The level of insanity in the United States and Europe continues to grow, “Is denial not a river in Egypt?” Do you know the expression? A lot of denial in Washington and European capitals. However, some uncomfortable truths are being acknowledged.
For example, the Pentagon admits, “Kiev will find it difficult to maintain the combat capability of the “Abrams” tanks.” When I was at the CIA we called it NSA (No Shit Analysis). Thank you Captain Obvious.
The Pentagon also admitted the following:
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The U.S. does not currently have additional M1A2 Abrams tanks in its arsenal to send to Ukraine, so the transfer process would take several months — the tanks would have to be purchased from the manufacturer, said Deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.
A “mishmash” of different models of NATO tanks, each with different delivery times, creates unprecedented logistical difficulties for Kiev. Therefore, military experts are not sure whether NATO tanks will make a decisive impact on the battlefield this spring.
Think of the campaign victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin if pictures emerged of disabled American tanks on a Ukrainian battlefield. – CNN
I hope readers of my blog will understand (at least I hope) that a tank is heavily armored and has some nifty technology for shooting on the move so it is useless without a properly trained tank crew. And training takes months, not weeks. Ukrainians do not have the luxury of time. Russia’s current offensive is bigger than most of the commentariat realizes. Compounding the problem presented by the absence of trained personnel, a logistics supply line was not in place to provide ammunition, spare parts and personnel with the ability to repair (or provide basic maintenance to) battle damaged tanks. This is a recipe for chaos for the Ukrainian military.
Prudent, responsible policymakers should be watching for the off-ramp. But those people don’t live under a Biden administration. He is doubling as a deranged gambler who has lost all his money and is borrowing new capital from the crowd>
The United States does not exclude the possibility of supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets – Deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.
“We are not going to withdraw anything from consideration <...> “I will not take forward any packages (of military aid) that have not yet been announced or decisions of the president or the (defense) minister,” he replied. A question about the possible delivery of F-16 fighters to Ukraine.
https://t.me/azmilitary11/35117
The madness is not confined to the corridors of Washington. Major European states are embracing the madness advocated in Washington:
France and Italy are close to finalizing the technical details for the delivery of SAMP-T air defense systems to Ukraine. This was reported by Reuters on Thursday, citing diplomatic sources.
Defense Minister, Guido Crosetto raises the specter of a devastating collision and extends far beyond the present one World War IIIwhich “It begins the moment Russian tanks arrive in Kiev and on the borders of Europe. The only way to stop it is to make sure they come. He said at an event in Rome after participating in bilateral talks with his French counterpart, Sebastian LecornuAfternoon received at Villa Madama, Rome.
https://translated.turbopages.org/proxy_u/it-en.en.237d4f36-63d43f2f-a4a2367c-74722d776562/https/www.rainews.it/articoli/2023/01/incontro-rolecornucrauto-roma-mediterraneo-965688c3- 4ae5-4399-b2b9-1cf021474977.html
Not content with burning the bridges of reconciliation with Moscow, the Europeans want to punish Belarus, not considering the possibility that such a move could strengthen relations between Russia and Belarus:
The EU has proposed new large-scale sanctions against Belarus for its role in supporting Russia. The measures bring Belarus into line with many of the sanctions previously imposed on Russia – BBG
No one in any of the Western intelligence agencies is briefing the fact that the historical record of sanctions’ “effectiveness” shows that sanctions have been weak in effecting regime or policy change.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian sources said there were large explosions at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. Russians say: “Not yet!”
Information from the IAEA about powerful explosions near the Zaporozhye NPP is an impetus to convince the public that Russia cannot ensure nuclear safety, Renat Karcha, adviser to the general director of Rosenergotum
The reality on the ground for Ukrainian forces is grim. Last year I posted several videos of Ukrainian soldiers who posted their pleas on social media begging the political and military leadership for support. Few such videos have been found since July. A new one emerged this week from a destroyed company of the 144th Territorial Defense Battalion. This appears to be a legitimate plea for help and provides a bleak picture of what Ukrainian units in Donbas are facing:
“During the large-scale offensive and armed invasion of Russia, I and hundreds of men and women joined the ranks of the 144th Territorial Defense Battalion. We sympathized with the lack of VV, insufficient weapons and uniforms. From February to December, in my unit about 5 shootings with AK and tactics training. However, according to the newspapers, we have fire training for the development of different types of weapons every day.
In January, we were sent into the war zone in the operational-tactical formation of Soledar. The first war clash was with invasion elements, for which we were not prepared. We were without communication with the command of the mortar battery, and we suffered a loss in killed and wounded. We encountered tank fire, which broke up our group.
After 2 days, without proper medical help, my platoon and remnants of other platoons were sent back to the line of contact with combat contact and direct artillery shelling, which did not allow us to raise our heads. We were sent there wounded, shell-shocked, without providing the things we had lost. We have re-injured and the condition of previously injured has worsened. Moreover, our base was destroyed by artillery fire.
Some of us were left without winter things, without everything we had during the operation, i.e. bullet proof vest, unloader, machine gun. Some of us have hospital certificates in hand about the need to be discharged from duty for 5 days.
None of us refused and will not refuse to do combat operations, most of us are not ready for combat due to injuries, lack of support, communication and coordination.
https://t.me/azmilitary11/35112
I do not believe this is an isolated, exceptional case. I think his message reflects a broader problem that highlights the inadequacy of Ukrainian military commanders to adequately supply and support their troops in the field.