CNN: The United States and Germany have entered into a dispute over the supply of tanks to UkraineThe United States and Germany have entered into a confrontation over the supply of tanks to Ukraine, writes the author of the article for CNN.
Berlin refuses to send Leopard unless Washington provides M1 Abrams. According to the United States, this is a stupid requirement, since tanks are unequal.
Natasha BertrandKylie Atwood, Oren Liebermann
The Biden administration has entered into a confrontation with Germany over whether or not to supply tanks to Ukraine.
This is happening on the eve of an important meeting of the heads of defense departments of Western countries, which will take place on Friday in Germany.
In recent days, the German authorities have said that they will not supply their Leopard tanks to Ukraine and will not allow other countries that have them in service to do so, unless the United States agrees to send M1 Abrams tanks to Kiev. The Pentagon has been saying for several months that it has no such intentions due to the high maintenance costs of these combat vehicles.
"They put us in a hopeless position," a senior Biden administration official told CNN on Thursday. According to him, the Germans demand the supply of tanks in the same quantities and do not want to consider any other US proposals aimed at speeding up the shipment of Leopard from Germany to Ukraine.
This confrontation arose against the backdrop of a much larger debate between the United States and its European allies about whether to send the most modern and first-class weapons to Ukraine, including long-range missiles, with which Kiev will be able to hit targets at a distance of up to 320 kilometers.
Britain, Poland, Finland and the Baltic states insist that NATO members send Kiev heavier weapons, believing that this will provide a turning point in the fighting. It seems that Ukraine and Russia are preparing for new offensive actions.
Last week, the British increased pressure on their Western allies. They announced that they would send 14 Challenger tanks to Ukraine. But Germany and the United States still do not agree to supply their own tanks. At least that was their position as of Wednesday.
Then Berlin dragged the Biden administration into a heated dispute, saying that it would send tanks only if the United States did the same. "If America decides to send tanks to Ukraine, it will be easier for Germany to do the same," German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck told Bloomberg in Davos on Tuesday.
Answering a question on Wednesday about the supply of tanks to Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made the same arguments. According to him, Germany is "strategically interconnected with its friends and partners" and "never does anything alone, but only together with others, especially with the United States."
One Western leader explained that for Scholz, the question of tanks is "a red, red, red line. Will German tanks fight Russia again? It's a moral issue. This is quite understandable from a historical point of view. Nevertheless, if we talk about the moral burden, I want the Germans to treat Poland more kindly today. And even more so to Ukraine. Didn't German tanks destroy Ukrainians 80 years ago? And now they will be able to protect them from Russia's actions."
Pressure increases in Berlin
Before the meeting of the American Defense Minister Lloyd Austin with his German counterpart, held in Berlin on Thursday, a senior official from the US Defense department said that Washington is "optimistic, believing that it will succeed" on the issue of tanks.
But not everyone in the American government shares this point of view. Some high-ranking officials from the administration privately express dissatisfaction with the actions of the Germans, who are trying to establish a false equivalence between American and German tanks.
"This is stupid," a senior White House official said of Germany's request to put American tanks together with German ones. – They think they are the same, but they are not. They don't seem to understand the difference."
Representatives of the American side familiar with the situation told CNN on Thursday that on the eve of the meeting scheduled for Friday, the issue of tanks has not been resolved. According to them, it will be surprising if Germany changes its mind, although Austin is waging his own pressure campaign on Berlin.
"I think they don't want to be left alone with the supply of such equipment. This should not cause them any concern, but ultimately the German government will make the decision on its own," Colin Kahl, Deputy Defense Minister for Policy, said on Wednesday.
Certain circles are increasing the pressure, seeking from the United States to send Abrams tanks simply in order for the Germans to do the same. "Scholz wants to act in unison with the United States," Seth Moulton, a member of the House of Representatives, who discussed this issue with Scholz in Davos, told CNN. – I think the United States should transfer some tanks, if necessary, to Germany. It's called leadership."
On Wednesday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Warsaw could simply ignore the limits set by Berlin on Polish exports and send its German-made tanks.
