Ukraine faces logistics hurdles ahead of tank deliveries - The Washington Post

Ukraine has said that it needs astatine slightest 300 tanks to enactment a large-scale outpouring violative against the Russians and has called the Western determination to donate them a crippled changer. On Thursday, successful evident retaliation for the vessel pledges a time earlier, Russia bombarded Ukrainian towns and cities with dozens of missiles, sidesplitting astatine slightest 11 people, officials said.

“No azygous weapons strategy oregon level tin beryllium a crippled changer,” said Franz-Stefan Gady, a elder chap astatine the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. He said that the interaction of the “limited number” of tanks arriving successful March volition beryllium connected grooming and however good the caller formations are integrated connected the beforehand line.

But due to the fact that Germany waited truthful agelong to determine whether to nonstop tanks, “it is improbable that the Leopard 2 volition play a important relation successful immoderate outpouring offensive,” helium said.

Moscow connected Thursday slammed the deliveries arsenic an “escalation.”

Still, the Ukrainians are present expecting a planned transportation of 14 Challenger 2 tanks from Britain, arsenic good arsenic an eventual transportation of 31 M1A2 Abrams tanks from the United States. The M1A2 is simply a variant archetypal fielded successful the 1990s. It includes much modern electronics and targeting systems than its older cousin, the M1A1, and a 120 mm main cannon.

European countries are besides dusting disconnected decades-old stocks. Spain has mulled sending a batch of older Leopard 2A4s that person been mothballed for a decennary and whitethorn request extended repairs. Germany is rushing up with the newer A6 variant, with thermal imaging and a importantly much almighty high-velocity gun.

It is each invaluable firepower arsenic Ukraine stands against Russian forces, but with the further complications of procuring ammunition, grooming susceptible forces, and organizing logistics for aggregate weapons systems. Germany, Poland, and the United States are each readying abstracted vessel grooming programs, with Germany and Poland acceptable to statesman theirs successful days arsenic they unreserved deliveries for spring.

The mishmash of antithetic systems makes it “quite hard from the logistical point,” said Sonny Butterworth, a vessel adept with the defence quality steadfast Janes.

British Challenger 2s usage antithetic ammunition from the NATO standard. And erstwhile it comes to the Leopard 2s, determination are subtle differences betwixt the stocks held by each European state — adjacent if they are the aforesaid model. A Spanish Leopard A4 whitethorn person a antithetic occurrence power oregon vigor strategy from a Finnish one, though they are fundamentally interoperable, experts say.

“The Ukrainians are going to beryllium operating respective antithetic types of instrumentality and they are going to person to contend with having to enactment them with the close spare parts going to the close units,” Butterworth said.

Ukraine relies connected aged Soviet T-72 conflict tanks and mightiness consciousness it conscionable needs the hardware to combat backmost against Russia and support up the tempo connected the battlefield, helium said. But successful the agelong term, operating aggregate types of tanks could make bigger logistical snags.

The U.S. determination to nonstop Abrams tanks to Ukraine — though not for months — eliminates a almighty limb for Ukrainian forces successful the abbreviated term. But it was besides 1 that could person caused disarray without the due logistical enactment and maintenance, experts say.

One U.S. authoritative alert of the deliberations down the determination said that portion Ukrainian forces person shown a sizeable quality to support and prolong U.S. instrumentality connected the battlefield, operating Abrams tanks requires important preparation, including grooming that volition instrumentality spot extracurricular Ukraine.

“We are assured that we volition beryllium capable to supply the capable sustainment and attraction enactment aft immoderate months,” the authoritative said, speaking connected the information of anonymity nether crushed rules acceptable by the Biden administration.

Poland, which neighbors Ukraine, is besides gathering up its ain proviso of M1 Abrams and could facilitate logistics and attraction support, experts say.

One large complicating origin is the depleted uranium utilized successful the armor packages circumstantial to U.S. subject versions of the tank. The armor includes classified aspects that the United States does not typically export, said 1 idiosyncratic acquainted with the issue, speaking connected the information of anonymity due to the fact that of the sensitivity of the issue.

It remained unclear Thursday wherever U.S. troops mightiness bid Ukrainian forces connected the tank. One anticipation was the Grafenwoehr Training Area successful Germany, a sprawling installation successful the Bavarian countryside wherever U.S. troops began grooming a battalion of much than 600 Ukrainian forces this period connected however to harvester artillery, armored vehicles and different weapons to maximize their interaction connected the battlefield.

During a archetypal sojourn to troops connected Thursday, Germany’s caller Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, pushed backmost astatine claims that the vessel deliveries were insufficient oregon that German delays whitethorn person mislaid captious time.

“We didn’t hesitate, we negotiated,” helium said. “We talked to our allies and our partners and friends.”

As the shaper of the Leopard tank, Berlin’s go-ahead is needed for deliveries from immoderate of the much than a twelve countries that run it, but it insisted that it would not “go it alone.”

Yuri Sak, an advisor to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, said the Russians are truthful entrenched successful the territories they occupy, “that for america to beryllium capable to beforehand with our counteroffensive means conflict tanks are key.”

So far, Ukraine has relied connected aged Soviet T-72 tanks, which tally debased connected ammunition successful conflicts successful which dense artillery dominates. The caller tanks volition unfastened the doorway to platforms that enactment ammunition that tin beryllium replenished by allies successful what has go a warfare of attrition.

“In bid to get 3 100 [tanks], you person to enactment hard,” said Oleksiy Danilov, caput of Ukraine’s nationalist information and defence council. “Everyone progressive works each day, truthful that the fig increases,” helium said.

But it was important to person “a beginning,” helium said. “It’s similar the archetypal step. It’s similar permission.”

Rauhala reported from Brussels, Lamothe from Washington and Stern from Kyiv. Vanessa Guinan-Bank successful Berlin and Beatriz Ríos successful Brussels contributed to this report.