Russia claims to have destroyed a shipment of US and European arms in Ukraine.

 

Damage done by the missile strikes. Newsweek. 

Russia has claimed that a US and European supplied shipment of weapons has been destroyed in missile strikes in Ukraine. Newsweek. The Russians say they launched ship-based Kaliber missiles to destroy the shipment which was located at a train station in the Zhytomyr region. The Russians also claimed that airstrikes hit fuel storage facilities and command posts near Odessa. Though the claims have not been verified, it comes as Russia has stepped up efforts to destroy western weapon shipments before they can be deployed. It also comes after the US Congress authorized another $40 billion in aid to Ukraine. 

My Comment:

As with all claims in this war, the damage assessment from this strike should be taken with a huge grain of salt. To be fair, any Ukrainian or Western counterclaims should be treated with at least, if not more, skepticism. However, the argument over if this particular shipment of weapons was destroyed or not is less important than the implications of the story. 

In short, this is a pretty obvious move by the Russians and I am surprised it hasn't come sooner. These weapons shipments should have been priority targets from the start. The stinger and javelin missiles have done massive damage to the Russians air and tank forces. And if Ukraine wasn't getting these supplies the war probably would have been over by now with a major Russian victory. 

If the Russians can destroy many of these shipments before they reach the front lines then they can greatly reduce casualties. Ukraine is burning through their supplies at an unbelievable and unsustainable rate and if the Russians can keep them from being resupplied they will regain the advantage. 

It would also cause the United States and Europe to lose a large amount of face. After all, we just sent $40 billion is support to Ukraine, on top of all the massive support we have given them in the first place. If this happens enough times it might get more people to question why on earth we are even giving the Ukrainians these weapons in the first place. After all, what is the point if they can't even reach the front lines?

Russia's in a fairly strange position. The facts on the ground do not seem to be that good for them. They had to retreat in the north and their major Donbass advance hasn't done too much. I wouldn't say they are losing the war, but they certainly aren't winning it either. 

But outside of the battlefield they appear to be winning. Outside of the propaganda war of course, which they didn't even show up for. Economically they are doing better now than the war started with the Ruble surging in value and oil sales skyrocketing. They are also in a very good position due to the failures of wheat crops globally and the fact that countries are limiting export, including Ukraine. Western sanctions appear to be doing much more damage to their own people than to Russia itself. 

Regardless though, the war has not gone the way Russia has wanted it to go. Their failure at the beginning of the campaign to knock Ukraine's government out of the war hurt them badly, and so have anti-tank and anti-air missiles. I still don't see them losing but the war is going to be a slog for them and slog for the people supporting Ukraine. 

I am not too worried about this new strategy of bombing weapons shipments spiraling out into a wider war. The Russians are not going to be targeting the assembly points in Poland anytime soon. It will lead to a lot more American and European money being wasted and may have an effect on the battlefield but that's about it...