Western tank deliveries ‘direct involvement’ in Ukraine conflict: Kremlin
AFPJanuary 26, 2023
“European capitals and Washington constantly give statements that sending various types of weapons, including tanks, in no way means their involvement in hostilities. We strongly disagree with this. In Moscow, this is perceived as direct involvement in the conflict and we see that this is growing,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/0 ... ar-russia/
The U.S. and NATO Seem Hell Bent on Starting a Shooting War With Russia
By Larry Johnson
Published January 26, 2023
So why in the world of the sane does the United States and NATO think that they can send advanced weapons to Ukraine for the purpose of killing Russians. If we use the principle the U.S. followed in Iraq, Russia is fully entitled to treat the U.S. and NATO as supporters of terrorism. This is the principle of “What is good for the goose is good for the gander.”
Today’s media events, with the U.S. and Germany announcing they were going to send tanks — the M1 Abrams and Leopard 2 respectively — to Ukraine. But those tanks will not arrive any time soon. The Germans might be able to deliver the Leopard 2s to Kiev by the end of March, but that does not mean they are ready for the battlefield. The U.S. Army requires a prospective crew member of a tank to undergo 22 weeks of training (that is five and one-half months). Even with that training under one’s belt, the new tank crew needs at least two more months of unit training to learn how to fight with the tank in a company (there are 14 tanks in a U.S. Army company) and in a battalion (there are 3 tank companies in a battalion).
There is no place in Ukraine where the tank training can be done that is beyond the reach of Russia’s missiles. That means the Ukrainian soldiers who will be trained to operate these tanks will be away from Ukraine for at least six months, if not longer. Today’s announcement means that the M1 Abrams and Leopard 2s cannot be used in combat in Ukraine before next September unless they are being staffed by trained NATO soldiers.
Joe Biden insists that this is purely a gesture to help Ukraine defend itself and that it is not a threat to Russia. What delusional nonsense!! Tell that to a Russian soldier or tanker facing off against a NATO supplied tank with a NATO tank team inside.
Apparently the Germans did not get the word that this is not a threat to Russia. Germany’s Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, said that Europe is at war with Russia:
“But the most important thing is that we do not play the blame game [in Europe] because we are fighting a war against Russia, and not against each other.”
Baerbock’s declaration that “we are fighting a war against Russia,” gives Moscow the legal justification under international law to attack the tank training bases in Poland, Germany and the United States. I do not believe that Russia is going to do anything rash. They have time to plan and weigh options.
What is truly astonishing is that the United States and its NATO allies are talking so openly about what they are doing. Normally, a country contemplating war or escalating a war will hide what they are doing until an attack or a campaign is launched. Ditto for deception and feints. The NATO crowd eschews those principles and is more focused on playing the public relations game — e.g., pretend you are doing something meaningful that can change the strategic picture on the ground for Ukraine. If Las Vegas or the bookies in London are looking for a new bet to attract gamblers they might want to offer a chance to wager how long a M1 Abrams or Leopard 2 will survive on the ground in Ukraine. I will put my money on two days. What do you think?
If we continue on this trajectory the moment will arrive when Russia decides to close its diplomatic missions in the United States and Europe. If that happens, the shooting war in Ukraine will expand to other countries. A horrible prospect.
One final important point. The United States no longer has the ability to produce more M1 Abrams tanks in any meaningful quantity:
The U.S. Army planned to end production at the Lima Army Tank Plant from 2013 to 2016 in an effort to save over $1 billion; it would be restarted in 2017 to upgrade existing tanks. General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), which operates the factory, opposed the move, arguing that suspension of operations would increase long-term costs and reduce flexibility.[61][62] Specifically, GDLS estimated that closing the plant would cost $380 million and restarting production would cost $1.3 billion.[63]. . . .
In late 2016, tank production and refurbishment had fallen to a rate of one per month with fewer than 100 workers on site. In 2017, the Trump administration ordered military production to increase, including Abrams production and employment. In 2018, it was reported that the Army had ordered 135 tanks re-built to new standards, with employment at over 500 workers and expected to rise to 1,000.[66]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_Abrams
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... -deal.html
The West is now 'directly involved' in Ukraine conflict after agreeing tank deal, Kremlin says as Putin unleashes missile attack on Kyiv in response
Ukraine air defences shot down 24 drones including 15 around Kyiv
Zelensky hopes tank deal will lead to deliveries of long-range missiles
By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 08:47 GMT, 26 January 2023
The Kremlin claims the West is now 'directly involved' in the Ukraine war after agreeing to send state-of-the-art tanks to the front lines in the fight against Russia's invading forces.
Yesterday, after weeks of bitter infighting, the US and Germany finally agreed to give in to Volodymyr Zelensky's demands and send 31 M1 Abrams tanks, 14 Leopard 2 tanks, and give allies permission to send their own supply. The deal has been hailed as a potential game-changer in the conflict.
A furious Russia has lashed out at the deal and threatened escalating the war beyond the borders of Ukraine, while slamming a barrage of missiles into Kyiv overnight.
Today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: 'European capitals and Washington constantly give statements that sending various types of weapons, including tanks, in no way means their involvement in hostilities. We strongly disagree with this. In Moscow, this is perceived as direct involvement in the conflict and we see that this is growing.'
Putin is also furiously retaliating by raining missiles down on Ukraine as an air raid was issued over the whole country in the early hours of this morning.
