Megathread for news/updates/discussion of Russian invasion of Ukraine - June 1-2

Offtopic, but should these megathreads be changed to weekly now that the news about the war has slowed down so much? I certainly don't want to contribute to people losing interest, since that would be detrimental to Ukraine, but 3-5 comments per megathread is pretty low.

cc: @Deimos

Why Are the Russian Forces Fighting in Ukraine So Primitive?
https://www.discoursemagazine.com/politics/2022/05/31/why-are-the-russian-forces-fighting-in-ukraine-so-primitive/

Russia’s technical means are highly regarded around the world, at least on paper; defense industry exhibitions and export arms catalogues show plenty of high-technology electronic warfare and command-and-control systems for sale. Where are these systems in the Russian order of battle?

The inescapable answer is that the Russian armed forces’ primary mission is to convey the regime’s power and prestige, not demonstrate battlefield effectiveness. Tanks and missile launchers can be proudly shown off during a Red Square parade, but what about a digitized command, control, communications, computer and information (C4I) network? Can it be shown? Can it be demonstrated as a source of power to overawe neighbors and potential enemies? Will it impress the foreign journalists and observers? If not, the Russian leadership seems not to care about it.

The article goes on to say that corruption has also reduced the quality of military equipment stockpiles, and that training and motivation are lacking.

Why our fight in Ukraine is yours too
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/01/opinions/ukraine-kyiv-independent-news-site-shevchenko/index.html

Written by Daryna Shevchenko, CEO of The Kyiv Independent.

Scholz Touts Latest Ukraine Arms Delivery After Criticism (Bloomberg)

Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Germany will supply Ukraine with IRIS-T guided missiles as he pushed back against persistent criticism that the government in Berlin is dragging its feet on sending heavy weaponry.

“In the coming weeks we will continue to deliver weapons,” Scholz said Wednesday in an address to the lower house of parliament. Germany will also send four systems of the multi-rocket launcher MARS II from its own military stocks to Ukraine, in coordination with a US plan to send a similar system, according to a German official who asked not to be named because the plans aren’t public.

The IRIS-T guided missiles, manufactured by Ueberlingen, Germany-based Diehl Defence, are “the most modern air-defense system that Germany has,” Scholz said, adding that it’s capable of protecting major cities from attack. He did not specify the number of missiles, while Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a separate address later Wednesday it would take “months” for the missiles to be delivered due to the advanced nature of the technology.

“It was actually supposed to go to another country but we stepped in and arranged for them to do without it and for it to go to Ukraine,” Baerbock said. “It needs these medium and long-term signals that show we haven’t given up on Ukraine in three months but will defend it according to our means without getting directly involved ourselves.”

The announcement won praise from Andrij Melnyk, the country’s ambassador to Germany, an outspoken critic of Germany’s response to the war and prior relationship with Russia. “This is a real breakthrough for us,” Melnyk said in an interview with WirtschaftsWoche.

Ukraine expects the first IRIS-T delivery in October and could obtain a further 11 systems at short notice, the German magazine cited Melnyk as saying. Each system costs 140 million euros ($149.2 million), he told the magazine.