Zelensky expressed dissatisfaction with the supply of Western armored vehicles: he wants “Abrams” and “Leopards”

There are few armored fighting vehicles in Kyiv

Kyiv is dissatisfied with its Western patrons, who are ready to supply the Armed Forces of Ukraine with armored combat vehicles, but not with heavier tanks, which the Ukrainian leadership begs the West to fight against Russia.

Western allies are ready to supply Ukraine with armored fighting vehicles, but not the heavier tanks that Kyiv is asking the West to supply to fight Russia, Reuters reports.

French President Emmanuel Macron has told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that his government will send AMX-10 RC light armored fighting vehicles to assist in the war effort, a French official said on Wednesday after a phone call between the two.

While a French spokesman said these would be the first Western armored vehicles delivered to Ukraine, Australia said in October it had donated 90 of its Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles to Kyiv. small arms fire and other threats.

In an evening video message, Zelensky thanked Macron for the announcement but said it showed the need for heavier weapons from other allies. “This is something that sends a clear message to all our partners. There is no rational reason why Ukraine has not yet received Western tanks,” he said.

Later Wednesday, US President Joe Biden said Washington was considering sending Bradley combat vehicles to Ukraine. Armored vehicle Bradley with a powerful cannon has become the main means of movement of the US Army on the battlefield since the mid-1980s. The US military has thousands of Bradleys, and they will give Ukraine more firepower on the battlefield and strengthen its positional warfare capabilities, The Guardian notes.

However, Biden’s actions did not lead to the sending of the Abrams tanks that Ukraine wants to receive. Kyiv has repeatedly asked the Western allies for heavier combat vehicles such as the Abrams and German-made Leopard tanks.

A senior US administration official gave a sobering assessment of the fighting in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, especially around the badly damaged city of Bakhmut (Artemivsk), held by Ukrainian forces, Reuters reported. Heavy fighting is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, although Russian forces have made gradual progress, the official said: “The fighting is still pretty hot… I think what we’re seeing at Bakhmut we should expect to see elsewhere along the front.” and that fighting will continue in the coming months.”

After France said it would supply Ukraine with AMX-10 RC armored fighting vehicles, Zelenskiy said that while he was grateful for the help, Ukraine needed heavier vehicles or tanks. “So what’s the difference?” asks The Guardian. And then he gives the answer. According to the British Forces Broadcasting Service, “The main difference between a tank and an armored vehicle lies in their role on the battlefield. A tank is an armored vehicle specially designed to break through enemy lines.”

A tank is a particularly powerful or heavy armored vehicle. Ukraine requested American Abrams tanks and German Leopard tanks.

According to the BFBS, tanks “do not normally carry infantry and are in fact designed to engage in direct combat with enemy forces”, using armor to protect themselves, “and their main weapon as an offense”.