Here we go again-Ukraine once again

[Jimbuna]

White House advises Ukraine to postpone planned counteroffensive - Reuters

Senior U.S. officials advise Ukraine to wait to launch a large-scale offensive against Russian forces until it receives the last batch of U.S. weapons and its troops have received appropriate training.

As informs Censor.NЕТ, a senior U.S. Presidential Administration official said at a briefing on Friday, reports "European truth" with reference to Reuters.

He added that American negotiations with Ukraine on any counteroffensive are taking place in the context of ensuring that the Ukrainians first spend sufficient time training with the latest weapons provided by the United States.

Speaking to a small group of journalists on condition of anonymity, the official also said that the United States is sticking to its decision not to provide M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine because they are expensive and difficult to maintain. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394684

Poland will equip and train Ukrainian tank brigade by March, - Błaszczak

Польща продовжує підтримувати Україну. Зокрема країна планує навчити танкову бригаду Збройних сил нашої держави у рамках нового пакета підтримки

Accordin to Censor.NЕТ, this was stated by Defense Minister of Poland Mariusz Błaszczak in Twitter.

"As part of the new support package for Ukraine, I presented our Polish support, which means that by the end of March we will be able to arm and train Ukrainian soldiers," he said.

According to the minister, this refers to the tank brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In addition, Błaszczak said that instead of the T-72 tanks and infantry fighting vehicles transferred to Ukraine, the Polish army will receive Korean K-2 tanks and K-9 howitzers. Abrams tanks and HIMARS rocket artillery are planned to be delivered to Poland. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394681

[Jimbuna]

Russia shows no signs of preparing for peace, they are preparing for long war: military aid to Ukraine should be immediately increased, - Stoltenberg

Following the Ramstein meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on allies and partners to urgently increase military assistance to Ukraine.

This is stated on site of NATO, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to Ukrinform.

"Secretary General Stoltenberg noted that Russia shows no signs of preparing for peace, on the contrary, they (Russians - ed.) are preparing for a long war. At the same time, the Secretary General emphasized the urgent need to increase military assistance so that Ukraine can win and liberate the occupied territories," the statement said.

The Secretary General noted that, like most wars, this war is likely to end at the negotiating table, but what happens at such negotiations directly depends on what happens on the battlefield, so Ukraine should be provided with more weapons now.

Stoltenberg thanked U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for U.S. leadership in providing very significant military assistance to Ukraine. He welcomed the recent announcements of such assistance by other NATO Allies and partners, including Germany, France, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, who have expressed their intention to provide air defense systems, armored personnel carriers and other armored vehicles to Ukraine. He welcomed the willingness of the United Kingdom, France and Poland to provide Ukraine with main battle tanks as well as light tanks, and called on other allies and partners to follow their example.

The NATO Secretary General also called for continued supplies of ammunition to Ukraine and training for the Ukrainian military. In general, assessing the results of the meeting in Ramstein, he emphasized that the Contact Group had provided Ukraine with a "massive package of combat capabilities" necessary for Ukraine's ability to defend itself, and that consultations on this issue would continue.

At the same time, Stoltenberg also emphasized the importance of increasing the supply of non-lethal materials and military equipment to Ukraine, in particular, as part of a broad NATO assistance package that includes fuel, food, medical supplies and other materials needed in Ukraine.

He also noted that NATO allies need to increase the production of weapons and ammunition to quickly replenish defense stocks. In this regard, NATO maintains close contact with defense industry enterprises. Clarification of the defense order will be a key topic during the meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in February this year, he added.

It is also reported that in Ramstein, Stoltenberg met with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and the new German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394674

[Skybird]

In fact Russia is switching its full economy to all war production.

A headline in the papers got it totally right yesterday: a bad-running war serves Putin better than a peace that leaves him with all territorial gains. That is the grim truth nobody in Europe wants to hear, especially not in Germany. A reintroduction of compulsory military service will have to come, I think. Ammo factories and weapon factories must be reopened. It must be rushed like builldung the LNG terminals at the german coast got rushed (now three are open). But nothing happend, and inflation already has eaten 10-15% of the special budget's 100bn - while actually several hundreds of billions would be needed in reality.

