The Biden administration is now leaning toward sending its M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine despite recent comments from Pentagon officials about how they would be difficult for Ukrainian forces to maintain, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
The Associated Press later reported the administration is “poised” to approve the transfer under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which allows the US to purchase equipment for Ukraine. Military aid under the USAI could take months or years to deliver. US officials told AP that a new weapons package for Ukraine that includes the tanks could be announced as soon as Wednesday.
It’s not clear how many tanks the US will pledge, but the Journal cited unnamed US officials who said the administration could send a “significant number” of the Abrams as part of a deal to get Germany to send a smaller number of its own Leopard 2 tanks.
A source told Reuters that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has decided to send tanks to Ukraine and to allow other countries that have the Leopard 2 to do so as well. Poland said Tuesday that it formally asked Berlin if it could export its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. The Leopard 2s could be delivered much more quickly than the Abrams since they would likely be sent directly from countries’ military stockpiles.
Der Spiegel reported that Germany is ready to send Ukraine 14 Leopard 2s from its military’s stocks and will sign off on the delivery from Poland and an ally in Scandanavia.
Pentagon officials have said that the Leopard 2 tanks would be better for Ukraine since they’re operated across Europe, making spare parts and maintenance more available. But German officials wanted the US to also send the Abrams over fears that Ukraine ending up with a large fleet of mostly German-made tanks could single out Germany for potential Russian retaliation.
Scholz previously said he was not providing tanks to Ukraine because he wanted to avoid a direct clash between Russia and NATO. But the US and other NATO countries are less concerned about escalating the war and put heavy pressure on Berlin to send the tanks.
Hawks in Congress have been pressuring the Biden administration to provide the Abrams, with Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, demanding the US send “just one” tank to get Berlin to oblige.
The US providing its main battle tank would mark the latest significant escalation of military aid for Ukraine. In January alone, the US pledged over $5.5 billion in military aid for Ukraine and started providing Bradley and Stryker fighting vehicles for the first time.
The funds for the military aid are being pulled from the latest aid package for Ukraine that was passed in December. At this point, the US has authorized about $113 billion to spend on the war since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
M1 Abrams tank = 0.6 mpg.
don’t forget to send an instruction manual as well as a Chilton’s Repair Handbook.
idiots.
Let’s see how they will solve the problem of the delivery of those 54 ton tanks to the front line. It could be done either by strong trucks with platforms or railroad transport. Both are very much vulnerable. If they want those tanks influence the situation, they need a lot of them and also the air force, artillery and infantry to support them. It means a heavy involvement of NATO in the war. And of course, yes, a lot of fuel too and the repairing infrastructure.
By the time the tanks get to Ukraine the supply line will be shortened to a few miles East of the Polish borders.
Ukrainians don’t do repairs. They have Zelensky to beg for more tanks.
If it looks like a war, talks like a war, it must be a war.
I think you mean Duck……INCOMMING.
Don’t say that in Russia, they will put you in jail
The morality of this war is so fucked up. We can’t doubt US intentions after decades at war for what always turns out to be oil and pipeline related – nope, this is a pure war we suddenly decided we needed to risk nuclear conflict for out of genuine goodness that only an FSB agent could doubt.
So we give our most advanced weapons to a massively corrupt eastern European nation (sometimes evil attacks shitty), that transparently wants to punish its attacker by starting a world war, without any meaningful debate, allowing them to decide the fate of the world. What happens if those tanks roll into Russia? We commit all the mistakes that started the first World War, smugly assuming that bad things don’t happen to the corrupt geniuses that run the world, so they feel content to risk everyone’s everything for an outcome they won’t even clearly state.
Funny, WWI was started because the British opposed German and Russian economic cooperation, that was the reason to form an alliance with Poland and the destruction of Germany and the Versailles humiliating surrender, it was why the US supported the British, to break the back of Bismarck Germany, the same reason was the WWII, and now the third time nothing has changed. Before the wars Germany and Russia were big trading partners. And this time much of it does involve the same thing, to break Russia and Germany. NATO is Germany’s enemy too. The Anglo-Saxons’ skill of deception is just amazing.
