But that is a modest cost compared to helping the Ukrainians get their land back and have Canada stay in its desired position as relatively significant contributor.” “I think it would have been smart diplomacy – and safer domestic politics – to come up with a number similar to our European allies of 10 or 12,” he said. Steve Saideman, a political scientist at Carleton University in Ottawa and director of the Canadian Defence and Security Network, said he thinks Ottawa decided to send four tanks “because it would make the smallest dent” in the Canadian Armed Forces. It’s not likely to be a silver bullet that transforms the military situation when it arrives.” But it’s probably not, in and of itself, going to make the difference between a lightning offensive that retakes all of the ground the Russians hold and a stalemate. “Tanks are an important capability, they matter a lot to the Ukrainians. military commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan. Biddle, who has previously advised top U.S. “This is important, but certainly not transformative,” said Prof. This means that the roughly 100 tanks committed so far will represent only a fraction of the total vehicles being used on the battlefield. President Volodymyr Zelensky has been requesting between 300 and 500 from NATO countries. It’s unclear how many are in working condition. Ukraine is believed to have between 800 and 950 tanks of its own. Stephen Biddle, a defence-policy expert, said the new tanks will certainly help Ukraine but are not likely to change the course of the war by themselves. Poland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic have previously supplied Ukraine with tanks, including some Soviet and Russian-made T-72s as well as Polish PT-91s. Morocco has reportedly already dispatched 20 Soviet-style tanks that are similar to the ones Ukraine is already using. The tanks contributed by Britain would be Challenger 2s, while France is considering sending Leclerc tanks.
Most of the tanks on offer would be Leopard 2s, which have the advantage of being widely used around the world, making it easier for each country to hand over a few from its own stockpile – a much faster process than ordering new ones.
In addition to the U.S., Germany and Canada, these include Poland, Finland, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, Norway, France and Morocco. At least 13 countries have either promised to send tanks to Ukraine over the past month or have publicly expressed a willingness to do so.
0 kommentar(er)
