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On Monday, Russia fired 84 missiles, many at Ukrainian civilian infrastructure targets, leading to power cuts in many cities. On Tuesday, Russia introduced 28 cruise missiles settlements since last day. In total, more than 3 dozen other people were killed.
But no matter how many times Russia fires on Ukraine, pro-war Russian nationalists need more, even though targeting civilian infrastructure is potentially a war crime.
“You have to do it constantly, once for two to five weeks to completely shut down your entire infrastructure, all the thermal power plants, all the heating and power plants, all the power plants, all the traction substations, all the power lines, all the rail hubs. “said Bogdan Bezpalko, a member of the Kremlin’s Council on Interethnic Relations.
“Then Ukraine will sink into darkness and blood,” Bezpalko told state television. “They will not bring ammunition or fuel, and then the Ukrainian army will turn into a crowd of men armed with pieces of iron. “
But hawks, who ask publicly on TV and Telegram broadcasts why Russia rarely hits higher-value targets, may not like the answer: The Russian military appears to lack missiles accurate enough for airstrikes.
Monday’s pace, for Western army analysts.
“They lack precision-guided missiles,” said Konrad Muzyka, founder of Poland-based Gdansk, Rochan Consulting, providing his assessment of Russia’s sporadic airstrikes. “That’s the only explanation I have. “
Although NATO allies said Thursday they would rush more air defenses toward Ukraine, experts said the explanation for why Russia had not yet cut off electricity and water across the country was simple: it is not possible.
Since May, Russia’s use of precision-guided missiles (PGMs) has declined dramatically, with analysts suggesting Russian stockpiles of those missiles are likely to be low.
Tuesday’s strikes basically used air-launched cruise missiles, which are slower than Iskander guided missiles and less difficult for Ukraine to shoot down, according to Muzyka. In March, the Pentagon reported that Russia’s air-launched cruise missiles had a failure rate of 20 to 60 percent.
“If Russia had an unlimited source of PGM, I think they would still attack civilian targets, because that’s how the Russian war goes,” Muzyka said. He said analysts had no data shown on Russian missile stocks or production levels, and that the judgments were based on declining GMP use and Moscow’s increased reliance on less accurate missiles.
But one clue lies in Russia’s inability to destroy the kinds of targets Ukraine is capable of hitting with US-supplied HIMARS artillery.
“If we take a look at what HIMARS has done to Russian origin routes, and necessarily their ability to sustain the war, they have caused a lot of damage to Russia’s position in this war,” Muzyka said. “So technically, if the Russians had to have a giant stockpile of PGMS, they likely inflicted similar damage on the Ukrainian armed forces, but they didn’t. “
“They failed,” he continued. They did not even manage to ban the main routes of Ukrainian origin. They did not destroy bridges, railways, railway intersections, etc.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is juggling so much military disorder that some Western analysts already predict the Russian war will fail. Others say it’s still too early to rule out Russia, especially with thousands of recruited reinforcements heading to the battlefield in the coming weeks.
From day one, Russia has suffered various degrees of battlefield casualties, which has undermined army morale. He suffered repeated defeats, in addition to the failed capture of Kyiv, the withdrawal from Snake Island, the defeat at Kharkiv, and the loss of Lyman, a strategic transit hub.
Ukrainian forces also continue to slowly retake territory in the Kherson region, starting with their ongoing southward offensive.
Russia’s army mobilization also remains in shambles, with recruits posting videos online almost daily, complaining about insufficient education and equipment. to the independent Russian media site SOTA.
Lawrence Freedman, a professor of war studies at King’s College London, wrote in a news bulletin that the escalation of Russian missile strikes on civilian targets on Monday had not brought transparent military gains.
