As the tanks won't even begin to trickle into Ukraine until late March, we're seeing once again too little, too late. Ukraine needs 300 MBTs; current promises add up to about a quarter of that. Ukraine needed MBTs six months ago; the first few will arrive more than a year after Putin's invasion began. Moreover, it is unclear how much ammunition will be supplied, and without ammo, tanks are not very useful.

Germany's foot-dragging and blocking of Leopard II exports is to be expected from a country that Russian intelligence agencies have thoroughly penetrated for two decades. There is hardly any corner of German society that has not been strongly influenced by the Kremlin, ranging from ex-Chancellor Schroeder's lucrative Board seat with Gazprom through hundreds of lesser politicians and bureaucrats, to industrialists, trade union leaders, hundreds of journalists, and of course the German intelligence agencies. While there likely is German sensitivity to seeing German armor destroying Russian vehicles, it is even more likely that FSB influence played a much greater, albeit hidden, role. No doubt in the years ahead, we will learn more about this.