The Independent quoted Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the British House of Commons Defense Committee, as urging ministers to do “much more” to support Kiev.
“Actually, NATO ended up at the docks. We have to do much more to put out this fire, but we don’t. Especially if they (Ukrainian. – socialbites.ca) want to retake the territory and go on the offensive, something must break this impasse. Main battle tanks are also part of that mix.”
said.
Ellwood also welcomed the possibility of sending British armor to Ukraine.
“This is our war, but we left the Ukrainians to fight. It shows how far we have come in our desire to look. [президенту России Владимиру] Do not be discouraged by Putin’s eyes and rhetoric, and we are finally sending this much-needed serious weapon to Ukraine,” he said.
An unnamed Western official in an interview Independent He called Ukraine’s request for 300 assault tanks “unreasonable”. However, he did not specify how many tanks Kiev more or less actually needs. Still, the official agreed on the need to supply armored vehicles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“One of the elements that the Ukrainians lack in capability is a sufficient number of main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs) to support offensive maneuvering operations,” he said.
The article also says that some unnamed officials have admitted that the parties to the conflict in Ukraine are now in “very close contact”, preventing Kiev from launching a successful offensive.
“The Ukrainians will not be able to retake important areas without changing their military position compared to last year. The balance of power between Russians and Ukrainians is very delicate,” the article says.
The warnings from Western authorities came amid the delivery of French AMX-10RC wheeled tanks to Ukraine and Britain’s readiness to deliver the Challenger 2 main battle tank to Kiev.
Will Western armored vehicles
On January 10, it was learned that the Pentagon is considering the possibility of transferring Stryker armored combat vehicles to Ukraine, that they can be included in a new aid package, which is planned to be announced at the end of next week. Citing sources, the newspaper Politico writes that Washington believes these armored vehicles will help Ukraine repel an expected Russian attack in the spring. According to sources, the final decision on procurement has not yet been made. Also last week, the USA announced the transfer of M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles to Kiev, we can talk about 50 products.
However, Kyiv will receive the German BMP Marder, the number of vehicles under the contract is unknown. Politico explains that if Western countries start to supply Kiev with their own modern armored vehicles, it will open deliveries for vehicles such as the American M1 Abrams and the German Leopard.
On January 9, Downing Street reported that the final decision on the supply of Challenger tanks has not yet been made, the issue has been processed.
“For several months we have been working with partners to provide tanks and armored vehicles, artillery and air defense equipment. The Prime Minister (Rishi Sunak from Great Britain – yak. socialbites.ca) spoke with President Zelensky just last week about what can help Ukraine develop military success, ”said the representative of the British Prime Minister.
On 7 January it was learned that Poland would not supply Ukraine with its own German Leopard II tanks. However, they noted that they excluded such supplies “without a broad coalition”. That is, if other NATO countries join Poland, vehicle transfer is possible. Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that, citing representatives from Warsaw, they were considering the possibility of transferring the Leopard II to Kiev.
However, NATO expressed concern over Moscow’s response, which they assumed would consider the armored vehicle supply as a further escalation of the conflict. In April 2022, the Russian Federation sent a note to the alliance countries for the supply of weapons to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that military supplies from Western countries to Ukraine are legitimate targets for Russia. The Kremlin said the arms supply did not contribute to the development of peace negotiations.