French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday pledged to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Paris will provide Kyiv with AMX-10 RC armored combat vehicles as Ukraine has been seeking Western-made tanks.
A French official said that the AMX-10 RC vehicles will be the “first time that Western-made armored vehicles are being delivered in support of the Ukrainian army.” But the armored vehicles fall short of the heavier tanks that Zelensky has been asking for, such as US-made Abrams tanks.
The AMX-10 RC, which France described as a “light tank,” was built in the 1980s and is being phased out by the French military. The vehicle is lightweight and is on six wheels as opposed to the tracks that heavier tanks have, but the AMX-10 RC is equipped with a powerful 105mm gun.
It’s not clear at this point how many AMX-10 RCs France will be providing Ukraine. Zelensky said in his nightly address on Wednesday that France’s pledge shows there is no “rational reason” why Kyiv hasn’t received Western-made tanks.
“This is what sends a clear signal to all our other partners: there is no rational reason why Ukraine has not yet been supplied with Western-type tanks,” Zelensky said.
Also on Wednesday, President Biden said sending Ukraine Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles was on the table. Bradleys are armored vehicles designed to transport infantry troops with armored protection that are typically equipped with a 25 mm gun. While both the Bradleys and AMX-10 RCs fall short of what Zelensky wants, they still represent an escalation of US military aid for Kyiv.
Zelensky was denied Abrams tanks during his visit to Washington DC after Ukraine’s top military commander said he couldn’t succeed without new tanks. Valery Zaluzhny, the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, said that Ukraine needs hundreds of tanks to have a chance at pushing Russia out of the territory it has captured since February.
“I need 300 tanks, 600-700 IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles), 500 Howitzers. Then, I think it is completely realistic to get to the lines of February 23,” Zaluzhny told The Economist last month.
These tanks come with complimentary white flags, a bottle of Champaign a road map to Paris and 12 months of free Sport Illustrated (French edition).
This neocon B.S. again about “France only surrender lol”. Propaganda created to mock France when the neocons gathered support to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. And what’s your proof, buddy? They fought Germany in WWI and didn’t surrender. They fought Germany on Britain’s behalf in WWII and didn’t surrender, they were defeated. They fought all of Europe under Napoleon. But above all, they had the second widest empire after Britain, taking and developing land all over the world, and “surrender” wasn’t exactly part of that. And it was France that provided the hardware and navy needed to beat the British in the American revolt, without which the revolt would have failed immediately. So what are you talking about? Just regurgitating the propaganda you have been told, without thinking.
You’re right, of course. All tribalist one-up-man-ship is as juvenile as universal. He’s mocking the patented gameshow (Wheel of Fortune) prizes pitchman. Sorry to offend. Except, I think the world had done better without her intervention in the American war for independence.
I have to agree with you on this one.
You’d agree with a hobo at a corner of a liquor store too.
You said that as a come back but your point is baseless, I don’t agree with most folks here including you.
I have disagree with Jon Met always.
Today perhaps the first time I agree with him. With you, maybe twice in 10 months.
I don’t take anything here personal. You could be Kanye West for all I care.
Look at you, Jon Met squared you away and you take it out on me… then bow to him in an apologetic stupid response now somehow pretending to know anything about tanks.
Next time, just stand corrected.
You misunderstood the mockery. The French military mobile hardwares aren’t know for their top notch performance. The article even states “light tanks” were given for the eastern front. If German Tigers and Panzers were stalled during WW2, what good will French light tanks do? It’s almost a sick joke by Macron.
There is a major cataclism brewing and humanity has no way of stopping there morons from destroying the planet. A few small French tanks are only the beginning of a campaign to destroy Americas enemies for power,profit and continuing world economic and military domination. That time has passed and the ruling class is too stupid or arrogant to see it.
Is Bye-Done Brainless?……………………………………………………………
Captured AMX-10 tanks will look great in the Military History Museum in Moscow.
Quite foolish to send this hardware to Ukraine piecemeal. Now, a lighter tank is good – the heavier tanks that have been sent to Ukraine sink in the snow in the winter, whereas Russian tanks are built to avoid that. But these will do nothing other than provide target practice. The crucial battle is in Bakhmut, the lynchpin of Kiev’s occupation of western Donbass – and Russia just cut off the road to Bakhmut from the south. They have a 6-to-1 artillery advantage. Send a few more tanks toward the artillery barrage, that just means more dead Ukrainian tank crews. More lives lost.
This article leaves out a lot of important information.
10 tanks with no repair facilities? Ahhh this is a PROPAGANDA exercise.
200+ tanks complete with setting up repair facilities in Western Ukraine along with ample supplies of ammunition for multiple months of use? Quite significant.
As usual, the Russian MODS will be the best source of information. If, in April, they report lots of damaged and destroyed French tanks, then it will be clear that a lot were sent, and are in the front lines fighting hard. If they are not mentioned than it is likely to be just a propaganda exercise.
It would probably be a mistake for the Ukrainians to pursue an armor-focused strategy.
Presumably the Russians have man-portable anti-tank weapons with capabilities similar to the Javelin.
“Infantry supported by armor” is obsolete, especially in built-up areas, just as drone swarms are beginning to replace manned aircraft squadrons and single missiles.
So are you suggesting that tanks are obsolete across the board? I would like to hear more about this.
So the new warfare is basically a new version of WW 1 dominated by dug in infantry units, artillery units, and drones?
“So the new warfare is basically a new version of WW 1 dominated by dug in infantry units, artillery units, and drones?”
History doesn’t run backward. But particular weapons systems do become obsolete when newer weapons make them less effective or more vulnerable.
If you want a World War One analogy, semi-automatic rifles and machine guns made the mass, non-dispersed infantry formation obsolete. They didn’t make infantry itself obsolete, they just changed its potential uses.
