Russia-Ukraine Flash Report 16 JAN 2023 11:30 PST - Soledar Falls, UK Aid Package
Added 2023-01-16 19:43:32 +0000 UTCPMC Wagner has shared pictures of their forces at the Sil' railroad station, indicating that western Soledar and Sil' are under Russian control. The map will be updated later in the day as we get more intelligence.
In other news, the United Kingdom has officially announced a massive military aid package for Ukraine, rivaling the $3B United States package announced at the beginning of the year.
- 14 Challenger 2 tanks with armored recovery and repair vehicles, spare parts, etc.
- 24 AS90 155-mm self-propelled howitzers (SPG), with the first eight ready for deployment and the next 16 in refurbishment - these are not cannibalizing a commitment to Estonia for AS90 SPGs
- "Hundreds" of armored and mine-resistant ambush protection vehicles
- Minefield breaching and bridging capability and equipment
- "Dozens" of military-grade drones (UAVs)
- 100,000 rounds of 155-mm ammunition, this doubles all other donated 155-mm ammunition committed by the UK since February 24
- "Hundreds" of rockets for M142, M270, MARS II, and French GMLRS systems - aka HIMARS
- An equipment support package of spare parts that can be used to refurbish up to 100 Soviet-era tanks already used in Ukraine - it was not specified if this was for T-64, T-72, or T-80 variants - although the T-72 and T-80 share many common parts
UK Minister of Defense Ben Wallace, as part of his announcement, specifically called out Germany, without mentioning the nation directly, saying, "After discussion with the United States and our European allies, it is hoped that the example set by the French and us will allow those countries holding Leopard tanks to donate as well. I know there are a number of countries wanting to do the same."
ANALYSIS: Reading between the lines of Wallace's statement, it appears that M1A1 or M1A2 Abrams is not on the table for this current round of global aid. Hopefully, we're as wrong as we were on the missile strikes. ;-)
Comments
Thank you both for the advice. Dividing the 2 into percentages will help w my own 'peace' of mind. I tend to think the sooner the "WAR" ends, the chain reaction of horrifying results will as well.
2023-01-18 02:04:13 +0000 UTCWhen we interviewed Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, who is heavily involved with coordinating aid for Ukraine, she recommended World Kitchen - and they are many lists of well run NGOs (and there aren't many on the planet)
2023-01-18 00:04:11 +0000 UTCBoth ones you mentioned are good. I also like MriyaAid.org
2023-01-17 06:05:07 +0000 UTCMy humble two cents only, and from my prespective. When these events occur - and how sad the frequency - I usually face the two choices. My regular donation to MSF vs the locals. MSF has consistently offered in my view the best "return on investment" to use a crass term, for the 30 or so years I've been a subscriber of their efforts. They are everywhere and it seems all the time, and that includes Ukraine. On the other hand the locals, in this case United24, is likely to know where the money is best spent. In this case, for the second time in my life, I've decided to give to both.
Högni Gylfason
2023-01-17 04:19:12 +0000 UTC
