US and allies are converting Ukraine into a de facto Nato member

The US and Nato allies are converting Ukraine into a de facto alliance member with a proposed huge new build-up of weapons that could include the American Stryker armoured combat vehicle and European tanks. From a tentative start, the Pentagon is leading the way in providing battlefield equipment to enable the Kyiv forces to withstand a Russian offensive in the spring. The list of new armour and anti-tank capabilities will be announced next week at a meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group consisting of 50 defence ministers, headed by Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin. They will be assessing Kyiv’s long list of new weapons requests, with tanks and other armoured vehicles at the top. Although no decision has yet been made about offering Stryker combat vehicles, the fact that the Pentagon is considering going down this route – first reported by the US Politico website – underlines the sense of urgency within the alliance about the need to thwart Moscow’s plans for a big push against Kyiv in March or April, aided by a potential mobilisation of 500,000 more Russian troops. The Stryker is an eight-wheeled fighting vehicle that can carry nine soldiers, is protected by bolt-on ceramic armour all round and is armed with a .5-calibre machinegun. It first came into operational service in the US army in 2003 and was deployed to Iraq. With a maximum speed of more than 60mph on roads, it would give the Ukrainian army a faster-moving and quieter combat vehicle against the Russians than the Bradley fighting vehicle, 50 of which are already assigned for Kyiv under a deal announced last week. The Bradley is tracked and has a top speed of 35mph. While the US is still hesitant about supplying M1 Abrams battle tanks, the reasons are more to do with logistics and maintenance challenges for the gas-powered tank than concerns about escalating the confrontation risks between Nato and Moscow. Ukraine’s tank requirement is expected to be filled with a dozen British Challenger 2s, German Leopard 2s supplied by Poland, if Berlin gives the go ahead, plus a continuing delivery of 90 Czech T-72 Soviet-era tanks which are being upgraded by the US and Netherlands at a cost of $90 million. Twenty have arrived so far. The US and other allies have already sent or are in the process of delivering thousands of armoured vehicles to Ukraine. They include American Humvees, Canadian armoured combat support vehicles (ACSVs), French AMX-10RC light tanks, and Mastiff armoured patrol vehicles from the UK.