The armored vehicles promised to Ukraine could allow it to launch a new offensive
In Ukraine, the front line hardly moves – and only at the cost of many lives. A situation that Kiev’s allies want to remedy by equipping it with the necessary armor for a new counter-offensive. With Russian defenses bolstered, Ukraine welcomed these pledges to supply equipment, while urging its supporters to follow the UK’s lead in supplying it with Western-designed heavy tanks.
Russian troops “bury themselves, they dig trenches, place dragon’s teeth [des défenses antichars], laying mines. They’re really trying to strengthen that frontline,” Pentagon No. 3 Colin Kahl told reporters this week. The goal is to allow Ukraine to “change this static defense dynamic by giving it the ability to fire and maneuver through the deployment of more mechanized forces”.
Also Read: After Nine Months of War in Ukraine, Russian Armed Forces Are on the Defensive
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US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Friday that Washington expects Ukraine to launch a counter-offensive in the spring. The United States and other countries have recently pledged that they will provide the country with a large number of armored vehicles that could play an important role in possible progress. Washington on Thursday pledged to provide 90 Stryker armored personnel carriers and 59 Bradley light armored vehicles, after announcing the delivery of an additional 50 Bradleys a week earlier.
Germany has promised 40 Marder tanks; France, AMX-10 RC light tank. The UK granted Kiev’s requests for heavy tanks and agreed to send 14 Challenger tanks.
These vehicles could give the Ukrainian army “a significant armored strike capability” that would enable it “to attempt to carry out an offensive (…) similarly.” [à celle] conducted in Kharkiv last fall,” estimated Gian Gentile, a former US military officer who is now a historian at the RAND Corporation think tank, which is close to the US Department of Defense.
The role played by different types of armor varies on the battlefield: heavy tanks can lead the charge and potentially be fired upon by other tanks, while armored personnel carriers are better at dropping infantry to take possession of a city.
For Mark Cancian, an analyst at the American think tank CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies), it would take a lot of tanks to really get things moving. But the addition of several smaller caliber supplies could still have a significant impact, he says.