Defending forces said they shot down all 24 drones fired from Moscow including 15 around Kyiv, with no reports of any damage so far, as civilians sheltered in subway stations amid the blitz.
'The first Russian missiles have been shot down,' Andriy Yermak, head of Zelensky's office said.
Russia has targeted critical infrastructure with missile and drone strikes since October, causing sweeping blackouts and other outages during the bitter winter.
Despite the generous Western package, there are fears that Ukraine won't be able to actually use the tanks on the front line for months, potentially after Russia's anticipated spring offensive.
The promised M1 Abrams tanks from the US are not even in supply at the moment and will take months to arrive before training can even commence, senior officials have said.
Germany and European Leopard 2 tanks will likely arrive sooner but will still require training as Kyiv forces have become accustomed to their Soviet-era tanks used so far in the war.
Germany's tanks would probably be ready in three or four months, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said.
The fact that Leopard 2, M1 Abrams and Challenger tanks will all be arriving in the coming months, each needing separate parts and training, will complicate matters for Ukraine.
Brad Martin, director of the RAND Institute for Supply Chain Security, told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: 'Unfortunately, it does mean that each of these capabilities is going to need their own supply chains because they are different, their parts are different, the maintenance requirements are different.
'I don't know that it's such a large challenge that it can't be met but all things being equal it would be better to have common systems but they're working with what they have.
'The United States has a number of Abrams tanks and some of them would have to be refurbished in order to be exported... it's certainly true that they're not sitting there ready to go, work will have to be done to get any of them ready to be deployed.
'A lot of this is rather complicated sophisticated stuff and it takes time to learn how to deal with this, training is going to be a very big issue.
'Supply chains and the acquiring of spare parts take time, and those two things together will be a challenge.'
Western countries have made 'no clear indication' of how many tanks will be given to Ukraine, an advisor to the country's defence minister has said.
Yuriy Sak told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: 'We need 300 to 400 tanks for this to be a game changer.
'This tank coalition consisting of different countries, we have no clear indication of how many tanks each country will provide. We have communicated to our partners that this is the number that we need.
'If you want missile terror to stop you need to receive the weapons that will allow us to defeat the enemy on the battlefield.
'The sooner we defeat Russia on the battlefield using Western weapons the sooner we will be able to stop this missile terror and restore peace.'
Zelensky has praised the US and German commitments to send tanks and urged allies to provide large quantities of tanks quickly.
'The key now is speed and volumes. Speed in training our forces, speed in supplying tanks to Ukraine. The numbers in tank support,' he said in a nightly video address on Wednesday. 'We have to form such a "tank fist", such a "fist of freedom".'
Ukraine has been seeking hundreds of modern tanks to give its troops the firepower to break Russian defensive lines and reclaim occupied territory in the south and east. Ukraine and Russia have been relying primarily on Soviet-era T-72 tanks.
The promise of tanks comes as both Ukraine and Russia are expected to launch new offensives in the war.
Maintaining Kyiv's drumbeat of requests for more aid, Zelensky said he spoke to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and called for long-range missiles and aircraft.
Ukraine's allies have already provided billions in military support including sophisticated U.S. missile systems.
Biden said the tanks pose 'no offensive threat' to Russia and that they were needed to help the Ukrainians 'improve their ability to manoeuvre in open terrain'.
Germany will send an initial company of 14 tanks from its stocks and approve shipments by allied European states.
The Abrams can be tricky, but the Leopard was designed as a system that any NATO member could service and crews and repair specialists could be trained together on a single model, Ukrainian military expert Viktor Kevlyuk told Espreso TV.
'If we have been brought into this club by providing us with these vehicles, I would say our prospects look good.'
Russia reacted with fury to Germany's decision to approve the delivery of the Leopards.
'This extremely dangerous decision takes the conflict to a new level of confrontation,' said Sergei Nechayev, Russia's ambassador to Germany.
Pledges to Ukraine from other countries that field Leopards have multiplied with announcements from Poland, Finland and Norway. Spain and the Netherlands said they were considering it.
Britain has offered 14 of its comparable Challenger tanks and France is considering sending its Leclercs.
The Kyiv government acknowledged on Wednesday its forces had withdrawn from Soledar, a small salt-mining town close to Bakhmut in the east, that Russia said it captured more than a week ago, its biggest gain for more than six months.
The area around Bakhmut, with a pre-war population of 70,000, has seen some of the most brutal fighting of the war.
Ukraine's military said that Russian forces were attacking in the direction of Bakhmut 'with the aim of capturing the entire Donetsk region and regardless of its own casualties'.
The Russian-installed governor of Donetsk said earlier that units of Russia's Wagner contract militia were moving forward inside Bakhmut, with fighting on the outskirts and in neighbourhoods recently held by Ukraine.
Analyst Kevlyuk said losing Bakhmut would not change much in terms of the tactical scheme of things but that he was more concerned by Russian efforts to regroup and concentrate resources in the Luhansk region.
Donetsk and Luhansk make up the Donbas region. Russian forces control nearly all of Luhansk, while Russians and their proxies say they control about half of Donetsk.
Reuters could not verify battlefield reports.
The 11-month war has killed thousands of people, driven millions from their homes and reduced cities to rubble.
Hear NATO chief's message to Russia following tank shipment announcement