Repair of Leopard 2 tanks for the Armed Forces: Berlin confirmed that an agreement was reached with Warsaw | UkrInform UA - July 23, 2023 |

Series production of the Leopard 2 MBT was jointly undertaken by Krauss-Maffei Wehrtechnik GmbH in Munich and the Krupp MaK Maschinenbau GmbH in Kiel - in total 2,125 Leopard 2 tanks were produced for the Bundeswehr up to 1992

Weeks earlier, Spiegel stated that Berlin and Warsaw failed to agree on opening a maintenance center in Poland to repair Leopard tanks supplied to Ukraine due to several reasons, while several tanks are already awaiting repairs.

German tank manufacturers consider the disputes surrounding the tank hub to be politically motivated.

...
The repair facility is expected to be created at factories in two Polish cities, Gliwice and Poznan, and the costs of repairs would be covered by the German government. The cost of the facility should reach 150 million euros ($166 million).

Leopard-2 in Ukraine. In the wild. pic.twitter.com/mSKRIikfT7

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 23, 2023

Back in the Trenches | Foreign Affairs |

Why New Technology Hasn't Revolutionized Warfare in Ukraine

The war in Ukraine is being waged with a host of advanced technologies, from remotely operated drones to space-based surveillance, precision weapons, hypersonic missiles, handheld jammers, artificial intelligence, networked communications, and more. Many argue that this array is transforming warfare, with omnipresent surveillance combining with newly lethal weapons to make legacy systems such as the tank obsolete and to make traditional methods such as large-scale offensive action impractical. As the military analyst David Johnson has put it, "What I believe we are witnessing is a pivotal moment in military history: the re-ascendance of the defense as the decisive form of war."

Drones, artificial intelligence, and rapid adaptation of commercial technologies in Ukraine are creating "a genuine military revolution," according to military strategist T. X. Hammes. Former Google chief executive and Pentagon adviser Eric Schmidt has argued that Ukraine is showing that "the future of war will be dictated and waged by drones."

But in many ways, this war seems quite familiar. It features foot soldiers slogging through muddy trenches in scenes that look more like World War I than Star Wars. Its battlegrounds are littered with minefields that resemble those from World War II and feature moonscapes of shell holes that could be mistaken for Flanders in 1917.

Pivotal point in the Ukraine proxy war ... how is the NATO alliance going to pivot its aggressive war narrative? Another defeat in a series of failures ... Afghanistan-Iraq-Libya-Syria. Joe Biden must GO!

Living by example, just as Lyndon Johnson showed some courage, Joe too should bite the bullet and step aside.

'Sapere aude'

Biden's Apocalypse in Ukraine? | Kyiv Post Opinion |

Biden must embrace a Ukrainian victory and provide them the resources they need to win the war - then he must take that message to the American people.

Ukraine's fight on behalf of the Western notion of freedom and democracy is facing a gathering darkness in the United States as its fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation" rages on - and, if left unchecked by Washington, could lead to an apocalypse in Eastern Europe and beyond.

As we enter the Presidential election cycle, US public support for the war in Ukraine appears to be waning. In a new CNN poll, 55 percent of Americans are opposed to new funding in support of Kyiv, 51 percent believe Washington has "done enough" and this, soberingly, is in stark contrast to the 62 percent who supported aiding Ukraine at the start of the war in February 2022.

Even more troubling, the divide in the US is becoming partisan between Democrats who support continued funding - 62 percent, and 71 percent of Republicans who oppose it. Support is also deteriorating among independents; 56 percent now say enough is enough.

This is just one poll. Yet, nonetheless, the downward trend for support to Ukraine is becoming evident. In mid-June, a Pew Research poll found only 47 percent of Americans supporting US aid to Kyiv.

The growing darkness is not just at the grassroots level. More and more politicians, arguably opportunistic in motivation, are exploiting the softening of US support for Ukraine.

Milley Says Ukraine Has Leadership, Morale to Beat Russia | U.S. DoD - April 21, 2023 |

It has been very clear, the forces at play in the full range of Eastern European states shows these have not assimilated into the Principles, Justice and Foundation of the European Union. The nations are alien to the original six countries united in the EEC. The EU has no business fighting old grudges of 90 or 110 years ago. Get real or just get out. Start your own economic union and live by the UN Charter demanding peace between neighbouring states.

• Ukraine Caught Between East and West, Red and Blue
• Trump's Revival of anti-EU Sentiment in Warsaw