No decision was taken on the matter yesterday, although the countries participating in the conference pledged to provide a large amount of other equipment.
Western allies failed to reach a deal to supply Ukraine with heavy tanks that could bolster its armed forces ahead of a spring counter-offensive against the Russian military, with the US asking Kyiv to delay the start of that operation. .
The head of the American army, Mark Milley, in his statements after the end of the conference of the countries that provide military assistance, which was held yesterday Friday at the American military base of Rammstein in Germany, estimated that it will be very difficult for Ukraine to expel Russian forces from its territory this year.
In the days leading up to the Ramstein conference, discussions had been dominated by the question of whether Germany would agree to send Leopard 2s to Ukraine or allow other countries that have these German-made tanks to deliver them to Kyiv.
No decision was finally made on the matter yesterday, officials said, although the countries participating in the conference pledged to provide a large amount of other equipment, including anti-aircraft defense systems and other tanks.
“We had a frank discussion about the Leopard 2. It will continue,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said after the conference.
The US, for its part, stands by its decision not to give Abrams tanks to Ukraine, as a senior US official from Washington pointed out.
In Ramstein, Milli said during a press conference: “From a military point of view, I still think that this year it will be very difficult for the (Ukrainian) army to drive Russian forces out of every inch of Russian-occupied Ukraine.”
Cautious Germany
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pointed out at the press conference that Ukraine is well equipped to launch a counterattack, even without the Leopards.
“Ukraine does not depend on a single platform,” he stressed.
The administration of US President Joe Biden is under pressure within the US to provide more advanced weapons to Ukraine. “We shouldn’t send American troops to Ukraine, but we should give it what we would give our troops if they were fighting on the battlefield,” said Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal.
From the side of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg he noted to Reuters that countries supporting Ukraine should focus not only on sending new weapons, but also on providing ammunition for the older systems and help with their maintenance.
Germany is under heavy pressure to allow the Leopard 2 deployment. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party, the Social Democrats (SPD), has traditionally been very cautious about the country’s military involvement in various conflicts and does not want them to be rushed actions that could prompt Russia to escalate the war.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he would not say when Berlin would make a decision on the tanks, but added that his country was ready to move quickly if there was consensus among the allies.
“All pros and cons are carefully considered,” Pistorius noted.
Ukrainian President Zelensky thanked his allies for their support at the start of the conference, but stressed that more needs to be done, and faster.
“We have to speed up. Time must become our weapon. The Kremlin must lose,” he underlined, estimating that “there is no alternative” to providing the country with heavy tanks from the West.
Although these tanks are defensive, they will be used for the counterattack, estimated Mark Kancian, a former officer in the Marines and now an analyst at the US institute CSIS.
“I think (the offer of weapons from Western countries) is particularly focused on a Ukrainian attack, which everyone expects (…) later in the winter,” he noted.
According to him, it will take many tanks to really make a difference, but many smaller deliveries of equipment could have a significant effect on the outcome of the conflict.
Added to US aid to Ukraine, which amounts to several billion dollars, is a training program for Ukrainian forces, under which 500 soldiers will be trained a month.
Milli estimated yesterday that the Ukrainian army would have to be highly trained in the use of the equipment in order for its counter-offensive to be successful.
RES-EMP
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