US Expediting Abrams Delivery To Ukraine, Tanks To Arrive In Germany: SecDef Austin

BY ZeroHedge - TYLER DURDEN - SATURDAY, APR 22, 2023

Wrapping up a big Friday meeting of the Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany - a coalition of nations that coordinates weaponry to Ukraine - US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the Pentagon is now expediting delivery of M1 Abrams to Kyiv.

"We’ve also expedited our M1 Abrams timelines to supply Ukraine with more armored capability in the coming months, and the M1s that the Ukrainians will use for training will arrive here in Germany in the next few weeks," Austin announced during a press conference.

This comes on the heels of reports from earlier in the day saying that 31 Abrams tanks are set to arrive in Germany soon, where an additional 10-week training program for Ukrainian operators will be held.

This means the tanks could finally reach the battlefield by Fall, according to reports. But given that Russia clearly has the upper hand in the key Donetsk city of Bakhmut, how the situation will unfold by then is anything but certain.

Austin in his comments also pledged support to Kyiv for as long as Ukraine is battling the Russian invasion, reviewing the major weapons systems supplied by 54 allied nations thus far:

.@SecDef: In just a few short months, the Contact Group has delivered more than 230 tanks, more than 1,550 armored vehicles & other equipment & munitions to support more than nine new armored brigades. pic.twitter.com/JEe9093061 April 21, 2023

Another major development announced at the end of the Contact Group meeting, the fourth to be held, is that Germany, Poland, and Ukraine have signed an agreement to establish a repair hub for Leopard II tanks being used in Ukraine.

Ukraine has declared what it's calling a "tank coalition" involving partner nations...

A "tank coalition" meeting was held.

I am grateful to my German and Polish colleagues, Boris #Pistorius and @mblaszczak, for their unwavering support for Ukraine.
Today, we signed the Letter of Intent for establishment of a Maintenance and Service Center in Poland for Leopard 2… pic.twitter.com/hrFrrUvN9m April 21, 2023

Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius explained that "All parties agreed on how to finance such a hub, which costs around 150-200 million euros ($384 million) a year and could begin operations at the end of May."

G7 Allies Consider Outright Ban Of All Exports To Russia

BY ZeroHedge - TYLER DURDEN SATURDAY, APR 22, 2023

Authored by Kyle Anzalone via The Libertarian Institute,

Washington is in discussion with several Western partners about outright ending trade with Russia. The debate is occurring as the US-led economic war on Russia has failed to stop Moscow’s war machine in Ukraine.

According to Bloomberg News, members of the Group of 7 (G7) are considering banning exports to Russia. The debate is occurring among member states – the US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the European Union – ahead of an international summit in May.

Members of the G7 have maintained significant exports to Russia since Washington declared it would isolate Moscow using sanctions. According to Trade Data Monitor, $66 billion in goods have flowed to Russia from member states.

The proposed ban will essentially switch the way Washington outlaws trade with Russia. Currently, the US and its allies are blacklisting Russian products, companies, and individuals. If adopted, the export ban will prohibit all trade with Moscow that is not explicitly exempted from Western sanctions.

The Miami Herald reports that food and medicine will likely be on the exemption list. However, international aid organizations argue that exemptions are ineffective and sanctions largely stomp out the trade of civilian goods.

The proposed export ban faces serious obstacles to overcome before the May G7 summit. All EU member states will have to agree to the ban for the bloc to sign on.

Additionally, the export ban could threaten the grain export deal that Turkey and the UN-brokered with Russia and Ukraine last year. According to the EU, since the agreement was implemented, 23 million tonnes of food products have left Kyiv’s Black Sea ports

After Russia invaded Ukraine 14 months ago, the White House unleashed a series of sanctions targeting Moscow that it believed was acting as an economic nuclear weapon. While the Joe Biden administration hoped that the entire globe would join in on the Kremlin’s isolation, after a year, only close Western partners have followed Washington’s lead.

This has allowed Moscow to weather the West’s sanctions by turning to other trading partners – including China and India.13,002315