Germany announced Wednesday plans to deliver heavy tanks to Ukraine and the United States is set to do the same, a move hailed as a decisive military push by Kiev and condemned by Moscow as a reckless act of provocation.
Kiev has been calling for months for Western main battle tanks to give its forces the firepower, protection and mobility to break through Russian defensive lines and reclaim territory occupied by the invaders.
“A few hundred tanks for our tank crews… This is what a real act of democracy will become,” Andriy Yermak, head of government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, wrote in Telegram.
Germany has announced plans to send a first corporation of 14 Leopard 2 tanks from its own stocks and has also approved shipments from the Allies, aiming to supply Ukraine with two full battalions. A battalion normally comprises three to four corps.
Two sources in the United States said Washington will also supply dozens of its M1 Abrams tanks.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any US tanks sent to Ukraine would “burn like everything else”.
Twenty armies around the world field Leopards, manufactured by the thousands in Germany. Poland and Finland have already pledged them once Berlin agrees, and a number of other countries are expected to quickly follow suit. The UK has already offered a company of its Challengers and France is considering sending its Leclercs.
Mark Hertling, former commander of US ground forces in Europe, has estimated that the Leopards could be on the battlefield in Ukraine as early as March, while US tanks, which need more logistical support, could be more than eight months away. of distance.
Moscow says supplying Ukraine with modern offensive weapons will only prolong the war and delay what it says is its inevitable victory. Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador in Washington, said the US tank deliveries would be “another blatant provocation”.
“It is obvious that Washington is intentionally trying to inflict a strategic defeat on us,” Antonov said on the embassy’s Telegram messaging channel.
Last week, Russia ramped up its threats, with Putin’s ally Dmitry Medvedev openly saying that a losing nuclear power could use nuclear weapons.
Western officials who support the deployment of the tanks have dismissed Moscow’s threats as bravado, arguing that Russia is already waging an all-out war in Ukraine.
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Source: Terra
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
