The head of the Ukrainian government, Denys Shmyhal, expressed hope that Germany and the United States would supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces with modern battle tanks.

He made such a statement in an interview with the German news agency DPA (Deutsche Presse-Agentur) during a visit to Germany.

“We need a change in the philosophy of arms supply.

By this, I understand the need for deliveries, including modern battle tanks.

We expect the United States to supply their Abrams tanks, and we expect Leopard 2 from Germany. These are modern tanks that Ukraine needs on the battlefield,” Shmyhal said.

At the moment, the German government has not responded to Shmyhal's request.

However, the opposition party Christian Democratic Union (CDU) supported the appeal of the Ukrainian prime minister.

In particular, the leader of this political force, Friedrich Merz, spoke about the need to transfer the APU Leopard 2 during a speech in the German city of Murnau.

“We must also help Ukraine in this regard (by supplying Leopard 2. -

RT

) so that it can repel Russian aggression,” Mertz is quoted by TASS.

In turn, the Ukrainian prime minister praised Germany for its military support of the country, but at the same time stressed that Kyiv is counting on an increase in the supply of German weapons, and in the near future.

piece goods

At the end of August, the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection of Germany published a report that reported on the transfer of arms to Kyiv in the amount of €686 million.

The document emphasizes that in 2022 Ukraine has become the main recipient of German weapons among countries that are not members of NATO and do not have the status of an alliance partner.

Since the beginning of the NMD, Kyiv has accounted for 56% of military exports.

As German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on August 21, Berlin supplies the Ukrainian army with a large number of effective weapons and will continue to do so.

At the same time, the German authorities admit that the country is not able to satisfy all the requests of Kyiv due to modest reserves.

Earlier, Germany transferred Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft systems, IRIS-T air defense systems, Mars multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) and PzH 2000 howitzers to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

At the same time, Berlin has so far refrained from supplying the Ukrainian army with other types of military equipment, including, for example, the Marder infantry fighting vehicle.

According to the German publication Freie Welt, the transfer of Marder to Kyiv was prevented by Switzerland, which produces cartridges for cannons.

Bern allegedly referred to his neutral status and the current rules for the export of weapons.

A difficult situation has developed with the supply of tanks.

Since the beginning of the special operation, Berlin has been wary of transferring its own tracked vehicles to Kyiv - the German government decided to develop the so-called circular exchange.

As part of this scheme, Germany should transfer its Leopard 2 tanks to Eastern European countries, and those, in turn, supply Soviet-made vehicles from their arsenals to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

  • Leopard 2 tanks

  • Gettyimages.ru

  • © Ulrich Baumgarten

In May, a circular exchange deal was concluded with the Czech Republic.

According to it, Prague undertook to give Soviet armored vehicles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and Berlin - to supply it with 15 Leopard 2A4 units.

However, nothing has been reported about the full implementation of this agreement so far.

At the same time, it is known that the Czech Republic became the very first NATO country to supply tanks to Kyiv.

In particular, even before the conclusion of a deal with Germany, Prague transferred several dozens of T-72s and BMP-1s to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

On August 20, after a rather lengthy discussion, a round-robin deal was concluded between Germany and Slovakia.

According to the agreements reached, instead of 15 Leopard 2A4 units, Bratislava will send 30 infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine.

At the same time, as reported by the media, initially the parties discussed the transfer of T-72 tanks to Kyiv.

In an interview with RT, Major General of the Reserve Vladimir Bogatyrev admitted that Germany's position could change and in the future it would begin to directly supply Ukraine with Leopard 2. However, the expert believes that the number of tanks transferred will be very modest.

“The Leopard 2, like other Western tanks, is expensive.

Such equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is literally received by the piece.

In addition, both the Germans themselves and their NATO allies need Leopard 2.

Germany will have to deploy new production facilities, solve problems with spare parts and ammunition.

And this requires money and time, ”says Bogatyrev.

If Kyiv insists on large batches of Leopard 2, then, as the expert suggests, Berlin will require a commercial contract, the execution of which will stretch for several years.