Until now, an advance into a built-up area was done with infantry with tanks providing fire support.
That’s no longer feasible, because a Javelin or its equivalent will ruin a tank’s day in ways that e.g. the LAAW, AT-4, or Dragon couldn’t. It’s more powerful than the first two, and it doesn’t leave a huge red smoke signature and require the operator to track the missile all the way to the target like the latter.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be advances into built-up areas. But those advances are going to need to be supported by more accurate (and more available) longer-range artillery, or perhaps eventually by on-call close air support drones.
Do they though?
I have been unable to track down anything more advanced than the Kornet. The main problem of the system being its weight and the need for a launch tripod, its weight and its cost. So far we have only limited evidence for its use in Ukraine:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9M133_Kornet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Anti-tank_guided_missiles_of_Russia
So more like the Ukrainian Stuhna-P
I said “presumably” because I just don’t know, but would expect the Russians to have looked at e.g. the M1’s performance vs. anti-tank weapons in the 1991 and 2003 Iraq wars and to have tried to develop weapons that could meet the need. The last time I handled, or bothered to become especially familiar with, Russian weaponry was in the 1990s.
They may have looked into it, what seems clear is that they have not developed anything equivalent to neither the NLAW nor the Javelin – not when it comes to mobility (weight ease of launching) nor ease of use. Come to think of it they have also not reduced the unit cost nor likely guaranteed production under sanctions.
The MoD reported destroying half of all HIMARS before they even arrived in country. In May the destroyed another half. In August they destroyed 44 HIMARS (Ukraine was given 16) They have also claimed to have destroyed 7382 Tanks including APCs. Ukraine barely had 900 operational tanks before the war started.
Great source of information.
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/war/belarus-drafts-every-male-18-to-60-for-the-inevitable-war/
Belarus Drafts Every Male 18 to 60 for the Inevitable War
“France Says It Pledged AMX-10 RC ‘Light Tanks’ to Ukraine Biden says he’s considering sending Bradley fighting vehicles, which falls short of the heavy tanks Zelensky wants”
More twisted burned out wrecks coming to a lost cause near you.
By March this will be sliding downhill toward a conclusion. Weather forecast shows that at 20:00 Friday night the temperature will be -4C, but by 8:00 a.m. on Saturday Morning (Russian Christmas morning) the temperature will be -14C. General Winter and Father Frost will both come calling on Saturday morning. Temperatures will remain in the -12C range for at least a week or longer.
General Winter and General Armageddon will put and end to resistance in Eastern Ukraine.
This is sad and disgusting for the young drafted Ukrainian kids forced to become cannon fodder.
Where is it that you believe the temperature is going to be -14C tomorrow? The forecasted low for Kherson tomorrow is -5C.
Europe is having its warmest weather on record. Ski resorts are closing down because the average daily highs are around 20C and there’s no snow below 2500 meters elevation.
Try Windy.com and type in an airport in the area you want a forecast in. Yes Kherson International Airport (UKOH) will be -5C from Saturday morning on. Donetsk International Airport (UKCC) will be -14C from Saturday on. Bakmut and areas north will also be in the minus double digits.
General Winter arrives along with Father Frost for Russian Orthodox Christmas on Saturday.
So General Winter will be spending his time in the areas already controlled by Russian forces? How does that benefit them and damage the Ukrainian forces?
FYI, Putin has ordered a unilateral ceasefire for Christmas (after ordering Kirill to request one).
First most of Ukraine north of Kherson is now entering into the real Ukrainian winter with the 20 feet of topsoil that turns to mud is freezing. This allows heavy armor to be employed more effectively.
“At the heart of Ukraine’s agriculture is its highly fertile soil.
Nearly a quarter of the world’s most fertile soil, known as Chernozem,
is located in Ukraine. Chernozem is black soil rich in organic matter
called ‘humus,’ which is made up of decomposed plants.”
Secondly, I already sent out an email to a few people and posted elsewhere about the 36 hour cease fire.
“President Putin announces Christmas truce. The cessation of hostilities in Ukraine is to last from noon on Friday until midnight on Saturday, the Kremlin has announced”
“Judging by the fact that a lot of citizens who practice the Orthodox religion live in the embattled area, we call upon the Ukrainian side to proclaim a cessation of hostilities and give them the opportunity to attend services on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day,”
Fat Chance many of the fascists are Polish-Lithuanian Ukrainian Catholics or other religions.
Please Russia make sure the young men do not turn on their cell phones. The Ukrainians will lash out in any way they can.
Hopefully Russian troops will be on watch as Ukraine will try to take back territory during any cease fire.
Please learn from the US in Vietnam when the North Vietnamese attacked during the lunar New Year in the Tet Offensive January 30, 1968. It was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War.
The Russian sources I have read are more aligned with Knapp. The expectation I have read is that muddy ground will last from now until summer, and that Russia is expecting that the front lines will be mostly static until then.
Nope, try Web Union on YouTube for a good update on Bakmut and the Russian advances. The winter offensive begins!
Not going to check anything at this point. Well I will recheck in 3 weeks 🙂
I am tired of hearing predictions about the future. If you are correct, Russian sources will be writing about captured towns and cities, followed in 1 or 2 days by US reports confirming this by writing about Russian atrocities in these places.
Oh I have read about current Russian successes around Bakmut, which will soon go by its Russian name starting with A.
What I have read that is after this town, Russia has another line of defense to slog through.
2 months ago – NATO had advances that were repelled, no Russian advances.
1 month ago – fewer and more futile NATO advances, all repelled.
Now – no NATO advances, slow Russian advances in the Bakmut area.
I use NATO instead of Ukrainian due to the heavy presence of NATO mercenaries.