Germany is under pressure to authorize the shipment of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, which considers them essential to “stop evil.”
The resistance occurs because it is feared that the authorization will cause a military escalation with Russia. Olaf Scholz, the Social Democratic head of government, did not give the go-ahead for sending these German-made heavy tanks to the Ukrainian front.
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, sending a hundred of these modern tanks could affect the course of the war against Russia, which invaded Ukrainian territory on February 24.
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“In Western support for Ukraine, tanks are the missing piece of the puzzle,” he told the AFP Ed Arnold, of the British think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
Finland and Poland said they are willing to ship some of their Leopard 2s, but to do so they need permission from Germany, the manufacturing country.
For his part, Volodimir Zelensky said that Western countries have no alternative but to send the tanks.
“Yes, we still have to fight to achieve the shipment of modern tanks, but every day we manage to show that there is no alternative but to make a decision in this regard,” Zelensky said in his daily address.
While in a videoconference at the Davos forum, in Switzerland, he said that there are moments when you should not doubt.
The Leopard 2 combines firepower, mobility and protection. Designed by the German manufacturer Krauss-Maffei, it was mass-produced from the late 1970s to replace the American M48 Patton tanks and then the Leopard 1.
To date, some 3,500 copies have left the production chains.
This 60-ton main battle tank is equipped with a 120-mm caliber gun. It is capable of shooting on the move and its 1,500 horsepower engine allows it a maximum speed of 70 km/h, with a range of 450 kilometers.
According to its manufacturer, it is also equipped with “integral passive protection”, effective against mines and rocket launchers. It also has technological tools that allow it to locate and attack the enemy at a long distance. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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