Is Ukraine about to have a war?
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
👀👀 🙄🙄
BREAKING: German government spokesperson says that there was never a moment when the delivery of Leopard tanks was "linked with the delivery of abrams tanks" - Reuters
BREAKING: German government spokesperson says that there was never a moment when the delivery of Leopard tanks was "linked with the delivery of abrams tanks" - Reuters

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They probably hadn't declared when he did it, I did point out it was a day or so old.

Tabs please !
"We originally invented a false dependency on the US doing something difficult that would prevent us from supplying tanks. Now that everyone else has ignored us, we look incredibly stupid. We will now supply Leopard tanks and the order with the factory shall be placed in 2024. In the meantime, would you like any more helmets......... or kettles .......or golf clubs ?"

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It's ok Russia mobilising troops, but when they attack like this, they are just fertilizer.
https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/16...Cy9aSR0u4sAAAA
https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/16...Cy9aSR0u4sAAAA

EDIT:
Nutty has given a comprehensive breakdown of new pledges for armaments, but I thought I could add a couple of interesting facts about Ramstein picked up in general reading.
There are 53 000 American personnel stationed there ( that was a hell of a surprise. I would have guessed at 10 000 )
The public ( probably not Russians

Last edited by Tartiflette Fan; 20th Jan 2023 at 15:03.

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That "spokesman" was the new Defence Minister - Pistorius. It is just astonishing how these two-faced lying bastards have the nerve to spin 180 in 24 hours and somehow continue to believe that their voters continue to see them as honourable representatives of the nation . Unfortunately, however, the voters know that the other side are just as twisted.
Most Germans against sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine
Of the 2,025 respondents, 43% opposed the delivery and only 39% were in favour. Another 16% did not express a position, the survey, conducted for dpa by the polling institute YouGov, showed.
One in three respondents (33%) think this is already too much. Another 24% say the volume of deliveries is just right, while 25% demand more German military support for Ukraine.Despite the reticence of the YouGov poll respondents towards having their country export the tanks, most are not opposed to other countries doing so. A total of 47% would be in favour, with 38% against and 16% undecided.
Berlin must approve any transfer of the tanks, which 20 countries have in their arsenals.
Poland and Finland have already said they would send Leopards to Ukraine. Unlike the Soviet-era tanks that comprise most of Ukraine's heavy armour, the tanks have advanced capabilities such as thermal optics.
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other...ur/ar-AA16vIo6

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https://www.defense.gov/News/Release...e-for-ukraine/
So 109 Bradley in total.
When you add it all up it is eye watering, see
https://media.defense.gov/2023/Jan/1...EET-JAN-19.PDF
So 109 Bradley in total.
When you add it all up it is eye watering, see
https://media.defense.gov/2023/Jan/1...EET-JAN-19.PDF

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This guy makes some sensible comments on hitting the transport infrastructure and backs it up with images of key points.
https://twitter.com/Tatarigami_UA
From the Beeb
So why can they not simply "retain ownership" and loan them to Ukraine for an indefinite time on the agreement they will be returned when Ukraine deems they have finished with the loan?
..
https://twitter.com/Tatarigami_UA
From the Beeb
Germany’s Leopard 2 main battle tank, produced by Rheinmetall, is Europe’s most popular tank.
It’s been bought by more than a dozen nations, some of whom - namely Poland and Finland - are ready to send theirs to Ukraine right now.
But there’s a problem.
Under Germany’s export regulations, countries buying its tanks need a re-export licence from the German government before passing them on to anyone else.
The US has similar restrictions.
The Ukrainians can barely contain their frustration at this, as they say they need at least 300 modern, western tanks immediately if they are going to have any chance of repelling the coming spring offensive by Russia.
But Olaf Scholz’s government is wary of antagonising Russia and does not want to be seen to be out of step with its allies.
It has indicated that it first needs the US to give a green light to sending its own advanced M1 Abrams tanks and that is not something Washington is yet ready to do.
It’s been bought by more than a dozen nations, some of whom - namely Poland and Finland - are ready to send theirs to Ukraine right now.
But there’s a problem.
Under Germany’s export regulations, countries buying its tanks need a re-export licence from the German government before passing them on to anyone else.
The US has similar restrictions.
The Ukrainians can barely contain their frustration at this, as they say they need at least 300 modern, western tanks immediately if they are going to have any chance of repelling the coming spring offensive by Russia.
But Olaf Scholz’s government is wary of antagonising Russia and does not want to be seen to be out of step with its allies.
It has indicated that it first needs the US to give a green light to sending its own advanced M1 Abrams tanks and that is not something Washington is yet ready to do.
..
Last edited by NutLoose; 20th Jan 2023 at 16:09.

It is the whole Kaiserlautern area with Kaiserslautern Army Depot,Daenner-casern, Kleber-casern, Tank casern Kaiserslautern, Sembach, Pirmasens and a few more installations where some 50.000 US troops are stationed.

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The German excuse appears to be fear of Russian escalation. Russia (without direct external escalation) has continued to escalate itself. (Long range missiles targeting critical infrastructure, mobilisation, energy war against Europe, mass murder of civilians..)
What further escalation is feared?
Nuclear weapons ? Directly attacking a NATO country?
Either would be suicide for Russia, the Russian armed forces know that. Would they obey Putin's order to commit suicide?
What further escalation is feared?
Nuclear weapons ? Directly attacking a NATO country?
Either would be suicide for Russia, the Russian armed forces know that. Would they obey Putin's order to commit suicide?

