As a kid growing up the Homeric epic, “The Odyssey” was a revelation. And it continues to be so to this day … six or so decades later. I must have read it a hundred times. I glean something new from it every time. For me, the story of Odysseus, as it likely has been for many a young person over millennia, speaks to not only the quintessence of manhood … warrior, husband, father and unalloyed optimism born of dogged persistence, effective use of one’s noggin … but also the unquenched burning desire to return/reclaim one’s home land against seemingly insurmountable odds. My wife, channeling her inner Penelope(the ever faithful wife of Odysseus at her loom), continues to patiently and painstakingly re-tape over and over my well-worn, tattered yet evergreen paperback translation by W.H.D Rouse.
One cannot help but think of Ukraine’s very determined, persistent and adaptive struggle against the Russian behemoth and not recall to mind the seemingly hopeless circumstances of Odysseus, son of Laertes, and his men trapped in the cave of the one-eyed giant, Polyphemus, son of Poseidon(god of the oceans), the one-eyed Cyclops. As a kid my heart pounded helplessly as the Cyclops would return daily to his cave, effortlessly remove the humongous rock which bars the cave entrance and then leisurely devour a handful of Odysseus’ companions, as they screamed helplessly for their lives. But Odysseus, the one they call “ever ready” will by cunning, determination and pluck, eventually find a way to confront the giant, blind him and with wit ensure that the giant’s allies and friends will deem his explanation of what has happened to him quite risible … “who blinded you?” they asked. “Nobody blinded me” the giant screamed loudly in agony. Well, if you say so. They walked away. Odysseus, the ever clever, had earlier on told the giant that his name was “Nobody”. The not so perspicacious Polyphemus believed that was a real name. And as some Ukrainian soldiers in the field regularly count their luck and say of their Russian antagonists … “We’re lucky they are so stupid”.
Putin and his loud propagandistic Russian Russky Mir adherents in the course of their misbegotten war of aggression continue to daily destroy(devour?) the lives of the innocent people of Ukraine, which they risibly and cynically claim “is not a real country and is part of Russia”. The Russians, like the Cyclops, would like to keep the Ukrainians locked up in their unavailing cave of Russky Mir as vassals, impoverished and their natural resources plundered, misused in the usual Russian penchant for depredation and rapine of their neighbors … all of it for the sole benefit of metropolitan Russia. But ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE is not having it and like the ever resourceful and much-enduring Odysseus, are fighting back valiantly with determination and resourcefulness. Some one should have told Putin and company about Ukraine’s foundational history of ancient Greek plucky adventurism(Jason & the Argonauts) and the dauntless storied Zaporozhian Cossacks. For nearly 4 years the Ukrainians have and continue to fight the bigger and better-resourced Russian “world’s second army” to a frazzle … to the surprise of many doubters.
Case in point. The news this past weekend of the destruction of the Russian RT-70 Space Radio Telescope in Crimea, among other surveillance assets, received relatively muted coverage in the main stream media(I believe both annieli and quaoar mentioned it in their diaries).
Whilst one could perhaps file it away in the recesses of the mind as another “Ukraine Bombs Russian site in Crimea” story, the importance of this most recent Ukrainian attack cannot be overstated. It is huge. The ex-Soviet Union built several of these giant radio telescope systems on the Southern Russian mainland and in Crimea in pursuit of supremacy in the “Space Race” and to monitor their various satellites. But overtime, the Russian Federation has converted these systems(several of which Ukraine has destroyed) into valuable military assets which they have since pressed into service of their now regular and incessant daily airborne terrorism of the people of Ukraine:
Ukraine destroys irreplaceable Soviet radio telescope in Crimea, opening path to more operations
Ukrainian Navy officials revealed the strikes specifically target layered defenses protecting both the strategic bridge and Novorossiysk naval base where Russian missile carriers operate.
But the RT-70 is different on many levels. Beyond protecting valuable Russian military assets in Crimea and mainland Russia, the destruction of the RT-70 radio telescope system potentially hobbles Russia’s ability to mount its future 2,000 drones plus missiles a day attacks planned against Ukraine:
Russia Could Unleash 2,000 Drones on Ukraine at Once, German General Warns
Germany’s Ministry of Defense has raised concerns over Russia’s growing capability to conduct large-scale drone strikes against Ukraine, potentially involving up to 2,000 unmanned aerial vehicles in a single coordinated attack.
According to Major General Christian Freuding, head of the Situation Center for Ukraine at Germany’s Ministry of Defense, Moscow is actively expanding its drone production capacity.
He said that such mass deployment could present a major challenge for Ukraine’s air defense systems, which are not optimized for intercepting large volumes of low-cost drones simultaneously.
Something about the best laid plans of mice and men. The Ukrainians know they cannot just sit there idly and watch the Russians plan and actually launch this dastardly mass bombing campaign for which their current air defense systems “are not optimized for intercepting … simultaneously”. And Ukrainians being Ukrainians, by Cronion, have gone out there and done something about it. And they will continue to do what needs doing to ensure it does not happen. Hell, what Russia is doing, even today, is beyond horrible enough. No way the Ukrainians can allow it to get exponentially worse. The key word in all this is GLONASS. GLONASS is Russia’s global navigation satellite system, offering high-precision positioning, timing, and navigation services worldwide. More on GLONASS here:
What is GLONASS And How It Is Different From GPS?
After the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula, RT-70 was converted into controlling the satellites responsible for GLONASS navigation:
RT-70 was used to control the satellites responsible for the GLONASS navigation system (the Russian equivalent of GPS).
The radio telescope was disabled by a drone that hit the Goliath radio receiver. Since the destroyed equipment needs to be custom-made, restoring the facility will cost ten times more than repairing a mass-produced piece of equipment( emphasis mine):
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Unless Russia has recently moved away from GLONASS in their military targeting systems, much of their aerial munitions such as drones, and missiles(including guided FAB/KAB guided bombs) still depend on it. It is in this regard that the destruction of the Crimean RT-70 complex becomes huge:
Ukraine cripples Russia’s RT-70 space telescope in Crimea — a bigger blow than knocking out S-400 radars
The RT-70 radio telescope near Yevpatoria was once used to study Mars and Venus. After Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, however, it was converted into a critical military asset
Russia reportedly only has two of the RT-70 … “ Only two RT-70s were ever completed, making replacement parts extraordinarily difficult and costly to produce”.
Now Russia only has one such “eye”. And ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE, much like Odysseus, renowned for their intelligence and strategic thinking will put in the work to destroy the remaining RT-70. I have no doubt about this coming to pass as President Zelenskyy recently met with General Vasyl “Bull dog” Malyuk(of “Spiderweb” fame) to personally approve several high impact secret operations against Russia. Putin and Russia may have other back up geo-spatial navigation systems but Ukraine will spare no effort to take those down as well. Soon come.
SLAVA UKRAINI ! PEREMOHA(“Victory”) !!