The German government will allow the delivery of tanks of the “Guepard” type to Ukraine, which represents a significant change in Berlin’s cautious policy on military support to Kiev. The details of this decision were discussed by the US at a meeting held in Ramstein, West Germany, this Tuesday (26). About 40 allied countries want to speed up arms shipments to Ukraine to weaken the Russian offensive.
The Western defense ministers meeting was held at the American military base in Ramstein. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Monday after visiting Kiev that this meeting was aimed at “creating additional capabilities for Ukrainian forces” as Russia seeks full control over southern Ukraine and the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. The head of the Pentagon said Ukraine could “beat” Russia if given the right equipment.
German tanks of the “Guepard” type specialize in air defense. The vehicles will come from German defense industry stocks. Details on the exact number of tanks to be supplied to the Ukrainian Army are discussed at this meeting by German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been questioned by many Baltic and Central European countries for Ukraine’s refusal to send the heavy weapons requested. Critics see his stance as a continuation of the pro-Russian bias of the social democratic SPD party. France has already announced the deployment of “Caesar” guns with a range of 40 km, and the United Kingdom has donated “Starstreak” anti-aircraft missiles and armored vehicles. Canada and the Czech Republic are also supplying Kiev with new weapons.
In Germany, political debates are intense, even within the ruling coalition. Greens and liberals, members of the ruling coalition, found the support provided to Kiev insufficient and asked Scholz to allow the sending of offensive materials, especially armored vehicles. The Chancellor justifies his cautious policy on heavy weapons as a way to avoid a direct confrontation between NATO and the nuclear power Russia.
Russia warns of the risk of World War III
As the war in Ukraine creates unprecedented tensions between Russia and the West, Russian diplomacy chief Sergei Lavrov has threatened to prolong the conflict. “The danger is serious, it is real, we cannot underestimate it,” said the Interfax news agency a day after Antony Blinken, the head of US diplomacy, and Lloyd, the head of the Pentagon, visited Ukraine. Austin.
62 days ago, since the start of the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly asked the Western Allies to send more heavy weapons to counter Russian military power. And the demands seem to be effective.
UN Secretary General calls for ceasefire in Moscow
This Tuesday, the UN more than doubled its request for aid to Ukraine, rising to US$2.25 billion. The United Nations announced today that the number of refugees fleeing the war is expected to exceed 8 million.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is visiting Moscow on Tuesday for the first time since the conflict began. Guterres has called for a ceasefire in Ukraine “as soon as possible”. “What interests us is to find ways to create the conditions for an effective dialogue, to create the conditions for a ceasefire as soon as possible,” he said, before being accepted by the head of Russian diplomacy.
Guterres added that although the situation in Ukraine is “complicated by different interpretations of what is happening”, it is possible to have “a serious dialogue about how best to work to minimize people’s suffering”. Following his meeting with Lavrov, the UN Secretary-General will be received by President Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian resistance weakens Russian strategy
According to the US Secretary of Defense and military experts, Washington’s impetus to send artillery to Ukraine marks the deterioration of Russian forces not only on the current battlefield, but also in the long term. Western allies are sending dozens of long-range shells to help Ukraine stop the Russian offensive in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Backed by better air defense, offensive drones and Western intelligence, allies hope that Kiev can destroy most of Russia’s weaponry in the coming conflict.
“Russia has already lost a lot of military capabilities and a lot of soldiers, to put it bluntly. And we want to see if they can replicate that capability quickly,” Austin said after his visit to Kyiv. “We want to see Russia become too weak to do what it did by invading Ukraine,” he said.
“War of attrition”
This is a departure from Washington’s initial approach, which only hopes to help prevent Moscow’s capture of the Ukrainian capital and the fall of Zelensky’s government. Indeed, with the help of anti-aircraft and anti-armor missiles supplied by the United States and its European allies, Ukrainian troops forced the Russian army to withdraw from northern Ukraine within six weeks of the offensive on February 24.
But Moscow now controls parts of eastern and southern Ukraine, apparently with the intention of expanding into the center of the country by sending more troops and equipment there. Experts believe his plan is to use long-range bombing to repel most of the Ukrainian forces and then send troops and tanks to protect the area.
According to Mike Jacobson, an American civilian expert in field artillery, Ukraine’s best option is to respond with superior artillery supported by protective airstrikes to destroy Russian power. Jacobson predicts this would lead to a “war of attrition” in which Ukraine could deter the Russians, with materials supplied by the Allies with greater range and accuracy. “I think superior artillery will undermine the Russians’ ability to wage this war,” Jacobson told AFP.
Philips O’Brien, St. Andrews wrote that the upcoming artillery war would resemble World War I, where both sides tried to defeat the other with exhausting bombings. The Russian army is “significantly smaller and has lost more equipment. The Ukrainian army is on the verge of being smaller but much better armed,” he explained. “Russia needs to change this dynamic, or it will lose the war of attrition,” he said.
fast shipping
The United States and other allies are stepping up shipments to take advantage of the slow regrouping of Russian forces after the withdrawal from northern Ukraine. According to a Pentagon official, at least 18 of the 90 weapons Washington has committed in the past two weeks have already been shipped to Ukraine, and more will be shipped soon this week. Washington is also delivering about 200,000 howitzer munitions and preparing ammunition for Russian-made artillery used by Ukrainian forces.
But there is no guarantee that such a strategy will allow Ukraine to expel the Russians. If he were victorious in the artillery battle of Kyiv, at some point it would “force (the Russians) to realistically escalate or negotiate,” Jacobson said. “Russia will be disappointed but not defeated,” he said.
With information from AFP
source: Noticias
