The US is finalising plans to send nearly 100 Stryker combat vehicles to Kyiv, with an announcement expected at a meeting of Ukraine’s allies in Germany on Friday, according to officials.
In addition to sending Strykers for the first time, Washington is also expected to announce it will send at least 50 more Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. Officials cautioned the plans were not final.
The new US assistance package comes as Washington and its partners recognise that Ukraine may only have a narrow window to launch a successful counter-attack before Russia rearms and reinforces its depleted forces. The US started advanced combat training for Ukrainian forces in Germany this week.
American officials see armour, including modern main battle tanks, as critical to Kyiv’s ability to launch successful advanced combat operations in the coming months.
“To enable the Ukrainians to break through given Russian defences, the emphasis has been shifted to enabling them to combine fire and manoeuvre in a way that will prove to be more effective,” said Colin Kahl, the top policy official at the Pentagon, who travelled to Ukraine last weekend.
The UK has so far committed to sending Challenger 2 main battle tanks and other countries, including Poland, have expressed interest but need German sign off to send Leopard 2 tanks.
Germany has made clear it will not commit to sending Leopard 2 tanks unless the US follows suit, which American officials say they are not ready to do.
“I just don’t think we’re there yet,” Kahl said. “The Abrams tank is a very complicated piece of equipment. It’s expensive. It’s hard to train on. It has a jet engine.”
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin is meeting his new German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, for the first time on Thursday.
The US said earlier this month it would send Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, along with similar announcements of mobile armour from Germany and France.
Berlin also joined the US in sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, with air defence remaining critical as Russia continues to attack Ukrainian infrastructure with missiles and drones.
