"Ingenuity has become, perhaps, Ukraine’s greatest strategic asset in their war for survival." They are an astonishing people, and will never give up. We'll be learning from them for many years to come once they get out from under Russia's choke, and flourish.
Although I have never worked with thermite directly, I have worked on a crew that joined railroad rails with thermite. Russia lives on rails. I believe dragon drones could be developed that could turn thousands of kilometers of rails into Swiss cheese. It could be done in obscure stretches where it would not be seen and accessed through areas that would not have air defenses in place because there is conventionally nothing to defend. The damage might not be discovered until the rails give out under stress.
Ukraine is, apparently, targeting trains in some areas. Derailing the train causes chaos. So far no thermite but I would expect them to look at that as an option. Mind you a better use of thermite would probably be on the electrical substations that provide power to the rail lines. Burn a few of their transformers and Russia has a big problem. Transformers don't grow on trees so replacement is tricky. Plus they are heavy and are usually transported (in Russia at least) by rail for much of the journey.
Also on that note there are a few rail junctions that Ukraine could target that would trash Russian logistics (and probably starve Rostov on Don)
Point well taken, thanks. My thinking is that a lot of damage could be done to long stretches of track without discovery leading to unexpected derailments, and once discovered cause major stoppages of vital transportation.
Somewhat related: Schizointel on Xitter (https://x.com/Schizointel/status/1830126269473624133 ) pointed out a couple of weeks ago that Russian rail is excessively hub/spoke with Moscow as the hub so it might be better to take out stuff there
It won't be long before the US releases a million C4 Hunter drones from a single c-130s. This totally changes everything as each drone will find a Target on its own. Mmatch in the gas tank... boom boom
SOLUTION: Let Ukraine join NATO. And then put them in charge of it. They’re the best fighters in Europe at this point, and they know the Russians better than any of us.
Indeed. Ukraine was the most technologically advanced republic of the Soviet Union - in a sense the Soviet “Silicon Valley”. Most, if not all, technological developments that happened in the USSR were the achievements of Ukrainian scientists and engineers. Including those of the military-industrial complex. The Soviet arms industry essentially rested on the shoulders of Ukrainians. Moreover, the head of the Soviet space project that sent the first satellite, then the first animals and finally the first human into space was a Ukrainian engineer Serhiy Korolyov. All in all, it can be fairly stated that the Soviet Union was able to become a military superpower only thanks to Ukrainian scientists and engineers.
Western countries should therefore invest heavily into Ukraine, specifically into its re-emerging military industrial complex. Ukrainian engineering ingenuity is especially a huge asset. But they need resources to serialize production - e.g., of their drones, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles etc., to make the leap from quality to quantity. A huge investment into the future is to pump up Ukrainian arms industry so that Ukraine eventually does not depend on Western military assistance. By the way, such an initiative should also be supported by those who normally oppose aiding Ukraine on financial grounds. So, then invest in Ukraine now so that you don’t need to support them in the future.
"Ingenuity has become, perhaps, Ukraine’s greatest strategic asset in their war for survival." They are an astonishing people, and will never give up. We'll be learning from them for many years to come once they get out from under Russia's choke, and flourish.
They are still a long way from that, but they are on the right track.
What a terrific, fact-driven summary of extraordinary achievement. Much appreciated!
Although I have never worked with thermite directly, I have worked on a crew that joined railroad rails with thermite. Russia lives on rails. I believe dragon drones could be developed that could turn thousands of kilometers of rails into Swiss cheese. It could be done in obscure stretches where it would not be seen and accessed through areas that would not have air defenses in place because there is conventionally nothing to defend. The damage might not be discovered until the rails give out under stress.
Ukraine is, apparently, targeting trains in some areas. Derailing the train causes chaos. So far no thermite but I would expect them to look at that as an option. Mind you a better use of thermite would probably be on the electrical substations that provide power to the rail lines. Burn a few of their transformers and Russia has a big problem. Transformers don't grow on trees so replacement is tricky. Plus they are heavy and are usually transported (in Russia at least) by rail for much of the journey.
Also on that note there are a few rail junctions that Ukraine could target that would trash Russian logistics (and probably starve Rostov on Don)
https://ombreolivier.substack.com/p/four-key-russian-rail-junctions?r=7yrqz
Point well taken, thanks. My thinking is that a lot of damage could be done to long stretches of track without discovery leading to unexpected derailments, and once discovered cause major stoppages of vital transportation.
#whynotboth ?
Somewhat related: Schizointel on Xitter (https://x.com/Schizointel/status/1830126269473624133 ) pointed out a couple of weeks ago that Russian rail is excessively hub/spoke with Moscow as the hub so it might be better to take out stuff there
Why stop with one strategy?
It won't be long before the US releases a million C4 Hunter drones from a single c-130s. This totally changes everything as each drone will find a Target on its own. Mmatch in the gas tank... boom boom
SOLUTION: Let Ukraine join NATO. And then put them in charge of it. They’re the best fighters in Europe at this point, and they know the Russians better than any of us.
Thank you for the good work you do.
Indeed. Ukraine was the most technologically advanced republic of the Soviet Union - in a sense the Soviet “Silicon Valley”. Most, if not all, technological developments that happened in the USSR were the achievements of Ukrainian scientists and engineers. Including those of the military-industrial complex. The Soviet arms industry essentially rested on the shoulders of Ukrainians. Moreover, the head of the Soviet space project that sent the first satellite, then the first animals and finally the first human into space was a Ukrainian engineer Serhiy Korolyov. All in all, it can be fairly stated that the Soviet Union was able to become a military superpower only thanks to Ukrainian scientists and engineers.
Western countries should therefore invest heavily into Ukraine, specifically into its re-emerging military industrial complex. Ukrainian engineering ingenuity is especially a huge asset. But they need resources to serialize production - e.g., of their drones, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles etc., to make the leap from quality to quantity. A huge investment into the future is to pump up Ukrainian arms industry so that Ukraine eventually does not depend on Western military assistance. By the way, such an initiative should also be supported by those who normally oppose aiding Ukraine on financial grounds. So, then invest in Ukraine now so that you don’t need to support them in the future.