Previously, a similar scheme was used in Germany in relation to PzH 2000 self-propelled guns. In July, according to Der Spiegel, the German government approved the sale of 100 such howitzers to Kyiv for €1.7 billion.

  • Destroyed APU tank in the special operation zone

  • RIA News

  • © Viktor Antonyuk

At the same time, Bogatyryov doubts that the Ukrainian military will be able to successfully master and competently use the Leopard 2. According to the expert, the operation of a modern tank involves lengthy training of the crew and technical personnel.

It will be extremely difficult to organize such training for Ukrainians, the major general believes.

In addition, as the interlocutor of RT added, the Armed Forces of Ukraine had already neglected the rules for operating German equipment.

For example, at the end of July, Der Spiegel reported that a month after sending the PzH 2000 howitzers to Ukraine, they needed repairs due to violation of the norms for the intensity of fire.

Foggy prospects

Since the beginning of the special operation, Kyiv has repeatedly called on NATO countries to supply as many tanks as possible.

In June, the need for this type of equipment in the office of the President of Ukraine was estimated at 500 units.

To date, in addition to the Czech Republic, Poland has transferred the tanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to official figures, Warsaw sent 232 T-72M1 tanks and a number of its modifications to Kyiv under the name PT-91 Twardy.

According to Vladimir Bogatyrev, the Kyiv regime places its greatest hopes on the help of its main donor, the United States.

However, now the primary goal of American industry is to fulfill the contract concluded with Poland in order to replace the tanks given to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the source of RT believes.

  • A column of American Abrams tanks

  • AP

  • © Mindaugas Kulbis

Recall that in April Warsaw and Washington signed an agreement to supply Poland with 250 new M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks for $4.75 billion. The contract will be implemented over several years.

It is worth noting that the only manufacturer of Abrams is the Lima Army Tank Plant located in Ohio.

After the Cold War, it stopped the serial production of tanks and focused on their modernization.

According to the Pentagon, after signing a contract with Poland, the plant reached the production level of 15 tanks per month.

“Now Abrams are being produced again, but the saturation of the increased needs will not be quick.

In principle, the United States itself has enough tanks, but it is obvious that the Americans will share them primarily with their NATO allies, ”Bogatyrev emphasized.

According to experts, in the event of a positive decision on the supply of tanks to Ukrainian troops, the United States may well include them in lend-lease.

However, Kyiv is unlikely to receive a significant number of vehicles, since this program is also designed to provide weapons to the Eastern European members of the alliance.

“The US and Germany are aware that Kyiv needs more tanks, but it seems to me that they are being cautious.

I think that in the short term, the Zelensky regime can really count on only a small number of Western tanks, and in outdated modifications, ”military expert Nikita Buranov said in an interview with RT.

According to the analyst, most likely, Western countries will more actively use the circular exchange scheme and Soviet-made tanks will continue to be sent to Ukraine from the warehouses and arsenals of the former Warsaw Pact countries.

“I doubt that such a technique will be able to somehow change the current balance of forces and affect the course of the NWO.

These obsolete in fact tanks will replenish the bloodless brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and then the Ukrainian command will throw them into the heat of the next senseless offensives, ”Buranov argues.

The expert recalled the heavy losses suffered by the enemy in the southern direction in recent days.

For example, in the report of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation of August 30, it was reported that in just one day the RF Armed Forces destroyed 48 enemy tanks.

And the report dated September 2 speaks of the liquidation of 13 enemy tanks and the point of temporary deployment of the 17th Tank Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In total, since the beginning of the NMD, the allied forces have destroyed over 4.7 thousand tanks and other armored vehicles of Ukraine.

“In my opinion, the Ukrainian army is either experiencing problems with the competent use of tank troops, or the Zelensky regime is simply sending them to the slaughter.

The West, of course, does not care about the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but they would like to see the positive results of their assistance there.

The prospect of an inglorious defeat of Western tanks hardly suits the United States and its allies, ”Buranov concluded.