After weeks of diplomatic hand-wringing, the U.S. and Germany have decided to send battle tanks to Ukraine, a critical step toward helping the country take back territory seized by Russian forces during last year’s invasion. While President Joe Biden and Europe’s leaders deserve credit for maintaining solidarity with Ukraine, they should remain mindful of the risks of deeper Western involvement in the war.
Under the arrangement announced Wednesday, the U.S. will send Ukraine 31 M1 Abrams tanks, at a cost of $400 million. Meanwhile, Germany will supply 14 Leopard 2 tanks from its stockpile and will allow other allies, including Poland, Spain and Finland, to ship their own German-made Leopards to the front lines. In all, the package approved by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz aims to deliver more than 100 tanks to Ukraine’s forces, along with ammunition, training and maintenance support.
Most immediately, the initiative will help resolve tensions between Berlin and other NATO members, which had pushed Scholz to move faster to approve the delivery of heavy tanks. The Germans said they would send the Leopards only if the U.S. provided its own tanks. The Pentagon rejected such linkage, maintaining that the 70-ton Abrams tanks are more difficult to operate, maintain and transport than the Leopards, which are already in plentiful supply in Europe. While the reluctance of U.S. defense officials to placate Germany’s position was understandable, Biden was right to overrule them and avoid a more damaging rift within the alliance, which would only hurt Ukraine’s cause and serve Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interests.
