MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2023) Abrams battle tanks that the United Stated pledged to hand over to Ukraine require substantial maintenance and logistics, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing experts.
On January 25, the US said it would send Ukraine 31 Abrams tanks and eight M88 recovery vehicles, noting that that delivery would take considerable time. Germany also committed to sending 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks to Ukraine, after being repeatedly pushed to do so by some of its EU and NATO allies.
According to the newspaper, armored units of the US Army have "for decades" complained about "the long logistical tail" required to take care of the Abrams' fighting capabilities in combat zones.
Josh Kirshner, a managing director at a strategic advisory firm Beacon Global Strategies, argued that Ukraine does not need sophisticated defense systems, but "good enough" gear that "can get the job done." Another expert, a US Army War College professor John Nagl, called the M1 Abrams "terrific," while pointing out that "the American way of war demands all the logistics in the world."
According to the report, it will take more time for the Ukrainian forces to train to operate the Abrams tank in comparison to the Leopard tank as the former is powered by a complex turbine engine. The Abrams tank also requires more spare parts, which come from the US and naturally take more time to arrive than Leopard parts from Europe. Another pitfall is a specific type of fuel that the Abrams needs, jet fuel, which is harder to come by than diesel used in the Leopard tank, the newspaper said.
Russia started a military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. In April, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kiev. Russian Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also warned that providing Ukraine with weapons was not conducive to peace negotiations and would have a detrimental effect on the conflict.