“Russia lacks missiles to launch such attacks, as it runs out of reserves and Ukrainians claim a higher rate of good fortune by intercepting many of those already in use,” Freedman wrote. “So this is not a new victorious strategy yet. “the wrath of a sociopath. “
Putin’s “need to placate his critics also explains why he has gone after Ukrainian cities,” Freedman wrote. with the results. “
“It is possible that these attacks will be repeated, because it is part of the mentality of Putin and his generals that enemies may be forced to capitulate through those means,” he added. “But stocks of Kalibr and Iskander missiles are running low. “
Amid setbacks by Russia’s military, the attack on Ukraine’s force network in recent days was designed to surprise and terrorize civilians, deprive them of strength in winter and break their will to resist, according to Maria Shagina, an analyst at the London-based International Strategic Strategy Institute. Studies.
One of the obvious targets of Russian moves at six power substations in Lviv in western Ukraine to prevent Ukraine from exporting electricity to Europe, Shagina said. The moves have also crippled the city’s power supply.
“We are now witnessing the escalation and militarization of critical infrastructure,” he said, adding that it is no coincidence that Russia destroyed Ukraine’s ability to export electricity to Europe while Moscow militarized grass gas, cutting materials under pressure. Union.
“There is a certain escalation of the war, in the sense that Russia even hides the fact that it has attacked civilian infrastructure, critical infrastructure,” Shagina added. “They are looking to escalate the war as much as they can. “
Muzyka said Russia, ignoring conventions, has consistently attacked apartment buildings and civilian infrastructure in two Chechen wars, in Syria and Ukraine.
“Certainly, they are focusing on the network of force as a way to make civilian lives miserable,” he said. “For Russians, attacking civilian spaces, residential spaces and anything that can have a potential effect on the lives of civilians is an army. “objective, because for Russia the war is total. “
“Essentially, what the Russians seek is to exhaust the Ukrainians, lower morale, diminish the will to fight and, in their view, increase pressure on the Ukrainian government to participate in negotiations with Russia,” he added.
Ukraine has asked its Western allies for complex air defense systems to protect its civilians and important infrastructure. But even as NATO promised more aid, the U. S. defense secretary was not yet in the U. S. U. S. Secretary of State Lloyd Austin said bringing those systems to Ukraine would take time. “Unfortunately, Western reaction is limited,” Shagina said, adding that Russia is seeking to “use the full diversity of measures it can implement against the West and Ukraine. “
But no matter how violent the attacks, hawks in Russia say it’s still not enough.
Russian journalist Andrei Medvedev, a member of the Moscow city council who runs a popular nationalist, pro-war Telegram channel, suggested patience and said the resolution “bombing Ukraine in the Middle Ages” had not yet been taken.
Another hawk, Alexander Kots, a war correspondent for Komsomolskaya Pravda, which has its own influential pro-war channel, Telegram, said he hoped the measures signaled a new kind of war that would bomb Ukraine “until it loses its ability to function. “
Valentine won Democratic number one through 11 votes with 158,957 votes, or 43%; Kunce won 141,203 votes, or 38%. Kunce beat Valentine in 3 of Missouri’s 4 remaining blue themes: the city of St. Louis, Boone County and Greene County. Valentine won Jackson County and received more votes in rural and suburban areas.
“She gave us the most productive opportunity to win in November,” said Robert Butler, chairman of the Jefferson County Democrats, who liked Valentine being a nurse when she didn’t want to.
Schmitt easily won Republican number one 21 with 299,282 votes, or 46 percent, followed by 144,903, or 22 percent, for Vicky Hartzler and 124,155, or 19 percent, for Greitens.
Schmitt is the favorite to beat Valentine overall. In August, an SLU/YouGov ballot that surveyed 900 voters likely from Missouri said Schmitt had a 49 percent lead to 38 percent, with 8 percent of the electorate saying he was undecided. The college ballot discovered the same gap.
John Hancock, former chairman of the Missouri Republican Party, the Great Red Sweep of 2016, said Democratic candidates have necessarily died beyond the urban core and inner suburbs.
“The challenge they have is that, and this is also an adequate challenge for Republicans, applicants who can win in their number one races are anathema to the values of the majority of Missourians,” Hancock said.
He said it’s not up to a Democrat to win statewide, but that “strong” and well-funded applicants struggle to surpass 42 percent of the vote.
