american modern tanks russian armored cars

Paris’ move “will push other partners to breach the taboo of sending heavy armored vehicles to Ukraine,” said Ivan Klyszcz, a researcher at the International Centre for Defence and Security in Estonia. Ukraine “must win to defend what are also our freedoms and our values – and that can’t be done without tank support,” she added. “The argument from the chancellor’s office that Germany must not go it alone is completely obsolete,” agreed Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, head of the defense committee in parliament and a leading member of the FDP, a junior coalition partner to Olaf Scholz‘s SPD. Welcoming France’s decision on Wednesday, Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky said, “There is no rational reason why Ukraine has not yet been supplied with Western-style tanks.” Meanwhile Germany has been especially hesitant, delivering powerful mobile artillery and air defenses but fearing an escalation with Moscow if its tanks face off directly against their Russian opposite numbers. President Joe Biden this week said Washington may send Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, armed with lighter weapons than the big beasts but able to transport troops safely to where they are needed and support them once they arrive. “By delivering tanks we’re showing that we’re backing Ukraine to win, investing in their capability to reconquer territory and not just hold the line.” Pressure on Germanyīut the AMX-10 is not in the same weight class as the main battle tanks Kyiv has been pushing allies to provide, such as the French-made Leclerc, German Leopard 2, or US Abrams.

The AMX-10 is a wheeled reconnaissance tank weighing 25 tons and armed with a 105mm cannon, developed during the Cold War “to move quickly and exploit potential breakthroughs” in enemy lines, Haroche said. “Especially when the AMX-10 RCs are joined by the American and, we believe, German peers.”įrance’s move is “a strong political signal that Western support is continuing, not running out of steam,” said Pierre Haroche, lecturer in international security at Queen Mary University in London.

“The decision of is another step that will bring our victory closer,” Ukraine’s defense ministry wrote on Twitter. President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that Paris would hand over French-built AMX-10 RC light tanks to Ukraine, a step forward from tank deliveries to date from Ukraine’s allies which have mostly been Soviet-era leftovers. With its pledge of light tank deliveries for Ukraine, France is betting Kyiv is capable of using modern Western armored vehicles to push forward against Russian invaders.

American modern tanks russian armored cars