(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Ukraine Update: Russia and Ukraine engage in the battle of the apps [1] ['Daily Kos Staff', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-26 If the functionality that Russia is drawing from the Alpine Quest tool sounds familiar, that’s because Ukraine already has something similar designed for just this purpose, built in-house by Ukrainian developers. The Ukrainian version allows sharing of near real-time data all along the front line, so that targets moving out of range for one group can be picked up by the next, and has been reportedly key to helping Ukrainian forces hold their positions in western Bakhmut. Commander of a Ukrainian volunteer unit coordinating a response to reports of Russian drones. The app used by front-line soldiers—an expansion of the app GIS Arta —is just one of a number cranked out by Ukrainian military and government teams since the war began. They’ve also built a multi-purpose app named “Diia” (which translates as “Action”) which can be used for everything from acting as a driver’s license to signaling the Ukrainian equivalent of 911. It also includes reporting the location of Russian drones. That app is currently installed on over 460,000 phones in Ukraine and has assisted in shooting down Iranian-made Shahed drones before they reached their targets. Ukrainian coders have built special apps that help the armed forces manage their ever more complicated logistical trains. Forward units can use this app to request supplies or report broken equipment. There’s an app that warns people when there is an air raid alert in their area, checks their location, and provides the quickest route to the nearest shelter. For civilians close to the front, there’s an app that helps them locate and coordinate with volunteers working to help them evacuate the area. There’s an app named Eppo (an acronym for electronic air defense in Ukrainian) that lets every Ukrainian assist in protecting their nation by reporting Russian drone sightings. A similar app allows for tagging any video or image to note the appearance of Russian troops or other equipment. All of this has been so quickly assembled that there has already been talk that, after the war, Ukraine could be “the next Israel,” in terms of being a nation that attracts huge investments from technology companies looking to tap into local coding and technical prowess. Screen capture from AlpineQuest Off-Road Explorer, which is reportedly used by Russian forces Russia has also developed a number of apps. That includes one potentially very clever use of smartphone technology in the form of an app that registers the sound of artillery being fired, then uses the timing from Russian soldiers around the area to triangulate and pinpoint the origin of the sound, giving them the location of the Ukrainian gun. It seems very unlikely that this could provide accurate coordinates in an area of varied terrain, with multiple guns being fired and echos pounding back from buildings and hills … but it’s not impossible to work that out with some good filtering and comparison of waveforms. So far, the Russian software to find artillery through sound doesn’t seem to have generated a cluster of Ukrainian artillery being taken out, but it’s still a good example of taking advantage of just how incredible the technology held in an ordinary smartphone really is. Three decades ago, when I was working for a company that was highly dependent on a fleet of large, heavy equipment, we invested in special hardware that would allow us to track some of that equipment across the workday. Installing the hardware on each piece of equipment costs around $40,000, and the special software and infrastructure to support its use cost still more, but when you’re operating a fleet of massive $5 million trucks, $20 million shovels, and $100 million draglines, you kind of need to know what they’re up to. Especially when they’re spread out across work sites (mines, we’re talking about mines) that can easily encompass a hundred square kilometers. Being able to “see” what each of these vehicles was doing allowed trucks to be rerouted when the queue at one shovel became too long, or dozers to be sent out to repair the way when data showed that the path had become too difficult. In a way, it was similar to the kind of issues that the Ukrainian military works with when it's trying to get equipment and parts where they’re needed. The cost of installing and maintaining the system made it difficult to justify in many locations, or for it to be mounted on less expensive pieces of hardware, but when it made sense, it really paid off well. Then, about 15 years ago, I was hit by the realization that the $40K boxes we were installing had a very specific set of hardware: a GPS system, communications, a data display, and a means for the operator to signal what they were doing or warn of an issue. It turned out that we had another box available that could do that and more–the average smartphone. By that time, the coding tools developed for smartphone apps had improved enough that I was able to write a tool that could replace the multi-million dollar system that ran on top of that old custom hardware with