Col. Cedric Leighton (Ret.) breaks down the essential training Ukrainians are receiving in the UK and what it could mean for Russia’s next military offensive. #CNN #News
Transcript
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.
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As an american , I want the Ukrainians to receive many more Abrams M1A2 tanks than the 31 . Surely we can spare a few hundred from our vast inventory of several thousand ? But Biden fears escalation he fears we might be " further provoking " Pootin . Not to mention F16s F15s and don't regurgitate that old nonsense of it taking too long – IF we started a year ago they'd be fully trained OVER A YEAR AGO . Gen Deptula largely recognized as being the nost influential US AIR FORCE general since Gen Mitchell the FOUNDER of US Air Force in setting USAF doctrine and operations said he it'd take mere months to train already EXPERIENCED fighter pilots to the US fighters .
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Why always worry going against russia, it has been happening all these years
We are getting involved in WW3. This needs to be debated in congress. We the people need to decide. I don’t know if it’s worth it so congress needs to debate it to the ppl!
The Ukrainian military doesn't have to learn tank warfare from the ground up. They don't have to learn how to operate tanks, they just need to learn to operate THESE tanks which is challenging and time consuming but as it is, time is not on our side. We should have started arming Ukraine when Russia started invading but we didn't do it so now we are faced with doing as much as we can as fast as we can to get the Ukrainian military back on the battlefield with as much info about operating THESE tanks as possible. What a mess things can turn out to be when you don't act when you should act. Obama could have started training the Ukrainian military in 2014 but all he would give them was battlefield radar and–blankets. Like Petro Poroshenko said "We appreciate the blanket's but one cannot win a war with blanket's."
Why does NATO let Putin dictate what is an escalation? The escalation was invading and stealing sovereign territory in 2014, 2022. The escalation was Putin terrorizing civilians on an almost daily basis. The midget dictator’s feelings should not be a consideration because he was objectively wrong when he invaded and stole sovereign territory. Any of his justification became moot the minute he did this.
The “as long as it takes” talking point by Biden and the west needs to be replaced by “Ukraine victory as soon as possible.” Time is not on Ukraine’s side. Russia have hundreds of thousands of canon fodder bodies they are willing to sacrifice to steal this territory. Ukraine does not have that luxury.
If Putin is rewarded for his aggression and land theft, the world is going to be a very unstable place and it will get much, much worse. We will be opening the door to the next global conflict if Putin sets the example of aggression being rewarded.
We shall se who loses stupid idiot
air force colonel …good choice to analyze inantry training
Escalation?!!!
They need those F16's yesterday
Meanwhile libtards and democrats say “we aren’t involved in the war” hmm well call me stupid then but I think we are involved in a war that nato escalated by breaking the 1991 treaty.
Fort Sill?
I smell Red Legs!
Victory and glory to all brave Ukrainian heroes and defenders of freedom, democracy, Europe and the free world 🫡🇺🇦💙💛 NATO will prevail
Terrible stressed interviews. Take some time to listen
Everyone is so worried about what Russia will do and they are doing bad things already. We need to help Ukraine wipe the Putin regime of the map.
Great news!
Hesitation is worse then defeat. We are clearly seing this now in Ukraine. For the life of me i do not understand the FEAR that these people have of putin. They do not want to send aircraft to Ukraine because they are AFRAID putin will consider that an act of war on Russia, yet putin says every day he is at war with NATO. This is bully tactics 1 on 1. They should send Aircraft, and they should send them YESTERDAY. I dont give a flying sh. what putin says. Stop being afraid of midget dictator you p****s. We all know half of putins rockets dont work, and if he even thinks of using nukes, he will be obliterated.
Is it wise to expose your strategy especially on S.M ?
Glory to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇬🇧💪
Ok. I can now understand that NATO is in a direct conflict/war with Russia. I'm am really deeply worried about how this will develop and end. Apparently Generals and politicians are willing to take big chances on behalf of humanity – without consulting their populations. Escalation of weapons use and de-escalation of attempts to find peaceful solutions. Billions and billions spend on new weapon systems, and no money on long lastning methods to solve conflicts. Why do we always end there. Because, i guess, the military industrial complex earns insane sums of money from the conflicts continuation. Putin and his friends are idiots and murderers for sure, but this us not the whole explanation, i am quite sure this war could have been stopped in it's birth if the will was there, but a different development was desired for some strategic reasons – that regardless what the price might be in dead children, men and women – a frightening number already. And very few dare to think and talk about it, or the risk of nuclear weapons coming into use at some point.
Ukraine needs not only arms to stop the aggresor, they need arms to go into counter-offensive and regain all the lost teritory.
That's what u can broadcast now BSE Russia is about to be granted victiry
Are they taking English language lessons?
Give it a few months and you'll hear about jets being given to Ukraine hopefully sooner the better. Slava Ukraine
Ukrainian am proud of you. russian all who support you are dictators
The specific training shouldnt be explained in detail. Since russians may be listening.
IF ONLY Russia would be as concerned as to " escalating the war :" Not enough innocent civilians killed yet ? Let Trump in there
Here’s the keys to my F16. Bye.
Ahmmm… wait… what for all these switches?