They’re still trying to get us into WWIII
U.S., allies ramp up pressure on Germany to send tanks to Ukraine
A group of European nations is working to form a coalition to pressure Berlin to allow them to send their German-made tanks to Ukraine, as frustration mounts over Berlin’s insistence that the U.S. donate their tanks first.
The group, which will likely be led by Poland, could take its first steps at a Friday meeting of 50 nations committed to helping Ukraine in Ramstein, Germany, during a regular gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. The move is part of a new multi-front campaign by U.S. and Western allies to persuade German leaders to change their minds on the tank issue.
Twelve countries operate Leopard tanks, and many have said they want to donate them to Ukraine ahead of an expected spring offensive. But due to expert rules, they need Germany’s permission before they can transfer the vehicles.
A statement signed by nine NATO allies and released on Thursday said “Poland is ready to donate a company of Leopard 2 tanks with 1000 pieces of ammunition. Pending this, a wider coalition of Leopard 2 tanks donors will be established.”
Here’s the question: how does Russia react to NATO nations sending at least 14 Leopard tanks (supposedly Leopard 2’s, which are designed specifically to defeat Russian armor)? We keep being told that Putin is unstable. How well does this work out? Especially if Biden gives Ukraine main battle tanks?
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, meanwhile, is working to meet with as many of those nations as possible at Ramstein on Friday, one person with knowledge of the plan said. This person, like others who were interviewed for this story, asked not to be named in order to speak candidly about internal deliberations.
On Thursday, Reznikov tweeted a plea to those countries to join an international “tank coalition in support of” Ukraine.
This has been going on for almost a year, Russia is not really paying a price economically, and the war machine keeps marching on.
The war is entering a new phase, Kahl said, noting that the Russians are digging trenches, laying mines and fortifying their front lines. To break through these defenses, Ukrainian forces will need to attack enemy units in a deliberate way, using a combination of artillery, tanks, armored vehicles and infantry.
That’s why the U.S. is now sending Bradley Fighting Vehicles, which are tracked armored vehicles armed with TOW missiles and a 25mm cannon. And the Pentagon is looking at other capabilities that will help in the coming fight, Kahl said.
Digging us deeper and deeper.
so the deal is that if you send your german made tanks to ukraine without germanys premission, you will not be allowed to replace them with german made tanks???
FINE
the korean K2 is every bit as good, maybe better than the leopard. the M1 is the world standard. the leclerk(france) is in the same league, as is the british chieftan.
there is no lack of options, and no reason to allow germany to veto poland, or anybodys support of/to ukraine.
It is a common practice for modern arms dealing countries to sell arms with strings attached. The USA does it with everything, even with all those MRAPs it gave to local police departments. Even with small arms sold to private buyers through the Civilian Marksmanship program. The USA wanted to give more artillery ammo to Ukraine, but we couldn’t without gutting out own stock. So Israel agreed to give us some of theirs to backfill what we give up. Strings: No Israeli ammo to be sent to the Ukraine. But it is a shell game since if the USA goes into the war, we will take our Israeli ammo with us, because it is all we will have left. 8 years of Obama has left the cupboard quite bare. All those cold war stockpiles are long gone.
If NATO musters tanks in Poland, close to the Ukrainian border, for shipment to give them to Ukraine, is there any reason that such a staging area would not be a legitimate wartime target for Russia?
The answer is no. The USA is already as much a belligerent in the Ukraine as it was against the Germans in 1939. We are once again depending on Putin to keep us out of WW3, since our own politicians seem hell bent on getting us into it.
Russia has already announced publicly that the entire supply chain of arms to Ukraine is a legitimate target from Lima, Ohio to Kiev.
International law and thousands of years of human history do not suggest there is any magical arbitrary line on the ground behind which belligerents are allowed to safely regroup and resupply themselves without consequences.
We’ve certainly done it before! In April of 1970, with the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army crossing into Cambodia for a safe haven and supply base from South Vietnamese and American attacks, President Nixon ordered the ‘incursion’ into eastern Cambodia, to try to win a war that was, at the time, mostly a stalemate.
The Communists were relying on guerrilla warfare, rather than the more conventional ‘front line’ movement, and dispersed, small, hidden bases. But now we are talking about tanks, artillery, and other heavy equipment, things far more easily spotted and targeted via satellite. The only constraint is the North Atlantic Treaty, which states than an attack on one is an attack on all, but if Vladimir’ich — in conversational Russian, Vladimirovich, meaning son of Vladimir, is pronounced Vladimir’ich, and men are frequently addressed by their patronymic names — believes that he is about to lose the war, it’s a gamble he might feel he must take to reverse a defeat. Russia would announce that it is not an attack on Poland and NATO, but only upon supplies meant for Ukraine, and that would leave it up to NATO, and that means really up to Joe Biden, as to whether to declare war on Russia.
