Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
I don't see why the Hungarians and non-NATO Serbs are fans of Putin. The latter should know how Russia treats any non-allied neighbours.
It seems quite a few of the far right nationalist leaders admire Putin and Putin's domestic political methods.I'm not sure either. I suspect ethnic fraternity may play into it (look at the start of WWI with Russia supporting Serbs against the A-H empire), but outside of general history I'm pretty ignorant of the dynamics there. Hopefully someone with better insight into the regional politics/feelings etc can provide some insight?
It baffles me especially in the case of Hungary, which was willing to rise up against the USSR in 1956.
Leo1 has very little armour and no protection from even the most primitive Russian AT weapons. The reason the Leo2 was introduced was that the Leo1 did not measure up to the T-72, the very tank the Russians are using in Ukraine. I'd rather we send Ukraine the Leo2s they asked for. As I understand it, it's politics, not a lack of availability that is holding up the Leo2s for Ukraine.
If there's any European tank that's not in front line service today to send, it has to be those four hundred Challenger 1 tanks that Jordan is retiring. Let's collect those now, today, clean them up, and send those to Ukraine.... alongside three hundred Leo2s.
British Gulf War tanks may be modernized and sent to Ukraine
Rheinmetall is ready to buy Jordanian Challenger 1 tanks, bring them to Germany, refurbish and repair them, and send them to help Ukrainian ground forces.bulgarianmilitary.com
Even Canada, one of the most parsimonious military spenders in NATO scrapped their Leo1s for Leo2s a decade ago. Sending Leo1s to Ukraine when Leo2s are available is just setting up the UAF for failure and sending Ukrainians to unnecessary death.
I wish NATO would decide how they want to help Ukraine. On one hand we send the highest tech kit, such as HIMARs, GMLRS, MANPADS, MANPATS, Patriot SAMs, MQ-9 Reaper drones, and other top drawer systems. Then on the other hand we treat Ukraine like a dump for army surplus junk, like Leo1s and retired Sea Kings first produced in the 1960s.
It seems quite a few of the far right nationalist leaders admire Putin and Putin's domestic political methods.
I know. We're wondering why that's the case.
I'm not so sure. Unlike the heavier and slower Panther, the Leopard 1 sacrificed nearly all its protection from anything above auto-cannon calibre weapons for greater mobility and firepower - on the assumption that no level of protection could stop the latest HEAT rounds. As such, the Leopard was at least two tonnes lighter and ten km/h faster than the Panther, with a gun that was 40% larger. I think an equivalent to the Leopard 1 concept in WW2 would be the Sherman Firefly, a virtual egg-shell battlecruiser capable of killing anything on the battlefield but unable to withstand much of any counterfire. I wonder if the Germans ever considered the concept of a fast, heavily armed, but thinly armoured tank, with a proper turret rather than a casemate tank destroyer?Leopard 1 was basically a Panther with the bugs ironed out
I'm not so sure. Unlike the heavier and slower Panther, the Leopard 1 sacrificed nearly all its protection from anything above auto-cannon calibre weapons for greater mobility and firepower - on the assumption that no level of protection could stop the latest HEAT rounds. As such, the Leopard was at least two tonnes lighter and ten km/h faster than the Panther, with a gun that was 40% larger. I think an equivalent to the Leopard 1 concept in WW2 would be the Sherman Firefly, a virtual egg-shell battlecruiser capable of killing anything on the battlefield but unable to withstand much of any counterfire. I wonder if the Germans ever considered the concept of a fast, heavily armed, but thinly armoured tank, with a proper turret rather than a casemate tank destroyer?
Because Putin is a old school tyrant wrapped in good old ultra nationalism.
The RuZZians use the same playbook at Hitler
View attachment 705935
My boss back in the late 1990s was Serbian. I asked him why Serbs, Croats and Bosnians couldn't get along, and he replied that from childhood he'd been told to hate them, and to feel nationalistic about a Serb nation. He then said that every Serbian who doesn't feel this way has left, leaving only the crazy, apathetic and radicals behind. I expect that's what will happen to Russia, with anyone with intellectual curiosity, a free/open mind and some intelligence/education along with marketable skills emigrating if they can, leaving behind just those Russians crazy, apathetic or radical enough to go along with whatever the current strong man tells them.That doesn't explain why Serbs and other Eastern Europeans have a fondness for him, which is what Beezy and I are wondering.
GEHEIM??????They share clear DNA, the designers were designing the Panther only 10 years before, the hull is little more than the Panther hull (its within centimetres size wise) with better transmission and a proper wheel arrangement.
.As for the gun? It was originally going to have a 90mm cannon. The 105mm L7 was adopted when it became the NATO standard. Armour thickness? Nothing much in it when you allow for the slightest difference in slope.
View attachment 705938View attachment 705937
My boss back in the late 1990s was Serbian. I asked him why Serbs, Croats and Bosnians couldn't get along, and he replied that from childhood he'd been told to hate them, and to feel nationalistic about a Serb nation. He then said that every Serbian who doesn't feel this way has left, leaving only the crazy, apathetic and radicals behind. I expect that's what will happen to Russia, with anyone with intellectual curiosity, a free/open mind and some intelligence/education along with marketable skills emigrating if they can, leaving behind just those Russians crazy, apathetic or radical enough to go along with whatever the current strong man tells them.
That doesn't explain why Serbs and other Eastern Europeans have a fondness for him, which is what Beezy and I are wondering.
Birds of a feather stick together...dictators, tyrants...want-to-be dictators...I know. We're wondering why that's the case.
They don't give a shit about public opinion. Money on the other hand ......Swiss neutrality on the line as arms-for-Ukraine debate heats up
Switzerland is close to breaking with centuries of tradition as a neutral state, as a pro-Ukraine shift in the public and political mood puts pressure on the government to end a ban on exports of Swiss weapons to war zones.www.abc.net.au