Straight news: Russia's Putin recently flew for 30 minutes on the latest Tu-160M strategic bomber at the Kazan aircraft factory, and then announced the delivery of four Tu-160M to the Russian army. What are your observations on this?
Special Commentator Shi Hong: First of all, it shows that Russia has high hopes for the Tu-160M. Let's take a look at the timeline, Putin went to the Kazan aircraft factory on the 21st to inspect the four brand-new Tu-160M there; On the 22nd, one of the Tu-160Ms made a 30-minute flight; On the 23rd, that is, Russia's "Defender of the Fatherland Day", it was announced that four Tu-160M aircraft entered service with the Russian army. As Russia's first **, Putin conducted a three-day inspection, experience flight and announced its entry into service, which is that the Russian official is showing that the Tu-160M is Russia's "great power heavy weapon", which will greatly enhance Russia's strategic deterrence.
Putin inspected the Kazan aircraft factory. Source: RIA Novosti.
From a technical point of view, although the shape of the Tu-160M has not changed, it can be seen from the ** that Putin took the Tu-160M announced by the Russian side, and the cockpit avionics system has been completely replaced, and the "glass (modern instrument panel)" has been realized. At the same time, the Tu-160M's radar system, engine, flight control system, navigation system, advanced system, electronic countermeasure system, etc. have been upgraded, coupled with the application of new materials, making the Tu-160M significantly higher in terms of technical level and performance than the Tu-160 in service, and the nuclear strike and conventional strike capabilities are more powerful. And this time, the Kazan aircraft factory delivered 4 aircraft to the Russian Aerospace Forces at one time, and this production speed is also unprecedented. In the context of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the latest developments of the high-profile Tu-160M on the Russian side are to send a clear signal to the outside world: if anyone provokes Russia, then Russia is fully capable of making anyone look good.
The second is that Putin canvass for himself. Russia is about to carry out a new *** Although there is no doubt about Putin's victory, Putin also hopes that he can win the ** with an unshakable advantage, which will be of great benefit to his future government. Putin's 30-minute flight on the Tu-160M is not only a continuation of the "tough guy" image that he has been portraying to the outside world for decades, but also an opportunity to show Russian voters that he is in good health, which will undoubtedly increase the confidence of Russian voters to vote for Putin to a large extent.
Straight News: It has been 2 years since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the current battlefield situation has further increased Russia's confidence in the realization of a special military operation, while Ukraine and the West are showing more and more anxiety. How do you think the Russia-Ukraine conflict will evolve next?
Source: AP.
Last winter, the Russian army began to attack the Ukrainian army on the entire front, which has already shown that the initiative on the battlefield has been transferred to Russia. In recent days, the Russian army has taken Avdeyevka, Pobeda, Klinki, and Severne, attacked the settlements of Rastokkan, Ivanivsk, and Novomykhailivka, and continued to advance in Lobodine and Verbove in Zaporozhye, the Russian army has further consolidated its initiative on the battlefield. In contrast, the disadvantage of the Ukrainian army at the strategic level is becoming more and more obvious. A number of key points were taken by the Russian army in just a few days, indicating that the Ukrainian army not only has a serious shortage of equipment, ammunition and personnel, but also the morale of the Ukrainian army has also dropped significantly.
If this situation of the Russian army attacking and the Ukrainian army defending remains unchanged for several months in the future, then there may be an irreversible turning point in the entire battlefield situation, that is, Ukraine can no longer regain the strategic initiative. Earlier, the Ukrainian side said that this year will be an extremely difficult year for Ukraine, which is not wrong at all. The war of attrition has been fought to this extent, and it is completely a desperate foundation. Although the West continues to give aid to Ukraine, it is significantly less enthusiastic than in the previous two years. And Ukraine's own family background is almost done. In such a situation, if Ukraine wants to continue the war of attrition with Russia, it will only become more and more inadequate.
Straight news: For the first time, the Indian Navy sent 2 aircraft carriers in active service to participate in the multinational joint maritime military exercise codenamed "Milan-2024", what signal did it send?
This is an opportunity for the Indian Navy to flex its strength with the aim of expanding India's influence in the Indian Ocean and around the world. The Indian Navy's aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was only officially commissioned on September 2, 2022, and it has only been a year and a half since it participated in such a large-scale joint military exercise, which shows that the aircraft carrier has formed combat effectiveness very quickly, breaking the inherent impression that the Indian Navy's new equipment is slow to form combat effectiveness, and this alone has given people a new understanding of the Indian Navy. The fact that the two aircraft carriers participated in the joint military exercise at the same time is undoubtedly a sign that the Indian Navy has not only possessed a two-aircraft carrier battle group, but also is not a good thing, and can be pulled out for combat. From the current world perspective, apart from the US Navy, only the Indian Navy can actually come up with a two-carrier battle group, so that the outside world has a deeper understanding of the strength of the Indian Navy.
More importantly, the "Milan-2024" joint military exercise is still led by India, and the exercise area is held in the port and eastern waters of Visakhapatnam, with more than 50 countries participating, which makes the world focus on India, which undoubtedly greatly satisfies India's vanity. But it is undeniable that India's influence has indeed been expanded in this way. In particular, judging from the fact that the navies of more than 50 countries have taken part in the joint military exercises led by the Indian Navy, in which the United States and Russia have sent their best to participate in the exercises, India has increasingly become a "sweet and sweet" and the object of competition among major powers.
Author丨Shi Hong, special commentator of Shenzhen Satellite TV's "Live Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan".