Nearly a month after Berlin gave European allies permission to send German-made tanks to Ukraine, the flow of tanks so many leaders vowed would follow seems more like a trickle.
Some nations have discovered that the tanks in their armory don’t actually work or lack spare parts. Political leaders have encountered unanticipated resistance within their own coalitions, and even from their defense ministries. And some armies had to pull trainers out of retirement to teach Ukrainian soldiers how to use old-model tanks.
The struggle to provide Leopard tanks to an embattled Ukraine is just the most glaring manifestation of a reality Europe has long ignored: Believing that large-scale land war was a thing of the past and basking in the thaw of the Cold War, nations chronically underfunded their militaries.
[This has been known for years. Donald Trump threatened to reconsider America’s NATO commitment if Germany and others didn’t meet their obligations for defense spending, but Barack Obama also demanded the same thing in his presidency. Europe has allowed the US to foot the bill for common defense while spending their money on welfare-state programs. Now that the specter of war has arisen again, it’s no surprise that Europe is ill-prepared to defend itself … again. — Ed]
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