By getting Washington to commit some of its own tanks, Berlin hopes to share the risk of any backlash from Russia.Įkkehard Brose, head of the German military’s Federal Academy for Security Policy, noted the deeper historical significance of the decision. Scholz had insisted that any decision to provide Ukraine with the powerful tanks would need to be taken in conjunction with Germany’s allies, chiefly the U.S. Russia’s ambassador to Germany, Sergey Nechayev, called Berlin’s decision “extremely dangerous,” saying it “shifts the conflict to a new level of confrontation and contradicts the statements of German politicians about their reluctance to get involved in it.” Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials insisted their forces need more modern Western-designed tanks.

Ukraine’s supporters have supplied tanks in the past, but those were Soviet models in the stockpiles of countries that once were in Moscow’s sphere of influence but are now aligned with the West. Ukrainian forces have had to preserve ammunition and deal with frequent breakdowns and maintenance issues, Syrotiuk said.Īltogether, France, the U.K., the U.S., Poland, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden will send hundreds of tanks and heavy armored vehicles to fortify Ukraine as it attempts to break through entrenched Russian lines. He spoke to the AP by phone earlier this week from near the Bakhmut front. “Without the new tanks, we cannot win this war,” said Maksim Butolin, chief sergeant of the 54th Brigade’s Tank Division. With an expected springtime Russian offensive looming, the tanks will also enable Ukraine’s forces to launch new offensives and curb casualties, three military commanders, including two in the army’s tank division, told The Associated Press. The Western tanks could help open a new pipeline for ammunition to flow to Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers and experts said Ukrainian forces are running low on spare parts to repair old Soviet-era tanks and the specific ammunition they require while enduring relentless barrages of Russian artillery. “Tanks will help reduce casualties among our soldiers … then gain new results and win this war quicker,” said Oleksander Syrotiuk, commander of a company in the 17th Tank Brigade deployed in Bakhmut.

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