Ukrainian President's Office names number of tanks needed by Ukraine

Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the President's Office, said this in an interview with Channel 24.

“The turning point has finally happened. There is still an echo of escalation, but everyone has already realized that there will be no escalation, that it is already in full swing. There is already a great war and we need to give everything to Ukraine, here and now. We will end this era of doubts that certain types of weapons should be transferred to Ukraine,” he said.

According to him, it has finally been realized that each stage of the war is a specific mathematical formula, and what is needed to effectively counteract this stage.

“This is pure math. And today, everyone already understands this, that it needs to be transmitted and that we should not pay attention to Russian narratives. People are almost no longer afraid of it,” Podolyak said.

The tanks are a direct statement that the era of fear of escalation is over, the advisor to the head of the President's Office emphasized. 

“Now there will be an era of saturation of Ukraine with everything it needs to reach the final in that war. For example, with regard to nuclear weapons, the Nuclear Club has clearly stated, including China and India, that Russia, to put it mildly, will not be allowed to use this type of weapon. Because it means zeroing out civilization as a whole, including China and India,” he said. 

Podolyak noted that Ukraine will have the necessary tools at any stage of the war, and the only problem we can talk about today is the logistics of supplies and training: “We have to organize this process in a conveyor belt and speed it up as much as possible. And to surprise our partners once again that we can speed it up significantly.”

A representative of the President's Office named the number of tanks needed at this stage.

“I don't see any point in discussing this as a specific figure today. After all, intensive negotiations are already underway at the level of the executors: how many at what stage we need. Officially, we have publicly announced 100-120 tanks, but we need 350-400 to form specific tank assault brigades, and I think we will reach this figure. The only question now is time,” he emphasized.

Podolyak added that the government wants to do everything possible to get them as soon as possible: “Because there are certain needs, for example, for the end of winter or rather mid-spring, given the weather conditions, we need to have specific trained tank brigades.”

• On January 25, it became known that Ukraine would receive 14 Leopard 2 tanks from the Bundeswehr. Berlin also allowed partner countries to provide Ukrainian defenders with German tanks from their own stocks.

• On the same day, Joe Biden officially announced the delivery of 31 American-made M1 Abrams tanks and other equipment to Ukraine. Biden also said that the United States, together with its allies, would provide Ukraine with artillery systems, ammunition, and air defense systems.