More than 50 years after Brandt launched his “Ostpolitik” initiative, it’s now being used as an excuse for what Germans call a “Putinversteher” – which literally translates as “Putin understander”. The term is a pejorative reference to politicians, who insist the Russian leader’s expansionist interests are justified, as well as anti-American pundits pushing back against Washington’s calls for Germany’s energy security.
“There are dense networks of money, influence and politics between the SPD and Russia. They hang out in the board rooms of energy companies, trying to build solidarity with Russia while just raking in the money,” explained Nick Spicer, FRANCE 24’s Berlin correspondent. “The question is whether Scholz is going to call out his former SPD colleague.”
Perhaps Scholz needs the support of these networks to stay in power?
“There are dense networks of money, influence and politics between the SPD and Russia. They hang out in the board rooms of energy companies, trying to build solidarity with Russia while just raking in the money,” explained Nick Spicer, FRANCE 24’s Berlin correspondent. “The question is whether Scholz is going to call out his former SPD colleague.”
Perhaps Scholz needs the support of these networks to stay in power?

Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
👀👀👀👀
More than 170 Hungarian generals and senior military officers have been forced into early retirement in recent days by Hungary's MoD, led by Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.
He is a former business partner of Transmashholding, a Russian state-owned company.
A new government decree has allowed the Minister of Defense to unilaterally terminate the service of soldiers who have reached the age of 45 and have at least 25 years of actual service, with two months' notice.
According to @Telexhu, the minister "dismissed members of the Defence Staff en masse. (...) One source said (...) that at least a hundred colonels, generals had been given unilateral dismissals, while another said that 157 (...) with immediate effect."
According to opposition MP Ágnes Vadai, "this means there is a de-NATOisation going on in the Hungarian Defence Forces at the moment", as "the 45-year-old officers and generals are soldiers with international experience, who speak languages and have been socialised in NATO".….
https://telex.hu/belfold/2023/01/20/...galati-viszony
More than 170 Hungarian generals and senior military officers have been forced into early retirement in recent days by Hungary's MoD, led by Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.
He is a former business partner of Transmashholding, a Russian state-owned company.
A new government decree has allowed the Minister of Defense to unilaterally terminate the service of soldiers who have reached the age of 45 and have at least 25 years of actual service, with two months' notice.
According to @Telexhu, the minister "dismissed members of the Defence Staff en masse. (...) One source said (...) that at least a hundred colonels, generals had been given unilateral dismissals, while another said that 157 (...) with immediate effect."
According to opposition MP Ágnes Vadai, "this means there is a de-NATOisation going on in the Hungarian Defence Forces at the moment", as "the 45-year-old officers and generals are soldiers with international experience, who speak languages and have been socialised in NATO".….
https://telex.hu/belfold/2023/01/20/...galati-viszony


Its the reconstruction contracts of the country where the big money will be made.
Those who gave a lot of help will expect a large slice of that pie.
Last estimate I saw was in excess of $6 trillion to build new infrastructure etc.
Those who gave a lot of help will expect a large slice of that pie.
Last estimate I saw was in excess of $6 trillion to build new infrastructure etc.

So, how does the tech of the Leopard compare to the Abrams? I'd think they'd be similar - does anyone know?

👀👀👀👀
More than 170 Hungarian generals and senior military officers have been forced into early retirement in recent days by Hungary's MoD, led by Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.
He is a former business partner of Transmashholding, a Russian state-owned company.
A new government decree has allowed the Minister of Defense to unilaterally terminate the service of soldiers who have reached the age of 45 and have at least 25 years of actual service, with two months' notice.
According to @Telexhu, the minister "dismissed members of the Defence Staff en masse. (...) One source said (...) that at least a hundred colonels, generals had been given unilateral dismissals, while another said that 157 (...) with immediate effect."
According to opposition MP Ágnes Vadai, "this means there is a de-NATOisation going on in the Hungarian Defence Forces at the moment", as "the 45-year-old officers and generals are soldiers with international experience, who speak languages and have been socialised in NATO".….
https://telex.hu/belfold/2023/01/20/...galati-viszony
More than 170 Hungarian generals and senior military officers have been forced into early retirement in recent days by Hungary's MoD, led by Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.
He is a former business partner of Transmashholding, a Russian state-owned company.
A new government decree has allowed the Minister of Defense to unilaterally terminate the service of soldiers who have reached the age of 45 and have at least 25 years of actual service, with two months' notice.
According to @Telexhu, the minister "dismissed members of the Defence Staff en masse. (...) One source said (...) that at least a hundred colonels, generals had been given unilateral dismissals, while another said that 157 (...) with immediate effect."
According to opposition MP Ágnes Vadai, "this means there is a de-NATOisation going on in the Hungarian Defence Forces at the moment", as "the 45-year-old officers and generals are soldiers with international experience, who speak languages and have been socialised in NATO".….
https://telex.hu/belfold/2023/01/20/...galati-viszony

My understanding is that much of the reluctance to send Abrams tanks is related to the high tech systems (targeting, communication, etc.) falling into the wrong hands. I know that in the Middle East, when an Abrams was disabled and couldn't be recovered, they made a point of destroying it so the 'bad guys' couldn't access anything valuable.
So, how does the tech of the Leopard compare to the Abrams? I'd think they'd be similar - does anyone know?
So, how does the tech of the Leopard compare to the Abrams? I'd think they'd be similar - does anyone know?
Window was subject to agonising appraisal before being used to save Bomber Command lives.
Historically best to "use it when you need it, and be one step ahead for when countermeasures are invented".

My understanding is that much of the reluctance to send Abrams tanks is related to the high tech systems (targeting, communication, etc.) falling into the wrong hands. I know that in the Middle East, when an Abrams was disabled and couldn't be recovered, they made a point of destroying it so the 'bad guys' couldn't access anything valuable.
So, how does the tech of the Leopard compare to the Abrams? I'd think they'd be similar - does anyone know?
So, how does the tech of the Leopard compare to the Abrams? I'd think they'd be similar - does anyone know?
