Germany and the US will send armored fighting vehicles to Ukraine, the White House said, in a move that would give Kyiv’s offensive capabilities a big boost.
The delivery marks a major shift for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has been extremely reluctant to give Ukraine heavy weapons for fear of dragging NATO into war.
Scholz spoke by phone with US president Joe Biden on Thursday to coordinate the positions of the two governments. The U.S. agreed to send Bradley fighting vehicles, while Germany provided Marder infantry fighting vehicles and will also join the U.S. in sending Patriot missile batteries to Kyiv.
The leaders “expressed their common determination to continue providing the necessary financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine as long as it is needed”, according to a joint statement.
As part of this effort, “the United States intends to provide Ukraine with Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and Germany intends to provide Ukraine with Marder infantry fighting vehicles. Both countries plan to train Ukrainian forces in these systems,” the statement said.
Pressure on Scholz to change positions has increased since Emmanuel Macron, the French president, agreed to supply the AMX-10 ‘tank killer’ to the Ukrainian armed forces – a move that the Élysée Palace said was the first delivery of a western-made tank to the country.
“Scholz was forced to act after Macron came forward,” said a person familiar with the discussions.
Kyiv has long called for tanks and other lethal aid as it faces a tough and slow battle on a long front line in the country’s east. Armored vehicles could play a key role in helping Ukrainian forces conduct joint-arms maneuvers as Russia and Ukraine fight for small gains in heavily mined territory.
Kyiv continues to request NATO-standard modern battle tanks, such as the US-made Abrams or the German-made Leopard 2, but officials are not worried about escalation with Russia and the logistics associated with maintaining them.
But the provision of infantry fighting vehicles still represents a major change in policy. Earlier on Thursday, a senior minister in Scholz’s government announced that there had been a change. “In the past, we have always provided support to the Ukrainian army for the situation,” said Robert Habeck, the economy minister and vice chancellor.
“Now France has decided to supply a light armor system, and the US has shown plans to do the same. This will certainly affect the German debate as well,” he said.
When asked whether Germany will send tanks to Ukraine, Scholz has repeatedly said that Berlin will not go it alone, and that no country has supplied western-designed tanks to Kyiv.
But that argument may no longer be sustainable after France’s move on the AMX-10. Annalena Baerbock, the foreign minister, said Thursday that France and the US are changing their positions, as well as Germany. “We are going together with our partners,” he said during a trip to England. “We are aligned with our partners as we have been for the past 11 months.”
Marders and Bradley will be well received by the Ukrainian government, but they may demand more. In a nightly televised address on Wednesday, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there was “no rational reason why Ukraine has not been supplied with western-type tanks”.
Scholz has continuously increased the level of support provided to Ukraine over the past year. At first he took a cautious approach, but as international and domestic pressure mounted, the chancellor agreed to send in heavy weapons, including air defense systems.
So far, they have stopped providing kits such as Marder or the heavier Leopard-2.
So far, only Poland and the Czech Republic have sent tanks, about 280 in total, taken from Soviet-era stockpiles. General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, head of Ukraine’s armed forces, said he needed at least 300 more tanks and 700 armored personnel carriers and combat vehicles to push Russian forces back to pre-February 24 lines.