By April, Ukraine will receive only 50 tanks, which is only about a quarter of the total number of vehicles promised to the country by its Western partners. This was reported by the British newspaper on February 19 The Times.
“Ukraine is expecting about 320 Western tanks, the deliveries of which have already been announced. However, estimates show that only about 50 of them will be on the front lines by April – for various reasons, ”the article says.
The publication notes that such a number of military vehicles is completely insufficient to significantly influence the course of the conflict.
On the same day, the head of diplomacy of the European Union (EU), Josep Borrell, pointed out that in order to properly supply the armies in European countries, the EU needs an industrial blitzkrieg, which will make it possible to increase the production of weapons, ammunition and military equipment many times over.
On February 18, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that many countries found they did not have serviceable tanks to hand over to Kyiv. In addition, ammunition stocks also turned out to be insufficient. As Wallace noted, NATO countries “had to realize with pain” that their armies had been depleted over the past 30 years.
Then about his disappointment with the position of the allies of the FRG on the supply of tanks to Ukraine. said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He reproached the allies for failing to send the necessary weapons to Kyiv, after several months themselves urging Berlin to do so.
On February 15, former adviser to the head of the Pentagon, Colonel Douglas McGregor, said that Kiev was apparently running out of ammunition. He admitted that this would force the Kyiv authorities to retreat. Otherwise, according to McGregor, the Ukrainian troops will simply be destroyed.
On January 25, the German government announced a decision to transfer Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Germany is ready to form two tank battalions, and at the first stage, Berlin will send a company of 14 tanks. At the same time, US President Joe Biden announced the supply of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. Britain will also supply tanks to Kyiv. Following the decision of the FRG, plans to supply Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine were announced in Finland, Portugal, the Netherlands and Norway. But later, some of these countries reversed their decision.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Kyiv against the backdrop of a special operation of the Russian Federation to protect Donbass, the decision on which was made against the backdrop of aggravation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
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