This morning I was reading about Russian satellites, in general they follow the general line of the top technologies currently in use in Russia. They are not the best, but they get the job done. Like so many other things, after the fall of the USSR and the two decades of stagnation (80s-00s) the Russian space agency closed the gap at least partially by making use of foreign technologies to a large extent. For the period 2015-2020 there were plans to modernise the GLONASS system to be as capable as the current American GPS system (Europe's Galileo being the best system at present). But these plans were drastically affected by the sanctions, with most of the manufacturing budget for the new satellites (Uragan-K) being redirected to research on systems that had to be imported, such as chips resistant to space radiation. It is then funny to see that in 2011 and 2014 two K-type satellites were launched respectively, but no new K-type satellites have been launched until 2020. This in general is parallel to what I already said about the Russian microelectronics industry, which had no real investment until 2014. Thus it is logical to assume that the dependence on foreign systems in these 8 years has been greatly reduced and the K-model satellite launched in 2020 does not really depend on foreign technology (the sale of these components to Russia was forbidden, so it stands to reason that they are not in fact foreign).
While these new satellites and their components were being researched, Russia continued to launch the Uragan-M model, which was developed in the late 1990s and does not depend on foreign technologies as much or could be easily replaced. Of course every satellite in general is a work of craftsmanship, and a current M model is more advanced than one from 2005 although not as powerful as a K model ...

Interestingly, in September the first prototype of the K2 model, which will replace the K1 models at the end of the decade, is planned to be launched. The final launch of the M model is planned for the second quarter of 2022, with the remaining models to be launched over the course of the decade, K1 and K2. However, a stock of the latest version of the M model will be left in storage in case there is a need to quickly replace any of the satellites currently in orbit.

I think this speaks volumes as to why Russia is not suffering from the sanctions as many people in the West had hoped. Much of the damage, whether economic or industrial, was done almost a decade ago, and for some reason, many of these "analysts" seem to have forgotten that fact. Since then the Kremlin has put a lot of effort into shielding itself from these sanctions, both by developing its own technologies and by securing supply lines with neutral countries such as Malaysia. This does not mean that the new sanctions will not have an impact, but it will generally be much less than many people thought three months ago, as we are already seeing ...

🇺🇦 They say that the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra, which won the Eurovision Song Contest, decided to change its clip after the mass surrender of the Azovstal defenders🤣

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡Russian "Krasnopol" destroys the "Smerch" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

🇷🇺🇫🇮❗Zakharova said that Russia's response to Finland's decision to join NATO will be a surprise, and the measures will be military

🇺🇸❗Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen acknowledged that the West cannot protect itself "completely from the economic consequences" of its own sanctions against Russia

🇺🇳🇷🇺⚡The UN Secretary General proposes to introduce exceptions to restrictions on the supply of fertilizers from Russia, said Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡Artillerymen of the 100th brigade of the DPR destroy the fortified area of ​​the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Donetsk

🇷🇺🇺🇦❗Donbass is littered with the corpses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Captured Ukrainian military collect the bodies of dead colleagues

🇷🇺🇺🇦❗Assault on Severodonetsk by Russian and LPR troops

Yellow highlights the locations of today's battles in the suburbs. The Ukrainian Armed Forces retreated from forward positions to residential areas, intending to once again use civilians as human shields.

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡Soldiers of the 1st battalion of the special forces of the DPR army destroyed a sniper of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with a guided missile.

🇭🇷❗Croatian President Milanovic expressed his desire that his country, following Turkey, block the consideration of applications from Sweden and Finland to join NATO - Associated Press

🇷🇺🇺🇦❗Explosions reported in Lviv, Vinnitsa and Sumy (Konotop) regions

🇷🇺🇺🇦 Attacking the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the forest near Severodonetsk.

🇷🇺🇺🇦 That night, in the Gorlovka region, Ukrainian soldiers came out on ours and expressed a desire to surrender. There were 8 people who wanted to, including one officer. Our people gave them such an opportunity and named the crossing point where they were to be met. However, the Ukrainians who wanted to surrender, apparently could not leave their positions secretly, and fire was opened on them by their colleagues. Not a single VSUshnik came to the appointed place.

🇷🇺🇺🇦❗Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said that Zaporozhye NPP will now work for Russia.

In addition, in Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, salaries and pensions will be paid in rubles already in May.

🇷🇺🇺🇦 It was even more funny.

Khusnullin said that Russia is ready to sell electricity from the Zaporozhye NPP to Ukraine in the future.