Thanks armchair general. So a massive delivery of HIMARS, jets, and tanks would not accomplish anything? Surprise, actual military analysts disagree.
Analysts: Ukraine Needs U.S. Aircraft; U.S. Needs to Stop Self-Deterring
The weapons the U.S. and NATO have been providing Ukraine are not enough to reverse Russia’s invasion, and the process of providing F-16s from U.S. stocks should begin as soon as possible, analysts said in an AFA Mitchell Institute online seminar.
Panelists said Ukraine’s best chance for beating back Russia’s advances will come through air-launched standoff missile strikes on Russian rear areas and supply lines, as well as command and control centers and airpower working in concert with Ukrainian ground forces.
Retired Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, dean of AFA’s Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies, said the Russia-Ukraine war has effectively been ongoing since 2014 and will not likely be over quickly, so “there’s time” to provide Ukraine with F-16s and train some of its experienced pilots to fly them.
Members of the panel said that in the meantime, the U.S. could provide MQ-1C Gray Eagles or even MQ-9 Reapers to give Ukraine more air strike capability and persistent watch over the battlefield for target spotting functions and “actionable intelligence,” Deptula said.
Absent fresh airpower, though, panelists said the weapons being supplied to Ukraine—such as artillery—don’t deliver a decisive capability and engage the Russians “at their own game,” he added.
To go on the offensive, the Ukrainians need to strike Russia’s rear areas, Farkas said, and “not just defend but re-seize their territory.” The U.S. should also put pressure on Israel to provide Ukraine with its Iron Dome air defense systems, she said.
https://www.airforcemag.com/ukraine-needs-u-s-aircraft-f-16s-u-s-needs-to-stop-self-deterring/
I could say, “Put your money where your mouth is.”
But Biden & Company are doing that for you. The spending and ensuing graft will be paid by US taxpayers in the form of higher taxes, inflation, higher interest rates, etc.
Putin (corrupt as he is) was very clear about why the expansion of NATO towards the borders of Russia was unacceptable. (Makes one ponder - should Mexico join NATO? That was sarcasm.)
Zelensky is not Ukraine’s savior. Maybe he is Ukraine’s Mussolini.
Defense analysts? Do you know how long it takes to train on these weapons to become proficient? Do you know what logistical and supply chain support is needed to keep them operating? Do you think those could be put in place in any relevant time frame, IF they can be provided? Do you understand that the Russians have at least a 10 to 1 advantage in heavy weapons in Ukraine? Do you have an estimate of the attrition of those “game-changing” weapons during transport? (the Russians have air superiority and excellent intelligence; some Ukrainians are selling new weapons on the black market, including heavy weapons). Do you know what our entire stockpile of artillery and similar ordinance is? If not, there is an excellent RUSI paper on the problem. Do you know how many HIMARS systems we have in total and an analysis to indicate that, if we transferred every last one, given the conditions in the Ukraine, they would change the result? Do you know that even General Milley is tired of Ukrainian demands for more weapons? In Brussels on June 15 he pointed out, in response to questions about sending more weapons by a member of the press, that the US/NATO have already sent more anti-tank weapons to the UFA than there are tanks in the entire world. It hasn’t “turned the tide”.
Here’s a news flash: the Biden administration is not sending our most advanced weapons in large numbers to Ukraine because, although they won’t admit it publicly: a. the weapons will not change the situation on the ground, b. large percentages are likely to be destroyed in transit, on the frontlines, or sold, and c. our stockpiles are limited and needed for our own defense.
Repeating assertions by people who are in bed with the Biden administration and NATO is pointless. It’s rather like repeating the lies spread by Fauci, the CDC, and the FDA relating to Covid. Real, objective analysts have asked and answered the questions I’ve put to you and more, and the answers are not comforting to Biden/Neocon trolls.
But the situation speaks for itself. The Russians are methodically, with minimal losses to themselves, destroying what is left of the UFA and taking critical positions. The battle for Seversk is essentially over, and it took very little time. Bakhmut is being enveloped. Slavyansk and Kramatorsk are weakening. By the end of August even Odessa and Kharkov are likely to be in Russian hands. The war enthusiasts here seem to have very little concern for the Ukrainians in the UFA, nor do they realize that that we, not the Russians, are responsible for the disaster in Ukraine. For the paid trolls here, the truth is irrelevant. For the rest, real research and thought are just too much work. It’s easier to parrot Biden/Neocon talking points. We’ve seen the same intellectual laziness with the Covid hoax and the “Russia 2016 election interference/collusion” hoax.