All Europe must rebuild its defence ministries. And Germany needs to rebuild its forces practically from nil, like after WW2 in the early and mid 50s.

From news from Ramstein I learned a lesson on biology today, that is while weasels are mammals in the rest of the world, in Germany weasel are birds. They lay their own eggs and then dance on and around them, all the time grinning. Remarkable species.

[THE_MASK]

Ramp up the sanctions massively and supply the damn tanks .

[Skybird]

A day of shame for Germany. Thanks to Scholz. Witnesses said that Pistorios, the new German defence minister, wanted to at least allow others to send Leopards - and then was claled back at the ver ylast seocnd before he entered the assembly hall. Only one political authority in Germany could call a minster of defence back at the last second in this manner.


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Clear words from the coalition to coalition: Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FPD) sharply criticised the postponed German decision on the delivery of battle tanks to Ukraine. "At least a signal would have been right to give the partners the green light already," she said on ZDF-heute journal on Friday, referring to the desire of countries like Poland to deliver their own German-made Leopard-2s to Ukraine. To do so, however, they need permission from Berlin.
"History is looking at us and Germany has unfortunately just failed," the chairwoman of the Defence Committee complained. The communication of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in particular on this issue was a "catastrophe", because on the one hand Germany was massively supporting Ukraine, but the lack of a decision on the battle tanks gave a different impression. Scholz owes explanations for this. In her view, the new Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) is "on the chain", said Strack-Zimmermann. However, she was sure that the Leopard-2s would be delivered to Ukraine in the end.

Der Spiegel

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^ In this German-made mess, it does not help Germany's case that the American position may sound well-founded, but that there is more to it than that. The Americans are right that the M1 would unnecessarily increase logistical pressure on the already overstretched Ukrainian logistics network, compared to the Leopard, especially fuel (it consumes at least 1/5 more in quantity than the Leopard, and needs not Diesel, but gasoline, jet fuel or kerosine). What they are not saying is that they have all their production capacities fully committed to preparing for the expected conflict in the Pacific, and therefore do not want to divert capacity from that to refitting M1 tanks for the Ukrainians. The Americans are not lying, they are just not telling the whole truth and hiding something.

Both the M1 and the Leopard-2 have their roots in a shared US-German tnak development cooperaiton that later collapsed, they are the products of the same initiave to form a new MBT. Thats why they are so very similiar and comparable in protection and firepower and capabilities. The advantage of the C2 is that some say that even today it maybe still is the best protected tank in the world. Crew protection is certainly the outstanding feature of this model.

Anyway, just one company of tanks alone will not change anything in the Ukraine. It simply is way to small numbers.

[Skybird]

The Swedish Defence Minister had planned a visit to Ankara. The Turkish government has now disinvited him because he had taken part in a demonstration that did not suit them. Previously, the Swedes had complained that the Sultan was making demands in return for a favourable Turkish pardon for NATO accession which were so far-reaching that Sweden could not fulfil them without de facto giving up parts of its legal order.

Germany and Leopards. Turkey and Scandianvians. Moscow and smiles and grins. - Bubble-Olaf and the Sultan should hold their next summit in Moscow. They might as well take the opportunity to collect their Russian medals of merit from Putin.

[Skybird]

FOCUS:
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London: War is "at an impasse" - Russian advance in Bachmut possible

In the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, there is currently a military stalemate, according to the British assessment. "The conflict as a whole is at an impasse," the British Ministry of Defence announced on Saturday. "However, there is a realistic possibility of local Russian advances around Bachmut." The city in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk has been at the centre of fighting for months.

