The M1s will be for the post war Ukrainian army, because by the time they get there the Russians should be gone. They must be preparing "special" ones for them, with equipment stripped out, because there are plenty of Abrams just across the border in Poland along with a logistical train and training for their troops. Then again, Canada is sending just 4 leopards, but I figure many more later because we have tanks in Europe too. If they are being held back because of NATO commitments, then it is time for everybody to review those commitments in light of a new reality. Their purpose was to defend against Russian aggression in Europe and that is what they should do, in Ukraine, not in Europe. They were built to destroy the Russian army and once they do it, they won't be needed in Europe again for a long time, if ever.
Obviously the Pentagon believes the Ukrainians can do the job with what they are being given now and the Russians are close to collapse. Mud season might not be far away, a few days of rain and warm temps could start it, Vlad attacked on Feb 24th last year and I don't think the ground was frozen enough for tanks then. We are only less than a month away from the anniversary of that attack, so major offensive armor operations could be off the table until late spring. This could all be the result of climate change, decades ago the ground would freeze down to 6 feet in some places and would stay frozen from early winter until spring. You would probably need at least a foot of frost into the ground to support a 50 or 70 ton armored vehicle. They have long range forecasts now that can predict what kind of winter it will be in Ukraine generally and it appears to be a mild one, so no big offenses until the ground dries
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