The supply of tanks to Ukraine has caused a dispute between Washington and Berlin, US military analyst William J. Hennigan wrote in an article for The Time.
At a meeting between Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and Germany’s new Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, each side laid out arguments why the opponent, but not itself, should be the first to provide tanks to Ukraine. In particular, the US delegation argues that German Leopards consume less fuel than Abrams tanks, are easier to maintain, and are widely available across Europe, according to the article.
“Berlin has privately insisted that Washington provide the tanks first. But the Biden administration says it has no plans to do so yet,” Hennigan writes.
“The dispute over tanks is yet another spat over the West’s support for Ukraine,” he summarised.
Earlier it was reported that the US currently sees no reason to transfer Abrams tanks to Ukraine because of difficulties with their maintenance. Germany has also so far refrained from supplying Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Recently, pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz on this issue has visibly increased. Several EU heads of state have publicly urged Scholz to take the decision.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, in his turn, expressed hope that a contact group meeting of support for Ukraine at the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany on 20 January would result the decisions on deliveries of heavy weapons to Kiev.
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