![]() But the delay only increases the cost for Ukraine in casualties and lengthens the war. At some point, Washington will likely relent and send these systems. Even more than tanks, these weapons would enable a fast and successful counteroffensive but early last week the Biden administration repeated that there were no plans to meet these Ukrainian requests. Were the United States to give Ukraine the longer-range fires, Russia would have to move its supply depots much farther back. Currently the United States has only sent artillery with a range of eighty-five kilometers, which has prompted Moscow to set up logistical centers one hundred kilometers from the front lines. ![]() What Ukraine needs most to stop in its tracks Moscow’s current operations in the Donbas and Zaporizhzhia are longer-range artillery and missiles with a range up to three hundred kilometers. Tanks are important to increase the capability of Ukraine’s military, but they are not the most important factor. (Indeed, the US decision to send the Abrams tanks through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative means that delivery will be many months in the future-not in time for a Ukrainian offensive this year.) And despite this welcome decision on tanks, this caution is still a factor. A well-conducted influence operation by Moscow to suggest that any Western provision of sophisticated arms could prompt Putin to escalate with nuclear weapons has kept the West from moving with dispatch to provide Ukraine the arms necessary to defeat Putin faster on the battlefield. The delay in sending tanks to Ukraine is part of the pattern of undue US and German caution in arming Ukraine. On the flat terrain in Ukraine’s east and south, they could spearhead the counteroffensive. If the tanks reach Ukraine in the next few months-which cannot be taken for granted-they could also be deployed by Ukraine in its own planning for a new counteroffensive. They will also prove invaluable if Moscow launches a major offensive from Belarus or elsewhere this year, something that Ukraine’s intelligence services expect. The timing is important as Moscow’s months-long offensive in the Donbas near Bakhmut and Soledar has made minor gains in recent days, and Moscow has begun small offensive operations in the Zaporizhzhia region. The tanks will help Ukraine defend its positions with fewer casualties in both locations. The concurrent decision by the United States to send Abrams tanks, which seems to have encouraged Berlin to do the right thing, also adds to the value of the weapons package the West is sending Kyiv. Germany’s decision, at last, to permit other European states to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, and to send its own Leopards as well, is a significant step forward in Western support for Ukraine. Michael John Williams: Watch out for a Russian offensive before the tanks reach the battlefield These tanks could spearhead a Ukrainian counteroffensive Watts: The war in Ukraine will prove that tanks still matter-and Leopards will outclass their Russian counterparts Rachel Rizzo: There’s no going back for Germany’s relationship with Russia Here’s how it can lead now.ĭaniel Fried: Germany finally sees what Putin’s Russia has becomeĬhristopher Skaluba: Western unity is restored, but Zelenskyy’s next ask might get more complicated Jörn Fleck: Germany’s decisionmaking has been torturous. John Herbst: These tanks could spearhead a Ukrainian counteroffensive ![]() ![]() What difference will these weapons make on the battlefield? How will Russian President Vladimir Putin react? And is this a turning point for Germany’s participation in arming Ukraine? Our experts lay out what’s next. Meanwhile, the United States will send its own M1 Abrams tanks. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Wednesday that Berlin will send Leopard 2 tanks-and allow other European nations to do so. After months of haggling and delay, both the United States and Germany are sending the battle tanks requested by Ukraine for its extended fight against Russia. JanuExperts react: The West finally sends in the tanks.
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