Nothing has changed, the Anglo-Saxons will destroy any competitor, they did it to Japan too. China is the next on the list.
And OPENLY! We brag about “pivoting to Asia” and confronting Russia all the time. We blamed a decade of electoral failure on Russia *while* meddling with their neighbor’s elections. All right out in the open, so we can gaslight the entire world pretending this is all just pure goodness defending strangers against aggression.
What’s great about M1 tanks, they stick out like a sore thumb.
and burn really well. Should keep Ukrainians warm this winter.
LOL
Please do. That should completely destroy any remaining reputation these tanks have. We already have plenty of videos of that trash burning in Mideast. Seeing videos of how that pitiful thing get stuck in icy puddle or unable climb a little snowy hill is hilarious.
I’m sure Russia will set them on fire the minute they enter the war zone, if not before.
“US Poised to Send ‘Significant Number’ of M1 Abrams Tanks to Ukraine”
Pay atention at the 19 minute 48 second point in this YouTube video from The New Atlas about why the M1 Abrams tank will be a bad idea for Ukraine and Ukrainian forces to operate.
1. If improperly operated inside an M1 tanks a person can be maimed by the ammo compartment door or turret moving.
2. If operated with little training the tank can be broken by the crew.
A. Optics can be damaged.
B. Turbine engine and transmission costs 1.5 million and can be damaged by improper use.
C. The tank uses 3 gallons of fuel per mile and requires a support chain of fuel trucks.
D. Maintenance would require a 1,000 kilometer trip for the tank from the front to Poland for repairs.
E. For Saudi and Iraq it has taken 5 and 7 years to train tank crews with American contract instructors still in country.
3. At best there will be a parking lot full of American, British, and German tanks in Western Ukraine for Russia to take.
And even if they can properly crew them, and provide enough of them instead of a company here and there, tanks aren’t likely to be decisive in this war any more than a Napoleon 12-pounder would have been in WW2.
I don’t think they care.
It may be that this will end when all the excess / defective / dated military hardware has been offloaded
About 10 months ago, the news was filled with stories about how massive numbers of Russian tanks had been destroyed by shoulder fired weapons. I figure that what goes around, comes around.
I am surprised by how little talk there is about 𝐰𝐡𝐲 Ukraine needs tanks. Presumably, Ukraine is either contemplating previously untried strategies or they have assumed that the battlefield itself is about to change.
The media has been soft-pedaling the story about how they want 3000 tanks to attack Crimea.
So the USA is trying to give them few enough that they can threaten retaking territory, but hopefully don’t have enough to drive Russia to nuclear weapons.
If you read about Russia using a tactical nuke, get out of the cities. All this stuff was wargames in the cold war, and the geniuses in charge now are greedy enough to push over the line anyway.
We are one genius Ukrainian general or one bad accident away from WW3.
That might not go so well, but it gives the Germans cover
US/NATO are currently facing a choice………Surrender or Nuclear War. There are no other viable options.
The Ukrainian military was destroyed in the first month of the war. The Nazi’s in Ukraine understood this defeat and negotiated. US/NATO representative Boris Johnson flew to Kiev to stop an end to the war. The war should have ended in March.
Then NATO sent all the former Warsaw Treaty Organisation equipment to Kiev and sent more troops to the front. This second iteration of the Ukrainian military is in the process of being destroyed.
What we now see is a proposed US/NATO third iteration of the Ukrainian military with NATO weapons and troops this time, nothing else is available.
Yes, because as the Russian MOD reports, Ukraine lost 3,000 Leopard tanks, 29 F-35s, and a partridge in a pear tree yesterday.
Strawman argument……NATO has not yet put leopard tanks and F16/F-35 fighters into Ukraine. So far its all been WTO (Warsaw Treaty Organisation) equipment.
If you read and understand my point above its very clear that Leopard tanks and F16 or F-35’s have to be introduced because all the WTO equipment is destroyed.
At some point even this reality will become obvious to you. At some point in the near future a Partridge in Pear Tree will fly by you.
The Russian MOD was announcing that it had destroyed Bradley Fighting Vehicles long before the first known contingent of those could have arrived in Ukraine.
