So, #Ukraine went all in for Putin's birthday celebration. I mean they pulled out all the stops. First there was the giant barbeque at Ilovaisk... Potentially hundreds were served.
https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1578501282259931136?s=20&t=zOPhCepZcuudIMmB_G1dkg
Then the after party was off the chain....
https://twitter.com/AleksP50646989/status/1578640641890078721?s=20&t=zOPhCepZcuudIMmB_G1dkg
But the unwrapping through once the dance floor was cleared...
https://twitter.com/BBCPaulAdams/status/1578616695043735552?s=20&t=zOPhCepZcuudIMmB_G1dkg
Of course my own home state of #Arkansas helped in its own small way. So hat tip to @LockheedMartin, @JohnBoozman, @SenTomCotton, and @RepFrenchHill WPS! Now that is how you call the hogs! Ok, my comedy skit is over potentially hundreds of young Russian men dying isn't funny.
But the person responsible is Putin he could go home at any time and I'll be honest, I'll take hundreds of dead Russian soldiers over thousands of dead Ukrainian civilians every day of the week and twice on Sundays. Whatever she needs to do to stop the #GenocideOfUkrainians
I support. Russia can go home at any time after all and end this war that is causing so much sorrow. Until she does we need to make sure that Ukraine has the tools she needs to win. which brings up another point, the endless debate about Leopards. Some people get rather hot under
collar about it as many heard last night on @MriyaReport. So lets do a bit of a dive into what exactly equipping Ukraine with big cats or Abrams would entail. This is your cue there @DMBrookfield. Some of you will have seen some of this before. First a caveat, had the West sent
tanks in Feb this might be a moot issue now, but maybe not. It takes a long time to build a tank force. I know Ukraine mastered M777's and Krabs and #HIMARS. These are complex systems and mastering them really does speak to Ukrainian skill. But tanks have to do almost everything
artillery does while moving and under fire. It is not the same. Aso with artillery the Ukrainians had to learn a system with better capabilities but that would be fought in much the same way as they were used too. The muscle memory and combat reflexes developed since 14 and honed
last 7 months would not betray them. This is not the case with the big western MBT's vs T series tanks. This video is pretty representative of the videos I ahve seen of tank v tank combat in Ukraine
That is a knife fight probably because Soviet era ammo vs more modern-ish protection schemes plus limits on optics, stabilization and other factors generally force the close fight. All the long distance shots of Russian turret tossing efforts are missile strikes. Knife fighting
not how you employ Western MBT's. During the first Gulf war the only Abrams knocked out was hit at point blank range by a T-72 playing possum. Western MBT's are designed around a goal: to see first, shoot first, win. Any Ukrainian tankers put into a system with this design
concept in mind would need to be thoroughly retrained and have all those old combat reflexes drilled out of them. It is doable, but it takes time because you don't know what you already know that is wrong until you have teeth marks on your ass. I watched a tan commander destroy a
brand new zero mile M1IP when we transitioned from the M60A3 Patton. Simple mistake on a new platform and a veteran soldier caused a brand new tank to go back to depot because the fix required pulling the turret. That brings up more issues, do the Ukrainians have anything that
can lift a turret that isn't a fixed location that can be targeted by kalibers? Can they recover a 60 ton tanks that is buried so deep it might as well weigh 200 tons. The personal to send to various schools to learn the systems. yeah I know Ukraine has some PzH2000 and Gepards
that already use some of the leopards (1 and 2) automotive train but that is actually the simple part. You can change a power pack in very little time and final drives can be changed in the field but complex systems require more than wrench turners. Its not much of a stretch to
say tanks come with 3 of everything: power packs, final drives, transmissions etc. One is getting ready to break down, one is being repaired and one is waiting for its change to break down. All the cabling, busses, hoses generally traces a path around or under the turret. These
things are not your dads old chevy PU truck and are maintenance intensive. They also would require different POL and ammo. So spares, POL and ammo take up even more space in a supply system that is already bonkers with no easy fixes. Adding more spinning plates means you better
everything balanced just right or you are setting the plate spinner up for failure. Then there are the physical obstacles. Big tanks mean Ukraine would need to upgrade its rolling stock, AVLB's, bailey bridges, inspect every rural bridge along route marches etc. Then you need to
make sure all the supporting arms are up to snuff to fight in the new way. If the infantry can't keep up, if the ADA gets left behind... All this is doable, it just takes time. Time I am not sure Ukraine has right now. Russia is on the back foot and taking X number of brigades
offline to retrain and reequip with new kit probably isn't in the cards right now, probably not until the main part of the campaign season is over. Until weather or battlefield conditions permit an extended pause the T series likely have to soldier on. Sending the big cats is not
a turn key operation. So even if Germany decided today to permit the transfer of the Spanish Leo 2A4's its going to be months before they see combat. Sending even more modern (and complex and heavier) versions of the Leo means the bridging and logistics hurdles get even more
pronounced. Speaking of logistics hurdles, Ukriane's defenders need more than just tanks. Giving to charities like @MriyaAid, @UkraineAidOps, @U24_gov_ua and other reputable charities helps fill those needs. Ukraine also needs all the voices she can rally too her. The trolls and
apeasniks won't stop so we cannot stop either. #NAFO exists to fight in the information space and to help fund the @georgian_legion. Will you consider donating and becoming a #FELLA? Speaking of Fellas and HIMARS... We did it! What is the coolest thing made in Arkansas?
coolestthinginarkansas.com Long range precision strike artillery rockets dashed Putin's dreams and gave Ukraine what she needed to triumph over Russian brutality. Until Ukraine wins on Ukraine's terms: Slava Ukraini! @mfa_russia <--- still losing and #whatbridgedoing
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