The US and its allies have not delivered the tanks, artillery ammunition and other supplies that Ukraine needed for the spring offensive against Russia, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing the leaked Pentagon documents.
US military planners estimated that Kiev would need 253 tanks for the coming assault, but only 200 had been mustered by late February. Of those, 140 were Soviet designs while just 60 tanks of Western manufacture would be delivered by April, the outlet said.
The West is struggling to fulfill its pledge to supply Ukraine with tanks, air defense systems, fighter jets and other weapons, the newspaper claimed. Three Ukrainian brigades preparing for the attack were short “at least a dozen tanks each” as of February 28.
Washington has reportedly hastened the delivery of the 31 promised M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine, but they will supposedly not be ready before sometime later this year. A dozen or so British Challenger 2 tanks have already arrived, while most of the German-made Leopard tanks are still being refurbished.