2024-01-16 13:45:00
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The Ukrainians post a new video with a German Leopard 1A5. The fact that it has no camouflage for the snow is not the only problem facing the Russian army.
Donbass – The question of how far the regime in the Kremlin will go remains open. A politician from the Russian Duma has now blatantly threatened NATO member Poland, while Russian troops are failing to destroy a Ukrainian bridgehead on the Dnipro.
Ukraine war: problems with arms deliveries for Kiev
Not only is Ukraine doggedly defending itself once morest Russia’s war of aggression, but there are problems with arms deliveries. In the southern Kherson region, for example, marines are holding their positions once morest the attack, which violates international law. And that’s not the only place.
On the Eastern Front, Ukrainian units at Avdiivka, Kreminna and Kupyansk resisted Russian attacks in the Ukrainian War. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense in Kiev has meanwhile shared a widely viewed video on X (formerly Twitter) that shows a “German-American steel team,” as the tweet says.
The video shows two sturdy US military Humvee jeeps and a Leopard 1A5 main battle tank from Germany. But the video also reveals two problems. Specifically: Military aid from the USA is currently completely blocked and deliveries of heavy weapons from Germany are making only slow progress, especially when it comes to the “Leos”.
Ukraine War: Kiev is eagerly awaiting more Leopard 1A5 tanks
A look at the list of military support services provided by the traffic light coalition, which can be viewed on the website of the federal government made up of the SPD, Greens and FDP, helps to understand this. According to information from January 15, Germany has delivered a total of 30 Leopard 1A5s to Ukraine in recent months, having already sent 18 modern Leopard 2A6 tanks in the spring of 2023.
However, most of these “Leos” 2 have now remained on the battlefield or are being serviced in the German defense industry’s repair shop in Lithuania – far away from the Ukrainian front. According to the Federal Ministry of Defense, 80 Leopard 1A5s should actually be handed over to the Ukrainian armed forces by the end of 2023.
Tanks, drones, air defense: weapons for Ukraine
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The defense company Rheinmetall is currently processing “Leos” 1 from industrial stocks, while the target of previous deliveries was clearly missed. At least the number of Marder infantry fighting vehicles delivered is now 90. At the beginning of November, Berlin had provided a further ten “Leos” 1, but since then nothing has happened with regard to the heavy battle tanks. In keeping with this, Rheinmetall published a press release in mid-November in which the Rhineland arms company announced that it would deliver 25 overhauled Leopard 1A5s this year. That would be a total of 55 pieces.
Ukraine War: The Ukrainian army currently does not have any closed tank formations
However, the video from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense also shows that this is not enough for the battlefield. The two Humvees flank the “Leo” 1 with their heavy machine guns, but there is currently no sign of closed tank formations in the Ukrainian army. At the same time, the olive green “Leo” is easy to recognize from a distance in the white snow. There is no camouflage. Ukraine will not be able to launch a new offensive in the spring of 2024 because it simply lacks the heavy equipment to do so.
Dr. Christian Mölling, security expert at German Society for Foreign Policy (DGAP), had already urgently advised the West at the end of November to equip Ukraine for a new offensive. Hesitation might have devastating long-term effects for Europe, said the political scientist in ZDF’s “heute journal”. “It has to be said relatively clearly that if we do not help Ukraine and thereby continue to endanger our own security, we will probably face the consequences in five or six years,” he said at the time. Once once more, a lot depends on the Americans.
Ukraine war: Republicans in the USA block military aid for Kiev
While the primaries for the 2024 presidential election have begun in the USA, incumbent President Joe Biden (Democrats) recently warned the blocking Republicans of a possible direct military conflict between NATO and Russia. Republicans are blocking planned military aid worth around $61 billion in Congress. And every day they do this puts Ukraine under even more pressure. No matter how impressive the videos on X may be. (pm)
Our employee Patrick Mayer wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at his own discretion. All information has been carefully checked. Find out more regarding our AI principles here.
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