located midway between the United States’ East Coast and Europe. It allowed Navy P-3 Orion and fighter aircraft to patrol Arctic and sub-Arctic ocean waters in the North Atlantic between Greenland, Iceland and Britain.

Recent inter-government discussions with the US have focused increasing on Iceland’s concerns over a surge in the activity of Russian military aircraft and submarines in the air and waters around the island. Russian activity, according to Iceland, is now running at levels not witnessed since the end of the Cold War.

Under a treaty signed in 1951, the US continues to be responsible for the defense of Iceland, which has a small coast guard but no standing army or military organization. Since 2008, Iceland’s air space has been patrolled by NATO allies as part of the Icelandic Air Policing operation

“ISIS” military lull before the storm

Exclusive – RBSS

ISIS didn’t used to have a military recession like the one they’re having now in the light of the stopping of most of fighting fronts with the various armed factions and armed militias, when the front of Ein Essa is safe for the militia of popular protection units after it was one of the most ferocity fronts as in Dir Elzor in the east, where fighting stopped in almost completely since the last major operation launched by ISIS against the regime and its militias, leaving the north of Aleppo raged against the backdrop of clashes between factions of ISIS and the FSA in conjunction with the Russian aerial bombardment and the military progress of the regime forces towards the Nobil and Zahra.

Rally in Raqqa and fear of a repeat of Tel Abyad scenario

Raqqa city is witnessing a rise recently in the number of members of ISIS and his cars and pervasive barriers at the entrances and exits of the city as well as intensive patrols, which suggests that something is being planned.

According to our reporter in turn, that ISIS brought in reinforcements, including mortars and long-range missiles were also able to get information from different sources confirm the ISIS transferred a large number of confiscated cars to bombed cars is likely the possibility of processing an attack widely unknown destination until the moment.

For his part, Munther a young man from the city said: “We can say for sure that what is happening is the lull before the storm, I do not know if ISIS will attack somebody or that the city will be attacked by the regime or militia of protection units, do not want to get rid of the criminals to another criminal like it comes as happened in Tel Abyad, I know that the Russian bombing will stop in case of regime control or protection units control of the city but all residents will be displaced and northern countryside is living example of that. “

Destination is Aleppo

Aleppo Lives today the most difficult days in the Syrian revolution as it is now in danger of collapse at any moment with the documenting of nearly 150 strike within one day added to the regime progress backed by Hezbollah militia and Iraqi militia and Russian mercenaries from the point of Nobil and Zahra, at a time ISIS are trying to pressure from the opposite side to put it in the jaws of the pliers.

ISIS, as usual, trying to exploit the Russian military pressure on the city to subjugate and the opening of new crossings over control of parts of the border with Turkey and in particular with the strangle of it since losing Tel Abyad crossing and stop the flow of fighters, says Abu Mohammed, a bus driver, “I passed in front of several cars of ISIS loaded with fighters and dragging behind mortars I asked them to win their favor in order to avoid harassment where are going guys , to Dir Elzor ? One of them answered me, to Aleppo to fight the FSA there. “

Russia’s new Alexander Nevsky submarine to arrive in Kamchatka by yearend

Russia’s new nuclear submarine Alexander Nevsky will arrive at its base in Kamchatka before the end of the year to begin combat training, Eastern Military District Commander, Colonel-General Sergei Surovikin said on Thursday.

 

Surovikin is inspecting the construction of infrastructure facilities for the fourth-generation submarines in Vilyuchinsk, Kamchatka.

 

“The commander inspected the construction of the pier, including mooring areas and support facilities, to ensure that work was proceeding according to the schedule approved by the ministry of defense,” Eastern Military District spokesperson Alexander Gordeyev told ITAR-TASS.

 

The general demanded strict compliance with the construction schedule and technical specifications approved by the Defense Ministry and the Navy, which require improved seismic resistance and the use of high anti-corrosion technologies.

 

The Alexander Nevsky is the second Borei-class submarine and the first serial Project 955 ship of the Borei Class. It was laid down on March 19, 2004. This is a fourth generation strategic underwater missile cruiser.

 

The leading submarine of the series, Yuri Dolgoruky, went into service in January 2013. It was the 129th nuclear-powered submarine built by the Sevmash shipyard and the first one in the past 12 years. Prior to that, in December 2001, the shipyard handed over the multirole submarine Gepard (carrying no ballistic missiles) to the Navy.

The Alexander Nevsky is the first serial strategic rocket carrier of the Borei class. It is 170 metres long, 13.5 metres wide, maximum operating depth is 450 metres, underwater speed is 29 knots, and a crew of 17 sailors.

