Enlarge image
An M1A2 Abrams on the grounds of US Base Fort Benning
Photo:
U.S. Army / ZUMA Wire / IMAGO
According to media reports, the United States will deliver dozens of M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine.
They are part of a larger package: the US and Europe want to equip three battalions with main battle tanks.
According to Berlin, Germans are taking part in equipping a battalion with 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks, to which the Finns, Spaniards and Dutch are also expected to contribute tanks of this model.
A second battalion of Type 2A4 Leopards is being put together by Poland and Norway.
According to reports from the USA, the third battalion is to be equipped with M1 Abrams combat vehicles.
But while the federal government expects to be able to deliver its Leopards to Ukraine by the end of March, deliveries from Washington could take significantly longer.
more on the subject
Weapons aid: Ukraine should receive a total of 80 main battle tanks from Europe by Matthias Gebauer
State-of-the-art German main battle tank: Why the Leopard 2 is so popularBy Jörg Römer
The situation in the morning: Scholz struggles through from Mathieu von Rohr
The United States had previously refused to deliver Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
The tank is too expensive, training and maintenance disproportionately expensive, also because they are fueled by kerosene, it was said so far.
The United States does not want to supply the Ukrainians with weapons "that they cannot repair, that they cannot maintain and that they cannot afford in the long term because that is not helpful," said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported plans to send dozens of tanks to Ukraine, citing unspecified sources within the government.
According to the New York Times, there could be around 30 tanks.
What the newspaper also reports, however, is that it could be months or even years before the promised Abrams are ready for combat use in Ukraine.
While the fuel argument is only part of the truth, according to experts, since Abrams tanks can run on any type of fuel despite gas turbines, the problem is more of a logistical one.
A "Herculean task," as former four-star General Robert B. Abrams described it to the newspaper.
“The time it would take to get there — to set up the supplies, deliver the vehicles, train the crews, train the mechanics, get everything you need — how long would that take?” Abrams said , who is said to have extensive experience with the M1 tank, which was named after his father, General Creighton Abrams: "I don't know, but it's not even 30 days, I can tell you that."
cat and mouse game
Getting military equipment into Ukraine is a challenge, and there are fears that shipments could be intercepted en route.
Experts describe the transport process to the New York Times as a game of cat and mouse.
One that Ukraine has won so far.
"Nobody knows in public how it works," said former NATO general Horst-Heinrich Brauß: "I'm not even sure if the capitals know the details."
According to experts, most weapons are transported either by train or flatbed trailers, with rail transport generally being the fastest and safest way to transport tanks.
And yet it would cost too much time, fuel and spare parts to drive the tanks and other armored vehicles to the battlefield.
Also, they would essentially become a moving target for Russian warplanes.
A Russian attack on an arms convoy would not only ensure for Nikolai Sokov of the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation that much of the equipment would be destroyed before it reached the front line.
It would also "delay future deliveries."
At the same time, the effect that the Abrams would have on the Russian tanks was undeniable, said General Abrams: "He'll shred them to shreds.
He'll punch a hole in everything."
In Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia, the situation at the front has been deadlocked for weeks.
Despite fierce fighting, there is hardly any land gains.
Tanks could help Ukraine break through enemy positions and reclaim more occupied territories.
sac
