Russian Bombers Just Carpet-Bombed Mariupol

[TomCADem]

At this point, it is not about taking over Ukraine, because why would you want to take over a wasteland without any working infrastructure. Instead, this is about venting their rage and getting revenge for the death of thousands of Russian soldiers who were not welcomed with flowers for liberating Ukraine.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russian-bombers-just-carpet-bombed-mariupol/ar-AAWgxic?cvid=df9d38d65a5a4012aaef571a63993c90

Russian air force Tu-22M bombers flew into Ukrainian air space on Thursday and dropped unguided bombs on Ukrainian troops in the besieged city of Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov coast.

It was the first time the 120-ton, swing-wing, supersonic bombers directly have raided Ukraine since Russia widened its war on the country starting the night of Feb. 23. Before the Mariupol mission, the Tu-22Ms attacked Ukraine without leaving Russian air space—by firing long-range cruise missiles.

The bombing run, which was recorded by a Russian drone and later confirmed by Ukrainian officials, could indicate that the Kremlin is running low on cruise missiles.

It requires a certain amount of recklessness, or desperation, to fly the big bombers within range of enemy air-defenses. Georgian troops famously shot down a Tu-22M, killing its four crew, during the Russian invasion of the Republic of Georgia in 2008.

[Calculating]

1. Too bad S-300s didn't get them

...

[KS Toronado]

4. Too bad UKR didn't have a couple dozen drones

with guided missiles to shoot every bomber down. Hopefully next time UKR will be ready for them.

[Diraven]

14. I don't think anti-aircraft drones are a thing yet

I'm sure our Air Force is working on them though.

[MoonlitKnight]

21. They do have drone wingmen though

One of those things that you first think, wow that’s cool and then oh no I hope they don’t go overboard with the AI.

Officially not operational yet.

[Maraya1969]

2. Tell me again why no one can bomb those big fancy domed buildings in Moscow? Is it only

because we are afraid of Putin's nukes?

[Iggo]

3. Um...Yes.

[KS Toronado]

6. Yes, UKR should take their "Special Military Operation" inside Russia.

[Polybius]

12. ...

[smirkymonkey]

5. Why do this?

Haven't they destroyed enough of that city? They have turned it to rubble and cruelly murdered many of its civilians. What is the point of this?

[stopdiggin]

9. it is 'scorched earth'

as the OP said. Also - the crippling of any remaining 'defense' within the confines.

[smirkymonkey]

25. I hate these bastards with the fire of a thousand suns.

That was a beautiful city. What a waste of humanity and culture.

[TomCADem]

10. A commentator on Russian state TV called for the bombing of Kyiv after the sinking of the Moskva

Easy, to Assuage the ego of Putin and distract from the humiliation of having a ship destroyed. Here is Russian propagandists on Russian TV demanding bombings of Ukrainian cities.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

26. Russians may not care about having a city there.

I think mainly they want a big highway with gas stations to link Russia with Crimea via an overland route.

[wnylib]

29. Yup.

[48656c6c6f20]

28. Because no one is making him stop

He will continue taking and killing, and we can sit back and enjoy that we aren't dying over there.

[smirkymonkey]

31. But we aren't really enjoying it, are we?

I'm not. This is so frustratingly painful and infuriating to watch. I can't stand this feeling of powerlessness in the face of so much injustice and cruelty.

[mitch96]

34. "Why do this?".. From what I've read they don't care for the city, they want the port.

and the land bridge to Crimea. The distance to Crimea would be cut down as they would not have to go around the Azof sea. Lots of "stuff" goes in and out of the Port of Mariupol. The other big port city is Odessa. Take those two ports and Ukraine is effectively land locked. Hard to get exports out with no shipping. Big exports are grains...
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60825226
m

[smirkymonkey]

37. So they destroy a beautiful city with a rich culture to get a seaport?

Do they realize that most of the modern, first world is not going to do business with them? How fucking stupid. This is not worth what it is going to ultimately cost them.

[sarcasmo]

42. Scorched Earth, a madman doesn't care about why.

[Tomconroy]

7. This is their basic problem with Mariupol

Link to tweet

[maxsolomon]

8. I've been wondering where the bombers were.

This is not revenge for the failed blitzkrieg invasion. They're destroying the remaining Ukrainian forces there, the old fashioned way.

