After weeks of diplomatic wrangling, the United States and the NATO allies have broken a logjam and reached a consensus — and the big winner is Ukraine.
In two major policy reversals, the United States will send Abrams M1 tanks to Ukraine and Germany will contribute Leopard tanks. Great Britain has already agreed to send Ukraine its Challenger 2 tanks. The Pentagon has also announced that it plans to increase artillery production sixfold to meet Ukraine’s needs.
So Ukraine is about to get long-coveted offensive armaments. But with the fighting in the Donbas largely stalemated, the front-line static, and both sides gearing up for a long war, what will be the effect on the ground going forward? On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore speaks with military analyst Michael Kofman, director of the Russia studies program at the CNA Corporation, a fellow at the Kennan Institute, and a senior editor at War on the Rocks, to unpack it all.
SHOW NOTES
The opening clip for the podcast came from a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on January 25, 2023. The translation is as follows:
“Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians! Today is a day of extremely good news for Ukraine. There is a tank coalition. There is a decision to launch the supply of tanks for our defense. Modern tanks. I started this day with a conversation with Chancellor Scholz, primarily about Leopards for Ukraine. And this is exactly the kind of conversation we expected. I thank Mr. Chancellor, all German politicians and public figures for their willingness to strengthen the defense of Europe!”
The clip opening the second segment of the podcast came from a speech by President Zelensky on January 26, 2023. The translation is as follows:
“Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians! Today, we withstood another massive missile strike by terrorists. A strike that fully confirms everything we have been talking about with our partners both yesterday and since the beginning of our diplomatic marathon.
This evil, this Russian aggression can and should be stopped only with adequate weapons. The terrorist state will not understand anything else. Weapons on the battlefield. Weapons that protect our skies.”
The article by Michael Kofman and Rob Lee, “How the Battle for the Donbas Shaped Ukraine’s Success,” which was published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute and was referenced in the podcast, can be accessed here.
Michael Kofman’s members-only podcast for War On The Rocks, The Russia Contingency, can be accessed here. War On The Rocks coverage of Russia’s war against Ukraine can be accessed here.
Mikhail Zygar’s op-ed in The New York Times, “The Man Who May Challenge Putin For Power,” which focused on Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group and was referenced in the podcast, can be accessed here.