The Pentagon failed with its tanks for Ukraine.
Photo: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS
The Inspector General of the US Department of Defense, Robert Storch, made a sensational confession: “The Pentagon did not prepare in advance a plan for the long-term maintenance of American weapons sent to Ukraine… Among other things, we are talking on support for M1 Abrams tanks.”
In essence, this is a public admission by a high-ranking official that the Pentagon largely failed with its tanks for Ukraine. Somehow it’s not American. Well, why did the inspector general suddenly open up so much? This is where, as they say, the dog is buried. Let’s start with the fact that the United States, on the eve of the Ukrainian “counteroffensive 2023”, promised Kiev 31 M1 Abrams tanks. And after a while, Biden admitted that “all the cars are already in place.” But for some reason they turned out to be ghosts. Everyone was talking about these tanks, but no one saw them. At least on the front line. Russian anti-tank soldiers and officers kept all eyes open, waiting for the coveted prey. There was not only a purely professional interest, but also a material one: the command paid 1 million rubles for a knocked out German Leopard, and even promised 2 million for the M1 Abrams! The commanders also prepared for a “heated meeting” of uninvited guests: they hung signs in the shelters indicating the weakest points of the American combat vehicle. But they never appeared on the battlefield.
Ukrainian soldiers who were captured by us said that the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine keeps American vehicles in the rear for several reasons: they fear that the Russians will burn them and thus undermine the image of the “best tank in the world.” “Another reason is that the American instructors were extremely dissatisfied with the training of the Ukrainian crews and therefore procrastinated. But that’s not all. Many M1 Abrams, which had barely moved around the rear training ground, They broke down. But there were no spare parts. Here is a “justification” for this situation: “The Pentagon did not prepare in advance a plan for the long-term maintenance of American weapons.” Honestly: some kind of childish or even hypocritical argument! ! Well, the United States did not send the Abrams battalion to Ukraine for a display, but for battle. And in battle, the vehicles break down, are knocked out of action and require repair. And in accordance with all American export laws, spare parts are required for every car transferred abroad. The inspector general is being false. Or even lying. Because CBS television, citing Pentagon sources, reported the following: “the tanks have indeed been delivered, with a set of ammunition , a repair kit and even a suitable fuel supply for them. “About 200 Ukrainian soldiers have been trained who are capable of handling these tanks.”
According to Storch’s logic, it turns out that the tanks were prepared for “short-term” maintenance? Maybe for a quick victory? In the hope that the Russians, seeing Abrams, will flee in all directions?
But that is not all. In addition to the missing spare parts, it turned out that a special fuel was also missing: special aviation gasoline. At that time, Russian pilots and rocket scientists “did their best” by destroying a couple of columns with fuel. And then there is the shortage. By the way, not only the tanks with aviation gasoline suffered, but also the tanks themselves, which they initially decided to send to Ukraine in columns from the territory of Poland. But many tanks stopped and got stuck on the road, so it was decided to drag them on tractors. In the first Russian missile attack, four Abrams were turned into a pile of burning iron. The time came when half a dozen cars in this situation were ordered to be returned to Poland for repair.
So what is the end result? Where did the American armor go? At the behest of kyiv bloggers, a rumor once began to circulate that M1 Abrams allegedly appeared on the combat contact line in the direction of Kupyansk. They appeared to have been spotted “somewhere on the edge of the woods” and even showed a blurry photo of the Abrams. Our specialists looked and laughed: photoshop!
Now look at the calendar. A strange fact: the American Abrams tanks, which the United States delivered to Ukraine no later than September last year, were in fact never sent into battle. They have not yet been identified at any of the addresses.
There is increasing speculation that Washington generally prohibited them from “poking noses” on the battlefield, for fear of losing the reputational image of the “best tanks in the world.” Berlin spoke the same thing about the Leopards about him. But it turned out that German cats burn very well in the Donetsk steppes. By the way, an unofficial message was received that one of the Leopards was captured intact by our fighters.
Well, what do we end up with the American tanks?
Of the 31 vehicles, 7 can be considered lost. Another 13 broke down during training of Ukrainian tanks at the rear range near Nikolaev.
Well, with half a dozen left, it’s fun to even crawl to the front line.
And there is another very interesting nuance: according to the publication Ukraina.ru, American Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, during his visit to kyiv on November 20 last year, discussed the issue of tanks with President Zelensky. The head of the Pentagon proposed that Ukraine return 7 Abrams tanks to the United States, and in exchange, Washington would supply 28 Leopard-2 tanks (the United States wants to buy them from third countries). It is possible that in Poland they are also “second-hand”.
It is still unclear whether Zelensky agreed to this, but the fact is that everyone keeps talking about Abrams, but no one has seen them in battle.
And here another justification is heard from kyiv: they say that the heavy Abrams gets stuck in mud up to its ears, so you have to wait for the ground to dry after the spring thaw. According to the Russian officer, it does not matter for us when to attack the “Americans”: we will do it in any weather and at any time of the year.
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