Why the New Equipment Being Supplied Ukraine Is Russia's Worst Nightmare

It's not just the quality and quantity of new western armaments being supplied to Ukraine that is newsworthy, it is that western/civilized support for Ukraine is continuing at an unprecedented level. 

And at the same time, ostensible allies of Russia like Iran and Serbia are issuing cautious statements about Ukraine's territorial integrity. Whatever additional convicts and old men and young boys the Kremlin can round up to send to the slaughter in Ukraine pales by comparison and raises questions about this "special operation's" viability. JL

Mark Sumner reports in Daily Kos:

Before this list of what’s been pledged to Ukraine this week, consider: It’s already out of date. Because new announcements are rolling out in what might be called a Zerg rush of good news. Estonia's package is greater than 1% of their national GDP. Those 19 CAESAR artillery pieces Denmark is handing over? That would be all the SPGs that Demark owns. Yesterday was not even the big day - it’s today all the major announcements are expected. That’s when we’ll get final tallies on everything promised to Ukraine, along with word on whether countries that want to send heavy tanks will send heavy tanks. Ukraine’s support in the West Just. Will. Not. Go. Away.

There have been many points in the last year where Russian dictator Vladimir Putin had to be pulling out what remains of his carefully numbered hairs. There was Ukraine’s failure to fold in the opening days of the invasion. The loss of the area around Kyiv. The massive 12,000 square kilometers liberated by Ukraine in the Kharkiv counteroffensive. The humiliating withdrawal of Russian forces from Kherson. The failure of Republicans to secure the Senate in a red wave.

Hey, does anyone remember that at the outset of this disaster, 50% of all the natural gas used in Europe came from Russia? You better bet Putin’s oligarch pals do. And they have to be thrilled with the job he’s done in wiping out their bank accounts. 

But what’s happening in Europe right now might be the capstone for his despair. In spite of a year of terrorizing and torture, in spite of enough nuclear threats to populate a thousand Tom Clancy novels, in spite of feeding untrained Russian soldiers wholesale into a meat-grinder for a “victory” over an area the size of a Walmart parking lot … Ukraine’s support in the West Just. Will. Not. Go. Away.

By now, Russia expected Europe to be fretting about the cost of keeping their homes warm, the U.S. to be launching investigations into Zelenskyy’s laptop, and Ukraine’s army to be running on fumes. Instead, no matter what false claims Wagner may be making, Ukraine is having a stellar week—a week that sends a signal not just to Putin, but to China and to anyone else who thinks anything good can come from invasion.

Before I even post this list of what’s been pledged to Ukraine this week, here’s something to consider: It’s already out of date. That’s because new announcements are rolling out today in what might be called a Zerg rush of good news. Also worth noting is that today is not even the big day—it’s tomorrow that all the major announcements were expected. That’s when we’ll likely get final tallies on everything promised to Ukraine, along with word on whether countries that want to send heavy tanks will be sending heavy tanks.

For now …

NEW ASSISTANCE PROMISED TO UKRAINE

Canada	200	Senator multipurpose vehicles
Czech Republic	30	152 mm SpGH DANA self-propelled gun
Denmark	19	CAESAR self-propelled howitzers
	3	IRIS-T air defense batteries
Estonia	10	FH70 towed howitzers
	10	D30 towed howitzers
France	40	AMX-10rc armored fighting vehicles
	??	ACMAT Bastion armored personnel carriers
Germany	40	Marder infantry fighting vehicles
	1	Patriot air defense system
Italy	1	SAMP/T air defense system
Poland	14	Leopard 2 main battle tanks*
United Kingdom	14	Challenger 2 main battle tanks
	30	AS90 “Braveheart” self-propelled howitzers
	200	APCs / IFVs (not yet specified)
	600	Brimstone 2 advanced anti-tank missiles
United States	100	Bradley armored fighting vehicles
	100	Stryker armored personnel carriers
	250	M113 armored personnel carriers
	138	HMMWV multipurpose vehicles
	36	M119 105mm towed howitzer
	1	Patriot air defense system
	6	NASAMS air defense batteries

That barely scratches it. It leaves out drones. It leaves out ammunition (including missiles ranging up to 150 km). It even leaves out helicopters. Expect a more complete list soon. 

Also, writing it up this way diminishes the contribution that some of these nations are making. The latest package from Estonia includes far more than what appears above. In fact, this single package is greater than 1% of their national GDP. Not their military budget. Their GDP. So, yeah, that’s stepping up. Those 19 CAESAR artillery pieces Denmark is handing over? That would be all the SPGs that Demark owns. 

People are going to the well on this one. 

The resulting list of equipment is—and there can be no doubt about this—a logistical nightmare. This is equipment from every time and place and sorting it into coherent companies that can be supplied and maintained is going to take some careful planning and not a small amount of training. When Ukraine comes out of this war, it will be able to teach Walmart and FedEx about moving things around and getting them to the right place.