Explosions have been reported in the occupied port city of Mariupol and Russian air defenses have been active.
Is this a rocket attack from Ukraine or something else, such as nervous, trigger-happy Russians?
Mariupol is outside of HIMARS range for Ukraine. So is this the first appearance of the longer-range GLSDB rockets? Supposedly those rockets aren’t there yet. But long-range drones are a good possibility.
Attacks are going on in other cities as well.
It seems to be a broad attack against many targets.
Bloomberg is reporting that the US is providing JDAM-ER (Joint Direct Attack Munition) guided munition kits capable of hitting targets 72 km away. JDAM-ER is a kit that is bolted onto an otherwise “dumb” bomb that turns it into a guided bomb.
Are these being supplied in lieu of GLSDB or in addition to? Does Ukraine already have these? Can they be launched from a MiG? Lots of questions.
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This is noteworthy. It shows the big difference between the Russian T-90 tank, which is the best that Russia has in Ukraine, and the newer Armata main battle tank, of which Russia has maybe a dozen and can’t seem to get them to work.