While I argued that Ukraine could have picked up some Bradleys earlier, unannounced, the most plausible conclusion is that the Russian MOD comes up with its figures for destroyed Ukrainian equipment by visiting random.org.
They’re just messing with your head.
DS is right. There is no middle anymore for the US Hegemon. Continue with the lethality or admit the unspeakable – that the Aholes in Biden’s administration miscalculated a whole lot of things from the get go.
War Crimes Tribunals in the Hague await all the Western Leaders. They all need to stand trial for the Supreme International Crime…..the Crime of Aggression.
And those that spoke against Russia for protecting the Donbass from Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide need to understand what terrible people they are. They are the WARMONGERS.
But RUSSIA RUSSIA RUSSIA right? nothing but racist bigotry.
All regime shot-callers should be sharing crowded cells.
But it’s not going to happen any time soon for the big dogs like Biden and Putin.
Not to mention the number of souls murdered by war when the west had in its hands the opportunity to endorse a preexisting agreement between the parties last March.
Since that day in March, this war and the deaths and injuries are on Joe Biden. This will form a chunk of his legacy, whether the US media and literati choose to recognize it, or not.
The war and deaths and injuries are on all those involved.
You’re responsible for what you do.
You speak as if wars don’t have a beginning and a middle, and …
You can look wherever you please. I’ll stick to the past 70+ years of coups, invasions, regime-changes, occupations, and treaty violations/withdrawals.
And when I look at all this – especially what’s occurred since the “end” of the cold war, I have no problem where to point a finger…
Your mileage may differ. If so, good for you.
The Hague ruling after WW2 is very clear. You are responsible for what others do in your name.
The Hague also defined the Supreme International Crime as “Aggression”
All the Western leaders will go to the Hague, yes it will take time.
People like Biden are heartless, souless, contemptable creatures. As is shown in his taking of classified documents, it’s all about the money for Joe and people like him.
We are one big war crime. The mother of all war crimes we have committed was dropping the atomic weapons on two cities in Japan.
A failing empire(the U.S.) resorts to desperate measures to try and hang on to it’s dominance in the world order.
Im neutral in this war, but your claims of the Ukrainian military being annihilated over 330 days ago is beyond laughable.
That was the case from day one. Anybody with two brain cells to rub together must have known that from the very beginning. Thus, the question is why did Nato escalate to that point anyways? Did they think Putin would chicken out?
How long before America “advisors” are dying in Ukraine? How long before nuclear weapons start flying? We keep escalating this war that we provoked with no off ramps. And for what? Who controls the Donbass? Insanity.
It is for our financial masters who ran out of tricks, and war economy is the only way to expand credit sheets. In the meantime over a million protest in France the change in retirement age. Miney is needed to pay for Ukrainian retirements for few years. Sure, for as lingvas it takes.
Who is crewing those vehicles?
Getting them into the Ukraine will be a task.
Once they’re there, who and what is supposed to keep them supplied and safe from missiles, bombs, and arty? It’s not like they have a light footprint. How long does it realistically take to raise a whole new armored corps in a different language?
The answers to these questions are uncomfortably obvious. Rather that talk peace, the empire is doubling down on The Stupid
I’d be paying attention to where that frigate is heading if I were a beltway bandit.
There is some speculation that the Poles are mobilizing a 200k army. The tanks may arm a Nato intervention force that would move from Poland into Western Ukraine.
The serious problem has come to light recently. Ukraine has been storing miltary hardware and munitions around its NPP compounds to avoid Russia’s shelling. The obvious danger is — explosions in such facilities are not uncommon, and cliseness to NPP can cause a major environmental disaster.
Also, do we know who is really in charge in Kiev today? Zelenski may talk up a storm, but with some key leadership perishing suspiciously in helicopter accudent, Zelenski’s top advisor forced out, and highest levels of Munistry of defence charged with corruption related to war supplies. An official assasinated by Interior ministry has been now declared a hero. Problem is — Interior ninistry controls all the right wing paramilitaries. Aziv may have changed name as Ukraine has no Aziv Sea any more.
And whle Bakhmut operation is not letting up, Russia has moved its forces to advance in Zaporozhie.
