Russia advances in Kharkiv; Zelenskyy cancels trips to focus on defense
Russian forces are advancing further into Ukrainian territory than they have since December 2022. The intensified fighting has forced more than 8,000 people to flee their homes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has canceled several overseas trips to oversee his country’s defenses.
Russia is attempting to seize as much ground as possible before additional Western aid reaches Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently spent two days in Ukraine, where he announced an additional $2 billion in military aid and reaffirmed Washington’s continued support.
On Thursday, May 16, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said its forces would continue their assault in Kharkiv, where they have destroyed a Ukrainian air defense command post and an ammunition depot.
The Russian military also claimed on the Ministry of Defense’s official Telegram channel to have captured 107 square miles of Ukrainian territory. Russian state-run media, however, has made little mention of the high troop casualty rates and equipment losses.
In anticipation of the Russian advance, President Zelenskyy lowered the draft age for military service for males from 27 to 25. The move aims to boost Ukrainian forces by 100,000 soldiers.
Ukraine’s military challenges were exacerbated by a four-month halt in weapons supplies from the U.S., which resumed after Congress passed a $61 billion aid package. Restrictions on the use of Western weapons within Russian territory have allowed Russian forces to mass safely across the border, according to some analysts.
An estimated 30,000 Russian troops are currently stationed near the border in Belgorod. The U.S., which has previously supplied Ukraine with long-range missiles used to strike Russian targets in Crimea, insists this assistance should be used only for defense, not for offensive operations in Russian territory.
Russia also claimed it captured territory in the southeastern Donetsk and eastern Zaporizhzhia regions as well.
“Russia started a new wave of offensive actions in this direction,” Zelenskyy stated, referring to the Kharkiv region. “Ukraine met them there with troops: brigades and artillery. It is important to understand that they can increase and bring more forces in this direction. It is a fact. But our military and military commanders were aware of it and assessed its forces in order to meet the enemy with artillery fire.”
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, holds strategic significance. It’s not clear if Russia plans to capture it, but Kyiv officials suggest Moscow may simply be aiming to stretch Ukraine’s resources as fresh aid arrives.
The Russian advances follow Russian President Vladimir Putin’s call for a “buffer zone” in March near Kharkiv to halt Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil infrastructure — a tactic that has significantly impacted the Kremlin’s bottom line.
NATO needs options to deal with deadly drones. Here are two.
The modern battlefield is as dynamic as it is deadly. Small, unmanned aerial systems are taking out larger weapons for pennies on the dollar, forcing NATO nations to adapt and deal with attack vehicles that are often the same kind of devices one can buy at a store, just with some extra kit.
“It’s a component of a larger group of capabilities that will make a difference on the battlefield,” Gordon ‘Skip’ Davis said. “We’ve seen that in spades in Ukraine specifically, but also in the Red Sea with the exploitation by the Houthis, or even in the fighting in Israel.”
Davis, a retired Army general and former NATO staffer, is now a non-resident senior fellow with the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). He recently took part in a virtual press conference held by CEPA focusing on the many lessons learned concerning drone warfare in Ukraine. One of the first and most immediate takeaways: A cost-effective means of defense is going to be paramount for any NATO ally that finds itself in a drawn-out conflict.
“We just cannot continue to shoot things down with expensive defensive systems that are so much more expensive than the small drones,” said Lance Landrum, another non-resident senior fellow with CEPA and retired Air Force officer. “And so we have to figure out a way to flip that cost curve.”
In the Red Sea right now, the most commonly used missile to counter the drone and cruise missile threats is the Navy’s Standard Missile 2, or SM-2. The missiles cost about $2 million each, and spoiler: a Navy destroyer doesn’t have an endless supply of SM-2s.
“A destroyer only holds 96 missiles in its vertical launch system,” said Tate Westbrook, a former captain of a destroyer and commodore of a fleet of destroyers before retiring from the Navy. “So, if you got into a heavy engagement with either multiple air threats, multiple missiles, or as we’ve seen lately in the Red Sea multiple drones, I was always worried: was my ship, or my squadron of ships, were they going to run out of missiles too soon in the fight? [Would they] have to leave station and reload?”
After retiring from the Navy, Westbrook went to work for BAE Systems where he is now the director of business development for naval guns and missile launchers. His job is to help make some new weapons that the U.S. military wants yesterday.
