Explained: Are European allies planning to send tanks to Ukraine?

Amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv’s western allies might have finally answered the country’s long standing call to supply modern battle tanks. On late Saturday (January 14), the United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office said that Britain would be sending 14 Challenger 2 tanks along with some other artillery to support Ukraine. This comes after the UK PM and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a telephonic conversation during which Sunak confirmed that he would send tanks and additional weapons to Kyiv. Meanwhile, Germany for weeks has been considering sending tanks amid growing pressure from France and Poland. 

UK to send 14 tanks and weapons to Ukraine

The announcement was made by UK PM Sunak’s office after the two leaders spoke, late Saturday, “As the people of Ukraine approach their second year living under relentless Russian bombardment, the Prime Minister is dedicated to ensuring Ukraine wins this war,” said the British prime minister’s office, in a statement. 

In the upcoming weeks, the UK is planning to send a squadron of 14 Challenger 2 tanks along with 30 self-propelled AS90 guns which would be operated by five gunners. Furthermore, Britain will also train Ukrainian army personnel on how to use the tanks as well as the guns. 

This comes after the British PM highlighted the country’s “ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine”, as per a readout of a phone call with Zelensky. According to Sunak’s office, he believes a “long and static war only serves Russia’s interests”. It added, “UK defence and security officials believe a window has opened up where Russia is on the backfoot due to resupply issues and plummeting morale.”

Additionally, the UK PM believes that the British Army’s main battle tank would help Ukrainian forces “push Russian troops back”. Notably, this move now makes Britain the first western country to supply Kyiv with heavy tanks which it has sought for some time now including US main battle tank M1 Abrams and German Leopard 2 tanks. 

After the conversation and announcement, Zelensky took to Twitter and thanked the UK PM for his decision to send the tanks and said, “that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield but also send the right signal to other partners.” He also spoke about how UK’s support was “always strong” and was “now impenetrable”. 

Earlier this week, Sunak’s office also spoke about coordinating efforts with allies Germany, France and the United States as they are among the countries who have also indicated that they would be willing to send armoured vehicles to Ukraine. 

How has Russia responded to the UK’s announcement? 

The announcement received a swift response from the Russian Embassy in London which said that sending tanks to Ukraine would be evidence of the “increasingly obvious involvement of London in the conflict” as well as “intensify” the conflict and lead to more casualties including civilians. 

According to the Russian news agency TASS, the embassy said, “As for the Challenger 2 tanks, they are unlikely to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine turn the tide on the battlefield, but they will become a legitimate large target for the Russian artillery.” Similarly, in response to the UK’s decision to send Challenger tanks, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reiterated her response that “weapons supplies are legitimate targets for Russian strikes.” 

What are Challenger 2 tanks?

According to the British Army, Challenger 2 is a battle tank designed to attack other tanks and has been in service since 1994. It was deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Iraq, reported Reuters. While they are over two decades old they will be the most modern tank at Ukraine’s disposal amid the ongoing conflict. 

The Challenger 2 is a 64-tonne main battle tank, built by British Aerospace Systems in the 1990s and has a maximum speed ranging from 40 km/hour to 59 km/hour which can cover a distance of 250 km to 450 km. It can also carry a four-member crew with a commander, gunner, loader and driver and is armed with a 120mm rifled tank gun, Boeing 7.62mm chain gun, a 7.62 mm General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), and L37A2 anti-air machine gun, reported Al Jazeera.

Earlier this month, Berlin agreed to supply Ukraine with Marder infantry fighting vehicles as well as the Patriot air system. However, there has been mounting pressure on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to authorise the re-export of modern battle tanks to Kyiv. However, Scholz previously said that such a move would have to be coordinated with the entire Western alliance, including the US. 

Furthermore, reports suggest that the German Chancellor has been reluctant to send battle tanks as he does not want to act alone while some western leaders are being cautious about the aid and weapons they send to Ukraine as their response can be viewed as an escalation or provocation by Russia. So far, Kyiv’s allies like Poland and the Czech Republic have only been willing to send the country Soviet-era T-72 tanks. 

According to estimates by the European Council on Foreign Relations, there are nearly 2,000 Leopard tanks in Europe. “The Ukrainians really want the Leopards because there are lots in stock across Europe,” said a French official familiar with the discussions to Politico. 

Germany’s support is seen as crucial being one of the biggest economies in the EU and also because while 13 European countries are reportedly in possession of Leopard 2 tanks including Poland, France, and Finland they need Berlin’s authorisation to re-export the procured tanks. Since the Leopards are being produced by Munich-based defence company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann their delivery to Ukraine would require the authorisation of the country of origin which in this case is Germany. 

However, on Thursday, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, said that Berlin should not block any countries from re-exporting Leopard tanks. “Germany should not stand in the way of other countries taking decisions to support Ukraine, independent of which decisions Germany takes,” said Habeck, on the sidelines of the Greens party meeting in Berlin.  

Additionally, German deputy government spokeswoman, Christiane Hoffmann, addressing a press conference, said that Berlin has not received a formal request from either Poland or Finland but also said that sending the tanks without their approval would be “illegal”. 

Germany is still in the midst of considering the right thing to do and how to best support Ukraine, Hoffmann added. Last week, the Berlin government spokesperson also stressed that one of the key goals for the country is to not become an active part of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. 

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A report by Bloomberg citing two officials familiar with the German government’s thinking said that they believe that Berlin will likely decide to supply the Leopards to Ukraine. The report, citing a German official familiar with the matter, also claims that the country will make a decision before an upcoming meeting between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his German counterpart Christine Lambrecht at the American airbase in Ramstein scheduled for later this month. 

What about other European nations?

The President of Poland, Andrzej Duda had earlier indicated that while they are ready to send Leopard tanks to Kyiv it would only be possible under a larger international coalition of tank aid to Ukraine. According to the German institute Kiel’s Ukraine Support Tracker, Poland has already sent at least 200 Soviet-style tanks, while countries like UK, France and Poland have also given a total of $12 billion as military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. 

Earlier this month, France said that it would send its AMX-10 RC armoured combat vehicles which are deemed “light tanks” in Paris to Ukraine. Subsequently, the US agreed to send its Bradley fighting vehicles while Germany announced it would send its Marder armoured personnel carriers for the first time since the conflict began almost a year ago. 

What is happening at NATO?

A report by CNN, citing western officials, says that the decision of sending more tanks by some countries but not by others was part of a broader assessment of the on-ground situation in Ukraine while NATO allies in recent weeks have been deciding the best course of action in providing specific types of assistance be it military or money. 

There are also growing concerns about Western stocks of such weapons as Ukrainians have understandably been burning through ammunition at an astonishing rate, said NPR’s Frank Langfitt, reporting from Brussels, on Thursday. 

He also spoke about how every ambassador that he interacted with was worried about this as there was no demand or market for these kinds of heavy weapons and “nobody here saw a major land war coming. So now, NATO allies, they’re meeting with arms makers.” 

Therefore, even NATO countries are trying to ramp up manufacturing and weapons supplies amid the unprecedented rise in demand. So far, several reports have suggested that as the conflict is nearing the one-year mark it is entering a new phase and Ukraine could witness major attacks from Russia. 

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Meanwhile, Germany remains concerned about causing further provocations against Moscow, European officials have argued that they have shared enough weapons and intelligence which has significantly benefited Kyiv. Therefore, sending tanks cannot be that big an escalation, regardless of what Russia might say about the move, reported CNN. 

(With inputs from agencies) 

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