The military leaders of NATO countries met in Brussels on Thursday, the day before about 50 defense chiefs of the so-called Contact Group for Ukraine met at the US base Ramstein in Germany.
Germany made it clear that Ukraine would only get German-made Leopard tanks if the United States sent American-made Abrams tanks to the country.
A senior Pentagon official, Colin Kahl, said on Wednesday that the United States is not yet ready to comply with this order.
We may not be there yet. Abrams tanks are very complex. They are expensive. It is difficult to train them to use it. Cal added that they have a jet engine Reuters.
The pressure is increasing
However, pressure on Germany is growing within NATO, as several countries, including Denmark, Poland and Lithuania, have said they are ready to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine. But they require the approval of the German government.
However, Poland threatened to send German-made tanks into Ukraine without its consent, which would not be well received in Berlin.
A recent opinion poll showed that although Prime Minister Olaf Scholz receives criticism from the opposition, public opinion supports him.
Forty-three percent of respondents said they were against sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, while 39 percent said they were in favor, according to a YouGov poll by DPA news agency.
You must get
– Russia uses tanks, so Ukraine also uses tanks, said the head of NATO’s Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, at a press conference after Thursday’s meeting in Brussels.
Admiral Robbauer, Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, at Thursday’s news conference in Brussels. Photo: Virginia Mayo/AP/NTB
European Union President Charles Michel, who visited Kyiv on Thursday, also believes Ukraine should get tanks.
– I firmly believe that the tanks should be sent, Michelle tweeted After meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The oldest tanks
Only Great Britain has so far promised to send tanks to Ukraine, but according to British media, there are currently only four Challenger 2 tanks left. After that, the plan is to send eight more, but it is unclear when.
Challenger 2 is the third generation of this model, but it is more than 20 years old.
For its part, the Ukrainian General Staff estimated that at least 300 tanks would be needed to be able to carry out a successful counterattack against the Russian forces, which control 18% of the country.
Storm troopers
Several countries have already sent armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, but they are lightly armored and more suitable for transporting personnel than for attacks.
France promised to contribute AMX-10 RC stormtroopers, a model that saw the light of day throughout the 1970s.
Germany sent 40 Marder armored personnel carriers, and the United States also contributed Bradley light armored personnel carriers that were first used just over 40 years ago.
New promises
In recent days, several countries have announced shipments of new weapons systems to Ukraine, among them Sweden which will contribute the Archer artillery system, Denmark which will send Caesar guns and the British who will send another 600 Brimstone missiles.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were also among the countries that on Thursday promised to contribute more weapons, including Stinger missiles, S-60 anti-aircraft guns and machine guns.
Other NATO countries share the concern of Germany and the United States when it comes to contributing modern tanks and other high-tech weapon systems and the fear that war could escalate and that NATO might eventually be drawn directly into hostilities.
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