Valentine is one of the least politically experienced Democratic candidates to win the number one seat in the U. S. Senate. A U. S. citizen in Missouri. Al beginning of his crusade, he fought for the importance of the financial case of Citizens United’s crusade before the U. S. Supreme Court. U. S.
“Her money would probably have made her credible because she was able to buy all those classified ads to give her massive exposure in front of all Missouri voters,” Ken Warren, a veteran political scientist, said of the primary.
He said the tendency of wealthy domestic applicants turns out to be a reflection of plutocracy rather than democracy.
“It’s almost, you can say, pretty arrogant,” he said. Most other people start running for a school board, a state representative, a state senator. No, no, no, it starts at the top. His first candidacy was for the United States Senate. I mean, come on. It’s a leap. “
Although he has no experience, Valentine has no voting history to review. It is committed to placing its investments and assets in a blind arrangement during its mandate. He says he won’t settle for donations from corporate political action committees.
“Look at some of the other people who are in the U. S. Senate. “”It’s in the U. S. ,” said Terry Ganey, a former Post-Dispatch reporter who co-authored “Under the Influence” and helped McCaskill write his memoir. Not bad. In fact, it would probably be better if it was unconditionally. Schmitt owes Trump all kinds of far-right special interests. “
Probably in favor of Valentine’s Day, the vote to legalize marijuana is also in the November polls. And at least a portion of Missouri’s electorate is estimated to oppose overturning Roe v. Wade. Wade.
While some see arrogance, Carol Emmerich saw Valentine’s security and confidence by spending much of her own money to run for office.
“Trudy is not an arrogant person,” Emmerich said. I have an intelligent judgment about character. “
Emmerich oversees the palliative care program for the Visiting Nurses Association. Remember Valentine was there before, without pay. He said Valentine is offering a much-needed voice for all healthcare emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Health care is how politicians need to pass this off as a political fable when we were risking our lives,” Emmerich said. “Where were our rights in this?”
left alone
Of all the US Senate races this fall, Missouri doesn’t seem to be on the radar because a Democrat can change. Valentine said national Democratic Party officials were interested enough to fund his campaign.
“I feel like we are in many ways,” he said. I think they took me out of this race and they don’t take it seriously because we’ve been in a red state for so long. “
She is a viable candidate who can win.
“I wouldn’t do that if I didn’t think about it,” he said. And I wouldn’t do that if I didn’t care what it means. “
She doesn’t say how much of her own money she’s spent or willing to spend, but she’s confident there will be enough resources for her message to succeed across the state. Federal Election Commission records say his crusade raised $3. 4 million between March 23 and July 5, adding a $3 million loan from Valentine before the primaries.
“I can’t pay for this myself,” she said. I want other people’s support. I want to know that other people are me. “
Valentine is not a Kennedy at the microphone, but sit with her and it’s easy to communicate with her for 3 hours. She acknowledges that she is not the expert.
“I had a steep learning curve in politics when I started six months ago,” he said. “I will say that I have a lot to learn, that I have learned a lot and that I will continue to learn. No one knows todo. ni even politicians. “
She wiped her eyes with a towel when she was asked to be a single mother and her oldest son Matt. She died of an opioid overdose in 2020, a year after donating $4 million to SLU’s nursing program, which now bears her name.
“It’s a disease,” she says. We want to end the misfortune and stigma of addiction. Everyone in his circle of relatives communicates about those things. “
She spoke from the center of her father’s lineage. When asked if there were any surprise details from his childhood, he said no.
“Busch’s call brings me a lot in this crusade because my circle of relatives and ancestors was very clever in giving back to St. S. Simpson. Louis and many other people who needed help,” he said.
When A-B sold InBev in 2008, thousands of others were supporting their families by running for the brewery.
“Eric Schmitt knows that,” he said. Unionized staff earned smart wages. They were safe. They had smart benefits and pensions to live a smart life. I’m proud of my dad for doing that. “
She denied that her Senate candidacy is an effort to bring the last name back to the front.
“I’ll feel worse if I don’t review this,” he said.
Jesse Bogan• 314-340-8255 @jessebogan on Twitter jbogan@post-dispatch. com
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