About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 2023)
4A Thursday, January 26, 2023 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com WORLD US, Germany sending battle tanks to aid Ukraine war effort RALF HIRSCHBERGER I Associated Press A Leopard 2A6 tank from the Bundeswehr’s Panzer exercise bataillon 93 fires at the Oberlausitz training area in Weisskeissel, Germany, Aug. 12, 2009. BY FRANK JORDANS, KIRSTEN GRIESHABERAND SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press BERLIN — Germany and the United States announced Wednesday that they will send advanced battle tanks to Ukraine, offering what one expert called an “armored punching force” to help Kyiv break com bat stalemates as the Rus sian invasion enters its 12th month. The announcement marked the first stage of a coordinated effort by the West to provide dozens of the heavy weapons, which Ukrainian military com manders said would enable counter-offensives, reduce casualties and help restore dwindling ammunition supplies. American President Joe Biden said the U.S. will send 31 Ml Abrams tanks, revers ing months of persistent arguments by Washington that they were too difficult for Ukrainian troops to oper ate and maintain. The U.S. decision followed Germany’s agreement to send 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks from its own stocks. Ger many had refused to send the Leopards unless the U.S. put its Abrams on the table, not wanting to incur Russia’s wrath without the U.S. mak ing a similar commitment. “This is the result of inten sive consultations, once again, with our allies and international partners,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz told German lawmakers. “It was right, and it is important that we didn’t let ourselves be driven” into the decision. Biden said European allies have agreed to send enough tanks to equip two Ukrainian tank battalions, or a total of 62 tanks. “To liberate their land, they need to be able to coun ter Russia’s evolving tactics and strategy on the battle field in the very near term,” Biden said. Several European coun tries have equipped their armies with Leopard 2 tanks, and Germany’s announce ment means they can give some of their stocks to Ukraine. Speaking in a video address late Wednes day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the creation of what he described as a “tank coalition.” “We must form a tank fist, a fist of freedom whose hits will not let tyranny stand up again,” Zelenskyy said. He said Ukraine will push for more weapons, includ ing long-range missiles and aircraft. “The terrorist state must lose. The right to life must be protected. And it will be so,” he said. Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines said the decision comes at a critical point. “Tanks will help reduce casualties among our sol diers .. then gain new results and win this war quicker,” said Oleksander Syrotiuk, commander of a company in the 17th Tank Brigade deployed in Bakhmut. Ukrainian soldiers and experts said Ukrainian forces are running low on spare parts to repair old Soviet-era tanks and the specific ammunition they require while enduring relentless barrages of Rus sian artillery. An expected springtime Russian offensive is also looming. Though it will take months before their debut, the tanks will enable Ukraine’s forces to launch counter-offensives and curb casualties, three military commanders, including two in the army’s tank division, told The Asso ciated Press. “Without the new tanks, we cannot win this war,” said Maksim Butolin, chief sergeant of the 54th Bri gade’s Tank Division. He spoke to the AP by phone earlier this week from near the Bakhmut front. Ukrainian forces have had to preserve ammunition and deal with frequent break downs and maintenance issues, Syrotiuk said. “The main problem we have with our tanks is they are old,” he said. Expressing a preference for the Leopard 2, which he said was more suitable for Ukraine’s terrain, Syro tiuk said the modern tanks had more precise targeting systems, better armor and equipment to allow night time operations. Gian Gentile, a U.S. Army veteran and senior historian with the Rand think tank, said the Ml Abrams and the Leopards will give Ukraine a “mechanized armored punching force.” The Abrams tanks can hit a moving target up to 1.25 miles away while rolling across rough terrain, he said. Scholz spoke by phone Wednesday with Biden, French President Emman uel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, the German chan cellery said in a statement. All five leaders agreed to continue military support to Ukraine in close Euro-Atlan tic coordination. 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