Oorlog in Oekraïne #981: Drone Wars 3

quote:

Polish arms plant explosion starts fire, leaves 1 employee dead
An explosion in the Mesko arms factory in the southeastern Polish city of Skarzysko-Kamienna on June 10 started a fire and killed a 59-year-old worker, RMF 24 reported.

Another employee was hospitalized after inhaling smoke, but his life is not in danger, local authorities said.

"We had an explosion at the rocket fuel center, which was put into operation a few years ago," the plant's chair, Elzbieta Sreniawska, told RMF 24.

The company's services put out the fire and the incident's causes are currently being investigated.

This is not the first such tragic case to have taken place at the Mesko factory. In September 2021, an explosion killed a 41-year-old woman.

In yet another incident, a 48-year-old woman was seriously injured during a blast in April 2021, later dying due to her injuries.

Mesko, owned by state-run Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa SA, manufactures various defense products, including Grom and Piorun man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), Spike-LR anti-tank missiles, and small arms ammunition.

Poland has provided extensive military support to Ukraine, leading to local arms factories significantly increasing production. Mesko signed a contract in 2022 for the supply of ammunition of various calibers to Ukraine.

quote:

Belarus to participate in Russia's nuclear drills
Belarus will participate in the second stage of Russian drills simulating the launch of tactical nuclear weapons, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin announced on June 10.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced in May it would practice the usage of tactical nuclear weapons in response to purported and unspecified "provocative statements" from the West.

Later on, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Belarus and met Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko to discuss the potential participation of the Belarusian military in Russia's non-strategic nuclear drills.

"We are consistently strengthening our defense capabilities. And our participation in the second stage of the Russian Armed Forces' drills using non-strategic nuclear weapons proves it," Khrenin said in a statement published by the ministry.

Russia allegedly carries out such planned drills to "ensure its own security," while Belarus does not aim to "create tension" in matters of regional security, Khrenin claimed.

Belarus has been a key ally to Moscow and supported Russian aggression against Ukraine, though it has not committed its own forces directly to hostilities. The country is also reportedly hosting Russian tactical nuclear arms on its territory.

The first stage of the exercises, which were ordered by Putin on May 6, involved missile units in Russia's Southern Military District, including the occupied territories of Ukraine.

Lukashenko ordered a sudden inspection of the country's tactical nuclear weapons launchers the following day. The nuclear weapons allegedly located in Belarus cannot be used without Moscow's authorization.

Putin has repeatedly made nuclear threats against Ukraine and the West since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The threats have failed to materialize, and Russia continues to wage its all-out war without using its nuclear arsenal.

quote:

Dutch defence minister arrives in Ukraine on unannounced visit – photo

Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren has arrived in Ukraine on an unannounced visit.

Source: Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Facebook, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Shmyhal reported that a meeting with Ollongren took place in Kyiv, during which he thanked the Netherlands "for their support in strengthening Ukraine's air defence".

Quote from Denys Shmyhal: "I praised the Dutch-led initiative to supply Ukraine with Patriot air defence systems in collaboration with partners. We are also looking forward to the quickest possible delivery of the F-16 aircraft, which will help protect [Ukrainian] people and infrastructure," he added.

The parties also discussed joint defence production, technology exchange, the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland and Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration.

Kajsa Ollongren is known to be among the officials who called for restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western-supplied weapons to be lifted.

Later, she stressed that her country would allow Ukraine to use the F-16 fighter jets the Netherlands will supply, including for strikes on targets in Russia.

quote:

Investigation finds that almost 50,000 Russian prisoners were recruited by Wagner to fight in Ukraine
Russia’s notorious Wagner mercenary group recruited at least 48,366 convicted felons directly from prisons to fight in Ukraine in 2022 and 2023, a joint investigation carried out by BBC News Russian and independent media outlet Mediazona published on Monday has revealed.

In the summer of 2022, Wagner Group military recruiters, including the group’s co-founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, began visiting Russian penal colonies to offer incarcerated individuals early release from prison if they signed a six-month contract to fight for Wagner in Ukraine.

Based on internal documents that detail compensation paid to the families of deceased Wagner fighters, the group recruited 48,366 soldiers from penal colonies all over Russia. Following Wagner’s success in enlisting prisoners, the Russian Defence Ministry also began to recruit prisoners for military service.

A months-long conflict between Wagner and then-Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu peaked during the Battle of Bakhmut when Prigozhin publicly blamed the Defence Ministry for the enormous number of casualties. Shortly afterwards, Prigozhin led an ill-fated mutiny, the failure of which heralded the end of the group’s preeminence.

Wagner lost 19,500 soldiers in the battle of Bakhmut, 17,100 of whom were former prisoners. Those that survived the battle, and recruited soldiers fighting elsewhere in Ukraine, returned to Russia as free men.

Prigozhin was killed when his private jet crashed in August 2023, after which Wagner fighters were given the choice of leaving Russia or signing contracts with the Defence Ministry. While no longer a significant force in Ukraine, the Wagner Group still wields considerable influence in Africa, where various governments have hired Wagner mercenaries to shore up their power.

quote:

Ukrainian Missile Hits Russian 6th Army Command Post Near Shebekino

^{Command post. Photo credits: Dosye Shpiona}

The Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a missile attack on the command post of the Russian 6th Combined Arms Army.

The Dosye Shpiona Telegram channel reported on this.

It is reported that the facility was struck on June 9, 2024. The facility was located on the territory of the Nezhehol recreation center, near the Russian Shebekino village.

The command post was in charge of the units participating in the offensive on the city of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region.

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Op maandag 10 juni 2024 22:26 schreef skysherrif het volgende:
[ x ]

leftlaser is wel het levende bewijs van het hoefijzer

quote:

Russians attack at Kupiansk, Siversk, Kramatorsk and Pokrovsk directions. Number of combat engagements increased to 66 - General Staff
The enemy is looking for ways to pierce into our defense and try to push Ukrainian units from the occupied lines. The number of combat engagements along the entire front line has increased to 66.

This is reported on the official Facebook page of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Censor.NET reports.

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Op maandag 10 juni 2024 22:44 schreef skysherrif het volgende:

[..]
Dat neemt ook het verassingseffect weg en kan rusland al hun vliegtuigen snel evacueeren zoals gebeurde maanden geleden bij Engelsk waar het wel een massale aanval was.