a simple, lightweight app. Almost overnight, we were able to track nearly everything–every truck, every dozer, even the light boxes used to illuminate the working areas after sunset. You could even use the sensors in that phone to figure out exactly how rough every meter of roadway might be. Add a small interface, and now you knew what everyone at the mine was doing at all times … earning me a lot of hate from the guys driving those trucks and dozers. The average smartphone, even a cheap one, is an extraordinary device. Such a raft of sensors–still camera, video camera, GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, microphone, magnetometer–all that and more is in almost any phone you can purchase. And it can communicate with Cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth, and often several other protocols. Some can even make limited use of satellite communications. For the same reasons, it’s not unusual that Russia should be using a piece of commercial software in their mix. Think about the things that almost every piece of software you own now promises. Secure communication. Data encryption from end to end. Ease of use. Flexibility. Russia doesn’t have to build those things, because they’re already done. It would be great if the makers of Alpine Quest would put in place restrictions that would limit Russia’s ability to integrate their software into locating and attacking Ukrainian positions. However, if they did, Russia would likely just move to one of many alternatives. It is not hard to find applications that allow you to locate something on a map, tag that location in some way, and share the information with “friends.” That’s all Russia really needs here. They could practically militarize Pinterest. Ukrainian soldier stationed near Kupyansk uses her smartphone for the most important function–chatting with her 5-year-old son. If need be, Russia could likely slap the necessary tool together themselves. I did something similar, and that was better than a decade ago with much less powerful phones and much cruder tools. But Alpine Quest is really nice. Great maps. Good tools. Terrific capabilities. It’s no wonder it’s maintained a strong user base for over a decade.I do have to wonder, though … is Russia getting by with just the free version, or do Russian commanders pop for the €10 version? It’s little wonder there are so many stories of soldiers being saved when their smartphone deflected a bullet. Because that phone is vital equipment. They need it as much as their weapon or helmet. Also, it can call home. It can maintain connections to people who are many kilometers away, but never far away from the minds of those engaged at the front. That may be the most vital function of all. [Note: Daily Kos attempted to contact Psyberia, makers of AlpineQuest Off-Road Explorer, for this story, but they have not yet replied.] Ukraine gets a surprise guest With all the Western gear that’s been headed to Ukraine over the last few months, it was already hard to track the increasingly complex menagerie that is the revised Ukrainian ground force. However, it turns out that even some vehicles that aren’t on announced lists of those loaned or sold to Ukraine are turning up in country. x Slovenian government delivered 20 Pandur armored vehicles to Ukraine in complete secrecy. Allegedly, the transport to Ukraine was completed this week- According to Slovenian media https://t.co/8VzOLZNiuo pic.twitter.com/Y0NcLp9PKS — Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) April 26, 2023 The Pandur is an armored personnel carrier developed in the late 1980s by an Austrian firm that is now part of General Dynamics European operations. Versions of the APC have been sold to several nations, and that included about 85, which had gone to Slovenia … before Slovenia, which has proven to be one of Ukraine’s big supporters over the last year, slipped them over the border to Ukraine. This appears to the Pandur I. Slovenia is replacing these in their own military with their own variant of the 8-wheeled Pandur II, so it’s likely these vehicles were headed for the sidelines in any case. But that doesn’t make them in any sense bad or obsolete. The Pandur has a good reputation for being able to handle a variety of terrain and for being able to travel at higher speeds than other APCs. It also carries an interesting collection of weapons, including a 20 mm autocannon. Slovenian models are also outfitted with grenade launchers and a variety of different types of grenades. In any case, be sure to slot this one into your game card. I’ll be looking to see if we find out which Ukrainian unit is going to get the Pandurs. Zelenskyy speaks with Xi Jinping On Wednesday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy got on the phone with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine. In recent weeks, China has been positioning itself as a potential third-party negotiator for peace between Russia and Ukraine (something that could easily be achieved by Russia simply leaving Ukraine), and there have been vague descriptions of a “Chinese peace plan.” From the snippets that have appeared online so far, Xi insisted that he wanted the fastest route to peace in Ukraine. It’s