What armored vehicles does Kyiv expect to receive from Paris, Berlin and Washington?
The US and Germany will supply Ukraine with their Bradley and Marder infantry fighting vehicles, while Paris will hand over AMX-10RC light wheeled tanks to Kyiv, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Following a conversation between the Presidents of France and Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Zelensky, which took place on January 4, it was announced that Paris would transfer light wheeled tanks AMX-10RC to Kyiv (they are often characterized in the world as a heavy armored vehicle). France became the first NATO country to decide to transfer Western-made offensive armored vehicles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. And on the evening of January 5, the American administration announced that the United States and Germany would supply the Ukrainians with their Bradley and Marder infantry fighting vehicles.
A France-Presse source at the Elysee Palace emphasized: “This is the first time Western-style tanks have been supplied to the Ukrainian armed forces.” Until now, the allies have transferred heavy armored vehicles of Soviet production to Kyiv. With this decision, Macron wanted to “demonstrate the constancy and continuity” of French military assistance to Ukraine, the French presidential administration noted. The number of tanks and delivery dates will be the subject of negotiations between the defense ministers of France and Ukraine, who will discuss the details as soon as possible, the Elysee Palace noted.
Vladimir Zelensky, for his part, announced the delivery of French Bastion armored vehicles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, also without disclosing the number of vehicles and the timing of their receipt. The Macron administration explained to reporters that if AMX-10RC tanks are supplied through the French Ministry of Defense, then Ukraine will purchase Bastions from the manufacturer using a special fund of €200 million, which France provided to Ukraine to pay for direct orders from arms manufacturers.
A day later, it was announced that the United States and Germany had decided to transfer Bradley and Marder infantry fighting vehicles, the main infantry fighting vehicles of the ground forces of these Western powers, to Ukraine. After a telephone conversation between US President Joseph Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on January 5, the US administration reported:
“President Biden and Chancellor Scholz expressed their shared resolve to continue to provide essential financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine for as long as needed. For this purpose, the United States intends to supply Bradley infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, and Germany will provide Marder infantry fighting vehicles. Both countries plan to train Ukrainian forces to operate their respective systems.”
According to media reports, the United States intends to transfer up to 50 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and Germany will supply Ukraine with 20 to 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles.
France-Presse also reports that after France announced the transfer of light tanks to Ukraine in Germany, members of the ruling coalition and the opposition increased pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz, demanding to begin supplying battle tanks to Kyiv. The German government still refuses to supply Leopard 2 tanks to the Ukrainians on the grounds that such a decision should be made after consultation with NATO allies, and not unilaterally. Germany, according to Scholz, cannot act alone on this issue.
As PolitNavigator reported, in 2022 Kyiv received from Berlin weapons, ammunition and military equipment worth 2,2 billion euros, including IRIS-T air defense systems, which are not even in service with the Bundeswehr.
English version :: Read in English What kind of armored vehicles does Kyiv expect to receive from Paris, Berlin, and Washington?