Fierce fighting is taking place on three frontline sections in particular, London was told, citing intelligence information. Russian units, both from the regular military and the private army Wagner, were regrouping in the recently captured small town of Soledar north of Bachmut, it said. Also in the east, Ukrainian troops would have made minor gains near the town of Kreminna in the Luhansk region. In the south, both sides had massed significant forces in the Zaporizhzhya region. Artillery fights and smaller clashes were taking place, but so far there was no major offensive.

USA: Kiev should not stiffen on Bachmut, but plan offensive

According to a senior US government official, Ukraine should not fixate on the defence of the eastern Ukrainian town of Bachmut, but use the time to prepare a counter-offensive against Russian troops. The focus on defending Bakhmut prevents Ukraine from concentrating on the more important task of preparing a spring offensive, the administration official said on Friday [marking by Skybird]

In the long run, Russia has an advantage in the battle for Bachmut simply because of the numerical superiority of its troops and its artillery resources, he said. However, a possible capture of the city by Russia would not represent a significant change in the war because Ukrainian troops could retreat to well-protected positions, the US representative said.

Instead of sacrificing soldiers and ammunition in the fight for a strategically unimportant target, the US government advises Ukraine to reorganise its troops and use US-led training programmes to be able to send a sophisticated and heavily armed force into an offensive in the south of the country. Appropriate weapons for a spring offensive are currently being sent to Ukraine, including several hundred armoured vehicles in the past few days alone, the government official said.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

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On a sidenote here, DeepL offers a new free service called DeepL Writer, which is of interest for us non-native English speakers. Here you can enter your own self-written English text and have DeepL check it for grammar and expression, instead of a translation you then get an optimised version of your own English text. It also corrects simple spelling mistakes.

For example, originally I had written "spelling errors". Thats no spelling issue, but about expression and wording.

Its powers against avalanches of Skybirdian typos are limited, however.

https://www.deepl.com/write

[Jimbuna]

Ukraine war sanctions bite as ex-IMF chief warns Putin Russia faces ‘incredible poverty'

Harvard professor Kenneth Rogoff has warned Russia is heading towards being a new Cuba, Venezuela, or "giant Iran." Speaking at an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Rogoff urged Western governments to get behind a second wave of sanctions on the Kremlin in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Mr Rogoff told the audience: "If Russia escalates, what are we doing? We need to be ready. They need to know that is coming."

He added sanctions are not enough on there own to defeat Putin but "you have to stay the course".

In total, 39 countries have imposed sanctions on Russia as a result of the country's actions in Ukraine.

These sanctions include a mechanism to limit the price of Russian oil and petroleum products, implemented by the G7 nations and the EU.

This mechanism prohibits services supporting the maritime transport of Russian oil or petroleum products unless they are purchased below a price cap

Mr Rogoff admitted that "getting regime change is hard" pointing to attempts to bring down the government of Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran, but noted "that is where Russia is headed".

It comes as the US Treasury Department announced plans to impose additional sanctions on the Russian private military company, the Wagner Group, that has been aiding Russia's military in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby announced Friday that Treasury will designate Wagner as a significant transnational criminal organization in the coming days.

He said the designation will allow the administration to hit Wagner with tougher sanctions and squeeze its ability to do business around the world.

The White House also released images of Russia taking delivery of an arms shipment from North Korea that it said was intended to help bolster Wagner forces as they fight side-by-side with Russian troops in Ukraine.

The Biden administration first accused North Korea last month of providing infantry rockets and missiles to Russia. North Korea has denied assisting Russia.

"These actions recognize the transcontinental threat that Wagner poses, including through its ongoing pattern of serious criminal activity with these actions, and there'll be more to come," Kirby said.

The US assesses that Wagner, owned by Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, is spending about $100 million a month in the war. Prigozhin has also publicly taken credit for some of Russian's recent advances in eastern Ukraine.

"We are seeing indications, including in intelligence, that tensions between Wagner and the Russian Defense Ministry are increasing," Kirby added.

"Wagner is becoming a rival power center to the Russian military and other Russian ministries. Publicly, Prigozhin and his fighters have criticized Russian generals and defense officials for their performance in Ukraine."

