A significant portion of the discussion relating to my most recent post: ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE’s Reversal of Ru Occupation in the Southeast Continues. 745 Sq Km & 26 Villages Liberated Since January eventually came to rest upon the question of how soon Ukraine’s pan-European anti-ballistic missile system, FREYA, would come on line and as the Ukrainians euphemistically put it … close the sky.
No one really knows, except perhaps Ms. Iryna Terekh, the chief executive and Mr. Denys Shtilerman, co-founder and chief designer of the Ukrainian company Fire Point. Perhaps, that circle of people in the know is much wider … taking in some of the more senior folks in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. President Zelenskyy, too might know but he ain’t saying.
To all of that I offered the opinion, informed only by my personal sense of how Ukraine continuously surprises the world with their persistence, derring-do and ability to seemingly overcome the impossible, as if it were a mere speed bump. Several readers believe(backed by publicly available official and print statements) that FREYA will not make her appearance anytime soon. They may well be right. But I, in turn, am absolutely persuaded and firm in my optimism that Ukraine Will be Ukraine and once again surprise us. To wit:
Decimusauthor1 day ago Reply to ArchieMander
War speeds up a lot of time lines. WWII allied Fighter jet development are a case in point.We’re are almost 2/3rds of the way to the end of 2026. 2027 will soon be here. The manufacturer, in order not to create unrealistic high expectations given the dire circumstances facing Ukrainians, may hedge and or sand bag their forecast of when FREYA will be fielded. And there’s the enemy to confound as well … let them think they have the upper hand with the current configuration of missiles they are firing. Then suddenly they don’t. War is the ultimate poker game. Sadly, a lot of lives are at stake instead of chips.I have no inside information or insight on this. But my usual optimistic outlook and fervent belief in the ability of the Ukrainians to overcome such technical “speed bumps” tells me FREYA will make her appearance sooner than expected.
Reply by ArchieMander.
ArchieMander1 day agoReply to Decimus That is a reasonable argument about ” in order not to create unrealistic high expectations” and “there’s the enemy to confound as well.” Hope you are correct.
And so it is that Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s Energy Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, continues to express cautious optimism that his country will survive the upcoming winter despite expecting it to be the most difficult since the start of the full-scale conflict.
While acknowledging a pessimistic scenario where Russia drags out the war to exhaust Ukrainian society, Shmyhal stated, “my optimism is that we will survive this winter; we are ready for it,”+
Ukraine energy chief says infrastructure attacks will shape war’s outcome
Ukraine hopes its campaign to destroy Russia’s refineries will end the war this fall, but is preparing for energy attacks this winter, Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal told POLITICO.
https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-energy-denys-shmyhal-winter-war
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces, too, would also like a word … to let the Russians know that if they think hammering Ukrainian civil energy infrastructure and freezing folks out will cause Ukraine to capitulate to Putin’s wishes, well the Russians best get ready b’cos there’s a bodacious surprise coming their way. Ukraine Will Be Ukraine and will overcome everything the Russians will throw at them. And give back as good or better.
“You(Russians) think you gonna freeze us out? Best get ready ‘cos it’s gonna be hot and hotter than you think”:
It will be hot: Ukraine’s Defense Ministry responds to Russia’s threats to ‘freeze’ Ukraine this winter
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has responded to threats from the Russian Federation to potentially intensify drone strikes against Ukraine during the winter.
According to Ukrinform, the response was posted on the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Facebook page.
The post, accompanying an image of drones attacking an object resembling an oil depot or refinery, says: “Winter will be hot.”
The Strategic Communications Department of the Ukrainian Armed Forces also posted a response to Russia.
Its Facebook page featured an image of a burning oil refinery with the caption: “We’ll warm ourselves by the fire of Russian oil refineries.”
But the major tell(tease?) came from none other than Fire Point, the manufacturer of FREYA:
Meanwhile, Ukrainian defense company Fire Point posted(on their X website): “Let’s talk about winter after autumn.”
Ya gotta love the cheek. But it ain’t trolling if you can back it up. Fire Point will back it up.
Fire Point’s motto speaks for all Ukrainians’ determination to overcome: Quis nisi nos (“If not us, then who?”). Indeed.
I have no special information or insight on the matter, except my own fervent and adamantine belief that ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE will surprise us all not only by ensuring that “In the cold, birds fly to where it’s burning.” but that FREYA will soon fly brightly into the sky and bring an end to Russia and Putin’s infernal career of predation and depredation of UKRAINA(“our land’).
SLAVA UKRAINI ! PEREMOHA(Victory) !!
We’ll get straight to the point: The financial hardships that Daily Kos is facing this year are tough.
We continue to be paywall-free. We continue to be supported by our readers, not billionaires or corporations. But we need to bring in more revenue. We are leaning on our community more than ever to help make ends meet.
Power matters.