It is a happy day when we can push Germany to send tanks to Ukraine to fight Russians. It mustvwarm the heart of Ursula Vin Der Layen recenging her grandfatger who was responsible for uprooting any resistance movements in Ukraine in WWII. Yes, let us have German tanks there again!
Who would have thiught that US would be the one yearning for the resurrection of Germany of old. In service to our Empire. Let Ukrainians, Russians, Poles and Germans die in large numbers. The less the better. Destroy their economy. Is Germany likely to step on that same rake for the third time?
The US supported the N/zis before and after the war, only to be interrupted for a short period in which it supported the Bolshevists during the war. It’s only logical that the US should support the Banderites in Ukraine and the Jihadists in the ME. The US loves N/zis and Terrorists as long as they do the US’s bidding.
This is all part of the neocon grand plan, Bianca. Deindustrialize Europe, turn Ukraine into a smoking ruin, and force the USA into a catastrophic war with Russia. The Great Reset, coming right up. The end of this empire will not be a pretty sight.
I hope that Justin is able to receive Bianca’s beyond outstanding commentaries on this obscene war and what drives it and where SHE sees it headed. More and more I go less and less to my usual web sites for factual news, articles, commentary, and the inside story. Invaluable resources like Southfront.org, The Cradle, the Duran, Moon of Alabama, VT, RT, Daniel Hopsicker and Counterpunch. If you or one believes, as Raimondo did and I do, that as Rothblatt proclaimed: War is the health of the nation. Then Bianca is our Oracle for this war.
US Poised to Send ‘Significant Number’ of M1 Abrams Tanks to Ukraine to be used as paperweights
How else will the Defense Dept. get the money to build newer and more expensive tanks? They have to get those old ones off the lot, even if they have to give them away. Or, as the camel traders say around here, “No credit? Bad credit? No problem!”
This is a meaningless “thank you” letter to Germany.
Well, the west leaves little doubt that they plan on escalating the war. It will be very difficult, nearly impossible to detour off of the path of a larger global conflict. When all else fails, the take you to war. After all, back home Joe needs something to distract from his document problems.
Troubling how they are burning down the offramps and calling any anti-war sentiment “treason”. Reminds me of the Iraq debacle, only this time the WMDs are real.
I am genuinely astonished at how effective the propaganda has been: broken healthcare system, homelessness everywhere, we are teetering on the edge of financial collapse and the vast majority of the population apparently believes this is Star Wars and Putin is Darth Vader. $100 billion + solving the problems of billionaires while Americans starve. Again.
P.s. I’m pretty sure Joe’s document problems is being cooked up to force Kamala Harris on us
Having lost most of its 2,500 tanks already, a few hundred Western tanks won’t improve Ukraine’s chances. On the contrary, the logistic nightmare of having to deal with these different types of tanks will severely impact Ukraine’s ability to continue the war. Moreover, seeing German battle tanks once again roll towards the Russian border is bound to boost Russian fighting moral tremendously.
When the Russians turn them into scrap metal on the battle field, the commercial prospects of their manufacturers is bound to take a severe beating. Without the proper training (which takes years) and without the ability to conduct combined arms warfare these tanks are just sitting ducks for the Russian artillery.
There is some speculation that the Western allies are setting up Germany to fight a war against Russia (again). It may well be that this motivates some people (for example the Brits), but I think the primary reason in pushing for the Leopards 2 is that many countries in Europe have some Leopards they may spare and that these diesel powered tanks are easier to service for Ukrainians than the Abrahams.
I’m pretty sure diesel is a lot more rugged and less temperamental than gas turbine. And while the Soviet T-80 used gas turbine, there are probably a lot more experienced diesel mechanics than gas turbine mechanics available.
Also, getting the M-1 from CONUS to Europe is a logistical nightmare. A Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a huge aircraft. I can carry one M1 due to the insane weight. During Desert Shield, the US Marine Corps pulled its M60s out of storage and rounded up experienced M60 tank crews (including a friend in my infantry reserve unit) because the C-5 could move them three at a time and they needed as many tanks as they could get as quickly as they could get them.
Gas guzzlers impossible to maintain, 100 kilometers from repair facilities, employed by untrained soldiers and without air cover. Sounds like this idea comes straight from the brain of Biden.