Wagner Group mercenaries have also been accused by Western countries and UN experts of numerous human rights abuses throughout Africa, including in the Central African Republic, Libya and Mali. Last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced he had designated the Wagner Group as an "entity of particular concern" for its activities in the Central African Republic.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...e23df460d106d4

[Jimbuna]

Total combat losses of Russian Federation since beginning of war - about 120,160 people (+860 per day), 287 aircraft, 3140 tanks, 2135 artillery systems, 6256 armored vehicles. INFOGRAPHICS

The losses of the Russian occupiers as of the morning of January 21, 2023 are approximately 120,160 people.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the press center of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

As noted, the total combat losses of the enemy from 02.24.22 to 01.21.23 are approximately:

personnel - about 120,160 (+860) people were eliminated,
tanks - 3140 (+1) units,
armored combat vehicles - 6256 (+15) units,
artillery systems - 2135 (+6) units,
MLRS - 443 (+1) units,
air defense equipment - 220 (+0) units,
aircraft - 287 (+0) units,
helicopters - 277 (+0) units,
Operational-tactical UAV - 1891 (+5),
cruise missiles - 749 (+0),
warships/boats - 17 (+0) units,
automotive equipment and tank trucks - 4918 (+15) units,
special equipment - 193 (+3). Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394750

[Jimbuna]

Confrontation between Ministry of Defense of Russian Federation and PMC "Wagner" is intensifying, - ISW

US intelligence confirmed the conclusion of ISW experts that the confrontation between the Ministry of Defense of Russia and PMC "Wagner" is intensifying.

As Censor.NET reports with reference to RBC-Ukraine, this is stated in the report of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

According to US intelligence, a split is forming between the leaders of the "Wagner" PMC and the officials of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation due to the long-term confrontation at the front.

Recently, the PMC has become the "center of military power" with its 50,000-strong group. ISW continues to monitor the development of the conflict between the "Wagner" PMC and the Ministry of Defense of Russia in the information space.

At the same time, the Russian military is deliberately avoiding direct recognition of the participation of the "Wagner" PMC troops in the declared capture of Klishchivka, Donetsk region, on January 19.

Despite the internal conflict, the group of mercenaries is forced to rely on the Russian Ministry of Defense for the supply of heavy military equipment. Although the fighters of the "Wagner" PMC can independently operate the tanks and aircraft provided by him, they continue to rely on the personnel army for logistical support and maintenance. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394739

Heads of foreign affairs of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania called on Germany to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine as soon as possible

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Edgars Rinkevich, Estonia Urmas Reinsalu, and Lithuania Gabrielus Landsbergis call on Germany to provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 battle tanks.

As reported by Censor.NET with reference to UNIAN, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevich said this on Twitter on behalf of the three countries.

"We, the foreign ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, now call on Germany to provide Ukraine with Leopard tanks. This is necessary for a quick end to Russian aggression, aid to Ukraine and restoration of peace in Europe," the ministers said in a joint statement.

The officials emphasized that "Germany, as a leading European state, bears a special responsibility in this matter." Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394771

United States expects support for allies’ initiative to transfer F-16 aircraft to Ukraine

The United States expects that the allies’ initiative to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine will be supported within the country.

This was stated by the US Ambassador to the OSCE Michael Carpenter, Censor.NET reports with reference to RBC-Ukraine.

The diplomat, answering the question whether Joe Biden's administration supports the idea of giving Ukraine F-16, noted that the US responds positively to any assistance to Ukrainian troops. According to him, this applies to both Soviet equipment and modern means.

"We have long been of the opinion that what our allies supply is their business. And we support the countless contributions (to defense. - Ed.) that our allies have made for Ukraine," he said.

Carpenter expects that the United States will support the idea of allies to the transfer of fighter jets.

"Therefore, I expect that the United States will have broad support for our allies, who will continue to increase their contributions," the US ambassador emphasized.

