Paris wants to deliver reconnaissance tanks to Kyiv
The Ukrainian President Selenskyj had repeatedly asked the EU and NATO for battle tanks - now Paris is submitting.
France announced that it would deliver AMX-10 RC wheeled armored vehicles. It is not yet clear when and how many vehicles Kyiv will receive.
France wants to supply Ukraine with light tanks. The French head of state Emmanuel Macron promised his Ukrainian colleague Volodymyr Zelenskyj that, the Élysée Palace said after a phone call between the two presidents.
The tank is said to be the AMX-10 RC scout tank. The wheeled tank with a 105mm cannon was designed primarily for reconnaissance in contested terrain. In the meantime, the model is gradually being phased out in the French army. The Élysée Palace did not provide any information about the number of vehicles and a possible delivery date to Ukraine.
Strengthening of the air defenses
“It is the first time that Western-style tanks have been delivered to the Ukrainian armed forces,” French media reports quoted the Elysee Palace as saying. Zelenskyj thanked Macron on Twitter for the decision.
It was also decided to continue working together, for example to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses. France wanted to announce more details about the tank deliveries to Ukraine later.
The Ukraine has already received western-style tanks, but these were mainly troop carriers such as the US model M113, a smaller tracked vehicle or the German anti-aircraft tank Gepard.
So far no full-fledged western main battle tank
When considering the effectiveness of heavy weapons, for example, the German-made Panzerhaubitze 2000, a self-propelled artillery piece, outperforms the now promised French wheeled armored vehicle, the AMX-10 RC. Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia, has not yet received a full-fledged Western main battle tank such as the French Leclerc model or the German Leopard.
As part of a so-called ring exchange, Ukraine had already received Soviet-designed battle tanks, which are familiar to the Ukrainian military, from Eastern European countries, among others. As part of an exchange of rings agreed with Germany, Slovakia handed over 30 Soviet BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine at the end of November. In return, Germany will deliver 15 Leopard 2 A4 main battle tanks to Slovakia.
Repeated request for main battle tanks
Zelenskyi has repeatedly asked the West to equip Ukraine with main battle tanks, and Ukraine is particularly interested in the German Leopard main battle tank.
The federal government has so far rejected such requests, saying that it does not want to set a precedent. Germany would supply the weapons that the US would also give to the Ukrainian army.
Strack-Zimmermann: Delivery of the Leopard II urgently required
On the RTL/ntv broadcaster, the chairwoman of the defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, criticized the chancellery’s blocking attitude. Many European countries have already offered to jointly launch the delivery of the Leopard 2. “But the Federal Republic would have to allow that because it is a German tank that is also manufactured here. That has not happened to date,” said the FDP politician.
She did not accept the argument from the chancellor’s office that arms deliveries should only be decided together with the partner countries. “I can assure you that with everyone I spoke to, in Europe and also in the United States, nobody would have a problem with it if we did it. It would be badly needed.”