One of these new weapons is the Hypervelocity Projectile (HVP), a new round of ammunition that can be fired from any Mk 45 deck gun in the Navy’s fleet. As the name suggests, the HVP travels extremely fast, but it has a few more tricks hidden up its sabot-sleeves.
“What Hypervelocity Projectile brings, besides slightly increased range, is a significant improvement in lethality,” Westbrook said during an interview with him and one of his colleagues, David Smialek, BAE’s director of business development for precision guidance and sensing solutions.
“[The HVP] round itself will maneuver to target as the ship is transmitting the target information to the round,” Westbrook said. “The small computer inside the round itself is commanding the round to the optimal intercept. Our objective is essentially one shot, one kill with an exact or very close intercept, because of the maneuver of the round. We’re significantly increasing how many targets [combat commanders] can engage over time with just one or two rounds compared to conventional munitions that may take multiple rounds to score an effective kill against a maneuvering air target.”
The Navy isn’t the only U.S. service branch BAE Systems is working with to develop HVPs. In fact, the HVP can even be fired out of a Paladin mobile howitzer, which uses the NATO standard 155 mm artillery round. That’s great news for the U.S. Army, since it was relying on the Air Force for most of its air defense capability. That’s a prospect which is quickly being abandoned now that drones are so ubiquitous on the battlefield.
Davis said that BAE doesn’t have the HVP in full production just yet and he couldn’t give an exact price per round. However, he and Smialek both said the final cost will be a fraction of what an SM-2 costs.
When it comes to air defense as a whole, however, there is no single solution. A layered approach is always better. As the top provider of the Navy’s layered air defense systems, BAE obviously agrees. To that end, the company developed another option to counter unmanned aerial systems. The new solution combines two already proven weapons into a very lethal, very accurate defender.
Component one is the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, or APKWS. It’s a laser-guided rocket that’s been in production for over a decade now. It has a reported range between one and four miles. It’s small enough to be loaded by hand, versatile enough to fit on a variety of vehicles, and at around $20,000 a rocket, it has proved to be a relatively inexpensive but effective way to deal with smaller classes of drones.
Smialek summed it up nicely when he said, “So, for an interceptor, you know, it makes a lot of sense, right? I mean, you can’t dispute what it can do.”
Smialek also said the APKWS is widely available and already in use in the DOD’s current inventory. BAE also has the infrastructure to make about 25,000 a year right now.
So, if the APKWS is the first part of the solution, what’s the second? The Mk 38 stabilized gun. Now, like the APKWS, the Mk 38 has been around for a while. What’s new is the gun’s ability to now fire the APKWS as well.
Davis and Smialek said BAE installed and tested the new variant Mk 38 on a U.S. naval vessel, but can’t release any images of it right now for fear of identifying the ship. Obviously a legitimate security concern. However, they did say there are nearly 500 Mk 38s installed on U.S. naval vessels, and with minimal modifications, those guns can be ready to fire the APKWS as well.
And there is another major benefit of both HVP and deck-mounted APKWS launchers. Unlike the larger, more exquisite weapons like the SM-2, which can’t be reloaded at sea, both the HVP and APKWS can be replenished while a vessel is underway. This ability gives every captain more options in a conflict, and more ‘stowed kills’ with every mission.
Number of women, children killed in Gaza cut nearly in half in new UN report
The United Nations (U.N.) has significantly reduced the numbers on the amount of Palestinian women and children killed in the war in Gaza. On Wednesday, May 8, the estimated death totals reported for women and children were cut nearly in half.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) published that the number of women killed in the conflict since Oct. 7 was 9,500, while claiming the number of children killed to be 14,500.
Two days later, on May 8, a new report showed 4,959 women and 7,797 children had been killed since the start of the war in Gaza.
OCHA said it does not produce or verify the numbers independently on casualties. Instead, casualty figures are provided by the Ministry of Health or the Government Media Office in Gaza, which is run by Hamas. The agency also receives some numbers from Israeli authorities.
The U.N. maintains the numbers “await further verification” and said other “yet-to-be-reviewed figures are also sourced.”
U.N. Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq was asked how the numbers could change so drastically.
