Political advisor Nico Lange is calling for more tank deliveries to Ukraine.
The fact that Ukraine does not have enough battle tanks could go down in history as “a huge missed opportunity,” said Lange.
The current ground conditions mean that the Ukrainian army is no longer making good progress with its vehicles. That’s why the troops are dependent on tank deliveries, says Lange.
The political scientist Nico Lange was head of the management staff at the Ministry of Defense for several years and is considered a close confidante of ex-CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. Lange has now given his assessment of the current situation in the Ukraine war on Twitter.
He writes: “The fact that Ukraine does not have sufficient mechanized forces with battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and tracked troop carriers in the phase of Russian weakness in recent weeks could go down in military history as a great missed opportunity in autumn 2022.”
Lange justifies it like this: Ukraine has been on the rise for months. But the great counter-offensive came to a standstill due to increasingly poor weather conditions. The political expert writes: “The ground conditions are difficult, the mobility of both sides is currently restricted. In particular, vehicles on wheels such as the Bushmaster, Mastiff, Kipri or Wolfhound, which Ukraine was able to use skilfully until recently, are currently having difficulties.”
For the current ground conditions, Ukraine has “too few main battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and troop carriers on tracks”. In addition, more air defense systems and drones or anti-drone defense systems are needed.
In the past, the CDU had repeatedly criticized the federal government for its hesitation in delivering battle tanks and armored personnel carriers. Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently promised to continue supporting Ukraine with arms deliveries.
In Ukraine, among other things, the anti-aircraft tank Gepard and the air defense system Iris-T are in use. Good news about the effectiveness of German technology recently came from the Ukraine. When the Russians attacked with Iranian kamikaze drones, the German defense systems recorded a 100 percent hit rate.
