Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine last February, tanks have been prominent on the battlefield.įor its part, Ukraine has mostly relied on Soviet-era T-72 tanks. Why are tanks important to Ukraine's war effort? Some 60 tons of armor protect their crews from return fire.Īmong the countries that operate the Leopard 2 is Poland, which has pledged to send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine but must await Germany's approval to do so. They are built to move quickly over a variety of terrain and confront enemy armor - like the tanks Russia has been using on the ground in Ukraine since the first days of its invasion last year.Įach tank boasts a 44- or 55-caliber 120-mm main gun and a 1,500-horsepower engine that allows it to move as fast as 44 mph, according to Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, the German defense company that manufactures the tank. The Leopard 2 was originally designed in the 1970s for the West German army in response to Soviet threats during the Cold War. The German-made Leopard 2 is one of the most well-reputed battle tanks in the world, perhaps second only to the U.S.-made M1 Abrams tank, military arms experts said. "We cannot say today when a decision will come and what it will look like," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Friday. Germany has come under growing pressure to provide some to Ukraine - or to allow other countries, like Poland, to send theirs. Recent debate has centered on the Leopard 2, a German-made battle tank operated by about 20 countries worldwide, including more than a dozen NATO members. "But hundreds of 'thank you' are not hundreds of tanks," he said.
"I can thank you hundreds of times, and it will be absolutely just and fair, given all that we have already done," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at this week's meeting of defense officials in Ramstein, Germany. and its NATO allies have announced another package of military aid to Ukraine, full of military vehicles, air defense systems, rockets and missiles, a notable omission is the one piece of equipment that has come to dominate recent talks: tanks.įor months, Ukrainian officials have pressed the West for hundreds of modern battle tanks like those made by the U.S. A German Leopard 2 battle tank pictured during a NATO training exercise in Lithuania last October.
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