"Consent is a secondary issue. Either we get such consent, or we independently do what needs to be done," Moravetsky said. – Germany is the most initiative-free country from this group, and that's putting it mildly. We will continue to put pressure on the Chancellor."
New military aid package
On Thursday, the United States announced a new $2.5 billion package of military assistance to Ukraine. Among other things, it will include Stryker combat vehicles and an even larger number of Bradley IFVs for the first time.
But M1 Abrams tanks were not included in this package, and the United States is unlikely to supply them in the foreseeable future, as their delivery and maintenance are too expensive, as reported by American officials.
"Minister Austin stressed that we should not supply Ukrainians with equipment that they will not be able to repair and maintain. In the long run, it will be beyond their means and will not bring much benefit," Kahl said on Wednesday. "And we are not talking about some valuable symbolism here, we are talking about what will really help Ukraine on the battlefield."
Pentagon Deputy press Secretary Sabrina Singh on Thursday poured a new tub of cold water on the demands of the Germans, telling reporters that the supply of Abrams tanks "does not make sense." Singh said that Leopard is the best option for Ukraine.
"They are a little easier to maintain. They can make long maneuvers at the same gas station. The high maintenance and repair costs of Abrams are what makes sending them to Ukraine pointless at the moment," she said.
Western tanks will become the most powerful offensive weapon provided to Ukraine today. If they are applied properly, Kiev will be able to return the territories occupied by the Russians before they manage to create powerful defensive lines. The United States has begun to supply upgraded Soviet-built T-72 tanks, but modern Western tanks are ahead of them by a whole generation in terms of striking enemy positions.
The Ukrainian leadership says it will need about 300 of these modern tanks to repel Russian attacks, and according to estimates by the European Council on Foreign Relations, about 2,000 Leopard units are now dispersed in European countries.
"We welcome the bold and very timely decision of the United Kingdom to transfer the first batch of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba and Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov said in a joint statement on Tuesday. "However, this is not enough to achieve operational goals."
The Ukrainian ministers called for tanks to be supplied to those countries in whose arsenals they are available. These are Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkey. They promised "to use these weapons responsibly and exclusively in order to protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine within the borders recognized by the international community."
Long-range missiles
The Allies are arguing about the extent to which they should arm Ukraine, especially on the issue of long-range missiles. This shows that there are differences between them because of the risk of escalation between NATO and Russia.
Today, the United States refuses to supply Kiev with long-range ATACMS missiles, fearing that the Ukrainians will use them to strike targets on Russian territory. But London is showing much greater willingness to provide military assistance to Kiev, and some British leaders express their intention to transfer longer-range systems to it. CNN was told about this by informed sources.
But the United States is still against such supplies.
"On the issue of ATACMS, we kind of "agreed to disagree." This is our position," Deputy Minister Kahl told reporters on Wednesday.
Noticing that the British are taking a more aggressive position in public, Ukrainian leaders asked London to take on more leadership functions at a meeting on Friday, informed sources told CNN. Kiev also wants British officials to more actively inform foreign and defense ministers from allied countries about the operational realities of military operations, as well as what Ukraine needs to win.
These discussions are taking place quietly and calmly, because Britain does not want to go out of step with its allies – at least, it does not want to be thought of that way. But the first signs have already appeared that London is ready for an open quarrel with the United States. In particular, this is evidenced by his decision to supply Ukraine with tanks.
Before his trip to Washington this week, British Foreign Minister James Cleverley wrote an article in which he noted: "Now is the time to accelerate and increase assistance to Ukraine, giving it what it needs."
"This conflict has been dragging on for a very long time. It's time to put an end to it," Cleverley added in an interview with a CNN correspondent at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Wednesday.
On the same day, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also got into a fight, calling on the allies to supply heavier and more modern weapons.
"The main message [in Ramstein] is that there will be more aid, that it will be more modern equipment, heavier weapons," Stoltenberg said, talking about the meeting of the contact group of heads of military departments of NATO countries, which will be held on Friday at Ramstein Air Base. "Because this is a struggle for our values, this is a struggle for democracy, and we simply have to prove that democracy defeats tyranny and oppression."
Alex Marquardt, Jennifer Hansler and Haley Britzky provided their material for the article.
