US senators urge Germany and America to send tanks to Ukraine

Senators 'optimistic' amid US and German reports that tanks could soon be approved

Ukraine has received about a dozen American-built Himars multiple rocket launchers and has used them to strike Russian ammunition depots. The Olympian / AP

Ukraine is asking western allies to provide it with German Leopard 2 tanks in its war with Russia. EPA

Staring down the barrel of a Leopard 2 tank, pictured in Estonia. AP

Kyiv is keen to acquire Leopard 2 tanks because they are among Europe's best and widely used, meaning spare parts and ammunition can be easily sourced. AFP

The Polish government in January 2023 signed a deal to buy 116 Abrams tanks from the US. AFP

Ukraine would also like to have Abrams battle tanks, although they require more crew training and specialised fuel. EPA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on his western allies to speed up military support for his country. AFP

British soldiers pictured with a Challenger 2 battle tank in Estonia. The UK is set to give Ukraine 14 Challengers. EPA

Britain is also offering Kyiv AS-90 self-propelled guns. EPA

These would be part of a package including further armoured vehicles and 600 Brimstone missiles. AP

US senators on Tuesday called on Berlin and Washington to send tanks to help Ukraine fight Russia, as reports on both sides of the Atlantic suggested delivery of the vehicles could soon be approved.

Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal, who visited Ukraine last week, said the beleaguered nation urgently needed tanks, noting they are “more optimistic today than any [other] time” that western allies would supply them.

“Seldom in the history of modern warfare has so much depended on so few tanks,” Mr Graham said.

Britain has already agreed to send 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine. For months, pressure has been building on the Pentagon to send Abrams M1 tanks and for Germany to provide Leopard 2s.

“The best tank for the fight is the German Leopard tank, and American tanks can be helpful in this regard,” Mr Graham said.

“If we send some Abrams tanks, it will open the floodgates to more tanks coming from allies and German Leopard tanks flowing into Ukraine.”

Several US media outlets on Tuesday cited anonymous sources as saying Washington could announce Abrams deliveries to Ukraine as soon as this week.

Meanwhile in Germany, news outlets said Berlin is set to approve sending Leopards after months of foot-dragging and prevarication.

Defence leaders met at the US airbase in Ramstein, Germany, last week but failed to resolve divisions over providing tanks.

Ukraine says tanks would give its troops more mobility and protection before an expected new Russian offensive. They could also help Ukraine retake some of the territory that has fallen to Russia.

Because Leopards are made in Germany, Berlin has the final say on how and where they are used — even if other countries are offering to send their own.

Mr Blumenthal argued that Germany's Leopards are “essential” to Ukraine's fight, largely because they are already in Europe.

He added that he understands the criticism that Abrams tanks are too complex and would pose maintenance and logistical challenges to Ukraine's fighters, but that it would open up Kyiv to a greater good.

“The Pentagon ought to come forward with those Abrams tanks if that's what is necessary for the Germans to give permission to our allies to provide the Leopard 2 tanks and for the Germans to provide those tanks themselves,” he said.

Russia said on Tuesday that the delivery of the Leopards would “bring nothing good to the future relationship” between Berlin and Moscow.

“They will leave a lasting mark,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a briefing.