CNN military analyst Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (ret.) explains the complications of Ukraine's request for hundreds of pieces of heavy weaponry.
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Retired general says Ukraine’s arms request is ‘a really big ask’
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There is a store where supplies of tanks and other stuff can be taken from: the US surplus storage. In case of tanks, the M1 abrams is not optimal but this is not a new request as Zelensky asked for 200 modern western tanks, in his tour to various countries, almost a year ago and so arrangements could and should have been made long ago already to see that the for this situation and terrain better suited tank, the Leopard 2, could be delivered from a consortium of countries and training could and should have started long ago too.
WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU COULD GO THERE AND FIGHT. THERE IS “SHORTAGE” OF ENTHUSIASM ON THE FRONTLINE. BRING YOUR TANKS, YOUR FAMILLY AND FRIENDS; PEOPLE DIE AT WAR, SURE, BUT IT IS SO “FUN” (????). THIS IS NOT A UKRAINIANS WAR THIS IS A WAR FOR US. HEGEMONY. BUT TO “COWARD”(???) TO GO FIGHT; RUSSIA IS NOT IRAK, OR LIBYA, OR YEMEN, OR YUGOSLAVIA, OR CUBA, OR GUATEMALA, OR HAITI, OR PALESTINE, OR SYRIA, OR NON-NUCLEAR JAPAN… STOP USING THE UKRAINIANS, GO AND TRY THE RUSSIAN DIRECTLY… COWARDS!!! #FREEJULIANASSANGE!!!
And to the idiots who claim Abrams tanks can’t be used in Ukraine because of rain. STFU. You are talking out your a$$. Poland, which is Ukraine’s next door neighbor, is phasing out all their tanks for Abrams.
@Martin Howard No, Bradley IFVs were highly used in Iraq in the 2000s, this information is easy to access. They were upgraded at some point in between.
@Yellow Tunes A lot of bold assertions you made there. Who said that NATO supplied tanks won’t be as part of combined arms operations?? Ukraine has already been deploying this with the modest equipment they have, such as the counter offensives in Kharkiv oblast. Wise up. Secondly you really need to keep up to date with current events as you are ten months behind the times. Why do you think Britain, USA, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands are training tens of thousands of Ukrainian enlisted men and women?? Is this your example of poorly trained is it? Show me a training package, module or standard that is superior to render these training exercises in Britain and Germany poorly trained?? Please get with the program for your own benefit.
I think we need to send tanks and a lot of them now. Delays mean more russian consolidation and more Ukranian casualties.
Where’s the training…logistics and support for those tanks going to come from then? Lol just drop the tanks off and say k bye! Lol
Well, the person asking said what he believe he needs for his mission. The world has to then see if it is possible. They are in hell so if it sounds “demanding” that’s the reason. We are not children, how they ask is pretty irrelevant.
My guess is that they are asking for more than what they need knowing they will only get a portion of it.
@hymns4ever really? get a ruler and see the length of border with ruzzia. Ukraine have over 1k of own tanks (probably less). poor USA with whole world can’t find 300 tanks? probably legends about their power is a bit overrated. I know, they can’t give it away because it’s not rust eaten enough to write off as garbage. then they would hurry up and deliver whole batch, as we already seen, had to throw some batches right to dumpster so rotten it was.
what about NATO soldiers? Since this is a proxy war. Why ukrainians would die for the West hegemony. More broken weapons, more death and destruction in Ukraine. But Biden “the senile” said US will support this war to the “last ukrainians”.. And what about you guys who love Ukraine and war so much; bring your enthusiasm to the front line… #GIVEPEACEACHANCE!!! #FREEJULIANASSANGE!!!
This should have already been anticipated by the government. Make a decision and move your feet.
annihilat russia
@Sharon T 👍🎯 and LIQUIDATE Wagner Group
@Aaron Lowe China? Really?
Yes it is “a big ask”. Yet it is also a reasonable ask as well. He did not say give us everything immediately. He says if you give us this we can launch offensives to recapture our lost territory. With that said. At some point Ukraine needs to transition away from Russian tech such as it mostly uses to western tech to maintain any real advantage given Russia’s numerical superiority. After all western military systems are superior to Russian ones being developed specifically to offset what would have been a numerical Soviet advantage in a war between NATO and the USSR. So the sooner Ukraine begins this transition the better.
The US and NATO need to begin the transition to further equip Ukraine with the armaments required to defeat Russian forces. Russia will never consider peace unless it faces the reality it can not win. The West stating they will fulfill the ask = will show Russia any hope of winning is long gone. 🤔
@Amanda Thurston dream on. You need quantity, especially since russia is barely using its army might.
