The FAB and the Donbas
The FAB and the Donbas
A people are making their future
Published: 2024-03-13
Western Narratives Join the European Economy, in Tatters
Russia, it's Special Military Operation, it’s full-scale invasion, it’s failure to "take Ukraine in 3 days", it’s failure to "attack all of Europe", it’s decision to continue to fight the strongest European army, now thrice re-equipped, demonstrates that the Russians have gone completely bonkers.
Suddenly, magically, Russia is in a position so dominant that us MSM careerists have to admit to it. Russia, so menacing, having so clearly stated its objectives to attack Berlin, Paris, London and Lisbon, has caused Jens Stoltenberg to recently visit French President Macron to admonish him. Macron must consult his NATO allies before suggesting that, perhaps, in the future, there may be a situation in which French troops may need to try to stop the advancing, crazy Russians.
Sorry for the rabid sarcasm. Shall we examine the latest gob of territory which the MSM have decided to include in their unreadable fairytale about Ukraine and Donbas? I ask for you to glide through the technical topic on our way to a more powerful story which Western media are forbidden to tell.
Dancing on the Graves of the Targeted Minority
On March 11th, 2024, both The Washington Post and AP News issued stories about "glide bombs". For WaPo this was the first time it had used the term. It employed "guided bomb" in their 3 previous cases of mentioning the innovation during its coverage of the NATO-Russian war in Ukraine [NR3U]. To WaPo's credit they hint at the reason for the glide bombs' effectiveness. They then rapidly move on to advertising the next wunderweapons armaments supply which will fill their paymaster's, pockets and have zero effect on the conflict.
Their article begins [with edits by this author]:
KYIV — Russia’s air force has dramatically boosted its effectiveness in the Ukraine war with its increased use of “glide bombs,” contributing to Moscow’s recent battlefield successes, according to Western experts [and Dima, who joins our story later].
The plentiful Soviet-era bombs, which carry up to a half-ton of explosives, have been fitted with wings and guidance systems to fly long distances with some accuracy [see graphic below for specifics] — allowing the Russian jets that release them to operate away from Ukrainian antiaircraft systems.
[The FABs were essential to Russia routing the AFU in Avdiivka.]
The most effective counter to this increasingly plentiful Russian menace, say Ukrainians, is still a long way off: the U.S.-made F-16 fighter planes …
Let's FAB That Narrative Too
Below is an 'info graphic' compiled from public sources providing an overview of the FAB class of munition.
[Click on the image to enlarge.]
The FAB's numeric designation is their total mass in Kg. For example, the FAB-1500 weighs 3 300 pounds and carries 675 Kg of TNT. Russia has large stocks of the 'dumb bombs' from which FABs are built. A FAB is an old 'dumb' bomb attached to wings with an automated guidance system, using Russia's GLONASS satellite GPS service. With these intelligent wings the bombs can be dropped distant from the target and 'glide' towards it. A FAB-1500 can be dropped 50 Km away with an accuracy of 5 m.
Despite the crisis in Ukraine's air-defense, leaked 10 months ago in the US Intel Leaks by Jack Teixeira, Russia has been cautious with its airforce. Russian ingenuity saw an opportunity to take this stockpile of old dumb bombs and turn them into a devastating asset which would then allow its airforce to begin to dominate the attritional, ground war by cheaply solving the problem of fortifications.
The bombers, while releasing a stream of these devastating weapons, could play a game of chicken with the minimal, precious Ukrainian air defense systems, be they Patriot [US] or Iris-T [German].
The devastating use of the FABs by Russia's airforce forced Ukraine to deploy some of these systems to the field. The NATO personnel operated systems may have had the opportunity to fire a low probability attack against these bombers or other targets, but in so doing reveal their location. At least two Patriot systems, redeployed from city defence to the field in the east and south, have been destroyed in the last two weeks. Russia's preferred munition to destroy discovered air defence systems has been their Iskander hypersonic missile, for which no NATO system has any defence.
The NATO air defense radar and missile launch systems are extremely expensive ($billions), complex (hence NATO staff manning them), rare, and for these reasons very difficult for NATO to replace. The Russian military's ingenuity and careful use of its airforce has allowed it to fox the AFU into sacrificing these precious air defence assets in the game of chicken it created.
Dima
If, instead of reading the Propaganda Matrix one instead followed Dima's reports at Military Summary one would be thoroughly familiar with FABs. Their use by Russia since the "Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall Offensive which Offends US All" [™ Alex Christoforou] has been so frequent that the munition has become a verb; "Russia FAB'd the building" or the above subtitle "Let's FAB That Narrative Too".
