WWIII Watch: Biden, Europe To Send Lots Of Mainline Tanks To Ukraine

I don’t know about you, but, I’m really, really, really, really, really hoping that all the intelligence agencies in the U.S. and Europe have their ducks in a row in terms of thinking that Putin won’t lose his mind over this

Biden says U.S. will send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine in major boost to firepower

President Biden announced Wednesday that the U.S. will send 31 top-of-the-line M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine, delivering on a key request from Kyiv that will provide a major boost to Ukrainian firepower over the coming months.

“Today, I’m announcing that the United States will be sending 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, the equivalent of one Ukrainian battalion,” Mr. Biden said at the White House, flanked by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The security package is worth roughly $400 million, the Pentagon said.

The move comes after Germany said it would quickly provide 14 of its own Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allow Western partners to re-export their own, a move that Mr. Biden praised. France, the U.K., Finland, the Netherlands and other nations are also sending key security assistance, Mr. Biden noted, emphasizing that the United States’ move is part of a concerted effort by Western allies.

Again, this has been going on for a year. When do we stop dumping money and material into it? Is there any strategic purpose? The M1 is a complicated tank. What about training? How long will that take? Will we have advisors in Ukraine teaching them, being in harm’s way? What about shell replacement? Parts? What does Putin do with NATO dropping lots of tanks into Ukraine?

“Today’s announcement builds on the hard work and commitment from countries around the world, led by the United States of America, to help Ukraine defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity,” Mr. Biden said. “That’s what this is about, helping Ukraine protect and defend Ukrainian land. It is not an offensive threat to Russia. There is no offensive threat to Russia. If Russian troops return to Russia … where they belong, this war would be over today.”

They’re defending, but, not booting Russia out. It just keeps going and going.

(Politico) In the weeks after Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Christmastime visit to Washington, U.S., German and other European leaders became locked in an increasingly ugly tit-for-tat over whether to send tanks to Ukraine. As language got heated behind the scenes, neither the U.S. nor Germany would budge — even as the standoff exposed a rare breach between two of Kyiv’s biggest backers.

Ultimately, President Joe Biden decided it was more important to show a unified front and send the tanks — a move that could go down as one of the most consequential decisions in the multinational effort to arm Ukraine.

Biden concluded it was important to move in lockstep with an ally, despite the Pentagon’s misgivings, and put an end to the dispute. Backed by some of his top aides, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Biden early this week agreed to send 31 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine. Germany, meanwhile, is sending 14 of its own Leopard tanks to the front line, and gave permission to other countries to re-export their German-made tanks as well, for a total of about 80 Leopards.

The Pentagon, at least in the story, is concerned with training and running them in Ukraine’s muddy winter. Where’s all the fuel coming from, as it gets three gallons to the mile.

“The White House and State are generally viewing the provision of assistance one-dimensionally, focused only on the escalation dynamics,” another U.S. official said in the Pentagon’s defense. “DoD has to worry about our own military readiness, the logistics of providing equipment, sensitive tech disclosure, and training Ukrainians.”

Wiping out our own stockpiles when we already have a manpower shortage.

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