“The revisions are taken as we, of course, in the fog of war,” Haq said. “It is difficult to come up with numbers. We get numbers from different sources on the ground and then we try to cross check them. As we cross check them, we update the numbers, and we’ll continue to do that as that progresses.”
Haq was pressed on why the change was so “significant.”
“Numbers get adjusted over the course of the conflict, once the conflict is done, we’ll have the most accurate figures, but we’re just going with what we can absolutely confirm, which will always be what the low end of the numbers are,” he said in response.
An unnamed Israeli official who spoke to FoxNews had their own explanation for the conflicting numbers.
“Israel has repeatedly said the numbers coming out of Gaza, and which are being echoed by U.N. agencies by Hamas, are not accurate, and do not reflect the reality on the ground,” the official said.
Israel claimed more than a third of Palestinians killed are combatants. However, the numbers from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry have been cited by world leaders and humanitarian organizations.
The U.N.’s explanation did not lay out why the Gaza Health Ministry’s numbers may have changed. However, David Adesnik from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies believes the U.N.’s updated numbers reveal a new methodology that does not rely as heavily on the Gaza Health Ministry. However, how and why the changes were made remain unclear.
“This change may signal that the U.N. has finally recognized the lack of evidence behind Hamas’s original claims,” Adesnik said.
Adesnik called the change a step forward for the U.N., but still questioned whether the numbers can be trusted in the future.
As thousands flee Rafah, UN aid group warns food and fuel supplies critically low
The situation in Rafah — a city housing around 1.3 million Palestinians — has reached a critical juncture as Israel’s military operations against Hamas continue to disrupt humanitarian aid efforts. In response, The United Nation’s World Food Program (WFP) issued a warning on Friday, May 10, saying that the group has only a few days’ worth of food and fuel left, which could grind aid delivery efforts to a halt.
The lack of aid delivery is made worse by the ongoing fighting in the region, preventing essential supplies from reaching the warehouses in Rafah, where most international aid organizations operate and where most supplies are delivered.
Warehouses in Rafah are nearly empty. UNICEF has sounded the alarm, warning that the shortage of humanitarian aid could cause more Gazans to die of starvation.
“For five days, no fuel and virtually no humanitarian aid has entered the Gaza Strip, and we are scraping the bottom of the barrel,” a UNICEF spokesperson told Reuters.
On Friday, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced the delivery of 200,000 liters of fuel to Gaza. This fuel supply will be used for generators in hospitals, logistical centers and trucks responsible for aid distribution.
Access to fuel has been hard to come by since Israel seized control of the Rafah crossing with Egypt. The ongoing battles between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants have rendered the crossing inaccessible for aid deliveries and medical evacuations.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of stealing aid meant for the people of Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began. Recently, the terror group reportedly hijacked an aid shipment from Jordan. The U.S. State Department said it was the “first widespread case of hijacking seen” in Gaza, adding that the goods were recovered when Hamas militants finally let the aid trucks move on.
Pro-Israel protesters have also attempted to block aid shipments to Gaza, claiming that the aid is going to Hamas.
“The government of Israel and the international support want to give a lot of supplies to the murderers to keep them fighting,” Jonathan Godeles, a protester, said. “There is no other place in the world that one side gives the supply to the other side. It’s crazy, it’s nuts.”
The U.N. said that nearby battles have caused more than 100,000 people to flee parts of Rafah, with an estimated 30,000 people leaving daily. The agency said it has no tents, blankets or bedding for those fleeing.
As Straight Arrow News previously reported, more aid is on the way to Gaza in a ship heading to a new U.S.-built pier in the region. Meanwhile, the U.N. said “full-blown famine” is underway in parts of Gaza.
Outbound help: First aid ship bound for new Gaza pier sets sail from Cyprus
The first aid ship is on its way to an American-built floating pier in Gaza as the humanitarian crisis worsens in the region. The boat left from Cyprus on Thursday, May 9. As it the ship sails toward Gaza, questions remain about the logistics of aid distribution and whether the pier is finished.
President Joe Biden announced the construction of the pier two months ago. However, the United States military has not finished installing it. A Pentagon spokesperson revealed that crews have not transported certain parts of the pier to Gaza yet. The ships carrying those parts are waiting for better sea conditions.