@Marko Bucevic Like I said, one tank per million in nato, do the math. That is MORE than even Ukraine is asking for.
Ukraine not only needs the tanks , YOU will need to go as well to drive it🤣
“After all western military systems are superior to Russian ones being developed specifically to offset what would have been a numerical Soviet advantage in a war between NATO and the USSR.” COULD YOU DEVELOP THIS POINT? HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT? THE MILITARY SUPERIORITY IS BASED ON WINNING THE WAR.. WHAT WAS THE LAST “ATTRITION” WAR THE “WEST” HAVE WON?
“The US and NATO need to begin the transition to further equip Ukraine with the armaments required to defeat Russian forces.” RUSSIA IS NOT CUBA, OR VENEZUELA, OR YEMEN, OR PALESTINE, OR IRAK, OR AFGHANISTAN, OR SYRIA, OR LYBIA, OR YUGOSLAVIA, OR THE NON-NUCLEAR JAPAN. YOU DON’T “DEFEAT” A NUCLEAR POWER ON AN “ATTRITION” WAR… AND AM NOT SURE WESTERNS ARMY WOULD DEFEAT RUSSIA IN A “REGULAR WAR”; SPECIALLY ON IT’S OWN LAND… (LOOK AT THE WORLD MAP)
MORE WEAPONS, MORE WAR, MORE DEATH OF UKRAINIANS, MORE DESTRUCTION OF THE COUNTRY, MORE DESTRUCTION IN EUROPE (NOT IN USA!!??!!). #GIVEPEACEACHANCE!!! #FREEJULIANASSANGE!!!
The problem is while the West contemplates how to and to what extent step up military support the Ukrainians are incurring big losses…both man and machinery. There is no reason to believe an incremental approach to escalation will be effective against an ex-superpower still flush with massive military industrial capacity.
Don’t let it be a big ask.
Let’s get this done!!!!!!!
@NB Must be tiring not working, trolling and spreading misinformation all day.
@Electric Gigolo Ukraine losing is misinformation? Riiiight
@Electric Gigolo anybody who tosses around the legacy media term “misinformation” is hopelessly lost. What does that even mean? 🤣
YEAH LET GET THIS DONE!!! YOU & FRIENDS & FAMILY DRIVE THE LEOPARS & THE BRADLEY TO THE FRONTLINE!!! PEOPLE DIE AT WAR BUT IT IS SO FUN! YOU’LL SEE; COME AND JOIN THE FUN!!! COWARD!!! #FREEJULIANASSANGE!!!
@NB That’s two responses to the same text based beatdown I just gave you. You are totally triggered. 😭
It really isn’t a big ask. 300 Tanks? Russia has lost more than 1600 tanks (these are only the visually confirmed tanks lost) since the start of the invasion. So sending the Ukrainians 300 really is just going to level the playing field a bit. This is large, industrial-scale warfare and we should by now be used to the material requirements such a conflict simply has. Ukraine’s request is pretty reasonable, and there are enough tanks in storage in Nato countries (currently not doing anything) to fulfil that requirement multiple times over. It’s really not a question if we can do it, but rather a question if we have the political will to do it.
Ukrainians are dying, what are we waiting for?????
Ps: I’m not shiting on the US here specifically, I’m German and honestly my government is asleep at the wheel when it comes to Ukraine.
Go give them the ones we left in Afghanistan
Ever think the Ukrainian government is at least partially responsible for this? I don’t see either country as innocent. The only innocence is the civilians killed in Ukraine.
It’s a big request not only because of the amount of tanks, but also because it is practically impossible to expect one/several NATO governments to agree to donate these tanks, ship the tanks to Ukraine, and somehow miraculously train 1000+ soldiers/mechanics/etc. to use the vehicles properly by Feb. 23rd –> This is impossible and the Ukrainian general is saying this for rhetorical/political reasons
@Surefruit I agree that the timing is impossible. If we start now. If we would have started two months ago it could have been done. If we would have started May last year, when we should have started, those tanks would have been in Ukraine for the autum offensive. That could have changed the whole corse of the war. Our reluctance to supply Ukraine with the Weapons they need is what prolongs this war and increases Ukrainian casualties. They pay in blood because we are unwilling to pay in treasure.
Thank you!
For the general to say it’s a big ask to get tanks and proper training on them by late February is a bit disingenuous. It’s not Ukraine’s fault that they’ve been asking for these things for about a year and only just now are Western nations finally willing to provide the high end equipment.