To highlight the breadth and detail of Dima's reporting, the following is a summary of three recent reports (see Sources), under thematic sections:
Munitions/Equipment
FPV drones, FABs, MLRS, downed MiG-29 (Ukraine), destroyed Abrams (multiple), Ukrainian artillery shell rationing, and an upcoming unmanned gunned vehicle (Russia).
A few days back Dima augmented the Ukraine military's evidence-free claims that they have downed several SU-34's every day for a while, by adding to their inventory a "Star Wars" Death Star or two. [Reporting on war is an arduous task. You are forgiven, Dima. 👍]
Operations
Russia continues to advance in several areas between Donestsk and Zaporozhye (the oblasts). The advances are in 'gobs' as noted by Stephen Bryen. They focus on towns (which give cover from observation and artillery), tree lines (observation cover) and fortification emplacements. Towns and emplacements are being threatened by "cauldron" partial encirclement to encourage Ukrainian withdrawals. FABs are used to destroy high value fortified locations if the AFU decide to stay.
Some new Russian tactics have been seen. They have used high speed vehicles to deliver small units of troops [4 to 6] to forward positions to begin establishing them. These vehicles dodge artillery fire in motion and can only be used when FPV drones are a minimal threat.
In the north, Ukraine has attempted multiple borderlands attacks from Ukraine into Russia "proper". They were detected and thwarted. Dima suspected that these were (or may be just the first) attempts to distract media attention from the continuous loses which Ukraine is experiencing in the east and south.
There has been activity at the mouth of the Dniper. Here, Russian occupied western Kherson lies to the south of the waterway, and the exit of the Mikolaiev port to the north. Ukraine is probing Russian defenses and destroyed one observation post placed in a disused barge. Russia is being cautious to not reveal its artillery and to maintain its denial of military use of the Mikolaiev port to Ukraine.
Zelensky's recent visit to award medals in Odessa following the sinking of the Sergei Kotov was tracked by Russia which destroyed the warehouse complex on the docks after they knew Zelensky had left. (This is from a few days back).
Politics
Videos by Ukrainian civilians continue to be published on social media in which Ukrainian thugs using trickery and violence to drag people away to fight their lost war. This is understandably generating unrest.
Macron's planned visit to Kiev has again been delayed, this time by Stoltenberg.
The Story That Could Be Told
While Dima's coverage details the military side of the conflict with some political notes, Patrick Lancaster provides the human side of it; the perspective from the people of Donbas. Lancaster reported the change in mood locally following the rout of the AFU in Avdiivka as like the flicking of a light switch.
He also noted that the four new Russian oblasts, in areas under Russian control, will be participating in the upcoming Russian elections. Lancaster's coverage of their referenda to join Russia, in 2022, was extensive, covering multiple polling stations in 3 of the 4 oblasts in 3 days. He declared that he intends to match, or perhaps exceed that coverage in the coming presidential elections.
The Fabric of a People
The FAB munitions are a piece of Russian ingenuity that takes its place in a long story. Just as the SMO was not 'unprovoked', the story for Donbas' residents did not start in 2022, but a decade ago in 2014. Following 'Toria Nuland's engineered coup in Kiev in 2014, the US installed, unelected regime announced an "anti-terror" campaign against separatists in the east and permitted the burning alive of 50+ protesters in Odessa, which they still have not investigated. The US sponsored regime began a civil war against a people the Nazi paramilitaries which they integrated into their Armed Forces call 'Orcs'. A large component of the non-Nazi elements of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in eastern Ukraine changed sides to join their Donbas relatives to resist what all understood was a government supported, military, cultural and ethnic cleansing program, aka a genocide.
Inspired by their Crimean neighbours being welcomed back into mother Russia, they resisted. Two oblasts, Donetsk and Lugansk, declared their independence from their former country whose armed forces were killing them under orders of the government they rejected.
The NATO supported government left in place a hit-list Myrotorvets, upon which were listed the name, address and contact details of approved enemies of the state who were progressively assassinated, and labeled as such. The site had been established during the Euromaidan protests in December 2014.
The regime’s armed forces, which NATO was arming and training, shelled Donbas' electricity and water infrastructure, their schools, hospitals, day care centers, houses, markets, streets and churches. For seven long years they resisted and waited, hoping that the UN Security Council's 2015, unanimously passed resolution of the Minsk II Accords would be implemented. France and Germany abdicated their responsibility and abandoned the people of Donbas. Ukraine refused to engage in the talks and kept on killing the people of Donbas.
