Massive Fireball Marks the End of A Russian Ship After Ukrainian Missile Attack

The Ukrainian Air Force carried out a successful strike on a Russian Ropucha-class tank landing ship while it was at pier-side in the Crimean port of Feodosia. The attack took place at approximately 2:30 a.m. local time and was carried out by the Ukrainian Air Force using either a Storm Shadow (UK-supplied) or SCALP-EG (French-supplied) cruise missile. Post-attack imagery from Russian sources shows the ship submerged.

The destroyed ship, the Novocherkassk, is 369 feet long and capable of carrying ten main battle tanks and 340 troops. Russian television ran video showing a slab of the Novocherkassk's hull plating in a supermarket parking lot.

Moscow’s equipment has also been crushed, according to the assessment. At the start of the war, Russia had 3,500 tanks but has lost 2,200, forcing them to pull 50 year old T-62 tanks from storage.

Reports say that 87 sailors died in the explosion; if true, that is about 100% of the ship's complement. The Russian Navy has largely evacuated Sevastopol. The main surface units of the Black Fleet have been deployed to ports in Russia or Latakia, Syria. The ability of Ukrainian Air Force strike aircraft to penetrate this deeply into Russian-controlled territory shows the extent to which Russian early warning and air defense systems have been degraded.

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Elon Gets the Last Laugh in His Battle With Disney

In the wake of Disney pulling its advertising from Elon Musk's X social media platform, Musk was unequivocal in how he would not be bullied in the battle to defend free speech by big companies trying to hold money over his head.

"Don't advertise," Musk said, if they want to take that tact. "If somebody is going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f**k yourself," Elon declared.

In case they didn't catch it the first time, he said it with hand gestures and emphasis, "Go f**k yourself!" "Is that clear?" he asked. "I hope it is. Hey, Bob," he said name-checking and waving at Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney. That was quite the rallying cry and people on the right generally loved it.

The advertiser pullout was prompted in part by a hit job by Media Matters to go after Musk and X, and in part by a comment that some like Disney preferred to take out of context. Musk blasted Disney for advertising next to "child exploitation material." He also dropped a pretty big lawsuit against Media Matters.

These people have been engaging in this behavior since Hamas launched a bloody surprise attack on Israel on October 7. On Black Friday, pro-Hamas agitators swarmed the streets in New York City and Los Angeles to harass people into embracing their agenda.

Hundreds gathered in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, marching through city streets and converging on The Grove shopping center as part of a nationwide effort to call for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and advocating for a cessation of U.S. aid to the Jewish State.

Last week, the Tesla news site Electrek reported that the car manufacturer informed Disney of its decision to remove the app from the main screen. Tesla didn’t provide a reason for the decision, though an explanation is hardly needed. The move is a response to Disney CEO Bob Iger kickstarting an advertiser boycott of X.

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