Our leaders have been procrastinating and now the term paper is due ‘like, tomorrow. OMG’.
Well, it seems we’ve now discovered the reason Ukraine has been clamoring for more weapons since the beginning of this war – obviously they need to be trained. Who did these leaders think didn’t know that, besides themselves…
No commander ever thinks he/she has enough to fight with.
Shut up man if you’re people die it can’t be enough
Assuming that Gen. Zelewski is rational, I think his strategy is to ask big, and work with what he receives.
HE’S BEEN ASKING FOR HELP FOR A YEAR NOW AND GOT JACK S##T TO DO THE JOB PROPERLY
YEAH, NOTHING!!! WHAT ABOUT YOU DRIVE THE LEOPARS, YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS DRIVE THE BRADLEYS AND THE LECLERCS TO THE FRONTLINE . ZELINSKI (PANAMAPAPERS) NEED YOU THERE. COMON!! YOU CAN ‘T DO THE JOB PROPERLY FROM YOUR KEYBOARDS. YOU COWARD!!!!!! #FREEJULIANASSANGE!!!!
Reminds me of an old saying …”The best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago, … the second best time is NOW!”
Seems to me like Ukraine is totally capable of assimilating new weapon systems and training their troops to operate them. They already have multiple different platforms from the West in service including some modern sophisticated stuff (e.g. PzH-2000, M-777, NASAMS, HIMARS, M-270, Gepard … the list goes on).
They were even able to fix up a solution to firing HARM missiles from old MiG-29s … what can be so hard in training experienced Tank Crew to drive a shoot a different kind of tank?
It only took a couple of Months from the first offer of PzH-2000 to the first bunch of shells to rain down on Russian positions.
NATO would need to give up only one in ten of their Leopards … most of which have already been offered if Germany would allow the transfer (Spain, Poland etc etc) … if they arrived in country it would be weeks rather than Months to re-equip an experienced Armoured Brigade already well versed in Armoured Warfare.
The same goes for the IFVs .. the US has hundreds of surplus M-2 Bradley’s and the UK and Germany are currently replacing their Warriors and Marders … finding 600 is not really a tall order.
Most of these chassis are in reserve or slated for replacement anyway … there is no real capital cost in their transfer … what else do we plan to do with them?
“Where there is a will there is a Way” … seems we just lack the Will
It isn’t that “general” Zelenskyy asked for them today and expects them tomorrow, it’s that the Ukrainians have been asking for IFVs, tanks, air defense, and AirPower for months now and the west has been dragging their feet. Those Germans in particular are just Nazis defending new Nazis.
It’s time to make the decision and start sending equipment continuously because one thing that Russia will be able to do is sustain the pace for months to come. This means more Ukrainian soldiers die, it means more Ukrainian civilians die. All while the west is discussing what to send and when. Time for discussion is over.
Either you want a USSR 2.0 which WILL happen if Ukraine is taken (Belarus will be absorbed as well) or it won’t if the western powers finally make a determination to stop licking PUTIN’S butthole and deliver weapons to fight him.
It would have been a big ask a year ago. We’ve had a year to sort this out
He did not want the package BY the 23rd. He said get us this package and we can move the lines back to where they were on Feb 23rd. And yes, as most have posted, the tanks should have been delivered long ago.
ya, I had to rewatch that part twice to make sure I heard right…thye are kinda misrepresenting what the Ukrainians said.
He’s missing the point: it’s not that this a big ask; it’s this is what’s needed to defend Ukraine. We also have @ 1,600 m198 howitzers & could supply 500.
As the General noted, modern 4th generation tanks that are delivered today will probably not have fully trained crews until ? March when the rains and soft ground show up on the battlefield. But I think the Ukrainians have shown talent for quick learning. An I am sure they would not be sending rookies to school. When they arrive at school they will have more combat experience in tanks than the whole instructor corps. Then just need to master the weapons and comm systems. Kind of like a fighter pilot transitioning to a new aircraft. The pilot already knows how to fly and fight. It is a matter of mastering the new systems.
Even now, it is likely that modern weapons delivered by the end of Feb will not see action until the Spring thaw is gone, and the fields are dry. That means sometime in late May is the first real opportunity to employ and blitz type of attack. And that is the only way Ukraine can make big gains without unacceptable losses to their smaller but higher quality force. SEND THEM NOW GET THEM READY FOR MAY 23. After that the Russian draft will attain and train a very large number of new soldiers to feed into the battle. Maybe up to 500,000 new soldiers. Time is not on the side of the Ukraine and the free world. Particularly free Europe!