The German government confirmed on Wednesday (25) the deployment of a first squadron of 14 Leopard-2 tanks to support Ukraine’s war effort against Russia, which invaded it 11 months ago. Berlin has 376 tanks of the type.
“The decision follows our well-known line of supporting Ukraine as best we can,” Prime Minister Olaf Scholz said in a statement. Revealed the day before by Der Spiegel magazine, the measure also opens the door for other NATO countries (Western military alliance) to donate Leopard-2 from their stocks.
This is because Berlin holds the license to re-export the model, which is prevalent in European arsenals: 12 countries on the continent operate around 2,300 tanks. Scholz’s note, however, does not directly mention the request made the day before by Poland to send 14 tanks as well – the military equivalent of a squadron.
Warsaw operates 244 tanks of the type, 97 of which are the older model A4, which it wants to send to Kiev. The meager request tested the German disposition, as the Scholz government was delaying the move. Finland and now Norway have also indicated they want to send some Leopard-2s.
In addition, the American newspaper The Washington Post published a report saying that the government of Joe Biden has changed its mind and is considering the possibility of supplying the powerful, expensive and difficult to operate M1A2 Abrams tanks to Kiev. It remains to be seen whether the leak was aimed at putting pressure on the Germans or is for real, which will add to the already harsh Russian rhetoric of retaliation in the war.
It is also not clear where the German armor will come from. If they are stock, the manufacturer Rheinmetall had estimated that the preparation for the return to active duty would take until the end of the year. Furthermore, it is estimated that training a full crew to operate the tanks takes three to six weeks, underneath.
This is necessary because NATO does not involve troops in the war, in order to avoid an escalation that would escalate to World War III at the limit. But Moscow has already protested against the deployment of the tanks, itself a notch in military support so far.
The decision ends weeks of pressure from its allies to support Ukraine’s resistance against the Russian invasion, Germany gave in and will allow not only the sending of tanks of its manufacture operated by other countries to Kiev, but also to send an uncertain number of armored vehicles. of your army.
Last Friday (20), the so-called Contact Group, which brings together the 30 countries of NATO plus another 20 allies, discussed the case. Ukraine is asking for tanks, an offensive weapon so far not provided by the West, to mount attacks against the Russians in the coming months.
President Volodymir Zelensky urged haste, as Moscow has reaped victories in the east and south of the country, something not seen since the middle of last year, and its campaign to degrade the country’s energy infrastructure has taken a toll on the civilian population. On Tuesday (24), he promoted a major purge of authorities in the country, which suggests internal tensions.
The central reason for the German unwillingness to get more involved in the conflict, risking a direct clash between NATO and Moscow. There are domestic factors as well, as the pacifism that guided the country after the disasters of militarism in the two world conflicts of the 20th century is very strong, and the idea of German tanks being used against Russians evokes dark memories.
The UK has already said it will send 14 Challenger-2 models. Experts say a minimum of 100 tanks would make a difference, and Kiev wants three times as many.
Kiev had nearly 1,000 tanks before the war and has lost nearly half of them, according to data from the Dutch website Oryx. In the first half of 2020, it received 230 old Soviet T-72s from Poland, a model it already operated.
All this explains the Ukrainian rush. In any case, the West approved a succulent military package at the Friday meeting, with armored infantry, artillery and light tanks. The US alone will give an additional $2.5 billion (R$13 billion) to Kiev, bringing its military donations to $26.7 billion (R$139 billion).
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