U.S. and Germany send battle tanks; Germany and the United States announced on Wednesday. That they were sending tanks to Ukraine, the first phase of a coordinated Western. Effort to provide dozens of heavy weapons to help Kiev break. The stalemate of fighting as the Russian invasion enters its 12th month.
US President Joe Biden has announced that the US is sending 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. Reversing months of arguments in Washington that the tanks are too difficult to operate and maintain for Ukrainian troops.
The US Decision Comes After Germany agreed to send 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from its stockpile. The Germans said they would only send the Leopards if the Americans put the Abrams on the table. Did not want to incur the wrath of the Russians without the US similarly deploying its own tanks.
“This is the result of intensive consultation with our allies and international partners,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz told German lawmakers. “It was right and it’s important not to get caught up (in making the decision).”
Biden said European Allies had agreed to send enough tanks to equip two Ukrainian tank brigades, or 62 tanks in total.
“As spring approaches, Ukrainian forces are working to secure the territory they hold and prepare for further counterattacks,” Biden said. “To liberate their homeland, they must be able to counter the evolution of Russia’s tactics. Strategy on the battlefield in the short term.”
U.S. and Germany send battle tanks; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed satisfaction with the news. Several European countries have equipped their armies with Leopard 2 tanks. Germany’s announcement means they may donate some of their stock to Ukraine.
“German main battle Tanks, further expansion of defense support and training missions, green signal for partners to provide similar weapons.” I just heard about these important and timely decisions during a conversation with Olaf Scholz,” Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter. “I am deeply grateful to the chancellor and all our friends (in Germany).”
White House says battlefields ‘will have impact’ in Ukraine
On Wednesday afternoon, Scholz spoke by phone with US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the German Chancellor said in a statement. The conversation focused on the security situation in Ukraine. As well as the continuous support of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression.
All five leaders agreed that they would continue to provide military support to Ukraine in close Euro-Atlantic coordination.
The long-awaited decision came after U.S. officials announced Tuesday. That the U.S. had reached a tentative agreement to send M1 Abrams tanks to help Ukrainian forces push back Russian forces still entrenched in the country’s east. Nearly a year after Russia attacked his neighbor. Officials speak anonymously because the decision has not yet been made public.
U.S. and Germany send battle tanks; It is unclear when and how the tanks would be deliver to Ukraine. How soon they could have an impact on the battlefield. According to military experts, Russian forces are preparing for a spring offensive.
The $400 million package announce Wednesday
The $400 million package announce Wednesday. Includes eight M88 recovery vehicles — tank-like tracked vehicles that can tow the Abrams if it gets stuck.
Together, France, Britain, the United States, Poland, Germany. The Netherlands and Sweden will send hundreds of tanks. Heavy armored vehicles to the shores of Ukraine as it enters a new phase of the war and tries to break through entrenched Russian lines.
While in the past tanks were suppliy by friends of Ukraine. They were the Soviet model for supplying countries formerly in Moscow’s sphere of influence, but now aligned with the West. Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials have insisted that their armed forces need more modern, Western-designed tanks.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Germany’s decision. “At a critical moment in the Russian war, these can help Ukraine defend itself, win. win as an independent nation,” Stoltenberg tweeted.
Russia’s ambassador to Germany
Sergey Nechayev, Russia’s ambassador to Germany, called Berlin’s decision to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine “extremely dangerous” and said it “raises the conflict to a new level of confrontation and contradicts the statements of German politicians that they are reluctant to intervene.” .”
Scholz insiste that the decision to supply Ukraine with powerful Leopard 2 tanks should be made in cooperation with Germany’s allies, primarily the United States. By getting Washington to move some of its tanks, Berlin hopes to share the risk of a Russian strike back. .
According to Ekkehard Brose, head of the German Army’s Federal Security Policy Academy, it is important to bind the United States to the decision so that Europe does not face a nuclear-armed Russia alone.
But he also pointed to the deeper historical significance of the decision.
“German tanks are again facing Russian tanks in Ukraine,” he said, adding that it was “not an easy thought” for Germany, which takes its responsibility for the horrors of World War II seriously.
“And yet it’s the right decision,” Brose said, arguing that it was up to Western democracies to help Ukraine stop Russia’s military campaign.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has warned that it will take about three months to deploy the first tanks in Ukraine. He described the Leopard 2 as “the best tank in the world”.
“This is an important change, probably in terms of the war, at least at the current stage,” he said.
The German government has announced
The German government has announced that it will begin training Ukrainian tank drivers in Germany. The package to be assemble would also include logistics, ammunition and maintenance.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the German-American plans “quite catastrophic.”
“I am convince that many experts understand the impossibility of this idea,” said Peskov.
“Simply because of the technical aspects, it’s a pretty disastrous plan.” The bottom line is that this is a completely obvious overestimation of the possibility (the availability of tanks) that would add to the armed forces of Ukraine. This is another mistake, a rather deep one,” the Kremlin official said.
Peskov predicted that “these tanks will burn like all the others.” … Except that these will cost a lot and it will fall on the shoulders of European taxpayers,” he added.
Germany has already delivered significant amounts of military equipment to Ukraine, including high-powered PzH 2000 howitzers, Iris-T air defense systems and Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, which have proven highly effective against Russian drones. It also announced plans to deliver a Patriot anti-aircraft battery and Marder infantry fighting vehicles.
Before Scholz’s official announcement, members of his three-party coalition government welcomed the government’s agreement on the delivery of domestic tanks.
“The leopar is loose!” – said German representative Katrin Goering-Eckardt, leading member of the Green Party.
However, two smaller opposition parties criticized the proposal. The far-right Alternative for Germany party, which maintains friendly relations with Russia, called the decision “irresponsible and dangerous”.
“Germany risks being drawn directly into the war because of this,” said party leader Tino Chrupalla.
Scholz tried to reassure people in his country
Scholz tried to reassure people in his country who were worrie about the consequences of sending tanks to Ukraine.
“Trust me, trust the government,” he said. “With internationally coordinat action, we will ensure that this support is implement without our country moving in the wrong direction.”
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who has previously questioned Germany’s commitment to helping Ukraine, thanked Scholz on Twitter for “a big step towards stopping Russia”.
Other European nations, such as Finland and Spain, said on Wednesday they were ready to part with their own Leopard or similar tanks as part of a larger alliance.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said they planned to send 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, welcomed Germany’s decision to “further strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities”.
“Together we will accelerate our efforts to ensure that Ukraine wins this war and secures lasting peace,” Sunak said on Twitter.
Yet it is unclear whether Ukraine will receive the 300 tanks that experts say is need to stem the Russian advance in the Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia regions and launch a counteroffensive in the country’s southeast.
Lolita C. Baldor and Matthew Lee in Washington, D.C., Vanessa Gera in Warsaw and Jill Lawless in London contributed.
