![]() There is no one thing that's just going to completely change the whole conflict," said retired U.S. That's a rosier picture than the one painted by Western military experts. Ukrainian officials have said that such tanks could be the key to a speedy Ukrainian victory - perhaps even this year. The West has already supplied other armored vehicles and pledged to send still more, including Bradley fighting vehicles and Stryker combat vehicles from the U.S., and a newly announced shipment of Challenger 2 tanks from the U.K.īut none represents the combination of accuracy, firepower and mobility of the modern battle tanks made by Germany and the U.S. 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. Ukraine has even managed to salvage some of those.A German Leopard 2 battle tank pictured during a NATO training exercise in Lithuania last October. However Ukraine has countered Moscow thanks to several Western-supplied anti-tank missiles, which have destroyed or disabled hundreds of Russian tanks. Right now the country has been relying on its own corps of Soviet-model tanks, which were initially outclassed by more modern Russian tanks. Ukraine wants Germany to supply or allow nations that buy the Leopard II from it to send those to Kyiv to bolster Ukraine’s own tank forces. ![]() More than 30 years later and the Leopard 2 tank is still a hot topic. At the time, that was a major point of interest, when Western nations in the Cold War figured the Soviet Union had a much larger arsenal of tanks. As the video shows, the glass does not wobble, fall off or spill, in part because of the tank’s advanced stabilization, allowing it to accurately aim while traveling at speed. It was more than just a celebration of German brewing. Get the latest military news, entertainment, and gear in your inbox daily.
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