This ain’t exactly the Marshall Plan:
On the outskirts of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, for example, one Ukrainian special forces unit is using U.S.-supplied Humvees dating from the late 1980s and early 1990s, based on serial numbers on the vehicles.
Three of the Humvees had plastic doors and windows — barely any protection at all. The tires on one of the trucks blew apart after driving only a few hundred kilometers, the result of sitting in a warehouse too long, said one mechanic.
Another infantry unit of approximately 120 men received from the Pentagon a single bulletproof vest — a type that U.S. troops stopped using in combat during the mid-2000s. “If the Americans are going to send us equipment, don’t send us secondhand stuff,” said one Ukrainian special forces commander, who requested anonymity to speak critically about the condition of his unit’s gear.
The decaying state of U.S.-supplied equipment on Ukraine’s front lines has bred distrust and lowered morale among Ukrainian troops, based on conversations with them during a recent visit.
Like Obama’s phony war against ISIS, he’s sending just enough crap to Ukraine to make it look as though he’s doing something.
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