Also remind, earlier it became known that the Netherlands is ready to consider the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, if a request comes from the Ukrainian authorities.

At the same time, during an address to the participants of "Ramstein" yesterday, Volodymyr Zelensky called on the partners to discuss the possibility of sending the F-16 at the next meeting. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394772

[Skybird]

Poverty-stricken Russia is of no interest to the Kremlin's murderous elite. It must not be as long as they keep the war going. If the war ends - then they would be in trouble. This is the West's dilemma and why sanctions are less important than it would like.

Russia cannot be forced into compliance by sanctions. Sanctions can - and should - make life difficult for Russia and damage its long-term strategic prospects, but no more. For the ongoing war, sanctions are almost irrelevant.


Thats does of course not mean we should lift them. We must however understand that they more effect the after-game, not the running game.

[Jimbuna]

US claims 188,000 Russian killed in Ukraine since Vladimir Putin launched invasion

The US intelligence has claimed that 188,000 Russians have been killed in Ukraine since the invasion, a news report stated. The shocking figures were revealed with allies at yesterday's Western summit to drum up support for Ukraine held at Ramstein Air Base in Southern Germany.

The figure is a significant increase to the estimation of 100,000 Russian soldiers who were wounded, deserted and killed, when outlined by UK's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace at the end of 2022.

Top US General Mark Milley said Russia has suffered a "tremendous amount of casualties" - but stopped short of revealing the exact figure publicly.

Asked about Russian losses he told The Sun the toll was now "significantly well over 100,000".

He said: "They have really suffered a lot.. I would say significantly well over 100,000."

But defence sources confirmed the startling estimate to The Sun.

Mr Milley expressed strong doubt on Friday that Ukraine would succeed in driving Russian troops out its territory this year.

Ukraine, he said, "has also suffered tremendously".

Milley added: "There's a significant amount of innocent civilians that have been killed as a result of the Russian actions.

"The Russians are hitting civilian infrastructure. There's a significant amount of economic damage, a significant amount of damage to the energy infrastructure, and the Ukrainian military has suffered ... This is a very, very bloody war."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...90db03e3984c8d

[Skybird]

The German mess gets worse and worse, I think I'm crazy: Business Insider reports:
--------------------------------

After Ramstein summit: The new Defence Minister Boris Pistorius now has Leopard tanks counted - after Lambrecht had apparently forbidden it

Contrary to expectations, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) did not announce at the arms summit in Ramstein whether the German government would agree to the delivery of Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

Instead, he announced that he would first have the availability of battle tanks in Germany checked. This raises the question: Why didn't his predecessor Christine Lambrecht do this long ago?

According to Business Insider information, this was not an oversight - but a calculation. According to insiders, Lambrecht is said to have feared that an audit of the stocks could indicate that Germany would also supply the tanks - which is why she forbade the audit.

The Ukraine summit at the US military base in Ramstein was eagerly awaited on Friday. After weeks of discussions about the delivery of battle tanks to Ukraine, many observers expected the German government to announce a decision at the meeting.

But the new Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD), who had only been in office for 24 hours at the start of the meeting, had nothing new to announce on this issue. A decision was to be made "as soon as possible" on whether the delivery of Leopard tanks would be approved. He was not more specific - despite increasing pressure from Ukraine and other allied states.

Leopard tanks must first be counted

If this alone caused astonishment, another announcement by the Defence Minister was a real surprise: Only now, almost a year after Ukraine first asked for battle tanks, are the stocks of Leopard tanks in Germany to be checked. Pistorius said on the fringes of the summit that a corresponding order had been issued.

Why is this only being started now? An omission? No - on the contrary: as Business Insider learned from several sources in the Ministry of Defence, former Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) is said to have instructed her officials less than a week before her resignation not to carry out an inventory of the Bundeswehr's Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 tanks. This was despite the fact that her office is said to have previously suggested a count of the vehicles in order to be able to provide information on the question of possible further deliveries.

