ANALYSIS – After months of reluctance, the U.S. and Germany reportedly plan to send their top-line main battle tanks to Ukraine, in what Kyiv hopes will be a game-changer on the battlefield.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was under increasing pressure, announced the decision to send 14 Leopard 2 tanks – and allow other countries to send theirs, too – at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Poland had previously stated it would send some of its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine with or without Germany’s permission.
Team Biden has also announced plans to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks.
The $400 million package announced Wednesday also includes eight M88 tank-like tracked recovery vehicles that can tow the Abrams if it gets stuck.
The reversal comes after months of persistent arguments by the administration that the tanks were too difficult for Ukrainian troops to operate and maintain.
The U.S. decision also came on the heels of Germany agreeing to send the Leopard 2s from its own stocks.
Previously, Germany had said the Leopards would not be sent unless the U.S. put its own Abrams on the table to avoid Russia’s wrath without the U.S. similarly committing its own tanks.
However, to really make a difference in this mostly stalemated war, Ukraine will need a lot more than 44 new Western tanks.
The U.S. decision is probably more of a symbolic gesture intended to get the Germans on board, as the Leopard 2s are a far better fit for Ukrainian needs.
As Newsmax reports:
Until now, the U.S. has resisted providing its own M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, citing extensive and complex maintenance and logistical challenges with the high-tech vehicles. Washington believes it would be more productive to send German Leopards since many allies have them and Ukrainian troops would need less training than on the more difficult Abrams.
Just last week, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl told reporters that the Abrams is a complicated, expensive, difficult to maintain and hard to train on piece of equipment. One thing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been very focused on, he said, “is that we should not be providing the Ukrainians systems they can’t repair, they can’t sustain, and that they, over the long term, can’t afford, because it’s not helpful.”
For the Abrams to be effective in Ukraine, its forces will require extensive training on combined arms manuevuer — how the tanks operate together on the battlefield, and on how to maintain and support the complex, 70-ton weapon. The Abrams tanks use a turbine jet engine to propel themselves that burns through at least two gallons a mile regardless of whether they are moving or idling, which means that a network of fuel trucks is needed to keep the line moving.
But this German move could open the door for more transfers of Leopard 2s to Ukraine from other NATO countries.
Earlier the U.S. agreed to send both Stryker light armored vehicles and Bradley armored fighting vehicles to Ukraine.
Before that, Great Britain agreed to send Poland surplus Challenger II tanks to allow the eastern European country to “backfill” for older Russian-made T-72 tanks supplied to the Ukrainian Army.
According to Janes, the U.K. has 227 Challenger 2s, operated by three tank regiments, with 56 vehicles each. The remaining 59 are used for training and as a reserve. Under a Ministry of Defense Life Extension Project, the fleet will be reduced from 227 to 148 vehicles, releasing 79 Challengers for possible export to Poland.
Altogether, the U.S., U.K., Poland, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Sweden will send hundreds of tanks and other heavy armored vehicles to beef up Ukrainian forces to potentially break through entrenched Russian lines.
However, most of these additional armored vehicles will still take months to arrive.
There are also questions about which U.S. tanks would be sent.
One option is to provide them from the existing U.S. stockpile of more than 4,000 Abrams (and then be retrofitted).
Another, better, possibility is for the U.S. to use the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative to buy new systems to then backfill allies who could send their own tanks or just buy new systems for Ukraine.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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I hope everyone is ready for WWIII. Because that’s what our MORONIC government is going to get us involved in.
Russia will respond, if not more
western escalations even troops
will follow, to push Russia out of
Ukraine, WW3 just weeks away
Most likely, Russia will push for more active offense to obtain their objectives before much of the Western provided armaments can arrive. People most realize that the Ukraine conflict has been going on for some eight years, and Russia has the advantage in resources. One can sympathize with Ukraine civilians, but some of them would prefer to be part of Russia. This is not a clearcut conflict. This will most likely result in Russia gaining part of Ukraine and reigniting old Cold War atmosphere for years.
Interesting. That’s like a lot of our own hateful citizens would prefer to be part of communist or Marxist countries. Why they don’t pack their bags and get the heck out of here is beyond me. There’s nothing that says they can’t, as far as I know.
It is good that NATO remained in place even after the former Soviet Union collapsed. Putin is a communist at heart and wants to see imperial Russia reborn. That can only happen if Russia is permitted to expand towards the West. I think Putin is surprised that Ukraine has resisted for so long.
The Russian Army is not the mighty army the Red Army once was. I think if Putin had anything left in reserve he would have launched it by now.
Ginger
It scares me we are heading for a War. Putin said do not join Nato which Biden did. and now we sent tanks to Ukraine. God Help Us.
So,
We are going to keep sending them our arms and American tax payers money. While the U.S.A citizens does without.And close to another war. I can understand some help. But,we are not the worlds piggy bank. We still have our vets and families sleeping under bridges. Outrageous inflation.Yet,we still are sending billions in weapons,money.To a country that was one of the top.For corruption.(maybe they should of saved a little corruption money). And,just happened to have questionable dealings with the Bidens.hmmmmm.
How does the US and the other tank doners respond when the Russian hypersonic stealth missiles are tested on the Abrams?
They do have them. And the new S-500 missile deployment for the Ukraine was brought forward commencing before Christmas and more are coming.
This is now looking like a trap to draw in Biden/Nato and it is working
We are broke, our military is being destroyed from the top down, our so called treasonous bought & paid for feckless WH occupant who is a disaster on foreign policy is senile. What better timing to lead from behind and follow a mini dictator to war.
Wasn’t it President Trump who warned us in 2020 that Joe Biden would have us in WWIII if Biden was elected president?
Or am I supposed to forget all about what the lame stream, fake-news, cheer leading Democrat propaganda media conveniently never reports on again?
Maybe I should get to work building a nuclear bomb shelter in the back yard.
Our military is being depleted. We have fewer everything, including tanks, ships, helicopters, etc., which is making our enemies delighted, especially China, Iran, and North Korea. We should not be giving away our countries weaponry, putting us in a very vulnerable position. Ask anyone who is serving in the military now or who has served since WWII whether they think this is a good idea.
How wise is it to send different tanks, which require different fuels and spare parts?
Germany opts to send 14 tanks. I’m nowhere near expert on military affairs and equipment, but 14 tanks does not sound like all that much. How many tanks in an armored company?