What are Leopard 2 and M1 Abrams battle tanks and what armoured vehicles are NATO countries sending to Ukraine?

Published

2 years ago

January 25, 2023

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After weeks of indecision, Germany has announced it will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allow other countries to do the same.

Ukraine has pleaded for months for Western nations to send modern tanks to give its forces the firepower they need to retake territory occupied by Russia.

Kyiv is widely expected to mount another counteroffensive in the spring after hugely successful drives last year that seized big chunks of territory around Kharkiv in the east and liberated Kherson in the south.

Russia sends warning to US over tanks – Ukraine war latest

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, says his forces need more and heavier weapons – in particular Western tanks – to push the Russians back.

After the UK led the way in promising 14 of its Challenger 2 tanks, Germany has now agreed to send 14 of its own Leopard 2 tanks as well as authorise other countries to do the same as it owns the export licence.

The US is understood to be preparing to announce that it will supply Kyiv with a number of its M1 Abrams tanks – perhaps as part of an agreement with Berlin.

So what are the Leopard 2, M1 Abrams and Challenger 2 tanks, and which other Western armoured vehicles are being sent to Ukraine?

Leopard 2 – Germany’s main battle tank used by various NATO countries

Ukraine has long urged the West to send tanks to help its forces fight Russia, and at the top of the list has been the Leopard 2.

Considered a main battle tank in the same way as the Challenger 2 and first introduced in 1979, it offers good protection against armour-piercing rounds and anti-tank guided weapons.

It has been reported that the Leopard 2 was estimated to be able to penetrate frontal armour of the Soviet-made T-72 tank from 2,000 metres away and that of the T-62 from more than 4,000 metres – both of which are in use by the Russian military in Ukraine.

M1 Abrams: Highly manoeuvrable but poor fuel efficiency

After weeks of discussion, the Biden administration is preparing to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine, according to three senior US officials.

It has a 1,500-horsepower turbine engine – notoriously low on fuel efficiency – and a 120mm main gun.

The tank can make a difference on the battlefield through “lethal firepower, unparalleled survivability, and audacious manoeuvre”, the US army says.

Any agreement to supply Ukraine with Abrams tanks is likely to be perceived as an effort to persuade Germany to authorise donation of the Leopard 2, which uses less fuel and is widely available in Europe.

Challenger 2: British tank buster that has ‘never’ been destroyed

The British Challenger 2 is a main battle tank that has been used on operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Iraq.

First introduced into service with the British Army in 1994, a number of Challenger 2s are deployed in Estonia as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence in the Baltic States.

It features a main 120mm rifled gun and has a crew of four – commander, gunner, loader/operator and a driver.

The British Army says it has “never experienced a loss at the hands of the enemy”.

Bradley fighting vehicle: Armoured infantry transport from the US

Earlier this month, the White House announced that it will be delivering dozens of its Bradley fighting vehicles to Ukraine as well as hundreds of the anti-tank missiles they can fire.

While not a tank, strictly speaking, Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder said they provide “a level of firepower and armour that will bring advantages on the battlefield”.

Bradleys are armoured vehicles that can transport infantry in combat zones and are often equipped with a 25mm M242 Bushmaster chain gun as their main weapon along with an anti-tank missile system.

Mr Zelenskyy hailed the move: “For the first time, we will get Bradley armoured vehicles – this is exactly what is needed.

“New guns and rounds, including high-precision ones, new rockets, new drones. It is timely and strong.”

Marder infantry fighting vehicles from Germany

Before the decision on the Leopards, Germany had said it wanted to deliver around 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine before the end of March.

Resembling a light tank in some ways, the Marder can carry five or six troops and is one of the largest and heaviest of its type.

Germany has large numbers of Marders in storage and vice chancellor Robert Habeck said Berlin could ultimately send its entire functioning fleet of the weapons.

AMX-10 RC: France’s ‘light tank’ designed for recon missions

The French defence ministry said it will hold talks with its Ukrainian counterpart to arrange for the delivery of armoured combat vehicles.

Designated as “light tanks” in French, the AMX-10 RC carries a 105mm cannon and two machine guns.

It’s primarily designed for reconnaissance missions and has enough armour to protect against light infantry weapons, according to the French defence ministry.

It has wheels rather than tracks, allowing it to be more mobile than heavy tanks.