The possible reasons are said to be that this was supposedly to avoid putting additional pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) regarding the question of possible deliveries of battle tanks. The concern: If it had come out that the Bundeswehr was counting its operational tanks, this could have been interpreted as a willingness to supply tanks. This impression was supposedly to be avoided, especially since the Chancellor's Office is said not to have issued a formal order to the Ministry of Defence to examine the matter.

Christine Lambrecht did not answer a question from Business Insider on Friday evening. Should it be true, however, that she issued such an order, this would be politically explosive, and not only for her. Above all, Scholz and his chancellery would have to explain themselves. For Scholz to seemingly not want to know how many Leopard 1 and 2 tanks could be delivered so shortly before the Ramstein summit, at which many other nations expected Germany to make a decision on the tank issue, could be interpreted as disinterest. For no matter what one's political position on the delivery of battle tanks is, without knowing exactly how many Leopard 1s and 2s Germany could deliver in principle, it is impossible to make a well-founded decision.

No vote even on Marder tanks

However, it would not be the first time that the Chancellor's Office has made decisions on arms deliveries without consulting the Bundeswehr. On 5 January, for example, Scholz announced after a telephone conversation with US President Joe Biden that Germany wanted to supply Marder infantry fighting vehicles.

Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit then specified: "As far as the Marder is concerned, we want to equip a battalion. Depending on the version, a battalion comprises about 40 vehicles. These 40 vehicles should be ready before the end of the first quarter, so that they can then be handed over to Ukraine." As Business Insider has already reported, it is still not clear whether the number can be met. On Friday in Ramstein, Defence Minister Pistorius also spoke in the meantime of "up to" 40 Marder.
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Meine Fresse. Zum Kotzen.

[Skybird]

Der Spiegel:
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These Leopard tanks could be handed over by the Bundeswehr

Defense Minister Pistorius wants to examine which Leopard tanks the Bundeswehr could hand over to Ukraine. According to SPIEGEL information, such a list has been available for some time. 19 older Leopards seem particularly suitable.

The German government is coming under further pressure over the question of whether Germany should supply modern Leopard tanks to Ukraine. According to SPIEGEL information, the Defense Ministry has had a detailed list of various Leopard models that are available to the troops and could be considered for delivery to Ukraine since early summer 2022. The table, which is classified, has been made available to SPIEGEL.

The existence of such a Leopard list is also likely to interest the new defense minister, Boris Pistorius, SPD. Pistorius had announced on Friday at a conference of Ukraine supporters in Ramstein that he wanted to have it checked which and how many Leopard tanks of the Bundeswehr would even be eligible for delivery to Ukraine. In this way, Pistorius said, he wants to prepare for the time when Chancellor Olaf Scholz makes the political decision on a tank delivery.

According to the list, the Bundeswehr has a total of 312 different Leopard 2 tanks of various series, but as of May last year, 99 of them were at the defense industry for maintenance and repair work, and one was already in the process of being discarded. Consequently, the list includes 212 Leopard-2 models under the "Bestand Truppe" tab. Among these are both the various models 2A5, 2A6, 2A7 and 2A7V, which is the most modern version of the weapon system. As of May 22, the force had 53 of the Leopard variant 2A7V.
According to Bundeswehr insiders, the list already shows which models would be suitable for delivery to Ukraine. According to the list, it is conceivable that the Bundeswehr could hand over the 19 Leopard 2A5 models. According to the list, these are currently used to "represent enemy forces" in the Army's combat training center, i.e. they simulate enemy tanks during maneuvers. Troops say the 2A5 models are the most likely to be dispensed with, as they are only used for exercises.

Package with Polish Leopard tanks?

If the German government could bring itself politically to agree to supply them, the German Leopard 2A5 models could be combined with Leopard 2 models from other European nations such as Poland to form a package for Ukraine. Poland has Leopard 2A4 tanks that are at least similar to the 2A5 model and could be brought up to standard by industry. Militarily, to arm the Ukrainians, it would make sense to equip an entire tank battalion with Leopards.

