If the decision on battle tanks was made today, the vehicles would be seen on the front maybe six months from now, estimates Docent of Military Sciences Ilmari Käihkö.
Donating battle tanks to Ukraine would hardly change the course of the war quickly, says Docent of Military Sciences, Visiting Researcher at the Alexander Institute Ilmari Käihkö.
Western countries are currently considering whether to give Ukraine battle tanks. Even in Finland, there has been talk of donating Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine.
Käihkö reminded aam and Ykkösaamu in interviews on Thursday that it would take a long time to deliver the wagons.
– If the decision about battle tanks was made today, the tanks would be seen on the front maybe six months from now, Käihkö said.
According to Käihkö, another question is related to the number of wagons to be donated. Ukraine has hoped for hundreds of tanks, but it is uncertain how many tanks they are finally ready to donate.
– There has been talk of a few wagons in Finland. Now we are talking about ten or a dozen wagons per country. Time will tell whether we will get a couple of hundred wagons.
In the horizontal cup, own defense and helping Ukraine
Donating battle tanks to Ukraine has been a difficult issue for Western countries. According to Ilmari Käihkö, the West still wants to help Ukraine, but they do not want to compromise on their own defense.
– Few European countries have goods in stock that can be given to Ukraine without their own defense capability suffering.
However, Käihkö emphasizes that tanks are important for Ukraine in themselves, because the country desperately needs more technical capabilities. It is also in the interests of the West that the duration of the war is shortened.
– Ukraine can win the war only if they liberate their territories occupied by Russia. It calls for offensive operations in which tanks would play an important role.
Watch the entire morning interview: