What Western armour gives Ukraine in the next round of the war

Editor’s note (January 24th 2023): Germany and America are both expected to send modern tanks to Ukraine, resolving a dispute among nato members, according to reports. Under pressure from allies at home and abroad, Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, is expected to announce on January 25th the dispatch of its Leopard 2 tanks and permission for others, such as Poland, to re-export theirs. To ease his angst, America will probably announce plans to send m1 Abrams tanks.

Each phase of the war in Ukraine has brought its iconic weapons. In the battle for Kyiv last winter the shoulder-fired Javelin anti-tank and Stinger air-defence missiles had the starring roles. When fighting shifted to the eastern Donbas region in the spring, it was the turn of the 155mm howitzer. When Ukraine went on the counter-offensive in the autumn the plaudits went to the himars rocket launcher. Now, as both sides prepare for new offensives with the approach of spring, the spotlight has turned to armour—above all tanks and lighter infantry fighting vehicles.

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