KIEF/BERLIN: Ukraine begged the West on Thursday to finally send it heavy tanks as the US and German defense chiefs move toward an arms race that Kiev says could decide the fate of the war. .
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in Germany on Thursday to meet with new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, shortly after Pistorius was sworn in.
The next day, the two will convene dozens of allies at the United States’ Ramstein Air Base to pledge arms to Ukraine, a meeting that could provide a chance to turn the tide of the war in 2023.
Billions of dollars worth of military aid is expected, but the meeting is likely to be dismissed as a failure unless it produces a major commitment to heavy tanks, which Kyiv says will help deter Russian attacks. And there is a need to recapture the occupied territory.
“We don’t have time, the world doesn’t have this time,” Ukrainian presidential administration chief Andriy Yermak wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Thursday.
He said that the issue of tanks for Ukraine should be closed as soon as possible. “We are paying for the slowdown with the lives of our Ukrainian people. This should not happen.”
A major tank commitment would require resolving a standoff between Washington and Berlin, which has so far prevented the Allies from sending their Leopard 2 tanks, which are the job of troops across Europe.
Washington and many Western allies say the Leopards – which Germany built by the thousands during the Cold War and exported to its allies – are the only viable option available in sufficient numbers.
A German government source said Berlin would raise its objection if Washington sent its Abrams tanks. U.S. officials say the Abrams is unsuitable for Ukraine, because it runs on turbine engines that use too much fuel for Kyiv’s strained logistics system to keep supplies moving.
Poland and Finland have already said they will send the Leopards if Germany lifts its veto, and other countries have signaled they are ready to do the same. Britain added to the pressure last week by breaking a ban on heavy tanks by offering a squadron from its fleet of Challengers, although fewer of them are available than Leopards.
Germany is reluctant to send offensive weapons that could be seen as escalating the conflict. Many of its Western allies say the concern is misplaced, with Russia showing no sign of backing down from its aggression against Ukraine.
Top Pentagon policy adviser Colin Cahill said Wednesday that Abrams tanks are unlikely to be included in Washington’s next $2 billion military aid package, headlined by Stryker and Bradley armored vehicles.
Not there yet.
“I don’t think we’re there yet,” Cahill said. “The Abrams tank is a very complex piece of equipment. It’s expensive. It’s hard to train on. It has a jet engine.”
Germany has said the tank decision is the first item on the agenda for Pistorius, who has been named to replace Christine Lambrecht, who stepped down as defense minister this week. At a ceremony after the swearing-in, Pistorius pledged support for Ukraine, including military hardware, but gave no specifics.
“These are not normal times, we are at war in Europe. Russia is waging a brutal war of destruction on Ukraine, a sovereign country,” he said.
Ukraine, which has relied primarily on Soviet-era T-72 tanks, says the new tanks will give its troops mobile firepower to repel Russian troops in decisive battles.
Western tanks have more effective armor and better guns than their Soviet-era counterparts, which have been destroyed by the hundreds on both sides during the 11-month war in Ukraine.
Fighting has concentrated in the south and east of Ukraine after Russia’s “special military operation” failed in the first months of an initial offensive from the north to capture Kyiv.
After major Ukrainian breakthroughs in the second half of 2022, the front lines have largely frozen over the past two months, with neither side making major gains despite heavy casualties in intense trench warfare.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Russian mercenary force Wagner, which has played a key role in the fighting near the eastern city of Bakhmut, claimed on Thursday that his forces had captured the village of Klashchevka on the outskirts of Bakhmut. Keef has previously denied that a settlement has fallen through. JEE News could not confirm the situation there.
Prigozhin, who recruits convicted criminals from Russian prisons outside of regular military command with promises of amnesty for his privately run force, complained last week that his fighters were being sidelined by higher-ups. Adequate credit is not being given.
