Gabriel B
15 supporters
Ukraine - May 29, 2024

Ukraine - May 29, 2024

May 30, 2024

Russia late at night launched a significant volley of missiles and drones deep into Ukraine, targeting a large number of oblasts. This happened shortly after Ukraine launched an ATACMS volley at Kerch. The Kerch Strait Bridge was not the target, but Russian assets in the area were. Allegedly two ferries were very lightly damaged, and at least one ammunition depot was likely destroyed in the late night attack. Both volleys also happened after an unknown incident in Moldova (more on that later).

A day after it was announced that Sweden would be delaying the transfer of Gripens to Ukraine, Sweden did an about face (sort of). Sweden announced their largest military aid package for Ukraine to date, worth over a billion USD. Among the most notable parts of the package are a very large amount of armored vehicles, specifically Pansarbandvagn 302s. Sweden has several hundred of this model, but they have been mothballed for a decade as Sweden modernized its military. If they were kept in pristine condition, Ukraine could hypothetically receive a massive boost to their armored capabilities. In reality, I'm assuming many are in a state of disrepair, but Ukraine should still manage to get a couple hundred working vehicles. They're nowhere near as effective as, say, a Bradley, but they are still useful as Ukraine does not receive enough high-end gear from the United States for all of its needs. In addition, Sweden announced that at least one ASC 890 aircraft, roughly comparable to Russia's A-50s, which act as airborne command centers and greatly enhance communication and radar capabilities. This will be a significant boost for Ukraine's air force, which lacks any planes whatsoever to fill this role, and is exactly what Ukraine needs to help integrate the pending F-16s into its preexisting forces. If Ukraine receives an adequate number and proves adept at integrating and maintaining both the ASC 890s and F-16s, I suspect the conversation of Gripens will advance at that point.

Denmark has joined other countries in allowing Ukraine to use their weaponry against Russian soil. Denmark has rather famously transferred their entire stockpiles of certain types of artillery to Ukraine, giving Ukraine more types of artillery with which they are now permitted to strike Russian soil. Canada, Finland, and Poland all made statements (re)affirming that they support Ukraine using their weapons to hit Russian soil. With the tide turning decisively in favor of this policy, the United States is increasingly signaling that they may fold on this. Two separate American officials made statements today along the lines of that American policy may evolve and adapt to accommodate Ukraine's battlefield needs.

The American Secretary of State was in Moldova today. Blinken met with top Moldovan officials, and promised American support for the country's move to join the EU, and to resist Russian influence. The United States also announced $135 million in support for Moldovan energy infrastructure and to work against Russian disinformation campaigns. But then, the oddities happened. With absolutely no media coverage, over a half dozen flights were diverted from Chisinau, the Moldovan capital. Several were diverted elsewhere, with a trio of flights remaining in Moldovan airspace for quite a while. Two eventually landed in Moldova, almost immediately after Blinken's Twitter account sent out a tweet about Moldova. The last flight however remained airborne in a holding pattern for a while longer, before eventually landing at Chisinau as well. Absolutely no explanation was provided for the redirections and delays, but my assumption is that there must have been security concerns regarding Blinken's visit.

Enjoy this post?

Buy Gabriel B a coffee

More from Gabriel B