Russians have started their second offensive saying it had hit hundreds of targets around Ukraine with missiles and artillery, apparent preparation for the onslaught in eastern Ukraine.
Quote:
Russia has launched its expected large-scale offensive in Ukraine’s east, a top Ukrainian security official said in televised comments. “This morning, along almost the entire front line in Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions, the occupiers attempted to break through our defenses,” said Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council. “Our servicemen are holding out,” he said, adding that the Russian forces could only break the front at two points.
Such an absolute stupid move, the Ukrainians on the east front are trenched in, and other UA troops are about to encircle a large amount of Russian troops in Izyum themselves.
It's clear this is the push to give Putin a "victory" for May 9, not only will it fail spectacularly, it will make its eventual loss even more of a disaster.
They were basically told to simply attack, even if they don't have the means...
I miss winter wreaking havoc on their convoys when they couldn't make it a couple miles without the mud rendering their death machines useless. Then the farmers swooping in to pick them clean.
I'd happily send them all the worst southern AB spring weather for a couple weeks to #### up their eastern invasion.
For the coming Russian attack that will happen in the next two-three weeks that's all they can hope for. You can't deploy Western gear fast enough for it to be effective. Ukrainians would have to spin up/retrain all their tank crews, service personnel, and logistics to support the new systems.
You can't give Ukraine an Abrams and expect them to have a crew to operate it, nor the mechanics to fix the tanks if they break down. Fuel used is also different, and all the controls are in English instead of Cyrillic. All of that will take months of training at best which isn't time the Ukrainians have.
Which is why it is odd that Germany is sending them Leopard 1s. They are a tank that requires complete retraining on, and it has an old 105mm main armament that can't penetrate newer T-72s.
Hoping the best for the Ukrainians and the Russian invaders get slaughtered.
Maruipol appears to be a dire straits. This could become Ukraine's alamo. Many of the thousand remaining defenders have told press that they expect this to be their last stand as Russian has encircled them in basically two factory and port areas.
There seems to be little hope of reinforcement/rescue for them. Putin really wants complete conquest of the area as this is the area most associated with the Azov Battalion - what the Russian propaganda calls the Nazis of Ukraine.
Which is why it is odd that Germany is sending them Leopard 1s. They are a tank that requires complete retraining on, and it has an old 105mm main armament that can't penetrate newer T-72s.
It could probably damage APCs and other equipment if it can't fully disable a T-72.
Besides, aren't the shoulder mounted javelins doing a good job of tank duty?
Which is why it is odd that Germany is sending them Leopard 1s. They are a tank that requires complete retraining on, and it has an old 105mm main armament that can't penetrate newer T-72s.
Longer term the West has to send Ukraine something armor, especially when it comes time to replace Ukrainian tank losses and for any potential offensive operations especially running into the summer when Russians are no longer limited to roads. Not sure how effective they will be given they probably won't be able to fire sabot rounds out of the 105mm or how Ukrainians will be trained on this. There are US forces in Poland currently training Ukrainian crews on how to use the artillery the US sent over so I'd expect similar by Germans when/if the time comes. At least they'll be able to knock of IFVs
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is holding that up at the moment so the Ukrainians don't even have them yet. Germans have given the Ukrainians $1B Euros to buy weapons, but won't transfer the existing tanks or Marder IFVs. Marders would be much more immediately useful to the Ukrainians atm. Easier to train and use those ones.
God I love the Ukrainian people.
Don't take any shirt from anybody.
God I hope those folks will be okay. Too much death and destruction there. #### war.
Yeah, one of the strikes in Lviv was on a military warehouse. Though another was on a ****ing tire shop, so who knows what they're thinking. Perhaps mixing real targets with more indiscriminate bombing.
Which is why it is odd that Germany is sending them Leopard 1s. They are a tank that requires complete retraining on, and it has an old 105mm main armament that can't penetrate newer T-72s.
Video addresses the exact scenarios at Leopard 1 would be used. The gun is not great against only the frontal T-72 armor so Leopards would need to be used in a hit and run, side/rear ambush, and support scenarios.
Leopards would require more than a month of refurbishment, then a month of transport, and another six weeks out for Ukrainian crews being trained on them IF the transfer was approved by Scholz today.
Video addresses the exact scenarios at Leopard 1 would be used. The gun is not great against only the frontal T-72 armor so Leopards would need to be used in a hit and run, side/rear ambush, and support scenarios.
Leopards would require more than a month of refurbishment, then a month of transport, and another six weeks out for Ukrainian crews being trained on them IF the transfer was approved by Scholz today.
