“Macron crossed the red line”
French President Emmanuel Macron, during a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky, promised to supply Kiev with AMX-10RC armored vehicles, also often called wheeled tanks. The British Telegraph writes in its publication that Macron violated an unspoken rule.
“At first glance, the AMX-10RC, infantry fighting vehicles with a 105 mm gun, does not look like anything special. But thanks to such a gift, France was the first to send Western-made combat vehicles to Kiev. The red line was crossed, the military taboo was broken, moreover, by the most unexpected of the candidates, ”says the newspaper.
The authors of the article also added that the French leader in this way surpassed Berlin and Washington, which promised the Ukrainians the Marder BMP and Patriot air defense system, but did so a little later.
Senator Alexei Pushkov felt that Macron’s decision to procure AMX-10RCs brought a direct military conflict between NATO and Russia closer.
“Paris’ decision to transfer infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine will not in itself change the course of the war. However, it could be a prelude to the supply of other offensive weapons to Ukraine, which is fraught with NATO’s withdrawal into a direct military conflict with Russia. “The decision of Macron also says a lot about the mood of the European elite and the extent of their anger towards Russia.”
The AMX-10RC is a heavily armored vehicle designed for reconnaissance and fighting enemy armored vehicles, and is essentially a wheeled light tank. It was developed and manufactured by a joint venture between GIAT and Renault in the mid-1970s.
The six-wheeled tank is equipped with a rifled 105 mm gun capable of speeds up to 85 km/h on the highway and 40 km/h on rough terrain. He can swim too.
A total of 457 such vehicles were produced, most of which entered service with the French armed forces. AMX-10RCs were used during the Gulf War and in Paris peacekeeping missions. Another 120 armored vehicles were exported to Qatar and Morocco. As of 2016, France had 216 armored vehicles.
“pressure” in Italian
The US government is putting pressure on Italian officials to supply Ukraine with new weapons. This was reported by the newspaper La Repubblica.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, in a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Meloni’s deputy Francesco Talo, pressed Rome to provide military air defense assets to Ukraine as soon as possible.
According to the newspaper’s report, we are talking about the supply of SAMP-T anti-aircraft missile systems to Kiev. While La Repubblica claims that Washington does not like Italy’s delay in ratifying the sixth decree on arms supplies to Ukraine, the United States, France and Germany have already announced that they will soon be shipping armored vehicles for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
At the same time, La Repubblica states that Italy has only five active SAMP-T batteries in service, as well as a training battery without a vehicle with a launcher.
SAMP-T is the evolution of Eurosam, the European arms consortium that builds air defense systems for the ground forces and navy.
The main task of the SAMP-T complex is to provide air defense for troops and armored vehicles on the march. At the same time, the air defense system has a fairly wide range of applications – it can hit both ballistic missiles with airplanes and helicopters, and small, inconspicuous and maneuverable targets – for example, UAVs.
Military experts claim that SAMP-T works in all weather conditions. The complex is capable of firing 360 degrees using highly maneuverable missiles with a high rate of fire – eight missiles are launched in just 10 seconds. The crew of the car is only two people.
In addition to Italy, SAMP-T is in service with France – there it is called “Mamba”. The complexes are a significant contribution of both countries to the combined NATO missile and air defense network.
american pack
On the eve of the United States approved a new package of military aid to Ukraine. According to White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, it will cost more than $3 billion – the largest supply of weapons from Washington to Kiev.
Under the direction of President Joe Biden, the Armed Forces will receive 50 unified Bradley tracked platforms, 100 M113 armored personnel carriers, 55 MRAP wheeled armored vehicles with enhanced mine protection, 138 HMMWV army cargo vans, 18 155 mm self-propelled howitzers. and 36 105 mm towed howitzers.
In addition, RIM-7 anti-aircraft missiles, an unknown number of additional ammunition for the HIMARS MLRS, other artillery shells, rockets, rifles and machine guns will be delivered to Ukraine.