Once the pier is operational, the vessel carrying humanitarian aid will transfer pallets of supplies to an offshore floating platform. Crews will then load the pallets onto trucks on new, smaller boats that will take the cargo to the beach. Israel Defense Forces will unload the trucks there. U.S. defense officials maintained that no U.S. forces will set food on the ground.
The operation of the pier has become even more important after the closure of Gaza’s two main land crossings, stopping humanitarian aid deliveries. In addition, concerns are mounting over the long-threatened invasion of Rafah, a crucial distribution hub for 1.3 million Palestinians sheltering in the region. Israel recently took control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt. Israeli forces have not said when they will reopen it.
As entrance into Rafah becomes more difficult, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees warns that supplies are running out. The agency said it will have to start rationing supplies within days, which could risk its operations.
2.3 million people face food shortages amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and a famine setting in northern Gaza. The need for aid in the region is urgent.
UK PM Sunak warns of spread in antisemitism as European protests grow
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took a stand against antisemitism on university campuses on Thursday, May 9. Sunak met with university leaders to address concerns about disruptions to learning due to possible antisemitic abuse amid pro-Palestinian protests.
Sunak emphasized the importance of protecting freedom of speech while ensuring that universities remain places of tolerance and safety.
Pro-Palestinian protests sprung up at about a dozen U.K. universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, prompting worries among some Jewish students about antisemitism. To tackle the issue, Sunak announced additional funding to support Jewish students and summoned vice chancellors from top universities to discuss efforts to combat antisemitism.
Specifically, Sunak announced that the government would provide an additional $623,000 to the University Jewish Chaplaincy Service to support Jewish students. The organization provides support for Jewish students at more than 100 universities in the U.K.
Meanwhile, across Europe, campus protests by pro-Palestinian activists spread. Some called on universities to cut academic ties with Israel over the war in Gaza. In Dublin, Ireland, Trinity College students ended a peaceful protest after the institution agreed to divest from Israeli companies that the United Nations said had links to settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.
In Berlin, German police broke up a protest at Free University Berlin. Meanwhile, in Amsterdam, protesters occupied a university building, leading police to intervene. Similar protests popped up in Finland, Denmark, Italy, Spain, France and Britain.
In the United States, police have taken action against pro-Palestinian protesters as well. At the University of Chicago, authorities cleared a pro-Palestinian tent encampment. The move comes as police dismantled many other encampments across the country.
More than 34,000 Palestinians died since the start of Israel-Hamas war, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
Israel vowed to wipeout Hamas in response to the Oct. 7, terrorist attack, which killed 1,200 Israelis and saw Hamas militants kidnap around 250 people.
Houthis and Iranian university welcome expelled US students to join ranks
Protests across U.S. college campuses have captured the attention of many, including universities in Iran and Yemen. Now, those universities are reaching out to students and professors who may have been expelled over their activism.
“Students and even professors who have been expelled or threatened with expulsion can continue their studies in Shiraz University and I think that other universities in Shiraz and Fars province are prepared to do the same,” Iran’s Shiraz University President Mohammad Moreno said on Wednesday, May 1.
Houthi-ran Sanaa University in Yemen said the students could continue their education there, too. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia, which has disrupted global shipping with attacks in support of Palestinians, welcome expelled students to join them as well.
In another show of support for college protesters, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip expressed gratitude, with demonstrators putting up thank-you notes directed at several American universities.
“It is wonderful,” said Abu Yusuf Al-Habeel, a displaced Palestinian. “We thank all the students at American universities who stood in solidarity with the Palestinian people in their cause.”
While some have commended the protesters’ efforts, Gilan Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations went the other way during a speech on Wednesday at the U.N. General Assembly.
Erdan characterized college protests against the war in Gaza as “the murderous cries of the pro-Palestinian mobs.” He also described the protests as “Nazi-like behavior.” In addition, he accused the U.N. of spreading “anti-Israel vitriol” and said the organization’s “days were numbered.”
Haunting and cryptic video aims to lure more to join US Army
Fort Liberty, North Carolina, is at the center of an innovative new recruitment strategy by the U.S. Army. A video released on Thursday, May 2, titled “Ghost in the Machine 2” caused quite a stir. A major from the 8th Psychological Operations Group based at Fort Liberty created the video, using haunting imagery and historical voices to captivate the audience.
