University of Essex expert says war in Ukraine has no end in sight
Faten Ghosn - a politics professor at the University of Essex says the delivery of new Leopard 2 tanks is not enough to turn the tide
A politics professor from the university of Essex tells us they're worried new tanks for Ukraine won't be enough to stop Putin in his tracks.
The German government has confirmed it will provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 battle tanks and approve requests by other countries to do the same.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday Germany is "acting in close co-ordination" with its allies.
In a statement, the government said it will initially provide Ukraine with one company of Leopard 2 A6 tanks, which comprises 14 vehicles, from its own stocks.
The goal is to provide Ukraine with a total of two battalions - 88 tanks - together with other countries.
But Faten Ghosn, from the university of Essex says while this agreement is a positive step - the outcome of the conflict still hangs in the balance:
"We tend to see a lot in the news that the addition of the tanks is going to change everything... they've said that about multiple weapons before and that has not been the case"
"How long will it take for the Ukrainians to be trained on these kids of tanks? Russia still has air power superiority! So how successful will these tanks be in comparison to the air attacks Russia has been launching?"
Russian forces have been entrenched in the east of Ukraine for almost a year since the start of the war.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described German and US intentions with the tanks as a "a rather disastrous plan".
"I am convinced that many specialists understand the absurdity of this idea," he told reporters on Wednesday.
"Simply because of technological aspects, this is a rather disastrous plan. The main thing is, this is a completely obvious overestimation of the potential (the supply of tanks) would add to the armed forces of Ukraine. It is yet another fallacy, a rather profound one," the Kremlin official said.
Professor Ghosn also told us how this decision may mtivate Russia's allies to fight back harder agsint Ukraine.
She said "this conflict is not a traditional conflict where there are just two parties involved... each side has it's own allies and we are unsure of how far each ally is willing to go to support their side in the conflict".
Finally, professor Ghosn told us there is a chance Berlin may back out of this agreement.
Members of Olaf Scholz's three-party coalition government welcomed the news ahead of the official announcement.
"The Leopard's freed!" said German politician Katrin Goering-Eckardt, a senior Green party member.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a member of the Free Democratic Party who chairs the parliamentary defence committee, said the news is "a relief for a mistreated and brave Ukraine".
"The decision to approve (other countries' requests) and supply the Leopard 2 was arduous but unavoidable," she said.
Ms Strack-Zimmermann was one of the loudest voices calling for a swift decision on arms supplies to Ukraine.
Two smaller opposition parties criticised the move, however.
The far-right Alternative for Germany called the decision "irresponsible and dangerous".
The Left party, which also has historic links to Moscow, warned of a possible escalation in the conflict.
Recent opinion polls showed German voters split on the idea, and professor Ghosn told us this may be the biggest issue the plan faces: "43% were against the plan, while only 31% supported the decision... this is something I think will be in the mind of the German politicians and while the plan has been approved right now, they may backtrack or put more restrictions in place moving forward".