The top US general stressed the importance of modern battle tanks for Ukraine, especially with its counteroffensive looming against occupying Russian forces, but cautioned that F-16 fighter jets would be more of a long-term effort.
Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley said tanks provide the firepower and strength to play a major part in the highly anticipated counteroffensive and will play a critical role for Kyiv.
“Tanks are very important, both for the defense and the offense,” said Milley, speaking to reporters during a trip to France for the commemoration of D-Day. “Upgraded modern tanks, the training that goes with it, the ability to use them will be fundamental to Ukrainian success.”
Approximately 400 Ukrainian troops recently began training on US-made M1A1 Abrams tanks, a process that is expected to last approximately 12 weeks. About half of the troops are learning to operate the tanks, while the other half will learn how to maintain the complex Western system.
The US committed to providing Ukraine with a total of 31 Abrams tanks. Other countries have already sent in UK-made Challenger 2 tanks and German-made Leopard 2 tanks.
Milley said the tanks will operate in a coordinated fashion with artillery, infantry and more when the counteroffensive begins, utilizing the training on military maneuvers the US has provided for Ukraine in Germany to attack entrenched Russian positions.
“If you look back to World War 2, some of the biggest armored battles that were ever fought in history were fought basically in parts of Ukraine,” he said.
Milley also addressed the nascent effort to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets or other modern fighters, saying it is more of a long-term plan to equip Ukraine with a modern air force better capable of standing up to Russia’s vastly superior air power.
“Everyone recognizes that Ukraine needs a modernized air force and everyone knows that. It’s going to take a considerable length of time, effort, money, to build that air force,” Milley said.
Russia’s has hundreds of fourth and fifth generation fighters and bombers, dwarfing the smaller, older Ukrainian fleet or military aircraft. Since the beginning of the war, instead of trying to compete with Russian air power by matching them plane-for-plane, the US and other countries provided Ukraine with ground-based aerial defense systems, Milley said.
“The fastest, cheapest, most effective way to do that was from the ground,” he said. The flow of aerial defense systems has been effective at forcing Russia’s air force to largely remain out of Ukrainian air space and prevent Russia from establishing aerial supremacy over Ukraine.
With an aerial defense system established across critical parts of Ukraine, the effort has now shifted to bolstering Ukraine’s air force with modern Western fighter jets.
But the plan will still take time, with open questions about who will provide the jets, training, and sustainment needed.
Source link: https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-06-01-23/index.html