Ukraine War Mini Update: травля лягушку

This video really isn't that important in the grand scheme of the Russo Ukrainian war, really.  There are more profound ones out there right now.  What is important about this video is what you ought to see in it.  Look at the background.  Look at what the Donnie Rebs are doing.  Look at what happens by the end.

In essence, the DNR twits are right next to residential housing and firing a rapid fire smaller calibre artillery piece at the Ukrainians.  The Ukrainians must respond.  However, artillery is generally not that accurate.  So.  The residential housing is going to get smashed.  Perhaps not this time, but many times.

This is one of the ways the DNR get the locals to get angry at Kiev and the Ukrainians.  They hide in the midst of the remaining locals (there are at least 1.3 million less in the Donbass than there used to be) and plug away at the UAF.  The UAF responds and the civvies get hurt.

Likewise in Gorlovka...

It should be as no surprise then when the residential areas are shelled.  We knew this first hand.  Its not often acknowledged out in public.  Certainly not in the general media. 

Those of you that read my blog ought not to have that excuse.

The artillery bombardments are up and down the contact line now.  GRADs, 122mm, 152mm and 120mm (mortars) are hitting pretty much constantly from Shyrokino on the Azov Sea up all the contact line of the DNR.  There is some exchanges and even one recent scout probe in the LNR, but for the most part its far quieter.  

Ukraine has closed the intra Ukrainian border with the LNR: no movement is allowed between the LNR and Ukrainian government territory.

The OSCE has warned they are seeing numerous concentrations of armored fighting vehicles, often motorized rifle battalions or larger in the DNR.  These are quite common now.  The DNR seems to be staging the equipment.  And, yes, its within the exclusion zone. 

Someone reported to have done an analysis (I can't find it again) correlating the arrival of the Russian aid convoys vs when the attacks by the DNR and LNR are.  Apparently, 24 to 48 hours after an aid convoy arrives, the Donnie Rebs attack.  Supposedly like clock work.

Most recently, one of the aid convoys refused to stop to be inspected by the IRC or OSCE.  It went through and some of the observers claim they saw military equipment.  Has the maskirovka finally been seen through?  Or did Putin decide he could finally push in some military equipment since everyone was believing the aid convoys were bringing food, etc?

Just as worrisome, on the economic front, the Ukrainian government is teetering on default for its debts and indicates it might do so.  The IMF has hinted it might be fine with that: Ukraine must service their debt still, but not others.  At the same time, the US has offered another $1 billion in guaranteed loans.  The Japanese offered (a while back) another $1.5 billion.  The first debt due is Russia's.  

The US House of Representatives did one good thing and one odd thing.  The House passed amendments to bills stating that the US military could not train the Azov Battalion.  No issue there.  Then they also went on to pass another which prohibited the sale of MANPADS (shoulder fired anti aircraft misiles) to Ukraine (and Iraq).  huh?  MANPADs would be one area which would help and with the battery designed like it is, we've not seen a big problem with all the Stingers we fed to the Afghans back in the day.  However, the House did also pass a bill to provide $300 million worth of military aid to Ukraine, inclusive of weapons.

One last oddity: multiple places are reporting what seems to be a strobe light.  Everyone thought they were artillery flashes, but no noise arrived and no impacts were heard.  Its been reported in multiple places along the contact line.  Weird.