US asks Ukraine to return Abrams tanks to save reputation?

The West has been providing Ukraine with many types of weapons, including US-made M1 Abrams tanks (Photo: Creative).

According to News9live , to save the reputation of the powerful M1 Abrams tank, the US has asked Ukraine to return this batch of donated vehicles.

The source added that the above proposal was made by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to Kiev on November 20. Accordingly, the head of the Pentagon proposed a plan to provide 28 German Leopard tanks in exchange for 7 Abrams tanks, or a ratio of 4:1.

However, News9live's information about the US "demanding gifts" is based on exclusive news and has not been verified.

Ukraine and the US have not yet commented on the above information.

US proposal rejected by President Zelensky?

Following the US Defense Secretary's visit, the Ukrainian military released video footage showing several Abrams tanks that had been used in combat and had been lying idle for months. It is believed that Mr. Zelensky did not support the return of the US tanks.

If the M1 tanks break down, the US could be pressured into providing more weapons, according to President Zelensky's advisers.

US M1 Abrams tanks were brought to the front by the Ukrainian army (Photo: OSINTtechnical).

Why America can "ask for gifts"

General Dynamics, the manufacturer of Abrams, believes that in the current situation, the Ukrainian army will not be able to fully utilize M1 tanks in combat, because they fear that the fate of American tanks may be similar to what happened to German tanks when Kiev organized a summer counteroffensive campaign.

Russia's release of videos showing Leopard tanks blown up by Russian weapons appears to have caused serious damage to the company's reputation and that of the tanks around the world .

Many military experts believe that American tanks may not perform well in the cold months and using them in heavy snowfall would also be dangerous because these tanks were not designed with the harsh climatic conditions of Russia and Ukraine in mind.

Additionally, there is a risk that Abrams tanks could be captured by Russia, giving the Russians access to the tanks' advanced technology.

Ukraine should preserve its precious tanks

According to Business Insider, nearly two years after the conflict with Russia broke out, Ukraine has received aid from the US - NATO with many advanced Western main battle tanks such as the German Leopard 2, the British Challenger 2, and of course the M1A1 Abrams that the US is "demanding as a gift" as mentioned above.

However, it is undeniable that these tanks have so far failed to become the "silver bullet" that could change the course of the battlefield; Kiev's counteroffensive has failed. Many of the German-made Leopard 2 tanks have been destroyed by Russia. The Challenger 2 tanks have only seen a few battles, but two have already been lost.

According to some Western experts, the Ukrainian command needs to calculate the optimal plan to both use them effectively in combat and preserve them. This is a very difficult problem for Kiev generals because winter is coming while the counter-offensive campaign is at a standstill and Russia is increasing attacks on many fronts at the same time such as Avdiivka, Bakhmut, Kupyansk, Marinka, Orekhov,..

Seth Jones, director of the Transnational Threats Project at the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said that in the face of a new Russian offensive, Ukraine will have to study how to utilize the approximately 300 Western tanks it has received to strengthen its defense capabilities.

Western tanks were designed for offensive tactics, but they were also well suited to being deployed in fortifications to act as "mobile armor" to stop the Russian advance.

Expert Jones advised that Ukraine should let Western tanks hide and wait for the right time, specifically by placing them in solid fortifications, creating strong firing points, helping to strengthen defense capabilities, and at the same time, it is also the best way to preserve valuable forces.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/my-de-nghi-ukraine-tra-lai-xe-tang-abrams-de-cuu-danh-tieng-20231129165254914.htm