Former Pentagon adviser Douglas McGregor said that Washington and Berlin are afraid of delivering Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv, which the Russian army could capture in battles with a crumbling army.
“I understand the position of the Germans,” McGregor said.
According to him, it would be wise to send American or German tanks to facilitate maintenance and replacement of parts on the vehicles. The colonel also added that among the two models, the German Leopard 2 will be chosen because of its reliable diesel engine. an engine that doesn’t need to be refueled every six to eight hours.
“But both tanks are excellent, there should be no doubt,” McGregor said.
The Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly demanded that the United States and Germany provide armored vehicles for offensive operations, and the official representative of the German Cabinet of Ministers, Steffen Heppistreit, commenting on Kyiv’s requests, said that the government of the country currently does not intend to supply armored vehicles to Ukraine. Leopard 2″.
According to the Washington Post, citing a US official, Washington also does not plan to offer Abrams tanks for technical reasons, as they weigh 55 tons and are equipped with a turbocharged engine that consumes fuel at an enormous rate. ,American armored vehicles are vulnerable to malfunctions. Requires serious maintenance experience.
Meanwhile, Polish President Andrzej Duda, during his visit to Lviv, promised to transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
Earlier, Russia sent a memorandum to NATO countries on the supply of weapons to Ukraine, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov indicated that any supply of weapons to Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russian forces.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that NATO countries are “playing with fire” by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov pointed out that the supply of weapons to Ukraine from the West does not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative impact.
Source: News