We also learned today
that Zelensky will meet
with the French president
and the German chancellor in Paris.
First, though, he is visiting
Ukrainian troops, rather, in the
With me
now, retired Air Force Colonel
Cedric Leighton.
Good to have you on as always.
So these meetings are important
in terms of the relationships.
But but I want to focus on
what's happening
on the ground in trading
because you have 10,000
Ukrainian troops trained inside
in the last six months,
another 20,000 to be trained in
this year.
This is quite direct involvement
of NATO's
ally in terms of training
Ukraine is
what is it training them to do.
So there are a lot of things,
Jim, that they're doing
and this coupled with the traini
that's going on in Germany at Gr
and the training center there,
plus at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.
So we're all involved
in the training
of the Ukrainians right now.
So one of the big things
that they're looking at
is the Challenger tank.
And when you see exactly what th
what they're doing, this one, of
doesn't have the armament on it.
No cannon,
but they're practicing driving i
They're practicing
moving it through the mud,
which is really important
for the terrain in Ukraine,
as well as a ground source
that's going to become an issue
in those Eastern battlefields.
Absolutely.
And this particular tank
is quite maneuverable
in those conditions,
and they hope that they can take
as many of these as possible
so that they can
then use them in offensive opera
throughout the eastern sector,
especially as we saw the announc
just a couple of weeks ago,
because the Germans sending the
part tanks, the US
going to be sending Abrams tanks
So you can't just send the thing
They've got to learn how to use
because they're different
from the Soviet standard
takes that they've been using so
That's exactly right.
And as much as you get
that with the tanks,
you also have that issue with ai
And, you know,
one of the key things I think, J
to note about the visit to the U
for the first time ever,
a country
that is training
the Ukrainians is saying
very specifically
that they're training
Ukrainian pilots on NATO's
standard aircraft like the F-16.
Exactly.
So like the F-16.
And you can see here,
there are a lot of
key features of the F-16.
You know, its speed, of course,
is quite clear.
It uses radiation detection abil
to detect air defense systems.
It's got a 20 millimeter gun.
It also has bombs like the JDAM.
It also has missiles
like the Sidewinder
that took down the Chinese
balloon, the surveillance balloo
And, of course, it's got to air
capabilities
plus air to ground capability.
And that's critical.
So folks have been talking about
sending Western aircraft to Ukra
since the start of the war,
which is going to be a year
in just a couple of weeks time.
But all the view of NATO's,
including the US, has been
that's too much of an escalation
One they don't really need these
Now, that's not the weapon
we should be focusing on.
But to the concern being
you send these aircraft,
you're more
and more
in direct conflict with Russia,
or would Russia would view it th
But are we moving toward
this becoming a reality?
I think so.
I mean, the
the impetus is certainly there.
There are a lot of people,
military analysts like myself,
people who are watching
what the Ukrainians are doing.
They're saying very specifically
I the Ukrainians need this
in order
to really prosecute the war effo
And if they don't do that,
they can't win
is the, in essence,
what we're looking at.
So let's talk
about what
folks are concerned about right
and that is that
Russia is mounting forces
and there's evidence of this
along the border.
Here for a new offensive.
When I speak to U.S.
military officials, they say. Su
But those aren't
particularly capable forces.
They're not particularly
well equipped or armed Should Uk
be concerned about a major and e
Russian offensive?
Yes, they should,
because one of the key things
to think about,
Jim, is that quantity has a qual
all its own, as the saying goes.
And so when you look at, for exa
let's take a look at the market
for let's go out there.
Well, you have
I mean, there's a lot of the rea
we have the pictures of them
bombing archive is
they seem to be softening
the battlefield. Exactly.
That's precisely what they're do
So you're seeing what they call
preparation of the battle space
And when you look at
some of the things that can happ
here, for example,
you see the area around Crimean,
In this area,
the Russians could potentially m
in this way.
They could potentially go after
right here.
There is a possibility
that they could roll back
the Ukrainian gains
that the Ukrainians made,
which only happened a few months
when they very quickly
the Ukrainians pushed back
Russians from here. Exactly.
And so when you see that
and then you look at
what could happen in the south,
so you could see
what's happening in the north
and you could see
what's happening in the south,
because when you see
what you're doing with your son,
the Ukrainians took their son,
but it's still under Russian
artillery range.
It is not a safe place to be.
As we've reported, many times
in these natural boundaries righ
they're helping the Ukrainians,
but they're also helping the Rus
because they're keeping the Ukra
out of fear for the moment.
But if the Ukrainians
get more maneuverable forces,
they could potentially
forward the river and go down th
Take some more back.
And that's why those tanks could be essenti
Cedric Lane, thanks so much.
As always, Jim.