On his 45th birthday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received the gift he had been asking for for months: heavy tanks. Germany announced the shipment of 14 Leopard 2s and authorized other countries to provide those they have in their arsenal. For their part, the US confirmed sending 31 M1 Abrams tanks, something they said was out of the question for days. This breaks yet another taboo that existed in the West and Kiev is already thinking about what the future could be: the F-16 fighters.
“The next big hurdle will be fighter jets,” That is what an adviser to the Ukrainian Defense Minister, Oleksii Reznikov, told Reuters. “If we get them, the benefits on the battlefield will be huge. It’s not just F-16s. We want fourth-generation fighters,” Yuriy Sak said. “They wouldn’t give us heavy artillery, and then they did. They wouldn’t give us the Himars system [lançadores móveis de rockets], and then they gave. They wouldn’t give us tanks, now they give us tanks. Besides nuclear weapons, there is nothing we cannot achieve.he added.
Last week, in the message he sent to the meeting of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine in Ramstein, Zelensky had already asked for the F-16 – in addition to fighter jets and long-range missiles. “This is a dream. And this is a task”, said this Wednesday. The Netherlands has said it is open to the possibility of supplying these fighter jets to the Ukrainians if Kiev requests it. “There are no taboos” on handing over equipment, said Dutch diplomatic chief Wopke Hoekstra, promising the government “open mind”.
According to the World Directorate of Modern Military Aircraft, the Ukrainian Air Force currently has 61 Soviet-made fighters, namely the Sukhoi Su-27 and Su-24 and the MiG-29. Despite Russia having superior numbers – according to the same database it will have 1188 fighters – it has failed to dominate Ukraine’s skies since its invasion 11 months ago.
“Important Step”
For now, the fighters are just a wish of the Ukrainians, who welcome the promise of heavy tanks – it may be three months before the first German leopards reach the battlefield, however. In a contact with the German Chancellor, Zelensky said he was “sincerely grateful” to Olaf Scholz and all of Ukraine’s friends in Germany, speaking of “important and appropriate” decisions.
Any disagreement seems to be over and the pressure, along with other allies, is being brought to bear on Berlin. Germany is prepared to send 14 Leopard 2A6s for the time being, with countries such as Poland, Norway, Finland or Spain also available to provide part of their supplies.
Later it was the turn of US President Joe Biden to announce the deployment of 31 M1 Abrams. “These tanks are further evidence of our enduring and relentless commitment to Ukraine and our confidence in the capabilities of the Ukrainian armed forces,” he said. the decision is not an “offensive threat against Russia”. Zelensky thanked Biden’s “powerful decision” on Twitter, emphasizing that it is “an important step on the road to victory.”
Experts believe that to make a difference on the ground, at least 100 tanks are needed, with Kiev asking for 300. The numbers promised so far fall short, Zelensky says “the key now is speed and volume. The speed of training our army and the speed of delivering tanks to Ukraine and the quantity”.
Russia has responded to the confirmation of Western tank deployment by saying it will lead to an “escalation” of the situation in Ukraine. Even before it was official for the US to send the Abrams, the Kremlin spokesman thought this was an absurd idea and a waste of money.”These tanks will burn like any other”says Dmitry Peskov.
Who sends tanks?
Germany will send 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks, but it may take three months for them to reach Ukraine.
United States promised 31 Abrams M1, the equivalent of a battalion.
Poland will send a company, that is, between 10 and 14 Leopard.
Norway confirmed it will ship but not how much. It has 36 leopards.
The Netherlands consider sending 18 of these German-made tanks.
Spain also shows availability but does not go through with numbers. It has 327.
Portugal will make a decision “in the coming days”, namely to evaluate availability and the impact it would have to deliver some of the 37 Leopards it has. Defense Minister Helena Carreiras said the country “will participate and help Ukraine develop its capacity in this area”.
UK had already promised 14 of its Challenger 2 tanks.
France He is considering sending his Leclerc heavy tanks.
Source: DN
