3/22/23
Russian forces “do not want to see Ukrainian armored formations coming at them with Abrams tanks” as the United States Department of Defense commits to speeding up deliveries of its advanced main battle tanks.
On Tuesday, the DOD said that Ukraine would receive M1A1 Abrams tanks, rather than the M1A2. This will mean the tanks can be delivered in the fall, “faster than what was initially expected,” the department added.
The M1A1 tanks will have refurbished hulls from existing U.S. inventory stocks, but will have “a very similar capability” to the M1A2, Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters.
Tanks sent to Ukraine will be fitted with a 120mm cannon and a 50-caliber heavy machine gun, as well as advanced armor, he told the media. These armaments are typically seen on the M1A2, often with a 7.62 mm machine gun.
The decision, made with the involvement of Kyiv, “will enable us to significantly expedite delivery timelines, and deliver this important capability to Ukraine by the fall of this year,” Ryder said.
Military and technology expert Michael Peck told Newsweek that “sending an older, simpler version of the Abrams is a logical first step in a long-term flow of American tanks to Ukraine. It will be easier for the Ukrainians to learn and maintain.”
The impact of the M1 tanks will also depend on when they arrive where they are needed, former U.S. Army Europe commander, Lieutenant General (Retired) Ben Hodges said.
They are “unlikely” to benefit any Ukrainian armored counteroffensives taking place this summer, Hodges told Newsweek. However, there will be a sustained need for Abrams for any plans around Crimea, “next phase operations and for future deterrence,” he said.
“The Russians do not want to see Ukrainian armored formations coming at them with Abrams tanks,” Hodges said, “or to know that the U.S. is committed to long-term support of Ukraine.”
They are “unlikely” to benefit any Ukrainian armored counteroffensives taking place this summer, Hodges told Newsweek. However, there will be a sustained need for Abrams for any plans around Crimea, “next phase operations and for future deterrence,” he said.
“The Russians do not want to see Ukrainian armored formations coming at them with Abrams tanks,” Hodges said, “or to know that the U.S. is committed to long-term support of Ukraine.”
U.S. President Joe Biden announced the move to send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine in late January, enough to equip a Ukrainian tank battalion with the “most capable tanks in the world.”
Ukrainian forces needed to be able to “counter Russia’s evolving tactics and strategy on the battlefield in the very near term,” Biden said.
Ahead of the announcement, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the donation of Abrams would be an “absurdity,” adding: “These tanks burn just like all the others.”
“Russia’s response will be interesting,” Peck said. “They might make a special effort to destroy an Abrams just for the propaganda value.”
However, if the total number of Abrams remains at 31, the “value is more symbolic than practical,” he added.
“The decision, made with the involvement of Kyiv, ‘will enable us to significantly expedite delivery timelines, and deliver this important capability to Ukraine by the fall of this year,'”
Oh, boy, if we should ever get into a major war, and they call something like this significantly expedited, then our ass will be grass. This is simply so sick, that I am at a loss for words.
‘However, if the total number of Abrams remains at 31, the “value is more symbolic than practical,” he added.’
Fuck you!
Despite the overwhelming anti-Biden comments on this site, he truly is the individual to credit for Ukranian aid the most. I know the story of a few other nations being a little higher in % of GDP, but given that they are so much closer and directly threatened, why isn’t their aid more.
The shift from M1A2 to M1A1 is a little more complicated than the fuck-you-Biden you-are-backwards crowd here can understand. Obviously a major consideration is providing the enhances armor that doesn’t customarily get exported.
So yeah fuck Biden, fuck Biden, fuck Biden and maybe if the Ukraine hadn’t been so helpful to Russia in their old bad guys partnership with building nukes to target the people they are now asking help from, there might be more public support .
If it weren’t for Biden, y’all be speaking Russian now and everyone knows it. But I know the response is “fuck Biden anyway”. Ok yeah whatever.
This war is in Europe. If Russia is truly a threat to its neighbors, why aren’t Europeans doing more? Because fuck Biden!
You should study up on Ukraine before you insult and mock them. You can start by dropping the Pronoun before Ukraine. It’s just Ukraine, its not a territory. Also you should study the USSR and if you open your ears and close your mouth you will learn very quickly here by listening to the huge amount of wisdom on this site. Most of us have been together since Maidan.
And if Biden was such a fan of Ukraine why did he threaten to withhold $1 billion of aid just so Ukraine would fire a Prosecutor?
You forgot, fuck you Clinton, fuck you Obama and fuck you Trump. They all share a dose of fuck you.
Agreements of the Budapest Memorandum:
According to the three memoranda, Russia, the US and the UK confirmed their recognition of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine becoming parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and effectively abandoning their nuclear arsenal to Russia, and that they agreed to the following:
1. Respect the signatory’s independence and sovereignty in the existing borders.
2. Refrain from the threat or the use of force against the signatory.
3. Refrain from economic coercion designed to subordinate to their own interest the exercise by the signatory of the rights inherent in its sovereignty and thus to secure advantages of any kind.
4. Seek immediate Security Council action to provide assistance to the signatory if they “should become a victim of an act of aggression , or an object of a threat of aggression in which nuclear weapons are used”.
5. Refrain from the use of nuclear arms against the signatory.
6. Consult with one another if questions arise regarding those commitments.
Clinton was responsible for this agreement.
Obama refused to honor it.
Trump worships the criminal runt who pissed on it.
Biden was excruciatingly slow to honor it, and only in part.
And, “…if the Ukraine hadn’t been so helpful to Russia in their old bad guys partnership with building nukes to target the people they are now asking help from, there might be more public support .” is only showing the total lack of historic awareness. In this respect, we must abandon Germany, Italy and Japan, since they were our enemies. On the same note, Ukraine never fought against us, even in Soviet times. The country is now a different one from then, too. It’s not only pro-European and anti-russian, but it’s very much pro-USA. It loves us and respects us and appreciates our help. Despite the Budapest Memorandum.
Now, the world knows that nukes are the better guarantor of security, and not a piece of stinking, shit-stained toilet paper with totally worthless signatures on it.