“We need everything, but IFVs are probably the most urgent need we have,” an officer in a Ukrainian mechanized brigade messaged me last week. Not the tank, but it’s less glamorous cousin-the infantry fighting vehicle (IFV)-was at the top of its weapons wish list. Listen to Ukrainian military officers, like I was able to do during a research trip to Kyiv and the Donbas this month, and a different picture emerges. Germany’s much-delayed decision to deliver Leopard 2 tanks (and allow other countries to deliver the German-made weapon), along with a British decision to send Challenger 2s, was hailed by many observers as a potential game-changer that would enable Ukraine to conduct offensive operations this spring. Washington’s reported promise on 24 February to deliver a significant number of its own Abrams tanks appears to have broken the deadlock.Īn official US announcement on delivering Abrams is expected in the coming days.The last few months saw a contentious debate among Kyiv’s Western partners about whether to supply Western-made main battle tanks to Ukraine to help it beat back the Russian invasion. Germany has tried to tie the supply of Leopards to a wider coalition that would supply other tanks, including US Abrams – a tank viewed by experts as being less suitable for the war in Ukraine because of its heavy consumption of fuel. The supply of main battle tanks had been seen as problematic because of their much more obviously offensive capabilities. It prefers a multilateral approach on arms supply to Ukraine rather than being seen to be moving unilaterally.Īlthough Germany has supplied a large amount of equipment to Ukraine, including armoured cars, it has also been wrestling with its post-second world war tradition of anti-militarism.

Germany’s position on sending heavy weaponry has been conflicted. Chart of Leopard 2 inventories of European and Nato countries Why the delay?

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