World

‘People were crying, they were trapped’: Spain reels from deadly flash floods

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8 hours ago

November 1, 2024

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'People were crying, they were trapped': Spain reels from deadly flash floods

Emergency responders are searching for bodies inside stranded cars and buildings following deadly flash floods in Spain that have killed at least 158 people.

Scenes of destruction have been left in the wake of the powerful floodwaters which hit the east of the country late on Tuesday and early Wednesday, marking Spain‘s worst natural disaster this century.

Cars have been piled high on top of each other, homes and businesses have been swept away, trees have been uprooted, and roads and bridges have been left unrecognisable.

Spain flooding latest: Looting breaks out as flood deaths rise

At least 92 people have died in the worst-hit region of Valencia, while deaths were also reported in Castilla La Mancha and southern Andalusia.

An unknown number of people remain missing.

“Unfortunately, there are dead people inside some vehicles,” Spain’s transport minister Oscar Puente said.

In the Valencian district of La Torre, nine dead bodies were discovered inside a garage – with a local police officer among the victims.

Luis Sanchez, a welder, said he saved several people from floodwaters rushing through the V-31 motorway south of Valencia city.

“I saw bodies floating past. I called out but nothing,” Mr Sanchez said.

“The firefighters took the elderly first, when they could get in. I am from nearby so I tried to help and rescue people. People were crying all over, they were trapped.”

Satellite images from NASA show how severe flooding has impacted Valencia and its surrounding towns.

The images, captured on 30 October, show large areas to the south of the city covered in floodwater.

The Turia river, which runs through the city, can be seen at a much higher level.

The Pobles del Sud, a large lake nearby, overflowed. Much of the area surrounding the lake was covered in floodwater.

The worst of the destruction was concentrated in Paiporta, a municipality next to Valencia city, where 62 people have been reported dead.

Mayor Maribel Albalat told national broadcaster RTVE: “We found a lot of elderly people in the town centre. There were also a lot of people who came to get their cars out of their garages… it was a real trap.”

What has caused the devastation?

The flooding events in Spain have been hard to witness. But the rainfall there could never have been anything but devastating.

Chiva, located just to the west of Valencia, received 491mm of rain in an eight-hour window.

Some 100-200mm fell in surrounding areas with the accumulation of running water producing apocalyptic scenes.

In addition there have been over 20,000 lightning strikes.

Whilst the rainfall totals are astounding in themselves, this part of the world is simply not accustomed to huge quantities of water falling from the sky.

In an average year, Spain would expect somewhere between 50 and 100 mm of rain throughout the entire month of October but Valencia and Andalusia would expect far less – just 60–70mm.

So how did this happen? It’s attributable to a DANA, a “depresion aislada en niveles altos” or a “cut-off low”.

This is a low pressure system which becomes slow moving or stationary, blocked by high pressure elsewhere, which can only keep shedding its rain over the same area for long periods of time.

These systems are not that unusual. They occur when cool air from the north is drawn across the Mediterranean in late summer and autumn when the waters are war. The temperature differential enhances storms and rainfall totals.

But whilst not uncommon, this one was certainly extreme.

And it hasn’t gone yet. This same system has continued to bring further heavy rain and thunderstorms today, but it has now moved a little further north and east, heading toward the French border and currently remaining to the west of Barcelona.

The rain and thunderstorms are likely to continue for a few days yet with the Tarragona and Castellon regions still under an amber warning while a yellow warning remains in force for both eastern and western Spain.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday morning that Valencia had been declared a disaster zone and that the priority was to find victims and missing people.

He also urged those affected to stay at home as more torrential rain was forecast.

“The most important thing is that I know Spanish people are aware that this phenomenon has not finished,” he said.

Sky News’ Europe correspondent Adam Parsons, reporting from Valencia, said the devastation suffered in the region is “enormous”.

“What we’re witnessing now are the locals here who are waking up and seeing what’s happened to their town and what has happened is something almost apocalyptic,” he said.

A nearby shop was left “absolutely wrecked” and looked like a “bomb has gone off in there”, he added.

Three days of mourning has been declared in Spain, beginning on Thursday.

Spain’s Mediterranean coast is used to autumn storms that can cause flooding, but this was the most powerful flash flood event in recent memory, and scientists have linked its strength to climate change.