 

Borei class submarines are designed to serve as the basis of Russia's strategic nuclear capabilities for the decades to come. They are designed by the St. Petersburg-based Naval Design Bureau Rubin.

 

Each submarine can be armed with 12 ICBMs with MIRVs. They will also have an escape capsule for all crewmembers.

 

The Borei claims to be a state-of-the-art submarine, featuring characteristics superior to any submarine currently in service, such as the ability to cruise silently and be less detectable to sonar.

 

Advances include a compact and integrated hydrodynamically efficient hull for reduced broadband noise and the first ever use of pump-jet propulsion on a Russian nuclear submarine.

 

The submarines will be armed with Bulava missiles. The Bulava carries the NATO reporting name SS-NX-30 and has been assigned the GRAU index 3M30. In international treaties, the common designation RSM-56 is used.

 

The Russian Defense Ministry plans to build at least eight new Borei-class submarines that should become the main naval component of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces.

Report: 'New' Russian nuclear programs alarm neighbors

Russia is expanding and modernizing its nuclear arsenal, raising questions from surrounding nations about what Moscow and President Vladimir Putin are up to, according to a new report from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

 

In the March/April issue provided to Secrets, the report reveals that the former Soviet capital is working on new missiles, nuclear submarines and bombers capable of carrying heavy nuclear-tipped bombs and missiles.

 

“Since our last Russian Notebook in early 2013, Russia has taken several important steps in modernizing its strategic and nonstrategic nuclear forces. These include continued development and deployment of new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), construction of ballistic missile submarines, development of a new strategic bomber, and deployment of tactical ballistic and cruise missiles and fighter-bombers,” said the authors.

 

“While much of this development continues well-known programs that have been under way for many years, other developments are new. Combined, the steps contribute to growing concern in other countries about Russian intentions and help justify nuclear modernization programs and political opposition to reductions in other nuclear weapon states,” they added.

When added to Russia's surprising moves over the last week in Ukraine, the information revealed in the new nuclear report raises the stakes in the diplomatic standoff between Putin and President Obama.

 

On the nuclear side, the authors also said that Russia has some 3,500 warheads slated for dismantlement under an international deal, but still intact.

 

“Russia had a military stockpile of approximately 4,300 nuclear warheads, of which roughly 1,600 strategic warheads were deployed on missiles and at bomber bases.

 

Another 700 strategic warheads are in storage along with roughly 2,000 nonstrategic warheads. A large number — perhaps 3,500 — of retired but still largely intact warheads await dismantlement,” said the report.

 

The report also raised a new issue: Russia has not dismantled the nonnuclear weapons it promised to. “Despite Russia’s declaration in 1991 and 1992 that it would eliminate all ground-launched nonstrategic nuclear warheads, it has not done so. We estimate that approximately 170 warheads are assigned to SS-21 Scarab (Tochka) and SS-26 Stone (Iskander) short-range ballistic missiles. The SS-26 will replace the SS-21 completely over the next decade, eventually arming 10 tactical missile brigades,” said the Bulletin.

Russia to offer fighter sales and development to Brazil

Russia is to offer Brazil joint development of the Sukhoi T-50 (PAK-FA) fifth-generation fighter in a bid to secure an order for its Su-35S 'Flanker-E' combat aircraft, Russian media disclosed on 14 October.

 

A military delegation is expected to make the offer when it visits the South American country in the coming days, according to RIA Novosti .

 

"During the talks in Brazil, we are ready to offer deliveries of ready-for-sale advanced aircraft like the Su-35, but also joint development of a next-generation [combat] aircraft of the T-50 type," the publication quoted a delegation source as saying.

 

The Brazilian Air Force's (Força Aérea Brasileira - FAB) is in the middle of its F-X2 fighter competition to find a replacement for its ageing Dassault Mirage 2000 aircraft. Along with the Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon, the Sukhoi Su-35 has already been axed from the proceedings, leaving the Saab JAS 39 Gripen E, Dassault Rafale, and Boeing FA-18E/F Super Hornet to battle it out for the 36-jet tender.

 

Although the Brazilian government has delayed its announcement of a winning platform until after the 2014 general election, it has made it clear that it will not be reopening the competition to admit new offerings. As such, any Russian bid would need to be outside the scope of the F-X2 programme.

 

Brazil's National Defence Strategy (NDS) approved in 2008 is inextricably tied to the National Strategy of Development (NSD), and development of the country's indigenous aerospace industry is as important to the government as fielding a new fighter aircraft. "If we want to have a strong defence strategy, it has to be with a strong development strategy to strengthen our defence industrial base.