Nevertheless, assembling such a package is not technically trivial. Most Leopard 2 tanks in Europe, for example, are equipped with a hydraulic turret control system, while the Bundeswehr models have an electric control system. For a delivery to Ukraine, military officials agree, a homogeneous fleet would be advantageous, since otherwise repair and maintenance would become even more complicated, and Ukrainian soldiers should ideally be trained on one model.

Pistorius had already announced in Ramstein; to examine a possible package solution with other partners. In this context, "the question of compatibility with the partners" and the availability of Leopard models of the Bundeswehr particularly important, said the new defense minister. In doing so, he was "not creating a precedent" that Germany would actually supply main battle tanks; rather, he was preparing for the "worst-case scenario," he said.

List puts Pistorius under pressure

The fact that Bundeswehr battle tanks are apparently available is now putting Pistorius under pressure. Both the opposition and supporters of battle tank deliveries in his own coalition will question the new minister by the beginning of the week at the latest about what came out of the audit he announced in Ramstein. The issue is also likely to be on the agenda at the Franco-German Defense Council in Paris this weekend.

The opposition already senses that the Ramstein remarks are an attempt to buy time. "Not wanting to deliver battle tanks because there would be no inventory lists is evidence of poverty or a protective claim," CDU defense politician Henning Otte tweeted over the weekend. Otte criticized Olaf Scholz's traffic light government for isolating Germany instead of taking a leading role within the allies on arms deliveries to Ukraine.
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Back. Forth. Back. Left. Right. Forth. Back to starting line. Repeat.

[Dargo]

Cyprus is ready to return to the issue of transferring its T-80 main battle tanks to Ukraine. This is not the first time that this country wants to exchange its Soviet tanks for Western equipment, the Army Recognition published an article in which it is said that Cyprus is allegedly ready to return to the issue of the transfer of its Soviet T-80U battle tanks. And although the publication does not disclose its sources, this news is worth paying attention to, if only because it is not the first time that Cyprus is trying to replace its tanks with something more powerful.

So, as early as April 2022, the media reported that Cyprus could allocate its Soviet BMP-3, T-80 tanks and Buk air defense systems to Ukraine, but on the condition that the United States of America replaces these systems with newer tanks, BMPs and air defense systems, however such a "scheme" was never implemented. Now in Cyprus they are allegedly talking about new conditions under which T-80U tanks from the armed forces of this country can be transferred to Ukraine. In particular, Cyprus wants to get Leopard tanks instead of Soviet tanks, but not from anyone, but specifically from Greece - because Cyprus is convinced that it is from Greece that they can get a "replacement" for their T-80U as soon as possible - and in this, in fact, there is own truth.

But at the same time, as they conclude in Army Recognition, Greece, which has Turkey by its side, also seems to be in no hurry to give up its Leopard 2 and is ready to "wait" for the Leopard 2 in new version from Germany. "Greece wants first to get Leopard 2s in exchange to avoid depletion of its arsenal amid rising tensions with Turkey (also equipped with Leopard 2s in the waiting of its future indigenous Altay MBTs)," the author of the article in Army Recognition conclude.

Speaking about the Cypriot T-80U, first of all it is worth noting the following - according to Military Balance, Cyprus has as many as 82 tanks in service, and this is almost an entire tank brigade, provided that Cyprus agrees to hand over all its Soviet vehicles. And taking into account the fact that Greece most likely will not supply its Leopards to Ukraine, this looks like a good deal for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, this agreement can only be so if Greece either agrees to transfer its Leopard tanks to Cyprus without a "ring exchange" with another country, or agrees to wait until the Armed Forces receive its Leopard tanks first as in the case with Marder IFVs. Despite the fact that the "collective supply" of Leopard 2 tanks for the Armed Force of Ukraines has not yet been officially agreed upon, the "window of opportunity" for the tanks still remains open. https://en.defence-ua.com/events/whi...aine-5504.html