CNN
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Even if confused, the message becomes one of cohesion.
After weeks of open pressure on Germany to allow Leopard 2 tanks to be sent to Ukraine by Poland and other NATO members, the United States and some of its European Union allies are finally sending armor to the front lines. Became … against Russia.
This is an important decision, because unlike air defense systems and anti-tank missiles, they are not even defensive weapons. Like the artillery and rocket systems that preceded them, they are intended to savage Russian forces in ground attacks. But unlike those systems, they explicitly insist that Ukraine retake the territory. It’s new, it’s fierce, and it portrays NATO fearlessly.
The joint decision of the United States and Europe to send tanks to Ukraine, at first glance, does not indicate the difficulties of democracies.
Amid weeks of conflict and discontent over Berlin’s reluctance to support Kyiv, some in Moscow have heard something different than discord.
Alliances of NATO’s size and various histories have always had some disagreements over how to handle Europe’s largest land war since World War II.
Poland experienced Soviet rule, and many of its citizens can recall how that version of Russian imperialism felt. finally unleashed the tank. Many officials in the towering Social Democratic Party (SPD), home of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, are dangerously close to the Kremlin. It would have been somewhat surprising if all of these European powers had been on the same page about this battle from day one.
But the US plan to send 30 of America’s iconic Abrams tanks to Ukraine encouraged Germany to drop its opposition to Leopard, according to two US officials familiar with the deliberations. It provided his NATO umbrella for the move, even if it took months, possibly years, to deploy a logistically complex American main battle tank.
Servicing and maintaining these tanks in the vast expanses of Ukraine is a very difficult task. But Washington’s willingness to take on this task says a lot about its commitment to the war and how it views Ukraine’s prospects for broader victory.
These are some of the problems Putin is currently facing
This latest outburst of Western aid tells us two things. First, these countries are not worried about violating Russia’s “red line”. The long-held belief that some elements of NATO’s support for Ukraine may risk unduly provoking the nuclear-weapon states is crumbling.
Second, these NATO members are less concerned about being attacked by Russia itself in the immediate future. They are handing over weapons that are urgently needed in the event of such a conflict. The Danes’ decision to send Caesar cannons. Norway’s decision to send most of the leopards. Both prove this. These NATO members believe that the decisive confrontation with Russia will take place in Ukraine, in Ukraine. And that may suggest that they believe Moscow cannot win.
Western inventories can be rebuilt or replenished, but it takes time. It will probably take decades. And NATO members are pledging equipment at such a pace that no final announcement will be made before the next.
Just a month ago, the US promised to provide Ukraine with a Patriot missile defense system, but it has yet to arrive. An M1 Abrams tank may be on its way. The real impact may not come in time for a spring attack by either Russia or Ukraine. But the message is clear long before that. Western aid seems endless, constant, and escalating.
![Ukrainian official](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/230125092523-ukraine-official.jpg?c=16x9&q=w_850,c_fill)
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And this will be felt within the walls of the Kremlin. The Russian military struggles to turn strategic planning around an ever-changing leadership and brutal use of manpower as a limitless expendable resource into tangible gains.
For those around Russian President Vladimir Putin, the huge amount of NATO aid is inevitable and certainly speaks to how enduring their support for Putin is. It doesn’t go away.
But be careful. For the West, believing that Russia has no lines is as dangerous as surrendering to the nuclear blackmail that has perpetuated much of Russia’s aggression.
Moscow may seem relatively helpless now, but the fate of this war has changed before and may change again.
Perhaps weeks of public debate over escalating aid are meant to show Moscow that the West is vigilant and respectful of what remains of the Kremlin’s ego.
But as we enter territory unimaginable a year ago, with NATO’s best offensive technology soon in Ukraine’s hands, it looks like Russia can’t help but groan in frustration.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the country that decided to send Caesar’s artillery to Ukraine.