Ukraine fumes as NATO members slow roll tank aid

Ukrainian leaders vented their frustrations with European allies, particularly Germany, on last week for refusing to send tanks to help Kyiv defend against Russia. Meanwhile, U.S. defense officials tried to fend off criticism of a Western coalition that is taking increased fire for a reluctance to deploy its most advanced ground combat vehicles to the battlefield.

The public pressure on Berlin and Washington reached a fever pitch ahead of a high-stakes meeting Friday at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will convene a gathering of Western nations to coordinate rounds of military aid for the Ukrainian army. Just days earlier, Britain announced that it would send its Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine in a move that initially appeared to represent a shift in the West’s willingness to give Kyiv all of the top-shelf weapons and vehicles it wants.

The U.S. and Germany have not followed suit. The U.S. will supply Bradley fighting vehicles and other ground warfare assets to Ukraine, but Pentagon officials this week expressed skepticism at sending the more advanced — and potentially more effective — Abrams tanks. Germany has refused to deliver its Leopard 2 tanks and suggested it would do so only if the U.S. sends the Abrams.

Other European powers that say they are ready to send German-built Leopards to Ukraine cannot do so without Berlin’s authorization.

The standoff comes at a crucial moment in the Russia-Ukraine war. Russian troops and mercenary allies are making small gains in key areas of Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region in the east. Military analysts say Russia is laying the groundwork for a protracted conflict in Ukraine that could last deep into the year and perhaps beyond. That means Ukraine will have an increasingly dire need for Western ground vehicles to repel Russian advances and continue its counteroffensive operations.

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told The Associated Press on Thursday that London would send at least three batteries of AS-90 artillery, armored vehicles, thousands of rounds of ammunition and 600 Brimstone missiles, as well as a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks. Still, the far more numerous Leopards remained a source of frustration within the alliance.

Ukrainian leaders did not mince words in urging allies to act quickly. Speaking by video at a meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seemed to single out Germany.

“There are times where we shouldn’t hesitate or we shouldn’t compare when someone says, ‘I will give tanks if someone else will also share his tanks,’” said Mr. Zelenskyy, speaking through an interpreter.

Ukrainians can’t keep fighting the bigger, better-armed Russian invasion force “with motivation and morale alone,” he said.

Other Ukrainian officials offered public assurances that any German tanks would be used for the explicit purpose of defending Ukrainian land from Russian troops.

The debate comes at a delicate political moment for the Biden administration. President Trump spent four years in office publicly cajoling NATO nations — especially Germany — to play greater roles in regional defense rather than relying so heavily on the U.S. President Biden has tried to smooth over those tensions with Europe, but his critics at home say it’s clear that the U.S. needs to send assets and pressure its partners to do the same.

“Increasingly optimistic Western allies will be delivering tanks to Ukraine to help expel Russian invaders. The United States must step up to the plate and do the same,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, said in a Twitter post this week.

Mr. Austin met Thursday in Berlin with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who has been on the job for only several days. Christine Lambrecht resigned as defense minister this week, in part for failing to push through reforms promised by Chancellor Olaf Scholz to upgrade the country’s military prowess and budget.

Still in dispute

Before their meeting, Mr. Austin and Mr. Pistorius spoke of Western aid to Ukraine but did not offer clarity on the tank dispute.

“I’d like to thank the German government for all that it’s done to strengthen Ukraine’s self-defense. Your contributions of security assistance and training for Ukraine’s defenders have been invaluable,” Mr. Austin said. “I also appreciate your strong support for our increased presence, and for logistical operations to quickly move soldiers and equipment to and through Germany to reinforce our eastern flank allies.”

Mr. Pistorius cited Germany’s aid to Ukraine, including the delivery of other ground combat vehicles and air defense systems.

“German systems have proven their worth in Ukraine,” he said. “And I can tell you that in the future, we will work together with our partners and support Ukraine in its fight against — fight for freedom and territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

Beyond sending its own vehicles, Germany reportedly is standing in the way of other European nations, such as Poland, that have offered to deliver their own German-made Leopard tanks. Berlin appears hesitant to take such a step, perhaps fearing that tank deliveries could provoke Moscow and spark a broader European war. Unidentified U.S. officials told The Associated Press that Germany has made clear it is hesitant to send Leopards unless the U.S. delivers Abrams tanks.

Pressed on Germany’s ARD TV whether a deal would be worked out, Mr. Pistorius said he was “pretty sure we will get a decision on this in the coming days, but I can’t yet tell you today how it will look.”

In his address at the Davos forum this week, Mr. Scholz did not directly answer questions about Leopard tanks but strongly suggested that his government would act only in concert with the U.S.

“We are never doing something just by ourselves, but together with others — especially the United States,” he said.

The patience of frustrated German allies may not last.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a radio interview Thursday that the need to get tanks to Ukraine’s forces was too important to wait.

“We will either obtain this consent quickly, or we will do it ourselves,” he said.

Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, NATO’s supreme allied commander, said sending tanks to help Ukraine would not undercut the Western military alliance’s ability to defend itself. He cautioned that tanks would aid Ukrainian forces but were not a “silver bullet” in the grim fighting in the east and south of the country.

“A balance of all systems is needed,” Gen. Cavoli told reporters Thursday after a meeting of NATO defense officials in Brussels. “In the end, a tank simply comes down to, conceptually, a balance between firepower, mobility and protection,” which he called the “holy trinity” for ground forces.

Pentagon officials say the reluctance to provide Abrams tanks hinges on logistical and technical issues.

The Biden administration this week announced another round of military aid for Ukraine, including armored Bradley fighting vehicles and mobile Strykers armored combat vehicles — but no Abrams tanks.

“The Abrams tank is a very complicated piece of equipment,” Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defense policy, told reporters this week. “It’s expensive, it’s hard to train on, it has a jet engine. I think it gets about 3 gallons to the mile of jet fuel. It is not the easiest system to maintain. It may or may not be the right system, but we’ll continue to look at what makes sense.”

• This story is based in part on wire service reports.