In February 2022, a sudden 20 fold increase in the intensity of shelling in a few days presaged an impending offensive which could overrun their defensive lines. The Russian parliament passed a law requesting their president recognize the two self-declared independent states of Lugansk and Donetsk. Finally, help, long prayed for, was on its way.
Some initial success was achieved. An improvement in civil services arrived. People could emigrate to Russia. There were Russian troops beside their sons, husbands and brothers. But, the shelling did not stop. New more devastating weapons arrived, like HIMARS. Streets became littered with outlawed, old stocks of Ukrainian 'petal' cluster mines. Children had their feet blown off.
The remaining, constant source of shelling was from the fortress of Avdiivka. It was the innovation of the FAB, an evolved and strengthened Russian army, and a significant wearing down and destruction of Ukraine’s NATO supplied and operated air defenses, which allowed the final removal of this decade long menace.
Finally, after having born a decade of terror, voted to join Russia under shelling, the residents of Donbas can vote in a Russian election, the upcoming Presidential poll from March 15 to 17. They have lost sons, fathers, daughters and mothers, as have their fellow Russian citizens. This forthcoming opportunity to vote is representative of these sacrifices.
We know that the West's media will mock a 99.9% voter turn out. The citizens of the Donbas are not bothered by misled western media.
They will vote, even as the Ukrainian regime attacks them again; to kill them, to terrorize them. They know the Western supported puppet regime will.
They are not afraid. In honor of their fallen relatives, they cannot be.
They will vote proudly. Their future lies ahead of them.
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Sources
Russia’s air power roars back into the war with devastating guided bombs, David Stern & Serhii Korolchuk, The Washington Post, 2024-03-11
Exhaustion, dwindling reserves and a commander who disappeared: How Ukraine lost Avdiivka to Russia, Alex Babenko, Hanna Arhirova, Susie Blann and Lori Hinnant, AP News (Associated Press), 2024-03-11
[US] NATO v Russia: 2014 - 2024, YesXorNo, 2024-03-09
US Intelligence Leaks, YesXorNo, 2023-04-11
Jack Teixeira pleads guilty to Pentagon leak, faces over 16 years in prison, staff, Al Jazeera, 2024-03-04
Military Summary Channel, Dima
Using One's Noggin: Will Zelensky be hung up by his boots in Lvov?, YesXorNo, 2024-03-12
The Rout of Avdiivka, YesXorNo, 2024-02-23
Jumping Ship into the Calmer Waters of Columbia, YesXorNo, 2024-03-12
NYT Discovers Ukraine’s Neo-Nazis at War, Robert Parry, Consortium News, 2014-08-10
Official results: 97 percent of Crimea voters back joining Russia, CBS/AP, CBS News, 2014-03-17
Ukraine leader announces anti-terror move in east, Yuras Karmanau, AP (republished at Yahoo! News), 2014-04-15
Insurgents in eastern Ukraine declare independence, Peter Leonard & Vladimir Isachenkov, AP News, 2014-05-12
Myrotorvets, Wikipedia
Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2202 (2015), Security Council Calls on Parties to Implement Accords Aimed at Peaceful Settlement in Eastern Ukraine, Meetings Coverage and Press Releases, UN, 2015-02-17
Ongoing Report: Escalation of Conflict on the Line of Contact in Eastern Ukraine, YesXorNo, 2022-02-21
2024 Russian Presidential Election, Wikipedia
15 - 17 March 2024
Dima
The Bloom ｜ Russian Breakthrough To Heorhiivka ｜ Heavy Assaults Resumed. Military Summary 2024.03.11, Dima, Military Summary Channel, 2024-03-11
The Ukrainian Counter-Offensive Failed Before It Started ｜ Military Summary And Analysis 2024.03.11, Dima, Military Summary Channel, 2024-03-11
Ukrainians Tried To Break Through The Border. The Russians Are On Defense. MilitarySummary 2024.3.12, Dima, Military Summary Channel, 2024-03-12
Lancaster’s Coverage of the Referenda, 2022
See Ukraine Port City's Referendum (Backed By Russia) To Join Russia, Patrick Lancaster, 2022-09-25
Ukraine War: Frontline Referendum Special Report Donetsk - Avdeevka, Patrick Lancaster, 2022-09-27
Ukraine Referendum To Join Russia Ends In Donetsk, Patrick Lancaster, 2022-09-27
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