Cancian, a retired Marine Corps reserves colonel and senior advisor at CSIS. “They lack the fire control of modern Western tanks-the ability to spot and hit a target at longer ranges,” says Mark F. Still, they are more lethal than the Soviet-era tanks that Ukraine is currently using, many of which are T-72s and have been in service since the 1970s. Compared to armored fighting vehicles, they are heavier and slower and require more fuel and support to operate effectively. That’s not to say tanks are a silver bullet the military will need to use them effectively, Barros adds. Tanks can also take out other tanks and armored personnel carriers as well as fortify positions. “Tanks are important because they will enable Ukrainians to push through Russian defenses … into contested territory and help liberate Russian occupied territory,” says George Barros, an analyst on the Russia and Ukraine portfolio at the Institute for the Study of War. Western tanks would be particularly effective for Ukraine to go on the offensive, owing in part to three key attributes: mobility, armor and firepower. And earlier this month, the U.S., France and Germany agreed to send a delivery of armored fighting vehicles, which can help transport infantry into combat zones while firing at enemy forces.

began providing HIMARS rocket launchers-which fire satellite-guided weapons with a range of about 50 miles. Over the last year, Ukraine’s Western allies have slowly expanded the kinds of military capabilities they are willing to share. “We are never doing something just by ourselves, but together with others, especially the U.S., which are very important in this common task to defend the Ukrainian independence and sovereignty,” Scholz said. German chancellor Olaf Scholz said at the Davos summit Wednesday that Germany was “strategically interlocked” with the U.S.

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