Truth bomb by OVD: Ukraine update and Tank talk

 Hey Everyone,

  I hope you all settled back into your routines and are loving life. The major rains have stopped here and the PS5 rocks. I gave my PS4 to a fellow veteran that was considering a PS5 but wasn't sure about the PS system. He'll have a few months and is already loving it. I've been working on cutting down on smoking, It's hard but I'm making progress. I bought more food this month but am already broke again. So...lets talk about Ukraine....

  The war hasn't changed much as the Southern front is all mud and the north is a WWI trench war. The Russians are slowly pushing around Bakhmut, but it's costing them dearly in troops and vehicles. They are losing an average of 500 men there per day. The Ukrainians about 100 a day. Those are my numbers by looking at many sources and averaging them out minus propaganda numbers. The Ukrainian numbers are close. They are surprisingly reliable as most nations spin numbers to look better. Russia is the opposite. They always lie and the difference between reality numbers and Russian numbers is extreme. I will do a post about analysis soon so you all can see and understand things for yourselves. It won't make you an expert but it will make you know what an expert is and how to easily spot and call out propaganda and lies. 

  The only reason the Ukrainians haven't started their counter attacks yet are simple. They don't have enough operational tanks. The also needed IFV's(Infantry Fighting Vehicles) but they are getting them in numbers now. So the issue is tanks. The three Tanks the west has to offer are the American M1 Abrams, the British Challenger II and the German Leopard II. They are all way better than anything the Russians have. The best fit would be the German Leopard II's as Germany can manufacture them and parts fast, with a short supply line. Also it would make them much easier to integrate into NATO forces because most  NATO countries use Leopard II's. Even Canada. The problem with the M1 Abrams is it's already a logistical nightmare for parts and new tanks but the tank runs on jet fuel. A whole new, very combustible supply line. Leopard II and Challenger II's both run on Deiseal. That already has supply lines running in Ukraine. The issue with the Challenger II is it's gun. It's rifled so it can shoot one type of round that is basically a sticky bomb. It can fire NATO fin stabilized rounds, but not as well as a smooth bore. The smooth bore gives you access to all of NATO, American, German and Japanese rounds. So for many reasons the Leopard is the best choice. Poland and Finland are ready to give them 10-12 each, others saying they will follow suit. However....

   Germany is pussy footing around about giving or giving permission to other country's to give to Ukraine. Meanwhile the UK is already sending 10 Challenger II's. I think we should have other countries buy them from the UK and give them to Ukraine. Fuck the Germans. lets make the Challenger the Main Battle Tank of the European Union and the UK. The could make a model with a smooth bored gun and no one would buy German tanks anymore. They are proving to be bad allies and cowards. We should move our bases out of Germany to Poland. They are the real regional powerhouse and have plenty of Leopard II's they want to give but can't...they should talk to the brit's and buy modified Challenger II's SB(Smooth Bore)'s and watch the German war economy crash. As it should, their blocking this move shows they are not a reliable ally. They are still more worried about Putler than helping Europe stop him...and making a ton of cash in the long run. This could save the British economy too and help it...unBrexit to some degree. 

  The other factor is the Russians are up to something. The Ukrainians don't want to commit until they know what it is and that they can respond and still do their own attack.  My opinion is an attack from the North at Kiev. Which is stupid and would fail epically. If Belarus joins in, then expect revolution there. Russia doesn't have the man power to occupy Belarus and fight Ukraine. The Ukrainians have turned Northern Ukraine into a giant kill zone. The Russians and Belarusians would be slaughtered. That alone could get Putler shown "Da Vindow". And that(if the ground freezes enough) with tanks would be go time for the Ukrainian counter attacks. Again, my opinion is that will be in the north. Busting through Russian lines with IFV's and Light Armored vehicles and what ever tanks they have and bum rush the Russians swing east and then south taking out ALL their supply lines and encircling the Majority of the Russian Army and all the Wagner group. It will be very Mad Maxx with the assortment of IFV's and LAV's . It would also turn Crimea into a mop up operation. That's what I'd do...but I'd make everyone think I was attacking south first. And if things change you could swap plans...and attack south cutting off Crimea from most supplies. But that expands the trench line to the coast. And Russia will keep throwing bodies at it and destroy everything they touch. That's how they do war. Putler could also go for Kharkiv again but we all know he could never take that city. They took on the best the Russians had and held. They would eat up a conscript army. Again though...the west needs to pick a Main Battle Tank and if the Germans are going to be spineless then lets get the Challenger II SB out the door and heading to Ukraine and other interested NATO counties. What if the German did that if Poland was attacked? Or any of the Baltic Nations? Or Scandinavian? The M1 Abrams is just to expensive and has a huge, dangerous supply line. We are looking at making it a Hybrid deasil electric. Then everyone will want them. Until then...they are to pricey and in the same class as the Leopard II's and Challenger II's. And Jet fuel isn't cheap or easy to make/ship. It's why other Nations in NATO don't buy them. They all know this, so the German's saying why not send them Abrams instead is mockingly stupid. The European system is build around the Leopard II right now...stopping it is madness and costing Ukrainian lives everyday. Civilian lives. I don't know what the Germans are thinking but this will cost them. End rant. 

Otto Von Danger

SGT/USMC and Artist at large

Semper Fidelis