(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Ukraine Invasion Day 835: French planes and Russian losses [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-06 Russian forces conducted a series of missile and drone strikes targeting Ukraine on the night of June 5 to 6. Providing French jets to Ukraine could actually recover a failed Indonesian AF procurement. Limitations on Western capabilities to train partner pilots on F-16 fighter jets are reportedly creating bottlenecks that will affect Ukraine's ability to effectively field F-16s in the future. Politico reported that Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium plan to send over 60 F-16 aircraft to Ukraine in Summer 2024. [25] Politico reported on June 5 that US, European, and Ukrainian officials and lawmakers stated that US, Danish, and Romanian F-16 pilot training facilities can only train a limited number of Ukrainian pilots, however. Politico reported that US Air Force Spokesperson Laurel Falls stated that the US National Guard is planning to train 12 Ukrainian pilots by the end of September 2024. The Danish training facility is reportedly training eight Ukrainian pilots, but this facility will reportedly close in November 2024, and the Romanian training facility is reportedly not yet operational. A full squadron of 20 aircraft requires 40 pilots. A former DoD official reportedly stated that if the current training constraints continue, Ukraine will only have enough pilots for a full squadron at the end of 2025. Ukraine will not be able to use all the Western-provided aircraft as effectively as possible until the necessary number of Ukrainian pilots complete training. Select Western countries have indicated that Ukraine will be permitted to use F-16s for strikes within Russia but Ukraine's ability to operate F-16s near the international border is contingent on Ukraine's ability to destroy air defense assets in Russia. [26] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on May 18 that Ukraine needs about 120–130 advanced fighter aircraft to achieve air parity with Russia but that Russia's biggest advantage is Western-imposed restrictions prohibiting Ukraine from using Western-provided weapons to strike military targets in Russia. [27] Ukraine may be able to set conditions to have Ukrainian aviation operate in the air domain to support Ukrainian ground operations if Ukraine is able to sufficiently destroy Russian air defense assets within Russia using Western long-range strike capabilities, obtain a sufficient cadre of pilots capable of flying F-16s, and receive a timely delivery and a sufficient number of F-16 airframes. www.understandingwar.org/... Ukraine has expressed interest in the Mirage 2000, and it has been reported in March 2023 that France has been training Ukrainian pilots on this aircraft in anticipation that some may be sent to Ukraine.[129][130] x ⚡️President Macron announced France will send Mirage 2000 aircraft to Ukraine and train pilots. Thank you, France! 🇫🇷 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/eGJhaIVjjx — Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) June 6, 2024 Ukrainian military officials reported that Russian forces launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles against Dnipropetrovsk Oblast from Taganrog, Rostov Oblast and 18 Shahed-136/131 drones from Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Krai and occupied Cape Chauda, Crimea and that Ukrainian forces shot down 17 of the drones over Mykolaiv, Kherson, Zaporizhia, and Khmelnytskyi oblasts. [93] Russian sources claimed that Russian forces struck a warehouse at a hypermarket in Kherson City overnight with unspecified munitions. [94] Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated a number of known Kremlin information operations during a meeting with foreign journalists on June 5. [109] Putin falsely claimed that Ukraine and the West started the war in Ukraine with the 2014 Euromaidan movement and that the United States is dictating Ukrainian domestic policy and trying to remove Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from power. [110] Putin flaunted Russian nuclear doctrine as part of Kremlin efforts to use nuclear saber-rattling to push the West to self-deter, likely on Western policies involving Ukraine's use of Western-provided weapons to strike military targets in Russian territory. [111] Putin also continued to use complex legal jargon to incorrectly claim that the Ukrainian Constitution and law do not permit the extension of presidential terms and that Zelensky is not the legitimate leader of Ukraine. [112] x Putin gets asked about Russian losses at a press conference with foreign journalists. In the awkward monologue that follows, he’s basically describing the state of the Russian Army except he’s supposedly talking about Ukraine. P.S. Pay attention to the old man’s body language… pic.twitter.com/buMeTo4y43 — Natalka (@NatalkaKyiv) June 6, 2024 x Interesting video shows the losses of the Russian army in #Ukraine... Current losses in Ukraine have surpassed $60 billion. Putin: I remain a master strategist.