Ukraine needs more than tanks

What weapons will Ukraine get next? It’s a crucial question that matters perhaps more than anything else for understanding how the Russo-Ukraine war will end. For the last few months two different systems have received the most attention, systems that Ukraine has asked for almost daily. These are tanks, or MBTs (Main Battle Tanks), the key armoured vehicle of 20^th and 21^st century land warfare, and ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems), the longest-range ammunition now available for the US-made HIMARS rocket launchers already in Ukraine. 

Both are needed for the quickest possible Ukrainian victory in the war, though for now it seems that the first, tanks, are on their way and the other, ATACMS, are still a while away.  

Nato-standard MBTs, such as British-made Challengers or German-made Leopards, look very much to be heading to Ukraine. This weekend, it was reported that the UK government had assured the Ukrainian government that Challenger 2s (probably only a small number) will be going to Kyiv in the not-too-distant future.