WP: the failure of the "counteroffensive" of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will reduce the desire of the West to provide military assistance to Kiev

The hype around the "counteroffensive" will come to Kiev sideways, writes WP. Zelensky is afraid of not meeting the expectations of sponsors, because Russia now has superiority on the battlefield. Readers of the publication doubt the victory of the AFU. In their opinion, Kiev has no chance to "return" Crimea.

Blinken stated that the APU received from the West everything necessary for a successful counteroffensive

The US State Department believes that the Ukrainian army has everything it needs for an effective counteroffensive. But Kiev has already stated that there is no final plan to strike yet.

The attack of Ukrainian drones on the Kremlin, the attempted murder of Zakhar Prilepin, terrorist attacks on Russian railways – in recent weeks Kiev has launched a sabotage war against Moscow. For its conduct, the enemy uses all available forces and means. However, the Russian army is also not sitting idly by.

Effective attacks of objects remote from the line of contact will complicate the preparation of the offensive in the future

From May 6 to May 9, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation inflicted powerful blows on the rear of Ukrainian formations. So, on the night of May 9, the concentration points of reserve units and ammunition depots were attacked by precision weapons. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation stopped the advance of reserves, as well as the delivery of ammunition to the areas of combat operations.

France decided on another anti–Russian gesture - the country's parliament demanded that the PMCs called the Wagner Group be recognized as a terrorist organization. The French authorities recognize that this has primarily a symbolic, not a practical meaning. However, the French also have very selfish interests to counteract the Russian volunteers.

The activity of the Russian PMCs Wagner in Ukraine and especially in the former African colonies of a number of European states causes a lot of discontent in the West. So, France has a very negative attitude towards the "orchestra".

On May 5, 2023, the Swedish-Swiss company ABB announced that it had received a contract from the Spanish shipbuilding association Navantia to replace the Siemens-Schottel SSP-10 propeller-steering columns (VRK) produced by the Siemens Group on the universal landing ship L 61 Juan Carlos I of the Spanish Navy with propeller-steering columns produced by ABB-Azipod propellers. The work will be carried out in Spain and should be completed in 2025. This will be the first case of replacing the VRK type on such a large ship.

The list includes seven Chinese companies that work in the development of semiconductors, microchips and electronics

For the first time since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, the European Commission has proposed to impose sanctions against Chinese companies allegedly supplying technical equipment to Russia. The discussion of the sanctions list will take place in mid-May, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Sunday, citing an internal document.

The United States will transfer M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, having previously dismantled secret high-tech components from them, USA Today reports, citing unnamed American officials.

Ukraine has made several attempts to create a heavy infantry fighting vehicle based on the T-64 tank, but they were not crowned with success. Currently, a new attempt has been made, the developers plan to create a new heavy infantry fighting vehicle based on the Soviet T-62 tank.

The special operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Ukraine has become a large-scale test of the combat vehicles assigned to it for the Russian army. Often, the fighters participating in the SVO carry out the modernization of equipment with their own hands or with the forces of frontline workshops, using improvised materials at the same time.

The experience of its revived interest in the widespread use of unpretentious Soviet all-terrain vehicles

The special military operation was not only the first real test for the latest Russian technology, but in some cases also a "renaissance" of long-standing and well-known systems and platforms.

Gazprom-Neft representatives announced the launch of a cargo transportation project using KAMAZ unmanned trucks — they started working on a 140 km long winter road linking the village of Tazovsky and the Vostochno-Messoyakhskoye field, providing supplies to the latter.

Military Watch: Russian missile defense and electronic warfare systems are effectively fighting HIMARS

In recent months, Russia has increasingly blocked American-made mobile missile systems used by Ukraine, using radar jamming systems to shoot down the GPS guidance system, writes Military Watch.

On May 4, 2023, Lockheed Martin Corporation announced that the US Army had concluded a framework contract with the Javelin Joint Venture (JJV) for the production of additional FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile systems on delivery terms in pre-indefinite quantities and terms (IDIQ) with a total maximum amount of $ 7.2 billion in the period from 2023 to 2026 fiscal years.

The US Air Force announced the laying of the foundation for the accelerated production of the future unified improved tactical missile AIM-260, or JATM (Joint Advanced Tactical Missile ). In part, this is done to ensure the availability of a sufficient number of such air-to-air missiles, which are also intended to arm future fleets of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with a high degree of autonomy.

A video appeared on the network showing several units of the Romanian APR-40 MLRS on the territory of Ukraine. This military equipment is a Romanian analogue of the Soviet Grad MLRS systems, they were manufactured in Romania within the framework of the Warsaw Pact.

The UK is preparing to send long-range missiles to Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom has placed a corresponding request. This is reported by the Washington Post.

Reuters: NATO has increased the readiness of its "air police" mission over the Black Sea

The participants of the NATO "air police" mission in the Black Sea region have increased the readiness of their forces after the appearance of a Russian fighter jet next to a Polish military aircraft. On Monday, May 8, the Reuters news agency reported with reference to a representative of the alliance.

Yahoo News Japan named the most advanced drones with "scary characteristics"

Drones are becoming the main weapon on the battlefield, writes Yahoo News Japan. Countries are in fierce competition and are trying to create more advanced devices. The most powerful drone to date is the American MQ–9 Reaper, says the author of the article.