The head of the armed forces of Ukraine, General Valery Zaluzhny, is demanding three hundred modern Western tanks. In the heart of Europe, where the largest tank battle in history took place during World War II, a tank war is upon us. In 1943, at the height of the Kursk slaughter, three thousand armored vehicles were deployed on Russian territory north of Kharkiv.
Even if a hundred western tanks arrive, would they be able to defeat Putin’s army? Maybe not, but they could serve to dampen Moscow’s dreaded post-war offensive aimed at seizing the entire Donbass or worse. Western tanks risk not arriving on time and emptying most of the European reserves. Gianandrea Gaiani, director of Defense Analysis, points out that the deliveries “present many critical aspects, the first of which stands out that Europe has just enough tanks to equip some detachments of its armies”.
The British lead the Panzer Party. Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Estonia have signed the Tallinn Pact for “the delivery of an unprecedented abundance of donations including tanks, heavy artillery, air defence, munitions and infantry fighting vehicles to the defense of the… Ukraine”. The taboo of modern Western tanks was broken by Great Britain, which decided to send 14 Challenger 2 Germany niche on the Leopard 2. 60-ton armored vehicles with 120 mm guns and targeting systems, which are part of the Russian tanks Poland, which wants to ship them to Ukraine, needs German approval, but Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski said his country was “ready to take unusual measures” to bolster Kyiv.
The Russians are preparing new armored forces consisting of Armata T-14s and recently deployed T-90s in the Donbass after losing thousands of less advanced tanks.
The Dutch are just as determined to get involved in tank warfare, but help pay for new tanks. Gaiani points out that “indeed, no NATO army has surplus tank fleets that it can withdraw without nil or nearly eliminating the corresponding armor components, which have been continuously reduced over the past 20 years”.
Italy has 150 Ariete tanks, but a few dozen would be operational. In the next few years, 125 will be modernized for 1 billion, Germany has 260 Leopards, but only 160 combat-ready. And the British have 227 Challenger 2s. Only Poland has the lion’s share with 500 tanks, half Leopard and half Russian T-72 and T-91. But Warsaw has ordered 366 M1A1/A2 Abrams, Defense Analysis points out, and up to a thousand K2 Black Panthers from South Korea.
The only country that can deliver a hundred wagons to Ukrainians is the United States. However, the Abrams pose logistical, maintenance and training difficulties that take a long time to complete. Not only that: modern Western tanks are perhaps too heavy and complex to bring to Ukraine and use them in the labyrinth of battle on part of the 800 km front. Also for this reason 400 lighter and more flexible combat vehicles have been promised or are on the way, like the German Marder crawlers, the American Bradleys, the Swedish CV90s, the British Stormers, all armed with machine guns and anti-tank missiles. In addition to the French armored cars Amx Rc10 and the US and Canadian Strykers. Our country did not rule out sending Centauro armored vehicles with 105mm guns. An avalanche of vehicles in the face of the great spring battle.