World

‘No one came to rescue us’: In this destroyed Spanish town, people are angry

Published

8 hours ago

November 1, 2024

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'No one came to rescue us': In this destroyed Spanish town, people are angry

In the Spanish town of Algemesi, people are angry.

The suburb of Raval was one of the worst hit by flash flooding but residents feel abandoned.

At least 158 people have been killed in the disaster in eastern Spain – with the worst of the flooding concentrated around the Valencia region.

Spain floods latest: Looting breaks out as flood deaths surpass 150

“When the alert came the water was already two metres high,” Carolina shouts from her balcony. “There were no police, firefighters or the mayor. No one came to rescue us.”

The distress is echoed street after street.

Carmen puts her head in her hands and weeps.

“They have lost everything,” she says, pointing at her neighbours’ houses.

Every home is in ruins and their owners are heartbroken.

Dolores shows us inside her house. She says the flood was up to the ceiling but because no help came, they have had to hammer holes in the walls to clear the water.

“I feel awful. I’m terrified and very afraid. My husband is sick – we need more help,” she says.

The level of destruction is immense.

On the street, we meet Noel with his children. The youngest toddler barefoot in the mud.

Yesterday, Noel and his wife had nothing to eat. He feels helpless.

“Right now, there are people who are trapped. The mud is up to their waists, so they can’t open their doors,” he says.

“I live on a high floor so I didn’t have problems with the flooding in my home, but I don’t have water, light, or food.”

There’s a growing feeling of desperation in this suburb.

At one point, someone shouts “food!” and people rush to grab what they can from a nearby shop.

It’s not clear if they have been let in by the owner or are looting.

The devastation is so great and at a time when people are at their most in need, they feel frustrated and alone.

In a nearby shelter we meet people from Algemesi who have been made homeless by the flood.

Carol says she has never felt so hopeless.

“There was a tree trunk that came into the front of my house. There are no walls, no ceiling. I don’t have anything. There’s nothing left,” she explains, beginning to cry.

For many, the initial trauma of this natural disaster has been compounded in the aftermath by a feeling of loss and loneliness.

World

Ukraine war: Thousands of North Korean troops near Ukraine border will enter battle ‘within days’, says Blinken

Published

8 hours ago

November 1, 2024

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Ukraine war: Thousands of North Korean troops near Ukraine border will enter battle 'within days', says Blinken

Thousands of North Korean soldiers are now positioned near Ukraine’s border and likely to enter combat in the coming days, the US says.

Russian troops have been training them in artillery, drones and “basic infantry operations, including trench clearing”, said US secretary of state Antony Blinken.

He said it strongly indicated they would be used on the front line and would therefore become legitimate targets for Ukraine.

Some 10,000 North Korean troops are in Russia, including up to 8,000 in the Kursk border region, Mr Blinken said.

The troops are wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian gear, according to US defence secretary Lloyd Austin.

“We’ve not yet seen these troops deploy into combat against Ukrainian forces, but we would expect that to happen in the
coming days,” Mr Blinken said on Thursday.

America’s top diplomat said the recruitment of troops from North Korea to Russia’s “meat grinder” was a “clear sign of weakness”.

Mr Blinken made the assessment after he and Mr Austin met their South Korean counterparts in Washington DC.

Foreign minister Cho Tae-yul called for the immediate withdrawal of North Korean soldiers from Russia and condemned it “in the strongest possible terms”.

They also all agreed China should do more to rein in North Korea, Mr Blinken said, adding that he’d had a “robust conversation” with Beijing this week.

Mr Austin also announced that – with the US election just days away – America would soon be announcing new security assistance for Ukraine.

The deployment of troops to Russia is down to the close relationship between President Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

The leaders last met in June when Mr Putin travelled to North Korea for the first time in 24 years.

A mutual defence pact was agreed during their summit, meaning the countries will help each other if they are attacked.

The US says North Korea has also given munitions to Russia as it continues its grinding effort to take more territory in Ukraine’s east.

The White House published images earlier this month which it said showed 1,000 containers of equipment being sent to Russia by rail.

There are concerns about what military aid Russia will now provide in exchange.

North Korea test-fired an an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time in almost a year on Thursday and there is speculation Russia may have provided technological help.

In a statement, the US, Japan and South Korea condemned the launch as a “flagrant violation” of UN resolutions.

“We strongly urge (North Korea) to immediately cease its series of provocative and destabilising actions that threaten peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond,” they said.