On 6/2/2025 at 4:10 AM, Jumper_Dad said:

In what Ukraine calls Operation "Spider Web", several Russian Air bases across the entire country were attacked via drones.

117 Ukrainian drones were smuggled into Russia and placed under the roofs of wooden cabins that were then shipped across the country. Ukraine then this weekend remotely opened the roofs of the cabins releasing the drones. Each drone was independently piloted and targeted Russian strategic bombers at Russian Air bases. 

40 strategic missile bombers (34% of the Russian arsenal) were destroyed or severely damaged. The drones which cost around $4,000 each did cumulative damages of approximately $7 billion dollars.

To put this in perspective it would be like someone destroying 50 to 60 US B-52, B-1 and B-2 bombers in the US arsenal. 

 

I think this is a prime of example of why folks were extremely concerned, and rightfully so, about the suspicious drone activity in the Northeastern United States last fall/winter. 

And to add to my previous post. Anyone that thinks this can't happen in the United States is extremely naive. Unfortunately if it does happen in the US, the targets are much more likely to be civilian rather than military. 

21 hours ago, theguru said:

Ukraine can never win. 

A war of attrition and the regime that survives will win. 

Don't discount the possibility of Russia collapsing first. Inflation is over 20% in Russia. Their economy is in dire straights. Another harsh set of sanctions will have impact. Cut their oil revenue and let's see what happens.

19 hours ago, sportsfan41 said:

I think this is a prime of example of why folks were extremely concerned, and rightfully so, about the suspicious drone activity in the Northeastern United States last fall/winter. 

19 hours ago, sportsfan41 said:

And to add to my previous post. Anyone that thinks this can't happen in the United States is extremely naive. Unfortunately if it does happen in the US, the targets are much more likely to be civilian rather than military. 

I listened to a former military officer speak about what one container ship full of drones could do or what Chinese owned land near American military installations could do.  I also watched another short piece on slaughterbots and what they can do to any of us.  From Google:

What are Slaughterbots and how do they work?

Slaughterbots, also called 'autonomous weapons systems' or 'killer robots', are weapons that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to identify, select, and kill human targets without human intervention. Though these weapons sound futuristic, reports of their use are starting to mount up.

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To me, the proliferation of drones is a far great threat than the proliferation of guns and almost anyone can build a drone arsenal for nefarious purposes.  Ugh..

10 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

A war of attrition and the regime that survives will win. 

Don't discount the possibility of Russia collapsing first. Inflation is over 20% in Russia. Their economy is in dire straights. Another harsh set of sanctions will have impact. Cut their oil revenue and let's see what happens.

I think Russia is going to hit Kyiv (or another valuable target) hard and then maybe the two sides will come to the table for meaningful peace talks.  

6 minutes ago, theguru said:

I think Russia is going to hit Kyiv (or another valuable target) hard and then maybe the two sides will come to the table for meaningful peace talks.  

Both sides will have to suffer much, much more for peace talks to work. Ukraine is not giving in on Russia keeping 20% of their country in peace talks.

Just now, Voice of Reason said:

Both sides will have to suffer much, much more for peace talks to work. Ukraine is not giving in on Russia keeping 20% of their country in peace talks.

Russia is going to keep a bunch of Ukraine or Russia will destroy more and more of Ukraine. 

A little more about drones, from Tech Brief on Facebook:

Japan’s AI Drones Are Replanting Forests 10x Faster
Flying Smart, Restoring Nature One Seed Pod at a Time

In wildfire-scarred landscapes where life once thrived, Japan’s AI-powered drones are now bringing nature back faster than ever before. Armed with LiDAR, soil sensors, and over 300 biodegradable seed pods each, these autonomous machines scan the earth from above and fire native seeds into the ground with pinpoint precision. Developed by Kyoto engineers, they can replant a football field in under an hour ten times faster than human efforts. In early trials, over 80% of seeds sprouted, accelerating forest recovery and carbon capture. With each flight, these smart drones are not just planting trees they’re rebuilding ecosystems and giving the planet a second chance.

23 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

Both sides will have to suffer much, much more for peace talks to work. Ukraine is not giving in on Russia keeping 20% of their country in peace talks.

Hard to predict. Ukraine keeps innovating. Necessity is the mother of invention. Ukraine will keep finding ways to attack inside Russia. Kill generals. Destroy infrastructure. Who knows what Ukraine will come up with next?

Drones and technology are going to change the battlefields and make it hard to predict what happens.

Reading through multiple sources this morning trying to see the total current casualties on both sides.

Most estimates have total Russian casualties at nearly 1,000,000.  Estimates are that the number of those being fatal is well over 250,000. This is by far the heaviest fatality rate for Russian/Soviet forces in any conflict since WWII.

Ukraine has casualties estimated at around 400,000 with between 30-80,000 being fatal.

The civilian casualties in Ukraine are estimated at over 30,000 with over 13,000 being killed.

While both countries would love to end this conflict, Russia isn't willing to give up territory they have captured and Ukraine isn't willing to cede any land inside their border that Russia has captured. 

Russia could just stop advancing and set their heels in the ground where they currently are and I don't think Ukraine could force them out. Ukraine would reluctantly learn to live with this in time. As long as Russia keeps trying to advance and claim more ground Ukraine will fight back with all of their might.

I fear this conflict will carry on in some form for many many years.

Ukraine launches a huge drone attack tonight against Russian forces...not sure this was the best timing. We'll see how it turns out for them.