Ukraine to receive battle tanks from US, Germany as Russia targets Bakhmut | Top points
Ukraine will receive 31 Abrams tanks from the US and 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from Germany as it hopes to counter a Russian offensive led by Soviet-era battle tanks in the east and the south.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday hailed the creation of what he described as a “tank coalition” as the US and Germany pledged advanced battle tanks to counter Russian advances.
The western tanks have the potential to reshape the war as the firepower and mobility will enable Zelenskyy's army to break through Russian defensive lines and recapture occupied territory in the east and south.
So far Germany had held back from supplying the tanks, fearing further escalation from Vladimir Putin.
Here are the top points.
Germany and the US will send advanced battle tanks to Ukraine, providing Kyiv with an “armoured punching force” to help Kyiv break combat stalemates. The US will send 31 Abrams tanks and Germany will send 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks.
We must form a tank fist, a fist of freedom whose hits will not let tyranny stand up again, Zelenskyy said, adding that Kyiv will push for more weapons, including long-range missiles and aircraft.
advertisementRussia has called out Germany for "abandoning historical responsibility to Russia" and said all western tanks will burn like the rest. It has said the tanks will only extend the war, prolong Ukrainian suffering and that the West is "deluded" to think otherwise.
But why Leopard and Abrams for Ukraine? Both these armoured vehicles are considered state-of-the-art and are more powerful than many Soviet-era tanks currently fielded by both Russian and Ukrainian forces. It will enable Ukraine to break Russian defence in southern Ukraine, which is flat and ideal tank territory.
Front lines in the war, which stretch more than 1,000 kilometres through eastern and southern Ukraine, have been largely frozen for two months despite heavy losses on both sides. Russia and Ukraine are both widely believed to be planning new offensives, especially in Bakhmut.
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The area around Bakhmut, with a pre-war population of 70,000, has seen some of the most brutal fighting of the 11-month-old war. But the town has little strategic importance when compared to Kherson or Melitopol.
Russia earlier said it captured Soledar, a region northeast of Bakhmut, blocking Ukrainian supply routes and controlling some areas from which Ukrainian forces had been launching a counteroffensive.
In the eastern industrial region of Donbas, Ukraine has superior and more committed soldiers, while Russia has an advantage in terms of the number of fighters and weapons.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday hailed the creation of what he described as a “tank coalition” as the US and Germany pledged advanced battle tanks to counter Russian advances.
The western tanks have the potential to reshape the war as the firepower and mobility will enable Zelenskyy's army to break through Russian defensive lines and recapture occupied territory in the east and south.
So far Germany had held back from supplying the tanks, fearing further escalation from Vladimir Putin.
Here are the top points.
Germany and the US will send advanced battle tanks to Ukraine, providing Kyiv with an “armoured punching force” to help Kyiv break combat stalemates. The US will send 31 Abrams tanks and Germany will send 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks.
We must form a tank fist, a fist of freedom whose hits will not let tyranny stand up again, Zelenskyy said, adding that Kyiv will push for more weapons, including long-range missiles and aircraft.
Russia has called out Germany for "abandoning historical responsibility to Russia" and said all western tanks will burn like the rest. It has said the tanks will only extend the war, prolong Ukrainian suffering and that the West is "deluded" to think otherwise.
But why Leopard and Abrams for Ukraine? Both these armoured vehicles are considered state-of-the-art and are more powerful than many Soviet-era tanks currently fielded by both Russian and Ukrainian forces. It will enable Ukraine to break Russian defence in southern Ukraine, which is flat and ideal tank territory.
Front lines in the war, which stretch more than 1,000 kilometres through eastern and southern Ukraine, have been largely frozen for two months despite heavy losses on both sides. Russia and Ukraine are both widely believed to be planning new offensives, especially in Bakhmut.
The area around Bakhmut, with a pre-war population of 70,000, has seen some of the most brutal fighting of the 11-month-old war. But the town has little strategic importance when compared to Kherson or Melitopol.
Russia earlier said it captured Soledar, a region northeast of Bakhmut, blocking Ukrainian supply routes and controlling some areas from which Ukrainian forces had been launching a counteroffensive.
In the eastern industrial region of Donbas, Ukraine has superior and more committed soldiers, while Russia has an advantage in terms of the number of fighters and weapons.
