Pentagon ramps up firepower for Ukraine

The US is ramping up the firepower to be delivered to Ukraine this month with the imminent arrival of the first Abrams battle tanks along with armour-piercing depleted uranium shells. Intended specifically to help the Ukrainian military break through Russian defences in the three-month-old counteroffensive, the tanks and controversial radioactive shells will pose a significant threat to the invasion force’s armoured battle lines. Although Britain’s Challenger 2 tanks, also armed with depleted uranium shells, have been operating effectively in Ukraine since June, the 72-ton US Abrams M1A1 is noted for its mobility and higher speed (42mph). It’s powered by a 1,500-horsepower gas turbine engine. The first ten of the 31 promised by the US will be delivered in about two weeks and the decision to arm them with depleted uranium shells has been confirmed by American officials. Depleted uranium is a less radioactive by-product of the process developed to prepare the dense metal for use in nuclear weapons. It’s packed into the tip of the 120mm tank shells, providing far greater armour-piercing power than traditional shells. Both the US and UK have dismissed Moscow’s accusations that they are supplying Ukraine with nuclear weapons. Depleted uranium shells were used extensively in the 1991 Gulf and 2003 Iraq wars. They are not banned by any existing treaty. With the arrival of the first modified Abrams M1A1s, Ukraine will have a broad range of western tanks, including the British Challenger 2s, German Leopard 2s and French Leclercs, all of them superior to the ageing former Soviet models available to Kyiv when Russian troops invaded on February 24 last year. The US strategy has been adapted to give impetus to the Ukrainian counteroffensive which, while a slow process so far, it is hoped will produce significant gains over the next few months. As part of this push to liberate Russian-occupied territory, US officials are saying they are now “very closely considering” longer-range weapons for Ukraine. The Kyiv government has been pressing for months for the US to supply the army tactical missile system (Atacms) which has a range of up to 190 miles. They are launched from the US army’s multiple launch rocket systems. “We do need to continue to take a very close and deliberate look at what it is Ukraine needs,” Laura Cressey, director of regional security and arms transfers at the US state department, told a conference in Arlington, Virginia, this week. “Long-range fires” were among weapons being closely considered, she said.