 

The focus is national technological independence," General Aprígio Eduardo de Moura Azevedo, FAB Chief of Staff, said during the IQPC International Fighter conference in late 2012.

 

While the Su-35S is a highly capable 4+ Generation platform that employs fifth-generation systems such as the NIIP Irbis-E passive electronically scanned array (PESA) radar, any Brazilian interest in the Russian proposals will likely hinge on the co-development work being offered on the PAK-FA.

 

India is already onboard with the Russian programme, which it designates the Fifth-Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), or Future Prospective Fighter (FPF), and with the project in its prototype stage, there is still plenty of scope for Russia to offer development opportunities to Brazil.

 

Russian military's support of GLONASS on ice after corruption scandal, technical failures - report

The Russian Defense Ministry has reportedly refused to adopt GLONASS, the country’s rival to GPS, due to its technical shortcomings. One of the system’s 24 satellites has malfunctioned, and besides, GLONASS is still in its testing phase. 

­The malfunctioning satellite will not be operational any time soon as it has already exhausted its power after 96 months in service, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports. And due to a difference in orbit inclination, no existing reserve satellite can substitute it.

A backup satellite launched in December 2008 stopped working in September of this year, allegedly because of malfunctioning Taiwanese-made microchips. According to the report, Moscow was forced to order the microchips from Taiwan when the US, Japan and several other NATO countries refused to supply the GLONASS manufacturers with spare parts following Russia’s war with South Ossetia.

Though three GLONASS-M satellites are reportedly ready to be put into orbit, Russia’s 2013 budget has not allocated funds for additional launches. Formally, the navigation system is still in the development stage, which was planned to be completed by the end of 2012 with the Defense Ministry taking full control of the system. Due to systematic problems this has not happened, yet the federal program under which the project is funded has no provisions for any extension of the testing phase.

There are currently 31 GLONASS satellites in orbit, 23 of which are in operation. Others are either in reserve, or still being tested. If another satellite fails, it could delay the launch of the system by several more years.

Starting from January 1, 2013, all public transportation operators and the carriers of hazardous materials were ordered to equip their vehicles with GLONASS systems and report their locations to Rostransnadzor, Russia’s transport supervision agency. This requirement, however, is not legally binding unless the satellite system is formally put into operation.

GLONASS' development has been marred by corruption scandals in addition to its numerous technical failures. 

In December 2010, three GLONASS-M satellites crashed into the Pacific Ocean. The approximate cost of the equipment was estimated at $80 million.

In November 2012, inspectors from Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, uncovered several significant violations in the use of budgetary funds allocated to GLONASS. The investigators said that 6.5 billion rubles (over $200 million) were embezzled from the budget. As a result of the scandal, Yury Urlichich was sacked from his post as GLONASS chief designer and then resigned as the head of the Russian Institute of Space Device Engineering.

The GLOSNASS case came amid a separate scandal in which Russian Defense Ministry head Anatoly Serdyukov was sacked for his involvement in large-scale corruption.

Russia to salvage sunken n-submarines

The Russian defence ministry is planning to raise and scrap two sunken nuclear submarines in the northern Barents and Kara seas in order to prevent potential radioactive pollution of the area.

The Izvestia newspaper said Thursday the ministry will announce an international tender, which may include companies from France, the Netherlands, South Korea and the US, as the Russian Navy does not have the necessary equipment to carry out deep-sea salvage operations.

The B-159 (earlier named K-159), a November-class nuclear submarine, sank in the Barents Sea in August 2003, 790 feet down, with nine of her crew and 800 kg of spent nuclear fuel, while being moved for dismantling.

The K-27 was an experimental attack submarine built in 1962 and decommissioned in 1979 due to its troublesome nuclear reactors. Her reactor compartment was sealed and the submarine was scuttled in the eastern Kara Sea in 1982 at a depth of 220 feet.

After the sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine in 2000, Russia has bought a number of deep-sea submersibles from Britain and Iceland, but these vessels are designed for search-and-rescue operations rather than salvage work.

Two Dutch companies, Mammoet and Smit International, contracted by the Russian government, salvaged the Kursk in 2001.

Meanwhile, the wreck of another sunken submarine, the Komsomolets, will most likely forever remain at the site where it sank in a 1989 accident, as a salvage operation would be too costly and dangerous.

The K-278 Komsomolets nuclear submarine sank in the Norwegian Sea April 7, 1989, south of Bear Island. The submarine sank with its active reactor and two nuclear warheads on board, and lies at a depth of 5,560 feet.