That would leave all of NATO, including the United States, shaking in their boots.
Dana
National borders are red lines you can not cross.
If the USA was staging military equipment in mobile AL prior to air shipment likewise would not be considered a legit military target.
LOL! The entire war is about those red lines which have been crossed.
Russia has been shown to be unable to defeat a country 1/3 of it’s size. No one has the ballz to tell Putin the truth, his military sucks at being soldiers,and his navy sank.
Ukraine had only 8 months to prep for war, Taiwan has had decades. 80%of China’s oil comes by sea routes, US Navy owns them.Even Taiwan could see hut down the Malacca Straits.
The Dark Brandon is in charge.
Russia has been shown to be unable to defeat a country 1/3 of it’s size.
You think Ukraine isn’t defeated? I see, you just listen to NPR, CNN and MSNBC so you figure the mouse that roared has won.
No one has the ballz to tell Putin the truth, his military sucks at being soldiers, and his navy sank.
If his military sucks why are we now into Ukraine for $101 +++billion? BTW, the Russian navy has 290 war ships including war surface vessels, submarines and aircraft carriers. Have they all been sunk H? You mean like that landing ship which blew up while docked in Berdiansk in March of ’22? Or are you referring to the phony baloney story about “The Ghost of KEEEEEVE” and his attacks?
You hear nothing about the day to day war because there is a near black out due to the Ukrainian losses. The Russians have no more intent of allowing Ukraine as a member of NATO with nukes to be on its border any more than we had of allowing Cuba to have nukes on ours.
We forget we’re talking to a guy who believes everything the government spits out at him like millions died from WuFlu, cow farts are changing the climate and pedo won with 81 million votes.
The
SovietRussian Navy has never been estimated to be as capable as ours, butthe USSRRussia has always been a land, not a sea, power. TheSovietRussian Navy against Ukraine is pretty much stuck with its pre-existing Black Sea Fleet, because Turkey will not allowSovietRussian Navy ships to transit the Dardanelles.There is serious information that the
SovietRed Army was poorly trained and equipped, and while there’s always a fog of war problem, the fact is that Russia did not march right in and capture Kyiv, which is pretty strong evidence that the Red Army is not doing all that well.To me, the problem is that even if the Russians dramatically underperform, ane even if their nuclear forces are only 25% reliable, 25% of a strategic and tactical nuclear force is still utterly devastating.
Since nuCons feel/believe Europeans were entitled to invade, murder and conquer the weaker “primitives” of the New World and Africa, they also now feel/believe that Putin can invade, murder and conquer nations if he’s able. To nuCons, NATO is like one of those parasitic labor unions, weaklings banding together to oppose a stronger, and thus, entitled enemy! If the world just “gives” Ukraine to Putin, he’ll be satisfied. If America dissolves NATO, Putin will be satisfied.
nuCons overlay their own fears from their own beliefs (law of the jungle, might makes right, big fish eat little fish, the strong shall inherit the Earth) onto Putin: if Russia has only NATO allies on her western boundaries the NATOans are likely to invade, murder and conquer the weaker “primitives” of Russia. Russia needs a boundary layer of satellite states to protect her from being invaded, murdered and conquered by an entitled enemy.
There is no right and wrong – only the strong and the weak.
nuCons also note that Putin befriended their Lord and Savior, Donald J Trump*. MAGAnativism is a religion.
_______________________
*Trump had an eclectic mix of world leaders he loved and admired. Putin, Kim Jong-un, Bolsonaro, Orban, bin-Salman, Duterte, Xi Jinping, Modi, Netanyahu.
Trump: “It’s funny, the relationships I have. The tougher and meaner they are, the better I get along with them. … The easy ones are the ones I maybe don’t like as much or don’t get along with as much.”
Surprise, surprise, surprise!
Regarding the supply lines being legitimate military targets for Putin/Russia – perhaps if the NATO nations were supplying the invasion of Russia by Ukraine.
You may have forgotten that it was Putin/Russia who crossed the boundary and is invading, murdering and hoping to conquer Ukraine – not the other way around.
Would you support NATO attacking Iran for supplying materiel to Russia, which HAS invaded a sovereign nation?