Streaking fast over the landscape of northern Ukraine or western Russia, a Ukrainian warplane delivered a literal hammer blow on a Russian outpost in Russia’s Bryansk Oblast—and showed a way forward for Ukraine as U.S. President Donald Trump aligns the United States with Russian interests.
A Ukrainian drone caught the results on camera as the Ukrainian air force jet—either an ex-Soviet MiG or Sukhoi or a recently donated ex-French Dassault Mirage 2000—landed what was reportedly at least one 550-pound Hammer precision glide bomb on a facility belonging to the Russian Federal Security Service, the successor of the old KGB.
As a result of the precision strike on or before Friday, “critical enemy military infrastructure was destroyed, including communication systems, signal amplifiers, satellite communication equipment and other technical assets used for coordinating combat operations,” the Ukrainian general staff reported. “This significantly degraded the enemy’s ability to command and control forces in the region.”
The daylight raid was clearly part of a wider campaign targeting Russian commanders in Bryansk, a staging area for the Russian and allied forces battling a strong Ukrainian force in neighboring Kursk Oblast. The Ukrainians have recently expanded their 250-square-mile salient in Kursk, putting pressure on the Russian Northern Grouping of Forces to step up their counterattacks.
But counterattacks require command and logistics. Both are under strain as Ukraine targets them with manned and unmanned warplanes. The Friday bombardment was a “step in weakening enemy forces and reducing their military potential,” the general staff explained.
In another striking display of Ukrainian air power on or just before Thursday, a robotic Aeroprakt A-22 bomber, presumably flown by the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces, flew low over Bryansk under the cover of darkness and dropped a 550-pound bomb on a Russian installation. A hapless Russian infantryman shot back at the drone, apparently without hitting it.
Critically, both recent Ukrainian raids in Bryansk involved European and Ukrainian technology—and not American technology.
In a catastrophic press conference on Friday, Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance berated visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for not being sufficiently “grateful” for American aid, even though Zelensky has frequently thanked the United States and has even directly singled out Trump for flattery.
Trump aligns the U.S. with Russia
Trump has moved swiftly to find common cause with Russian interests, mirroring Kremlin disinformation and even blaming Zelensky for the unprovoked Russian invasion of his country, which has killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians. On Friday, Trump threatened Zelensky with an abrupt cessation of U.S. aid. “I have determined that President Zelenskyy [sic] is not ready for Peace if America is involved,” Trump raged on social media following his Oval Office attack on the Ukrainian president.
Ukrainian troops were aghast. “I didn’t expect that a number-one country will become a freak show,” breathed Kriegsforscher, a Ukrainian marine corps drone operator who has been fighting in Kursk.
But America doesn’t have to be involved for Ukraine to continue defending itself. A strongly pro-Ukrainian party won the recent election in Germany. France, the United Kingdom, the Nordic and Baltic States and even Iceland have expressed continuing support for Ukraine.
Most of NATO is behind Ukraine. Most of the European Union is, too. European weapons and ammunition will continue flowing into Kyiv’s arsenals. “There is an aggressor: Russia,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote as Zelensky left the White House. “There is a people being aggressed: Ukraine. We were all right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago and to continue doing so.”
Indeed, France’s help—in the form of Hammer glide bombs and potentially also a Mirage 2000 fighter—led directly to the Friday blast that devastated that Russian outpost in Bryansk.
At least six Mirages are already in Ukraine. More are coming, along with: fresh air defenses from Sweden, Lithuania, Norway and even Ireland; new armored vehicles from Finland; ammunition and drones from the United Kingdom; and, most critically, potentially billions of dollars in weapons and ammo from the new government in Germany.
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