Western Escalation in Ukraine: Sending in Armor – But is it Too Little Too Late?

Update on Russian military operations in Ukraine for January 6, 2023:

– After over a week, the Western media continues talking about Ukraine’s HIMARS strike on assembled Russian troops;

– The focus on political optics inadvertently reveals the lack of strategic and tactical importance of this strike and highlights the lopsided nature of fighting against Ukraine;

– Russia possesses many times more means and opportunities to carry out such strikes and does so nearly daily;

– Western pundits are resorting to increasingly fantastical thinking to solve what they admit is Ukraine’s inability to defeat Russia;

– France has agreed to send an unspecified number of its aging AMX-10 RC light tanks;

– The light tanks are wheeled, have light armor, and will not be able to replace the main battle tanks Ukraine has lost over the last year of fighting;

– The US is contemplating sending Bradley infantry fighting vehicles – even less capable than France’s AMX-10 RC;

– Both Western systems will require special ammunition and maintenance provisions including shipping them to the Polish border each time they break down;

– The Western systems including future transfers of even main battle tanks do not address the real deficiency Ukraine suffers from – lack of artillery and long-range weapons that Russia has in abundance;

References:

Politico – Ukraine grinds down Russian morale with deadliest strike in the war:
https://www.politico.eu/article/ukrai…

Foreign Policy – Ukraine Needs Long-Range Firepower for Victory:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/01/04/…

France24 – Macron promises ‘first Western tanks’ for Ukraine:
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news…

French Ministry of Defence – Defence Key Figures 2021 Edition:
https://www.defense.gouv.fr/sites/def…

Washington Post – U.S. edges closer to sending armored weaponry to Ukraine:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation…

The Duran – Turkey, Syria coming together. Bolton fumes, wants Turkey out of NATO:
https://youtu.be/YjkjteDPwSQ

Al Jazeera – Turkey, Syria, Russia defence ministers hold talks in Moscow:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1…