January 17, 2023

Using some footage from one of those old Chevy truck ads, all set to the music of Bob Seger, Ukraine put out this not-so-subtle request for modern western tanks.

Source: Task and Purpose

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has a new video that is a not-so-subtle request for M1 Abrams tanks, and it’s one that will take you right back to the halcyon days of 1991.

The video is a throwback to those Chevrolet truck commercials of the early ‘90s involving tough guys in either a cowboy hat or a well-worn baseball cap driving the trucks through some kind of rugged terrain — maybe a dirt road, or a wheat field, or a construction site — as they haul a trailer, or some tools, or some farming equipment. All set to that sweet Bob Seger music, of course.

The video from Ukraine shows the Abrams rolling through the desert and firing its main gun, along with some shots of wild stallions running through a field and a boy scout carrying an American flag, two images that would absolutely not be out of place in the original commercials. After all, the Abrams is rugged, dependable and tough. Like a rock.

The video is also a playful commentary on Ukraine’s ongoing requests for more modern, western tanks. As it says in the opening, “We understand some countries are reluctant to send tanks to Ukraine. We hear you. And we have a solution. Introducing the all new M1A2 Abrams recreational utility vehicle.”

Although it's still unclear if the MI Abrams is coming to Ukraine any time soon, it appears the dam has finally broken and that German Leopard tanks are about to be sent by many countries.

“My understanding is that a deal has essentially been worked out,” John E. Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, told CNBC Monday.

“We know that the laggard here has been Germany, and it seems that the Germans have now been persuaded that one, they’ll let other countries which have Leopard tanks send them to Ukraine — that, I’m confident of — and I also think it’s highly likely, but I’m not as confident, that you’ll see Germany send some Leopards as well,” he said.

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