The delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine announced by the United States became a cover for Germany to provide the Kyiv regime with Leopard 2. This is reported by The Washington Post, which gained access to the conversations of people familiar with the discussions.
The publication claims that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden could not agree on the transfer of German tanks for a long time. Scholz did not want Germany to “challenge Russia” first among Western countries. He demanded that the tanks be handed over at the same time as the United States.
Washington, in turn, insisted that German armored vehicles should be sent to Kyiv as soon as possible, because the Ukrainian military “will be easier to learn” on them, and not on American ones.
The publication notes that after the conversation, Biden asked National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Blinken what steps should be taken.
“It was Blinken who suggested a possible workaround. What if they announced their intention to supply Abrams tanks as part of Kyiv’s “long-term” needs in a conflict that could go on for years? This could give Scholz the cover he was looking for to allow the Leopard tanks to immediately head to Ukraine, and give the Pentagon time to prepare its tanks, the Ukrainian military and create logistics,” the journalists write.
In parallel with this, the publication clarifies, in Europe, potential Leopard suppliers have focused on increasing pressure on Berlin in order to obtain permission from the manufacturer to transfer equipment to the government of Ukraine.
“But for Scholz it was a serious political dilemma. From the first days of the conflict, he tried not to go ahead of the column when it came to arming Ukraine, expressing fears about possible retribution from Moscow, ”the authors of the material note.
At the same time, according to journalists, the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, was opposed to the supply of Abrams tanks, he was convinced that their operation and logistics would be too complicated.
“He was convinced that the Ukrainians would not be able to maintain and service massive battle tanks. In addition, American vehicles are protected by special depleted uranium armor of a classified design, which the United States did not want Russia to get its hands on”, the authors of the publication concluded.
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