Ukraine to receive less than quarter of tanks pledged by West by April
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The Times newspaper reports on the possibility that Ukraine receives by the spring only a quarter of the weapons promised by the West.
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A Polish soldier walks next to the Leopard 2 tanks during a training at a military base and test range in Swietoszow, Poland, Monday, Feb. 13, 2023 (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
Ukraine will most probably receive less than a quarter of its allies' promised modern combat tanks on time for an alleged Russian attack in April, The Times reported on Sunday.
This comes after German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said last Wednesday that countries which have been pushing Germany to supply Ukraine with tanks will be able to send only half of the promised Leopard 2 A6 tanks.
The Times added that while Ukraine is expecting the West to send in a total of up to 320 western tanks, it is estimated that only 50 will be received by the start of April, the newspaper said, which raises concern that this number will not be enough to have a substantial impact during Russia's alleged military offensive in spring.
It is worth noting that the United Kingdom has already promised to send to Kiev four Challenger 2 tanks as part of the first batch, according to the report, and Poland is working on delivering a unit of 14 Leopard 2 tanks from its stockpiles, while the battalion of 14 tanks from Germany is only half full. Canada has vowed four Leopard 2 battle tanks, while Portugal three tanks in March. Norway showed a willingness to deliver eight tanks at some point, and Finland also gearing up for sending delivering Leopard 2 tanks.
Denmark and the Netherlands would not send more advanced versions of Leopard tanks to Ukraine, which reduces the list of previously promised combat vehicles, according to Germany's Die Welt newspaper last Tuesday.
Germany had previously reported plans to supply Ukraine with two battalions of Leopard 2 tanks, which is equivalent to about 90 combat vehicles in the German military interpretation and 60 in the Ukrainian one. However, the government said later that "battalion" should be understood exactly in the terms of the country where the tanks are sent.
Since the beginning of the war, Western countries have been sending various types of weapons to Ukraine, including air defense missiles, multiple-launch rocket systems, tanks, self-propelled artillery, and anti-aircraft guns.
Last Sunday, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that Russia can defeat Ukraine if the West and its allies do not provide Kiev with urgent military assistance.
Furthermore, Duda said that Western countries and their allies should send more military equipment to Ukraine in the coming weeks.
Member of the German Parliament for The Left Party Sahra Wagenknecht told die Welt newspaper on Friday that Germany, the US, France, and the EU have only been making unrealistic demands, noting that only the Vatican has expressed its desire for peace so far. A neutral status for Ukraine and creating a de-militarized zone in contested regions, followed by referendums on their territorial affiliation, would be more realistic.
