Washington. The United States and Germany announced yesterday that they will send heavy tanks to Ukraine, leaving behind long-standing hesitations by signaling forcefully Western support for a counteroffensive capable of driving Russia back.
“This is about helping Ukraine defend and protect its territory. It is not an offensive threat to Russia. There is no offensive threat to Russia,” US President Joe Biden said.
In a televised speech, President Joe Biden promised 31 Abrams tanks, one of the most powerful and sophisticated weapons in the US military.
Shortly before, Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave Germany the green light to send 14 Leopard 2 tanks, a decision that opens the floodgates for several other European countries with Leopard stocks to send their own contributions.
“From the delivery of 5,000 heavy (combat, NDLR) helmets to the shipment of the Leopard to Ukraine: in less than a year Germany undid seven decades of pacifist policy. Reluctantly it may have been, but it is a major turning point said Bruno Lete of the Washington-based think tank German Marshall Fund.
The Russian ambassador to Germany, Sergei Nechaev, yesterday criticized the decision as “extremely dangerous” and affirmed that it “will take the conflict to a new level of confrontation.”
The tanks and armored vehicles can allow the Ukrainian forces to gain dynamism and give hope when it comes to breaking the Russian defense lines.
Countries such as the United Kingdom, Spain and the United Kingdom will also send tanks to Ukraine.
“Tanks have been an integral part of joint warfare since World War II. No offensive or defensive operation is possible without an arsenal of assault tanks,” defense expert Mykola Bielieskov said.
The analyst indicated that these tanks are not a miracle solution.
“Only if used in concert with mechanized infantry, the use of artillery, air defense and missiles, can tanks bring results,” he warned.
“It is not a threat”
Flanked by his Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Biden said increasing Western armaments for Ukraine’s military should not be seen as an attack on Russia.
“This is about helping Ukraine defend and protect its territory. It is not an offensive threat to Russia. There is no offensive threat to Russia,” Biden said.
For his part, Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz stated yesterday that an escalation with Russia must be avoided. “In everything we do, we must always make it clear that we are doing what is necessary and possible to support Ukraine. At the same time, we must prevent the conflict from escalating into a war between Russia and NATO,” Scholz said in a speech to the lower house of the German Parliament.
