Who is Lining Up to Send Tanks for Ukraine?

Germany has approved sending tanks to Ukraine, after Britain said it would send Challenger 2 tanks and Poland pushed for Berlin’s approval to send German-built Leopard 2 tanks.

Ukraine has until recently faced resistance to its requests for main battle tanks to fight against invading Russian forces.

GERMANY

Germany said it would supply Leopard 2 battle tanks, a German-built vehicle with a 120 mm smooth bore gun that is one of the most widely used in the West. It said the aim was to quickly establish two battalions of Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine, and Berlin would provide 14 from stocks as a first step.

THE UNITED STATES:

U.S. officials say Washington is poised to send dozens of its M1 Abrams battle tank, reversing its previous position. The tank has a 120 mm smooth bore gun.

BRITAIN

The British government announced in January it would send a squadron, or 14, of its Challenger 2 battle tanks, which has a 120 mm rifled gun.

POLAND

Warsaw has said it is ready to send up to 14 of its Leopard 2 tanks and had submitted a request to Berlin for approval. Poland welcomed Germany’s move on Wednesday to approve re-exports from countries using the Leopard 2 tanks.

NORWAY

The Norwegian government is considering whether to send some of its Leopard tanks, newspapers reported.

FINLAND

The Finnish government has said it could donate a small number of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine if a wider group of European nations also decided to do so.

FRANCE

The French government is considering sending its Leclerc tank, which has a 120 mm smooth bore gun, saying all options are on the table. It has previously resisted demands, saying French overseas missions limited the number available to send and the tank’s heavy-maintenance demands meant it was not ideal.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)