Also, as mentioned, Training of Ukrainian soldiers will begin immediately, and Germany will receive transport and ammunition.

Germany’s decision paves the way for other countries such as Poland, Spain and Norway to send Leopard to Ukraine.

Over the past few weeks, pressure has increased on Olaf Soltz’s government to send tanks and allow other NATO countries to do the same. Initially, Berlin was afraid to send tanks to Ukraine.

“This decision is in line with our well-known line of support for Ukraine to the best of our ability,” Soltz said in a statement referring to international coordination.

It is noted that US approval of the supply of Abrams tanks is expected during the day.

Sending a significant number of such tanks to the Ukrainian army is likely to significantly strengthen the armed forces of the defending country in the 11-month war and help the Kyiv ground forces in their quest to return the territory held by the Russian and pro-Russian military. separatists in the east and south of Ukraine.

Washington withdraws German reservations

Previously, Politico spoke about a 180-degree turn by Germany, stressing that this could also be a critical moment for the development of the war in Ukraine, given the power, number and capabilities of the German tanks that Kyiv will receive.

In addition, the U.S. is also sending “significant numbers” of heavy-duty armored vehicles in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s continued request for an immediate and large influx of Western tanks. “We are not talking about 5, 10 or 20 tanks,” the Ukrainian leader said in a recent taped message. CNN was talking specifically about “about 30 tanks” that the US military will send.

The White House and the Pentagon also declined to confirm the delivery of the M1 Abrams tank, but two sources told Reuters it could be announced within a day.

Thus, the weeks-long standoff between NATO member countries over how much Ukraine will gain ground on the battlefield is coming to an end, as German resistance, which led to the delay in sending tanks to Kyiv, is now flexing.

Berlin has long resisted sending the Leopard 2, wanting Washington to take the first step in sending heavy armor. Now the upcoming US announcement has cleared the way for Olaf Soltz to complete this 180-degree turnaround and announce the delivery of equipment that could prove decisive on the battlefield.

Thus, the removal of reservations within the United States regarding more active participation in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict effectively removes Berlin’s reservations, Politico notes.

Russian reaction

Of course, the movements of the Western alliance do not go unnoticed by Moscow, rightly worried that it has not only lost the initiative on the battlefield, but also risks losing the illegal gains of 2014, i.e. informal control over part of the Donbass and the geostrategically valuable Crimean Peninsula.

Russia is already saying that any deployment of new tanks to the Ukrainian army would be a “blatant provocation” from the West, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this week that the Western alliance was openly involved in the conflict in Ukraine by sending its own weapons. “These tanks will be burned, like the previous ones,” was the Kremlin’s reaction to the news that came from the West.

However, apart from words, Moscow does not have much room to react, because, despite threats that weapons sent by the West are legitimate targets for missile strikes, the Ukrainian army usually receives all sorts of – already now – military reinforcements from the West, in while Russian fire prefers to hit energy structures or even civilians in urban structures.

Delivery problem

This does not mean that the delivery of these tanks will be an easy process – quite the contrary. As the New York Times notes, fears that Russia will target highways, railroads or material transfer areas as they move to the front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine require what officials and experts call secret convoys, usually hidden in the dark. or disguised to avoid Russian attack.

Experts describe the process of moving ammunition and vehicles to the conflict zone as a game of cat and mouse, in which Ukraine wins.

“Publicly, no one knows how this happens,” Heinrich Braus, a former Assistant Secretary General of NATO who is now a member of the German Council on Foreign Relations, told The Times. “I’m not even sure if the capitals know the details of what’s going on, but they’re doing it.”

^{According to Reuters, Politico, The New York Times, Euronews, CNN.}