The ad is a strategic move by the Army’s psychological warfare soldiers to attract new recruits, particularly for the Special Operations Command. The video’s cryptic messages and captivating visuals personify the kind of work these soldiers do to influence public opinion and wage wars of words overseas.
Psyop units, like the 8th Psychological Operations Group, are tasked with missions ranging from simple leaflet drops to sophisticated propaganda campaigns aimed at shaping foreign opinion. For instance, in World War II, the so-called U.S. Ghost Army used innovative tactics like inflatable tanks and radio tricks to outwit the Germans.
Today, psychological operations remain critical for the U.S. Army, although their work is often classified. One recent example includes helping Ukrainian troops in countering Russian disinformation campaigns.
However, despite the critical nature of their work, recruiting for psyop units has proven challenging. The U.S. Army struggled to meet enlistment goals recently. It cited factors such as low unemployment, competition from the private sector and pandemic-related restrictions, which did not allow for recruiters in schools.
Recruiters hope that the “Ghost in the Machine” videos will spark interest among potential recruits. Initial feedback from soldiers who viewed the first video suggests that it has had a significant influence on their decision to pursue a career in psychological operations.
As the U.S. Army continues its recruitment efforts, one thing is clear: the power of words and ideas remains a potent force in shaping the future of military operations.
US says Russia is using banned choking agent in attacks on Ukraine
The United States has accused Russia of deploying chemical weapons in Ukraine, a move that violates international law and heightens concerns about the escalating conflict. The U.S. State Department alleges that Russia has used chloropicrin, a choking agent that forces entrenched soldiers to choose between fleeing under enemy fire or risking suffocation.
Chloropicrin — which can cause vomiting, nausea and diarrhea — was widely used during World War I. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons classifies it as a choking agent.
The U.S. asserted that use of the chemical is a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which Russia has ratified. Ukraine also accused Russia of using tear gas grenades dropped from drones on Ukrainian positions.
Meanwhile, the State Department announced sanctions on three Russian entities linked to Moscow’s chemical and biological weapons programs.
US includes Chinese groups in sanctions over aid to Russian military https://t.co/vVZZuYvDLU
Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, denied these allegations, calling them baseless and accusing the United States of trying to intimidate partners like China and block normal trade cooperation.
“It is once again targeting Russian high-tech, transportation and energy companies, meaning to ‘knock out’ competitors from the markets,” Antonov said.
Violence on UCLA campus over war in Gaza forces cancellation of classes
Officials canceled classes at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), on Wednesday, May 1, after violent clashes between opposing groups of protesters erupted overnight. The confrontation began when pro-Israel protesters allegedly attempted to take apart barricades around a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus.
The escalation followed the university declaring the camps illegal on Tuesday night. UCLA also warned pro-Palestinian protesters of consequences if they refused to leave.
According to UCLA student Edgar Gomez, the situation quickly got worse as people tore down gates, threw water bottles and engaged in fighting. Protesters allegedly shoved, kicked and beat each other with sticks. Additionally, individuals reportedly used pepper spray during the fight.
Just before 1 a.m. local time, Mary Osako, the vice chancellor for UCLA’s Strategic Communications, issued a statement.
“Horrific acts of violence occurred at the encampment tonight and we immediately called law enforcement for mutual aid support,” Osako said. “The fire department and medical personnel are on the scene. We are sickened by this senseless violence.”
Police did not gain control of the situation until more than two hours after Osako released the statement, raising questions about the campus’s preparedness for such unrest.
“Things are not going well,” Gomez said. “People are, like, angry at each other. Lots of tensions are going on. I just hope things can get resolved and maybe with some negotiations going on or who knows what will happen. But I hope things get resolved right away.”
Wednesday morning, the scene returned to calm, but classes remained suspended. As a result, UCLA officials advised people to avoid the impacted area.
Meanwhile, in New York City, police broke up a demonstration at Columbia University. They entered a building filled with antiwar protesters and dispersed the crowd. The university requested police assistance after physical violence erupted.
These incidents came amid a broader movement on college campuses across the country as students protest Israel’s war in Gaza. Tent encampments calling for universities to sever ties with Israel or companies supporting Israel’s war in Gaza sprung up across the U.S.