Posted on 06/18/2022 3:30:33 PM PDT by Zhang Fei
But the U.S. hasn’t provided nearly enough launchers to blunt the Russian equipment advantage. Ohio Republican Rob Portman, who is co-chairman of the Senate Ukraine caucus, on the Senate floor this week offered a blunt assessment of the facts on the ground: Brutal fighting continues in Severodonetsk, where the Russians are making grinding progress, and the Luhansk region could fall within weeks if the Ukrainians can’t get longer-range artillery.
“Because the Russians have more artillery than the Ukrainians and their weapons have longer ranges,” the Senator explained, “the Russian forces concentrate massive firepower on Ukrainian positions at distances, which the Ukrainian forces cannot reach.” Then the Russians “move in. They destroy territory. They occupy it.” The “disparity in the quality and quantity of artillery” has put Ukraine at “a distinct disadvantage.”
A Ukrainian military adviser told the Guardian earlier this month: “If we get 60” systems “then the Russians will lose all ability to advance anywhere, they will be stopped dead in their tracks. If we get 40 they will advance, albeit very slowly with heavy casualties; with 20 they will continue to advance with higher casualties than now.”
And how many rocket systems has the U.S., the world’s premiere military power, offered so far? Four. And these launchers, which the Biden Administration announced on June 1, won’t reach the battlefield with trained crews until roughly the end of the month, U.S. defense officials have estimated. The Brits and Germans have offered their own rocket systems—but only three apiece.
As Sen. Portman noted, the U.S. is also withholding rockets with the longest range. The ostensible reason is that the Biden Team worries about Ukrainians striking into Russian territory. But the Ukrainians have promised only to defend their sovereign land, and withholding the weapons suggests we don’t trust them.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Ukraine ping
The Wall Street Journal editorial belatedly begins to notice that Moscow Joe is deliberately going slow on weapons deliveries that might equalize the 10 to 1 artillery advantage the Russians currently enjoy. Putin’s disbursement of cash to Biden through his shell company Burisma to Biden’s son has paid off a million-fold. Bribes are like stock investments. Often times, it’s the long shots that prove the most lucrative. While you don’t always get what you pay for, sometimes the results are imaginably rich. Biden might not be good for much, but he’s good at delivering for his constituents, defined as the people who hand him cold, hard cash. The senator from MBNA has gone international.
“The U.S. is also withholding rockets with the longest range. The ostensible reason is that the Biden Team worries about Ukrainians striking into Russian territory. But the Ukrainians have promised only to defend their sovereign land, and withholding the weapons suggests we don’t trust them.”
We don’t, because they already announced their target #1 for long range weapons is the Crimea bridge.
I don’t think Joe would have done anything if Boris wasn’t leading.
Joe tries not to look like he is on Moscow’s side while he slow walks weapons after holding up the weapon shipments Trump had scheduled.
And Joe wants to portray himself as the leader of the west. But he also wants to deliver for Russia which has paid him and Hunter.
I think the Pentagon is behind Ukraine, but Joe’s loyalty is split.
More GLOBALIST pounding of their WAR DRUMS.
Where’s the rockets? Okay. Where’s the $46.2 billion of our money that Jobama gave them? Answer; most of it is or will soon be in the DC criminals pockets!
Begging for Russian nukes, eh? Not smart.
I think Ukraine will blow the Crimea bridge before long whether they get the rockets or not.
Russia has poured billions into that bridge and blowing it would be a huge humiliation for Putin. And it would reduce the arms flow into Crimea and lessen the chance Russia can take Odessa.
Check on EBay.
Next week: Where are the tactical nuclear weapons?
Better question: WHY are there rockets for the Ukraine?
The Ukraine is NOT America’s friend. It is also not our problem, and neither are its problems ours.
Lol...Rob Portman is a RINO lame duck looking for a soft defense contractor cushion to land on.
Who pays you to post this drivel?
Targeting that would make a lot of sense but the Ukraine may not a\have the capability to get bombers there and past Russian air defenses.
Now if they could get a truck bomb up onto to the middle span....
Burisma is a private Ukrainian company headquartered in Kiev and owned by a Ukrainian oligarch.
What does Putin have to do with it?
I understand the bridge is heavily guarded. I doubt Ukraine could get a truck bomb on it. And the drivers of such a bomb would be on a suicide mission. But where there’s a will there is a way.
Ukraine is not devoid of technology.
Reports were that Ukraine got all the technical reports on the bridge including what areas were landslide risks. If they know the weak points they might be able to take it out.
And I think Russia is hoping to sell stolen Ukrainian wheat through the port of WhatsLeftofMariupol. That means ships passing under that bridge.
At this point, Russia has a landbridge to Crimea. The bridge isnt a big deal anymore.
Ukraine ping
As another Wall Street Journal editorial points out, only 10% of the $40b consists of weaponry. The rest of it is humanitarian supplies and fuel. And of the $4b committed, only $2b has been delivered.
I haven’t delved deeply into the numbers, but my eyeball estimate is that relative to economic size, Poland and the Baltic states have delivered 10x as much weaponry to Ukraine as the US. Biden trumpets big dollar amounts, much of which is humanitarian aid other countries deliver but don’t bother announcing. But the next six countries (including Canada, the UK and Norway) which are 1/4 the size of the US economy combined, have delivered almost 2x the weaponry Biden has sent over. They don’t pre-announce then send over 6 months. They announce as they send. Not dollars. Tubes. Tanks. Artillery rounds.
Biden might be stupid and incompetent at delivering good things for the voters as a whole. But he’s got ample reserves of low cunning. He understands how to dress up a turd so it looks presentable. That’s not a turd - it’s chocolate pudding.
His shtick is to dress up $40b as the amount delivered to Ukraine. The reality is $2b, a good chunk of which is 100+ artillery tubes, 1/15 of the number Ukraine had operating before running out of Warsaw Pact ammo. In essence 100 American howitzers are supposed to fill the role of 1500 out-of-commission Ukrainian guns.
Good point!
“We don’t, because they already announced their target #1 for long range weapons is the Crimea bridge.”
Which is in Ukraine.
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