Once considered a step too far, the supply of heavy tanks to Kiev is now being openly discussed by many Western countries.
Britain will supply Ukraine with main battle tanks, Prime Minister’s spokesman Rishi Sunak told reporters on Wednesday. The statement came after Poland said it would hand over German-made tanks to Kiev forces, with Berlin’s permission.
The spokesman said Sunak asked Defense Secretary Ben Wallace “work with partners” Go “further and faster with our support for Ukraine including the supply of tanks.”
An official announcement is likely to be made alongside some of Britain’s NATO allies, as was the case last week when the US, France and Germany jointly announced that they would send infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine.
US officials have said that they will not send the US-made M1 Abrams tank to Ukraine, citing its heavy maintenance requirements. However, Poland on Wednesday announced it would supply Kiev with a number of German-made Leopard tanks, a decision that should be given the green light by Berlin.
While the German government officially has no plans to donate any Leopards of its own, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday that he would not rule out such a step. Meanwhile, Kiev is confident that Germany’s apparent caution is futile.
“Germany will do it at a later date,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the Tagesschau news channel on Wednesday. “We’ve seen this happen with self-propelled guns, IRIS-T air defense systems and, most recently, Marder and Patriot systems.”
Britain’s decision has also been reported to the media in recent days, with officials telling Sky News on Monday that Sunak’s government has discussed the possibility of “A few weeks,” and that the UK “can provide about ten” tank.
According to Sky, an official announcement could be made by many countries on January 20, when the US-led “Contact Group” on arming Ukraine is scheduled to meet next.
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