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‘Green light’ for Abrams and Leopard-2 Tanks. Fighter Jets are Next in Line

Anton Krutikov
5 min readJan 26, 2023
Photo: agenzianova.com

For Ukraine, the struggle to secure modern Western battle tanks was a very symbolic way of consolidating support for its allies. However, this struggle was only the beginning of a larger information campaign that showed the range of different approaches within NATO countries.

After months of bickering between Western allies, with American-made Abrams and German-made Leopard-2 tanks going to the front lines, military commanders in Kiev are turning their attention to what they see as the logical next step in their efforts to repel the Russian invaders — the supply of modern fighter jets.

According to Politico, a decision on this will be made in the very near future.

Conversations with more than half a dozen Western military officials and diplomats confirm an internal debate about supplying Ukraine with jet fighters is already underway, pushed by Ukrainian officials with support from hawkish Baltic states.

“The next natural step would be fighters,” a diplomat from a northern European country said.

In 2022, Western allies agreed an “unwritten policy” not to supply Ukraine with a fully comprehensive package of weapons immediately after Putin’s invasion, out of fear “we would trigger a big response from Russia,” a third…

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Anton Krutikov
Anton Krutikov

Written by Anton Krutikov

Top writer in history and politics. Historian and political analyst based in London, UK.

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