#Russia #UkraineRussiaWar pic.twitter.com/AeyWPTO4Gr — 🔱 Asgard Intel • WW3.INFO ✨ (@AsgardIntel) June 6, 2024 Key Takeaways: Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to repackage longstanding, tired threats about direct confrontation with the West by claiming that Russian will provide long-range strike capabilities to unspecified actors for strikes against the West. Putin's threat aims to influence Western decision-making about Ukraine's ability to strike military targets within Russia using Western-provided weapons but notably does not threaten escalation in Ukraine or through direct confrontation, suggesting that the Kremlin may be adjusting to select Western perceptions about the credibility of such Russian threats. Russian naval vessels will make a port call in Cuba on June 12–17, likely as part of a larger effort to invoke the historical memory of the Cuban Missile Crisis as part of Russia’s reflexive control campaign to encourage US self-deterrence. Putin inadvertently indicated on June 5 that Russian forces may be suffering roughly 20,000 monthly casualties in Ukraine, which, if accurate, would be roughly equal to or just below the number of new personnel that Russia reportedly generates per month. Limitations on Western capabilities to train partner pilots on F-16 fighter jets are reportedly creating bottlenecks that will affect Ukraine's ability to effectively field F-16s in the future. French authorities are investigating multiple recent pro-Russian sabotage and societal influence operations in France amid continued Russian hybrid war measures against NATO states and France aimed at weakening support for Ukraine. The Russian Investigative Committee announced the arrest of a French citizen on June 6 following the early June arrest in France. Ukrainian forces struck an oil refinery in Rostov Oblast and reportedly struck an oil depot in Belgorod Oblast on the night of June 5 to 6. Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Committee on Human Rights, Deoccupation, and Reintegration Deputy Chairperson Ruslan Horbenko estimated that the Ukrainian military will recruit roughly 120,000 personnel in 2024, although the apparent slow arrival of Western security assistance will likely limit Ukraine's ability to sufficiently provision and equip these forces at scale in the near-term. Russian and Taliban officials expressed interest in bilateral cooperation, indicating that Russia will likely soon delist the Taliban as a prohibited organization in Russia. Russian forces recently advanced within Vovchansk, southeast of Kupyansk, northeast of Siversk, northwest of Avdiivka, south of Velyka Novosilka, and near Krynky. Russia's continued demographic crisis will present long-term constraints on human capital within Russia. x 80 years since D-Day. 80 years since the largest seaborne invasion in history. 80 years since the heroic efforts of those who landed on the beaches of Normandy to liberate Europe from Nazi tyranny. 80 years of peace in Western Europe since. Today we say thank you.#DDay80 pic.twitter.com/1doLRZOZOZ — Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) June 6, 2024 x ⚡️ WAR IN #UKRAINE - JUN 6, 2024 ■ Combat engagements & casualties above 7-day average ■ Record 7-day landbased equipment, vehicle & artillery losses ■ Fewer strikes on both sides; strike ratio above average ■ Janovsky: 70 🇷🇺 23 🇺🇦 added; 30-day ratio at 2.4x ■ Poternet:… pic.twitter.com/vIoPz5zcU9 — Ragnar Gudmundsson 🇮🇸🇺🇦 (@ragnarbjartur) June 6, 2024 The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces conducted offensive operations near Lyptsi on June 5 but did not conduct offensive operations near Lyptsi on June 6, as of the Ukrainian General Staff's 1900 situation report. [48] A Ukrainian servicemember operating in the Kharkiv direction stated on June 5 that Russian forces are using first-person view (FPV) drones with thermal imaging cameras to support night-time assaults and are conducting a high number of artillery and guided glide bomb strikes. [49] The Ukrainian servicemember also stated that Russian forces are using untrained personnel for assaults in the Kharkiv direction. Unspecified elements of the Chechen Akhmat Spetsnaz are reportedly operating in the Kharkiv direction. [50] Russian forces recently advanced near Vovchansk (northeast of Kharkiv City) amid continued fighting in the area on June 6. Geolocated footage published on June 6 indicates that Russian forces recently advanced within Starytsya (southwest of Vovchansk). [51] ...The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces conducted offensive operations near Vovchansk on June 5 but did not conduct offensive operations on June 6, as of the Ukrainian General Staff's June 6 1900 situation report. [54] www.understandingwar.org/... www.understandingwar.org/... www.understandingwar.org/... www.understandingwar.org/... www.understandingwar.org/... www.understandingwar.org/... www.understandingwar.org/... x Biden is at war with Putin while Trump is at war with ‘the enemy within’… My new column is up ⁦@NewYorker⁩: https://t.co/dF9OaQXxMG — Susan Glasser (@sbg1) June 7, 2024 [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/6/2245237/-Ukraine-Invasion-Day-835-French-planes-and-Russian-losses?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web 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/