It is how they're going to conquer Novorossiya. By levelling it as needed, and emptying it of Ukrainians (the majority of whom in this area are Russian speakers and Yanukovich voters).

This is what Putin wants to reclaim:

[TomCADem]

11. Carpet Bombing of Cities is Pretty Indiscriminate

If the goal is to target military forces. It is one thing if you are specifically targeting a military facility.

[maxsolomon]

13. "Carpet Bombing" is indiscrimiate. It's also just in the headline.

The article discusses the specific target, which is admittedly, a large area: Azovstal.

Azovstal is an important strong-point in the city’s defense. Troops from the far-right Azov Battalion, the Ukrainian marine corps and the local territorial defense force have holed up in and around Azovstal’s industrial maze. A number of marines a few days ago broke out of an isolated defensive pocket in Mariupol in order to link up with the Azov Battalion.

Surrounded and all but cut off from the rest of the Ukrainian military except for occasional, high-risk helicopter supply runs, the Azovstal defenders for more than six weeks have managed to hold off a much larger force of Russian, Chechen and separatist troops.

It makes military sense for Russia to bombard Azovstal. But it’s somewhat surprising that the Kremlin was willing to fly Tu-22Ms directly over the plant. It’s not for no reason that every previous Russian bomber sortie carefully avoided going anywhere near Ukraine.

[Layzeebeaver]

50. Not sure they have enough tu22m flying to conduct and effective "carpet"

Bombing campaign.

This could have been a “Vulcan” event like in the falklands.

The Russians probably used the tu23m there likely because the Ukrainian air defences have been suppressed enough.

They don’t want to loose one of those again. Not too many left in service. And they haven’t been upgraded lately if I understand correctly.

[Diraven]

18. Interesting flag

I wonder if their flag being very similar to the Confederate flag was deliberate.

[Trailrider1951]

33. Apparently, that flag is derived from one of the Russian Navy's flags

Wikipedia has a write-up here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Novorossiya

and here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Russian_navy_flags#Jack

Apparently, Novorossiya has been an area of contention for sometime:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novorossiya_(confederation)

I haven't yet found out where the Russians got that flag design.

[IronLionZion]

19. Russia has no problem with indiscriminate killing

The eastern cities are within easy reach of their heavy bombers so I'm surprised they waited this long. I suppose they don't mind killing Russian-speakers and leveling cities.

[ananda]

15. Where are the anti-aircraft weapons?

Arrgghhh!

[Diraven]

17. Mariupol is surrounded

They've been trapped far behind Russian lines for a long time. I guess Russia is deciding that no Ukrainian AA weapons would be close enough to see the bombers.

[packman]

16. Reminds me of the Roman/Carthage wars (Punic Wars) which went on for decades

Until the final end when Rome finally defeated Carthage , razed the city and covered it with salt so nothing would ever grow there.
The destruction of Carthage was an act of Roman aggression prompted as much by motives of revenge for earlier wars as by greed for the rich farming lands around the city. The Carthaginian defeat was total and absolute, instilling fear and horror into Rome's enemies and allies.

Russia is making a statement and shaking its balls for the rest of the world to see what it is capable of , even as it is having its ass kicked. Like a wounded bear striking out.

Destruction for the sake of destruction

[roamer65]

20. This is going to have worldwide consequences.

Ingas, a Ukrainian company, supplies high grade neon gas to the semiconductor industry.

Ukraine supplies 90 pct of this high grade neon. Ingas is headquartered in Mariupol, the other company in Odesa.

The semiconductor shortage is going to get a LOT worse. The auto industry needs to start looking at the production of bare bones sedans instead of hyper technological SUVs.

God be with the people of Mariupol.

[NickB79]

41. Damn, did not know that

Yikes

[roamer65]

49. Yeah, read it the other day.

This war lasts too long and it will just keep getting worse and worse worldwide.

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

22. Aleppo Part 2, pound everything to rubble, bounce the rubble, we've seen it before

[MoonlitKnight]

23. Might be a sign of something else

That they are running out of guided bombs and cruise missiles.

