/Pogled.info/ In Kiev, they are actively preparing an offensive and are asking the Western allies for more tanks. In NATO, despite promises, they are not in a hurry with deliveries. What is the reason for the delay?
Tank armada
During a recent visit to Kiev, Joe Biden said that the US and its allies are transferring 700 tanks to the VSU. In Ukraine, they were delighted: this is much more than they wanted earlier. But it soon became clear that the American president had in mind not the new supplies, but the total amount provided to Kiev since last year.
The Dutch analytical portal Oryx explains:
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In April 2022, Germany and the Czech Republic sent VSU 38 T-72M1s. Prague received 15 “Leopard” 2A4C and repair-evacuation machines “Buffel” for this;
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At the same time, T-72s began to be delivered from Poland. In just 11 months – 290 machines from Warsaw;
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May-June – 51 T-72M1s arrive from Prague. Part of the Czechs buy from Bulgaria;
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From the beginning of summer – Polish PT-91 “Tverdi”. Warsaw promises another 90 units.
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July-August – eight T-72A from Macedonia;
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October – 28 M-55 from Slovenia;
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From January 2023 – 90 T-72EA from the Czech Republic. The equipment was bought with money from the US and the Netherlands.
All this is a legacy of the Warsaw Pact, partially modernized. For example, the M-55 is a Slovenian-Israeli improvement of the “old man” T-55, which received a NATO 105-mm gun L7A1, dynamic protection and a new fire control system. The basis of the Polish tank is the T-72.
It is clear that these reserves are now exhausted. Washington and its allies had to decide on the transfer of Western technology.
Ambitious plans
The Americans did not want to give up their own “Abrams” – They put pressure on Germany, the main European tank power.
In Berlin they were ready only to follow the example of Washington. And the White House was in no hurry, calling on allies. After all, France announced the delivery of wheeled tanks, Britain – a heavy “Challenger”. But this was not enough for Germany.
And in late January, the White House agreed to share Abrams.
Here’s what will eventually be sent to Ukraine:
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14 “Challenger-2C” from Great Britain.
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14 Leopard 2A4 from Poland.
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Over a hundred “Leopard-1A5” from Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.
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Eight Leopard-2A4s from Canada and the same number from Norway.
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Six “Leopard-2A4” from Spain.
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18 “Leopard-2A6” from Germany and three from Portugal.
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Ten “Stridvan-122” from Sweden (modernization of licensed “Leopard-2A5”);
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31 M1 “Abrams” from the USA.
In fact, they promised much more. But the Netherlands and Denmark opted out, and Finland replaced the tanks with three mine-clearing machines.
„WITHthe zoological garden
The problems don’t end there. “Ukraine needs tanks, not a zoo,” say Foundation for Defense of Democracies experts Lt. Col. James Hesson and Bradley Bowman.
They are concerned about the species diversity of military equipment.
“Maintenance of tanks is quite difficult: you will need repair units in the units, intermediate units and warehouses, complex logistics systems for four different types of combat vehicles,” they note.
Needs ammo and spare parts. In addition, “Challenger” shells are not suitable for “Leopard” or “Abrams” – and vice versa.
The caliber of the cannon of the outdated “Leopard-1” is 105 millimeters. As the American expert Thomas Newdick points out, currently such ammunition is practically not produced. It is difficult to set up production, so Berlin tried to buy shells from Brazil. He was refused.
American tanks have gas turbine engines, most Ukrainian, Soviet-made tanks have diesel engines. Accordingly, difficulties with the repair are guaranteed.
With German technology, it is even more complicated. “Spare parts are produced only in Germany. And even there they are not enough,” Polish President Andrzej Duda complained that day.
Debtthey eat way to the front
And transporting tanks to Ukraine is a logistical challenge. The movement of NATO heavy equipment is strictly regulated. According to Le Monde, French tanks are no match for German trucks, so Leclerc will be sent by rail. The route will be longer.
According to General Jean-Claude Allard, a former French representative at the US Central Command and head of operations for the NATO contingent in Kosovo, the combat vehicles will most likely be delivered to the Romanian border first. Then – in Ukraine, in an atmosphere of strict secrecy: they are too big a target.
“Trains several kilometers long were needed to accommodate two French pieces of heavy equipment in Poland in 2022,” recalls Allard.
According to the New York Times, the West will have to create a “mosaic” of secret routes. Starting points are Poland, Slovakia and Germany.
Deadlines are pressing
And even if all are brought safely to the front, it is too little. And considering the “zoo” from such help there is more harm than good.
Here in NATO, they are in no hurry. So far, only a few Polish Leopard-2A4s have arrived in Ukraine. The rest are running: the Spanish media refer to the need to repair tanks, the German ones note that only 30% of the Bundeswehr’s machines are in combat readiness.
Washington also delayed the shipment of the M1 Abrams until better times. According to US Secretary of the Army Christine Warmot, the transport will take more than a year.
However, the first leopards have already appeared in the war zone, DPR authorities said. Exactly how much is unclear.
And the problems facing the Allies continue to intensify. In fact, only political will is sufficient to solve them. Meanwhile, as the New York Times scathingly notes, “the stream of tanks Western leaders are talking about is more like a trickle.”
Translation: V. Sergeev
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