Lack of training and the defence plans of NATO hinder immediate deliveries of tanks to Ukraine, Lithuania’s Chief of Defence Valdemaras Rupsys has said.
“There are always technical issues, I would name two main ones: you cannot give a very large number of tanks right away, because you have to train the troops first,” Rupsys told LRT RADIO from Brussels where he was taking part in a meeting of NATO defence chiefs.
“The Ukrainian army has not used any tanks of this type so far, so the initial support in the form of these tanks is not so big,” the lieutenant general said.
“The other issue is that we, NATO, have our own defence plans and we have to guarantee our own defence,” he said.
Countries willing to send tanks need to gauge the risk, as they have to ensure “the defence of their own country and the alliance as a whole”, Rupsys adds.
Ukraine’s European allies have sent more than 300 modernised Soviet-era tanks to Kyiv since the Russian invasion began last February.
However, only the United Kingdom said it would send its modern tanks, the Challenger 2s, to Ukraine. (LRT/Business World Magazine)