a relief not to see China explicitly supporting Russia by sending it artillery shells or missiles, but supporting a “fast peace” that leaves Russia in control of large areas of Ukrainian territory is a kind of implicit support of Russia and of the whole concept of an aggressive war for territory. Even so, Zelenskyy described the conversation as “long and meaningful.” However, Zelenskyy seems to have been less focused on listening to Xi’s ideas on how quickly a cease-fire should be established in Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion but in building stronger diplomatic relations between Ukraine and China. Following the conversation, China announced that it would send an envoy to Ukraine and other countries to begin talks about how the conflict can be brought to a “political end.” What countries are being talked to, or what that ending might look like, wasn’t clear. However, in a meeting between Xi and Vladimir Putin two weeks ago, one of the things they agreed about was their shared distrust of the United States, so it seems likely that China will try to cut the U.S. out of the conversation, at least in this initial stage. Bakhmut It’s amazing just how little is left of the city at this point. When Ukrainian soldiers report that they have nowhere left to take shelter except in rubble, and Russia is bombing the rubble, they’re not kidding. Gen. Viktor Khorenko, the head of Ukraine’s special forces, visited the city on Wednesday and said that the fighting remained heavy, the situation remained difficult, but Ukrainian forces were still holding their positions and making Russia pay a heavy price for each attempted assault. For the first time in several days, Russia does appear to have gained territory, taking a few blocks in the southwest and securing more territory in the area between the train station and the medical school. Bakhmut. Open image in another tab for a larger view. For a week now, there have been reports that Russia was building force in Bakhmut for one big push, and there have been reports that Putin wants this to happen in time for Victory Day parades on May 9. Considering how parades in some Russian cities have been canceled, and even in Moscow, things could be considerably reduced from past years, rolling over the remaining ruins of Bakhmut would give them something to “celebrate.” On the other hands, there have been warnings circulating on Russian telegram channels that when Ukraine is actually pushed out of Bakhmut, that will be the signal for the counteroffensive to begin. This claim doesn’t make much sense, but if Russians believe it, it makes them less enthusiastic about attacking in Bakhmut … good. You get a private army, and you get a private army, you all get private armies! Wagner Group owner Yevgeny Prigozhin is back again this morning, and he has a really peculiar message. In addition to once again fuming about not being given all the artillery ammunition he wants–probably because Russia doesn’t have any more to give–he sails right into a discussion of how private armies are becoming the in thing for Russian oligarchs. x Prigozhin on the current perception of the future role of PMCs in Russia: (1) they can play some role in domestic politics, (2) someday there will be a struggle for power and everyone needs to have their own private army. pic.twitter.com/NkaWhgspO7 — Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) April 26, 2023 For decades, Putin’s biggest concern has been that some alternative leader would rise up from the military and take his place. That’s a big part of why Putin has done his best to keep military leadership weak, fearful, and incompetent. Gutting the officer ranks and knocking off anyone who seemed to have two functioning neurons might have made Putin feel better, but it’s certainly contributing to Russia’s failures in Ukraine. Now Putin is getting this kind of treatment from the guy running what was once thought of as Putin’s private army. It’s hard to believe that the man with the very long table is going to be ecstatic about the idea of every one of his rivals being at the head of their own military … especially when 97% of the actual Russian military is currently melting away in Ukraine. Of course, Putin does have a force that’s supposedly loyal to him alone: Rosgvardiya. That force is reportedly enormous and reports directly to Putin, but it seems like we haven’t seen much of them in the last few months. I wonder why. x Ukraine will receive weapons for the offensive in time, General Cavoli said. The top general of the US in Europe, stated that more than 98% of the military equipment promised to Kyiv has already been delivered. pic.twitter.com/ow4gnsy0HG — NOËL 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) April 26, 2023 x A Ukrainian POW freed from russian captivity. 📷 @yurasov_vitaliy pic.twitter.com/1twHHjpaF3 — Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 26, 2023 Ukraine today announced a program to foster innovation and fund technologies that help in the fight against Russia. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/26/2165976/-Ukraine-Update-Russia-and-Ukraine-engage-in-the-battle-of-the-apps Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/