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Russia-Ukraine Flash Report for 4-19-22 11:45 PDT - Mariupol
🕑 Added 2022-04-19 19:26:43 +0000 UTCThe Russian Air Force is using Tu-22M3 and Tu-95 bombers to strike the Azovstal Metallurgical Plant.
The Tu-22M3 can carry up to 8 1500kg bombs in its main payload bay. The Russian "Father of All Bombs" FOAB is shrouded in mystery and questions whether a Tu-95 [correction] Bear bomber can deliver it.
People reported hearing the bombing in Mariupol from 60 miles away. The Azovstal factory is also shrouded in mystery and a lot of misinformation. A bunker network was built under the factory starting in 2015 after Russia-backed DNR separatists fired artillery rounds into the facility.
The reports of a Cold War "city" sized underground bunker designed to take multiple megatons of nuclear weapons (and wild claims of a secret biolab) are untrue.
Due to its size, scale, and construction, the steel mill is also a heavily fortified fortress. Heavily reinforced deep tunnels run under the factory to bear the weight, insulate from heat, and withstand the vibrations of steel and metals production. This isn't unique to Azovstal; this would apply to any massive metallurgical plant on the planet.
Continued bombing in the short term will have a psychological impact versus a military one. Continuous bombing could seal off entrances, and fires will impact air quality.
In our assessment, If Russia wants to end the siege of Mariupol quickly, they won't be able to bomb their way to victory. It will require storming the plant, at scale, in a significant operation. The only other option is to starve out the defenders and their families.
That may take longer than a few days. Videos of fighting in Mariupol show Ukrainian marines and Azov Battalion members using weapons from western allies that didn't arrive in Ukraine until the end of March. This is the most substantial evidence to date that Ukrainian forces in Mariupol were getting resupplied, and likely into April
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I couldn't love you more ❤️ thank you so much for your commitment to finding the truth and helping the support moralle.....we need it just as much, so we can believe, dare to dream. I can rest easy with a late night flash report with amazing news (doths cap) xx
Ooooo, thank you! I was researching both when I wrote this and my brain wires crossed - will edit and confirm it is the Tu-95 Bear. We were trying to determine what aircraft could carry the Russian FOAB and couldn't find a conclusive answer. Russia has only suggested that the Tu-95 can but has never produced proof that test were done using the Cold War era bomber. Inside joke we have right now - we're not sure if people heard the explosion from 60 miles away or the approaching Tu-95 bomber.
Just a quick correction. The Tu-95 is the Bear series of maritime/strategic bombers. The Tu-160 is the Blackjack that you referenced in the article.
