Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Scrounging for Tanks for Ukraine, Europe's Armies Come Up Short (Evening Comedy Hour)
The New York Times via Yahoo ^ | February 28th, 2023 | Erika Solomon, Steven Erlanger and Christopher F. Schuetze

Posted on 02/28/2023 5:45:11 PM PST by Mariner

BERLIN — Nearly a month after Berlin gave European allies permission to send German-made tanks to Ukraine, the flow of tanks so many leaders vowed would follow seems more like a trickle.

Some nations have discovered that the tanks in their armory don’t actually work or lack spare parts. Political leaders have encountered unanticipated resistance within their own coalitions, and even from their defense ministries. And some armies had to pull trainers out of retirement to teach Ukrainian soldiers how to use old-model tanks.

The struggle to provide Leopard tanks to an embattled Ukraine is just the most glaring manifestation of a reality Europe has long ignored: Believing that large-scale land war was a thing of the past and basking in the thaw of the Cold War, nations chronically underfunded their militaries. When Russia launched the largest land war on the continent since World War II, they were woefully unprepared.

Hints of the problem have surfaced repeatedly since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, through shortages of weapons and ammunition. But now, as Germany and its allies struggled for weeks to scrape together enough Leopard 2s to fill two battalions of tanks — 62 vehicles in total — the extent of their quandary has become even clearer.

(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: neverwasourwar; notourwar; ukrainecorruption; wontbeourwarnextyear; zelenskyworshippers
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-39 next last
Yep, two tank battalions.

Little more than political posturing.

If Ukraine has a successful offensive this spring (I doubt it) these tanks will have little to do with it.

“The trend across the board in European armies has been cutting, cutting, cutting,” said Christian Mölling, a defense expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations. “But at the end of the day, many were on the same track as Germany: War is a theoretical thing. So we have theoretical tanks.”

ADD TO THAT THEORETICAL 155mm AMMO.

1 posted on 02/28/2023 5:45:11 PM PST by Mariner
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Mariner

What do they need more tanks for? I just read that it’s all over. The Ukies won.


2 posted on 02/28/2023 5:46:57 PM PST by FlingWingFlyer (America! Where getting elected is the same thing as hitting the lottery.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mariner

That’s what the German Rhetoric and anti war stuff was about from Germany. No, they are not anti war, they are anti exposure.
None of these NATO nations were actually pulling their weight. They expected the average American working person to pay the bills for their socialist policies by providing for our Military to protect them. Now, it’s embarrassing to be exposed.

Yes, once again Trump was right. The Germans laughed at him when he called them out. Russia has been betrayed from within by her own people who took the Rubbles and didn’t maintain, make, or repair the equipment. The United States was betrayed by NATO members who did the same.

Maybe the average American has more in common with the average Russian citizen than we think.


3 posted on 02/28/2023 5:57:05 PM PST by Pete Dovgan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Pete Dovgan

LAUGHING STOCK Germany’s soldiers forced to use BROOMSTICK for a gun as Donald Trump blasts Angela Merkel over NATO spending

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6743568/germany-soldiers-broomsticks-nato-donald-trump-angela-merkel-defence-spending/


4 posted on 02/28/2023 6:10:47 PM PST by qaz123
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Mariner

At the end of the day the ukes will never win. And if a miracle occurs WE will pay to rebuild lol a totally destroyed country.
Weve spent what a 5th of a trillion $s so far to protect the GD ukes borders while our border....


5 posted on 02/28/2023 6:12:59 PM PST by Harpotoo (Being a socialist is a lot easier than having to WORK like the rest of US:-))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mariner

6 posted on 02/28/2023 6:19:39 PM PST by piroque ("When the SHTF I'm gonna hunker down until all those idiots kill each other. " )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mariner

Western Europe has been relying of America to defend them. It took President Trump to TRY to make them pay their fair share for NATO and they screamed like little girls. They have spent their money on Socialist policies and The Green Agenda, all leaving them wanting and defenseless. Meanwhile, as the US taxpayers funded their defense, they sucked up Russian energy via pipelines. Something is very wrong with all of this. The US - BIDEN - made a BIG mistake promoting and sponsoring this Ukraine war with Russia.


7 posted on 02/28/2023 6:27:16 PM PST by Dapper 26
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: qaz123

8 posted on 02/28/2023 6:29:13 PM PST by piroque ("When the SHTF I'm gonna hunker down until all those idiots kill each other. " )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: piroque

She’ll shoot her eye out there


9 posted on 02/28/2023 6:31:04 PM PST by xp38
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: piroque

That’ll learn ya


10 posted on 02/28/2023 6:35:32 PM PST by qaz123
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: piroque

And it’s not even a sniper rifle.


11 posted on 02/28/2023 6:36:34 PM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: piroque

She’ll be wearing an eyepatch pretty soon.


12 posted on 02/28/2023 6:38:24 PM PST by dynachrome (“We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the US economy.” Rand Paul)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: piroque

If she did shoot, how long did she have a shiner?


13 posted on 02/28/2023 6:39:24 PM PST by Tench_Coxe
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Mariner

Thread title is correct, this is the evening comedy hour, not only from the article content, but some of the posts as well, especially the sniper chick about to get a black eye or popped eye ball.

Funny as hell. The European armies, many with women defense ministers, have tanks that don’t work or have parts to get them going. Sure is a good thing we don’t have any women in military positions of power, such as sec of the Army. /sarc/


14 posted on 02/28/2023 6:54:29 PM PST by redfreedom (You can vote your way into socialism, but you may have to shoot your way out.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Pete Dovgan

Poland is either at or soon to be at 4%.

During the 2014 summit, all NATO members agreed to spend at least 2% of their GDPs on defense by 2025. In 2017, only four nations met the threshold: The United States (3.6%), Greece (2.4%), the United Kingdom (2.1%), and Poland (2.0%). However, by 2021, ten countries were meeting the percentage target.

Top 10 NATO Countries with the Highest Defense Expenditures (by % of 2021 GDP)

Greece — 3.82%
United States — 3.52%
Croatia — 2.79%
United Kingdom — 2.29%
Estonia — 2.28%
Latvia — 2.27%
Poland — 2.10%
Lithuania — 2.03%
Romania — 2.02%
France — 2.01%


15 posted on 02/28/2023 7:10:39 PM PST by ansel12 (NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: piroque

So what is that photo really from?


16 posted on 02/28/2023 7:13:51 PM PST by ansel12 (NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Tench_Coxe
"If she did shoot, how long did she have a shiner?"

Off subject, a friend of mine shot his rifle with the scope too close
and wound up with a perfect half circle laceration on his forehead.

17 posted on 02/28/2023 7:17:21 PM PST by chief lee runamok (Anti Socialist Derelict At Large)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Pete Dovgan
They expected the average American working person to pay the bills for their socialist policies by providing for our Military to protect them. Now, it’s embarrassing to be exposed.

They = DC deep state

Making Europe dependent on US militarily is how the USA controls them.

18 posted on 02/28/2023 7:52:11 PM PST by PGR88
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Mariner

“ Yep, two tank battalions…”
****************************************

Ruskies getting all excited about their upcoming challenging target practice.


19 posted on 02/28/2023 8:06:57 PM PST by House Atreides (I’m now ULTRA-MAGA. -PRO-MAXI)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: piroque

Congressman Crenshaw’s BEFORE THE EYEPATCH picture.


20 posted on 02/28/2023 8:09:49 PM PST by House Atreides (I’m now ULTRA-MAGA. -PRO-MAXI)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-39 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson