They have already, as I understand it.. but the Soviet era machines are running out of ammo and it is time to transition to sustainable stocks. I'm pretty confident the war will shift in Ukraine's favour soon. Russia wants to prolong it as long as possible. Europe is now coming to understand, the sooner it is over, the better for all concerned.
Yes, it's pretty certain at this point that Russia cannot win, but they can make things awful for some time.
Again; two completely different machines - logistics nightmare.
I have always thought that the former Warsaw Pack nations in Eastern Europe; who still have stocks of Soviet-Era weapons, should push those to Ukraine who is already familiar with them. To be replaced by Western equipment.
They have already, as I understand it.. but the Soviet era machines are running out of ammo and it is time to transition to sustainable stocks. I'm pretty confident the war will shift in Ukraine's favour soon. Russia wants to prolong it as long as possible. Europe is now coming to understand, the sooner it is over, the better for all concerned.
Leopards should be up and running much faster than that. The logistics should be in place quite quickly.
Here's a twitter feed on the current numbers promised.
42 confirmed leopards with Spain and Norway highly likely to contribute up to another 71 and there are another 41 unconfirmed from other countries.
plus the 14 Challenger from the UK
Again; two completely different machines - logistics nightmare.
I have always thought that the former Warsaw Pact nations in Eastern Europe; who still have stocks of Soviet-Era weapons, should push those to Ukraine who is already familiar with them. To be replaced by Western equipment.
Leopards or M1s, it will likely be a year before they are operational in Ukraine. Crews and support personnel must be trained and the logistic infrastructure created.
Leopards should be up and running much faster than that. The logistics should be in place quite quickly.
Here's a twitter feed on the current numbers promised.
42 confirmed leopards with Spain and Norway highly likely to contribute up to another 71 and there are another 41 unconfirmed from other countries.
Ukraine was saying it needs 800 to finish the war and as I understand it they will soon get about 100 from various European countries (Germany, Poland, Spain) with probably more coming soon from other countries and older versions taken out of stock.
Watching the German SPD which is leading the coalition government finally lurch into making the right decision has been painful to watch. But there has been a slow consensus building that assisting Ukraine with what it needs is the only sound policy.
It has still been amazing to see how various cultural factions have battled it out before the decision was finally made. Scholz looked like an absolute idiot but now some are saying it was a masterstroke on his part to force Biden's hand to send Abrams tanks as well (I am pretty certain it wasn't, but you know, politics).
Leopards or M1s, it will likely be a year before they are operational in Ukraine. Crews and support personnel must be trained and the logistic infrastructure created.
Multiple different tanks present immense logistic problems as well. Sure, ship the Leopards - but in enough quantity to matter. That's my point; a dozen or two isn't going to matter.
Ukraine was saying it needs 800 to finish the war and as I understand it they will soon get about 100 from various European countries (Germany, Poland, Spain) with probably more coming soon from other countries and older versions taken out of stock.
Watching the German SPD which is leading the coalition government finally lurch into making the right decision has been painful to watch. But there has been a slow consensus building that assisting Ukraine with what it needs is the only sound policy.
It has still been amazing to see how various cultural factions have battled it out before the decision was finally made. Scholz looked like an absolute idiot but now some are saying it was a masterstroke on his part to force Biden's hand to send Abrams tanks as well (I am pretty certain it wasn't, but you know, politics).
Abrams tanks are massively heavy, extremely advanced technologically and literally run on jet fuel. They also require a lot of support systems for maintenance and repair.
Some of the more advanced versions use highly classified armor made of depleted uranium. Not the kind of thing you want to fall into Russian hands.
Apparently the Egyptian army has over 1,000 of 'em. Maybe they could "loan" some to Ukraine with our encouragement.
Overall from what I've read, Germany's Leopard tanks are a much better fit. Apparently Germany would not give or allow other countries to give Leopards to Ukraine without the US sending some Abrams tanks. The US military did not want to do that but the Biden admin overruled it to break the Leopard logjam.
Multiple different tanks present immense logistic problems as well. Sure, ship the Leopards - but in enough quantity to matter. That's my point; a dozen or two isn't going to matter.
So the US of A has agreed to sell/lend/give 30 M1 MBTs to Ukraine.
30 tanks is a drop in the ocean.
As near as I can tell, the US Army deploys just over 1,000 M1s in active units (including the National Guard). The Marine Corps no longer operates tanks.
According to available information, the US of A possesses between 5,500 and 6,000 M1s.
How about we send them 1,000 of the goddam things; enough to actually make a difference? We'll still have plenty.
Abrams tanks are massively heavy, extremely advanced technologically and literally run on jet fuel. They also require a lot of support systems for maintenance and repair.
Some of the more advanced versions use highly classified armor made of depleted uranium. Not the kind of thing you want to fall into Russian hands.
Apparently the Egyptian army has over 1,000 of 'em. Maybe they could "loan" some to Ukraine with our encouragement.
Overall from what I've read, Germany's Leopard tanks are a much better fit. Apparently Germany would not give or allow other countries to give Leopards to Ukraine without the US sending some Abrams tanks. The US military did not want to do that but the Biden admin overruled it to break the Leopard logjam.
So the US of A has agreed to sell/lend/give 30 M1 MBTs to Ukraine.
30 tanks is a drop in the ocean.
As near as I can tell, the US Army deploys just over 1,000 M1s in active units (including the National Guard). The Marine Corps no longer operates tanks.
According to available information, the US of A possesses between 5,500 and 6,000 M1s.
How about we send them 1,000 of the goddam things; enough to actually make a difference? We'll still have plenty.
Russian mercenaries - The Wagner Group - posed for selfies in front of a hotel in the Luhansk region. And posted it on social media.
The Ukrainians sent them a 'Welcome To The Neighborhood' gift. Nothing if not thoughtful, them Ukrainians.
c.
It took a few days to get up the stomach to open this since I'm guessing you shared it in response to my post. I did try to at least start and didn't get far before hitting the wall of bullshit. Did some random access forward and kept hitting bullshit at every point I clicked. So here are some random responses:
The US took a very hands off approach to Ukraine in response to Russia wanting it as a buffer from NATO. Didn't work out well for Ukraine since they had a section annexed in Obama's time, with essentially no response from the US, more Russian interference in the eastern part of the country followed by full-scale Russian invasion. If Russia needed a buffer then they should have left well enough alone.
US sanctions on Russia were minimal, even after Crimea and were ramped up after Russian invasion. That isn't the US starting anything. The whole world would have been better off if Putin had just let things ride. The Ukraine government was no threat to him, nor was the relationship of US and Ukraine. If he had been smart he would have worked to keep Ukraine as a neutral country.