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

24. OF COURSE its about taking over Ukraine - a wasteland full of natl gas reserves, strategic value and

no pesky people to get in their way is exactly what they want. This is a repeat of the scorched earth hell they brought to Syria. Venting rage is only the icing on the cake. Or maybe rage isnt the right word - its more like the cold blooded gratification experienced by the mass shooter. .... only on a far more vast and horrific scale.

[calimary]

27. Just ghastly.

Horrifying, and depressing also.

[GB_RN]

30. Carpet Bombing Rubble Into Smaller Pieces Of Rubble...

And using the "Backfire" bomber, to boot. I know, we still have the venerable B-52 in our inventory, which is older than the Tu-22M, but at least the B-52 performs as designed. According to its Wikipedia page, after the Tupolev Tu-22 was introduced in 1962, the Soviets/Russians figured out it was inadequate as a bomber, the role for which it was designed, yet they've kept it on...for 60 years. The basic design and manufacturing of the aircraft is the problem, apparently. Subsequent upgrades to avionics, etc., have been implemented on that flying paperweight, but don't appear to have improved it, from what I can tell. A couple of examples:

"In addition to widespread unserviceability and maintenance problems, the Tu-22's handling characteristics proved to be dangerous. Its landing speed was 100 km/h (60 mph) greater than previous bombers and it had a tendency to pitch up and strike its tail upon landing. It was difficult to fly, and had poor all-round visibility."

"The Tu-22M suffered from widespread maintenance problems during its service with the Soviet forces. These stemmed from poor manufacturing quality. The engines and airframes in particular had low service lives."

[Roc2020]

32. daily. getting. worse.

At this point some underground betting shop is taking bets when the first nuke will be used to attack

[Larissa]

44. Putin routinely threatens to roll out the nukes

He threatened to bring nukes to the Baltics when he got wind that Sweden and Finland were considering joining NATO. He also threatened to escalate with nukes as he is displeased that the US is providing Ukraine with assistance. l am glad that US officials did not respond to Putin. That's just what he wants.

[Botany]

35. The Ukrainians should go and blow up the Kremlin

Outside of Russia going nuclear after that but enough is enough

Kill every Russian mother fucker in Ukraine that is still fighting and take the war
to the bases in Russia and Belarus where they are launching missiles and planes
from.

Make May Day the day where the UKR launches 10,000 switchblade drones at the
Russians in eastern Ukraine.



The Russian people and the military better stop Putin of their country is gonna be a wasteland.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

45. And it certainly doesn't strike me as impossible...

... for just a few Ukrainians to successfully pose as Russians... until they did such a thing like a small group of "terrorists" seeking revenge for Putin's terrorist acts.

Not to mention long-range missiles.

[Snackshack]

36. It is going...

To get much worse. Putin will not let this end until he is seen as the clear victor (whatever that is at this point) and Zelensky is either captured/dead or until he can find another person or entity to blame what has been a massive failure so far.

It’s possible he may not even end it then…now that he has been rightly labeled a war criminal and the ICC is investigating possible war crimes in Ukraine. When this war ends it will free up lots of resources to start an effort to properly prosecute Putin if he is found to have committed war crimes so from his POV no good comes from ending this and there is no reason not to go with a scorched earth campaign if he is looking at the very longshot but real possibility of hanging from a rope at some point.

[Peregrine Took]

38. Happened on Thursday and we are just finding out about it now?? n/t

[AlexSFCA]

43. the media is slowly moving away from non-stop war coverage, typical

[Lovie777]

39. It wouldn't surprise me that Russia is killing their own . . ...

in an effort to kill UAs.

[oldsoftie]

40. Wonder how the apologists will say THIS was "faked"?

[SunSeeker]

46. Yep. Some here insisted the Moscow was not sunk by Ukraine missiles.

They even mouthed the Russian talking point that it was bad weather that damaged the warship.

[oldsoftie]

47. The revealing item about that; Russia pulled their other ships back from the coast.

WHY would you do that if the Moskova was just an accident?
And you say that BS was repeated HERE?? Jeeeze.

[Voltaire2]

48. Wow. I thought only we were allowed to do that shit.