NYT: handing over tanks to Ukraine won’t help it win

The transfer of tanks by Western countries to Ukraine, reported this week, will prevent the country from gaining the upper hand in the conflict, writes newspaper The New York Times.

U.S. government analysts interviewed by the publication, based on satellite imagery showing Russian construction of primary and secondary lines of defensive trenches along the front line, believe that the fighting will come to a stalemate in 2023.

In their opinion, in order to break through the Russian defenses, the Ukrainian side, in addition to tanks and ammunition, will need some kind of “training program” in which Ukrainian military personnel must learn how to use weapons, which can take “months, if not years,” the newspaper writes.

The New York Times notes that in the first stage of the armed conflict, the parties mainly used artillery strikes on enemy positions, but to break through the lines, “combined arms maneuvers” are needed – “a coordinated attack is required with infantry marking targets, tanks shelling these positions, and artillery weapons that provide cover and support.”

The most important deliveries for Ukraine in the near future will be armored vehicles and artillery, despite the great attention to the supply of tanks. The United States plans to send 109 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles to the Ukrainian army, European countries will transfer a large amount of artillery, which can be combined with German Leopard 2 tanks into three additional brigades. Also, American officials admitted that the shipment of 31 Abrams tanks was promised in order to expedite the shipment of tanks by Europe.

“The most important parts of the package are armored fighting vehicles, artillery and precision-guided munitions. The promised small number of tanks is the least important part of this,” explained Michael Kofman, a Russia expert at the CNA think tank.

January 25 USA announced on the transfer of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine – this is the equivalent of “one Ukrainian tank battalion,” the US administration noted. They specified that the delivery of military equipment would take months. Later, US President Joe Biden announced that the volume of the new military aid package would be $400 million.

On the same day, Germany announced the delivery of 14 Leopard 2 tanks. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a statement that Berlin would also allow allies to send their Leopard 2s to Ukraine.