How Many Hundreds Of Ukrainian Soldiers Will Die/Be Amputees Because Of White House Tardiness 0f 202

Discussion in 'Russia & Eastern Europe' started by JimfromPennsylvania, Feb 24, 2023.

  1. JimfromPennsylvania

    JimfromPennsylvania Active Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2010
    Messages:
    611
    Likes Received:
    135
    Trophy Points:
    43
    This past Thursday CNN had an update special on the Ukrainian War. What point I found disturbing was Jake Sullivan's, President Biden's National Security Advisor, statement where he said the Ukraine Military needs the Leopard II tanks from European countries now but it does not need the M1 Abrams tanks from America now. Jake Sullivan is generally on the ball about national security matters but he really shot a blank with that thinking I hope this view isn't shaping American Government policy. As President Zelensky of Ukraine recently said "speed (in supplying munitions and weapons to Ukraine) is life (Ukrainian soldiers)". Any knowledgeable person knows that Russia is going to conduct a major offensive in the war in Ukraine this year it will involve the recent Russian draftees so the number of Russian soldiers involved will be two to three hundred thousand and it will be the type of battles seen recently in Soledar and Bakhmut and further months back in the cities and towns of Luhansk province in Eastern Ukraine, World War I type of battles where artillery and troops are thrown at the front lines and Ukrainian casualty rates rise to the level of one hundred dead and wounded per day! The only way to stop this is for the Ukraine military to open up counterattack fronts where they break through the Russian lines and cut their supply lines so Russian forces have to withdrawal; the Ukrainians did this in Izyum in the north and Kherson in the south. The Ukrainians need mechanized units to accomplish this; the U.S. is providing 59 Bradley Fighting Vehicles (armored troop carriers that have a 25 millimeter turret gun and anti-tank missiles) and 90 Stryker vehicles (armored troop carriers) which will greatly help. But on the vital tank question the U.S. has promised to send 31 M1 Abram tanks to Ukraine which would make a meaningful distance on the battlefield; however, there is a big question on when will the Ukrainians get these tanks. The challenge is that by law the U.S. cannot give a foreign country the M1 tank with depleted uranium armor which is especially strong against enemy munitions and all M1 tanks in active service in the U.S. military have depleted uranium armor so President Biden cannot send the Ukrainians any of these M1 tanks. The logical option which the Administration seems to be leaning towards is to have brand new tanks made for Ukraine which would take if the Ukrainians are lucky one to two years because there is only one manufacturer of this tank and such is the limits of their production capacity. Many people in the know are predicting this over a year time frame as a matter of fact Representative Mike Quigley just hours ago on CNN said as much. There is another option America has around 2500 to 3500 M1 tanks in storage most of them are older vintage M1 tanks many are the M1A1 model not the M1A2 model in active use by the U.S. military today most of the M1s in storage aren't made of Depleted Uranium armor so they would be eligible for delivery to Ukraine. Granted their older models so they don't have all the bells and whistles of the A2 model but they are good tanks America used them with great effectiveness in the first Gulf War where America and her allies drove Saddam Hussein's army out of Kuwait. Of course these M1 tanks have been in storage for years so they would need a tune-up and probably some other minor work. But the parts should be available because America in the past sold these older versions of the M1 to some of our allies and they are still in use today so replacement parts must be available somewhere! The administration should use the President's draw down authority and take 31 of the M1A1 tanks in storage make them operable and give them to the Ukraine military so Ukraine can get these tanks by this summer and use them in their counter offensive operations to be conducted this summer!

    Ukrainian's top general, General Valery Zaluzhny, said in August that nearly 9000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in this war so far and if your consider all the heavy fighting in the Donbas over the past five months the death toll for Ukrainian soldiers must be at least 10,000 and since its a heavy artillery war the severe casualty rate is probably three times the death rate which makes the casualty figure 30000. If the U.S. and the Free World doesn't give the Ukrainian the ability to meaningfully counterattack so they are stuck having to go toe to toe against this slated Russian offensive, the Ukrainians could be looking at another loss of 40,000 soldiers over the next twelve months. Ukraine only had a 200,000 person army when the war began the loss of 80000 experienced soldiers to such an army over the first two years of a war will be extremely damaging to the fighting ability of the Ukrainian army in this war. If the West allows Ukraine to incur this type of loss because it dragged its feet providing weapon systems this will prolong the war as it will take time for Ukraine to replace this experience and quality of soldier in its ranks that this casualty rate wrought on Ukraine. Two companies of tanks, 31 tanks, will make a difference in a Ukraine counterattacking force such a force has to travel many miles behind enemy lines so it largely has to defend and accomplish its mission on its own so 31 Abrahm artillery guns can take out a lot of targets and make a difference. America is a great country, a superpower, it has to do better than having a delivery date for M1 tanks to Ukraine than 2024!
     
  2. Vitaliy

    Vitaliy Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2013
    Messages:
    655
    Likes Received:
    121
    Trophy Points:
    43
    10,000 victims? Are you kidding me? There have already been 12 (!) waves of mobilization in Ukraine
     
  3. Lil Mike

    Lil Mike Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2011
    Messages:
    51,287
    Likes Received:
    22,667
    Trophy Points:
    113
    M1 Tanks are not going to make a dimes worth of difference in this war. The only reason we gave Ukraine a few tanks was to get the Germans to give up some Leopards.

    But Abrams tanks are just not practical for Ukraine. They need a lot of support and maintence, and the closest that's going to be available will be in Poland. Plus they don't run on diesel, unlike the Leopards.
     

Share This Page