In what would be a reversal, the Biden administration is poised to approve sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Tuesday, as international reluctance to send tanks to the battlefront against the Russians begins to erode. The decision could be announced as soon as Wednesday, though it could take months or years for the tanks to be delivered.
U.S. officials said details are still being worked out. One official said the tanks would be bought under an upcoming Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package, which provides longer-range funding for weapons and equipment to be purchased from commercial vendors.
The U.S. announcement is expected in coordination with an announcement by Germany that it will approve Poland’s request to transfer German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, according to one official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not yet been made public.
It's about fucking time.
In other "it's about fucking time" news:
Several senior Ukrainian officials, including front-line governors, lost their jobs Tuesday in a corruption scandal plaguing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government as it grapples with the nearly 11-month-old Russian invasion.
Ukraine’s biggest government shake-up since the war began came as U.S. officials said Washington was poised to approve supplying Kyiv with M1 Abrams tanks, with international reluctance eroding toward sending tanks to the battlefront against the Russians.
...
Transparency International, in its 2021 report on worldwide corruption, ranked Ukraine 122 out of 180 countries, with 180 representing the most corrupt. Russia ranked 136.
Anyway, Meduza is reporting that Ukraine will forbid its officials to travel abroad without special permission.
Before we start throwing rocks at Ukraine, it is worthwhile to remember that corruption and profiteering during wartime are well known in our own country. There were plenty of allegations of defense contractors overcharging the shit out of things during the Wars of the Chimperor. it was endemic during the 19th Century (one example) and the Truman Committee found plenty to do during the Second World War.
Finally, the Pentagon will sextuple the production of 155mm artillery shells. Again, IAFT.
ReplyDeletePolitical cover for freeing the Leopards. Germany is going to have to earn my trust from here on out.
There's this Ramirez toon on Schultz, who has not distinguished himself or Gerrmany....
ReplyDeletehttps://www.gocomics.com/michaelramirez/2023/01/24
Read this morning that Germany is sending 14 Leopards. From CBS News:
ReplyDeleteGermany said it would initially provide 14 Leopard 2 tanks from its military stocks, with the goal of establishing two battalions, and provide ammunition and logistics. It said training for Ukrainian troops would begin soon in Germany, and that other European partners would be permitted to deliver tanks from their stocks to Ukraine, for which they had been awaiting approval from Germany as the manufacturing nation.
How soon they or our M1 Abrams would be fighting the Russians was not something I could easily find out. Let's hope the answer is "before spring."
-Doug in Sugar Pine
Biden says 31 Abrams to Ukraine with maintenance and logistics and training ASAP, whatever that means:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bp5P_kisBY
-Doug in Sugar Pine
The Leopards are going to do the dirty work.
ReplyDelete