President Joe Biden has announced that the U.S will send an entire battalion of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, finally yielding to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plea for heavy armor to counter Russia’s invasion.
Biden’s announcement follows after Germany announced its own decision to send 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks to Kyiv, with more on the way.
The U.S. is providing 500 armored vehicles as part of the package.
“Today we’ll be announcing that the United States will send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, which is the equivalent of one Ukrainian tank battalion,” a senior administration official divulged earlier.
The Pentagon is also providing eight M88 recovery vehicles, to help keep the Abrams tanks ‘up and running,’ according to a senior administration official.
The tanks come as the US is stepping up its ‘combined forces’ training for Ukrainian forces outside of Ukrainian territory, allowing them to better integrate air, ground, and armored forces in a more sophisticated form of warfare.
Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin was in Germany last week for an arms conference and National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan has been holding talks with his counterpart.
According to the White House, Biden spoke with President Macron of France, Chancellor Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Meloni of Italy, and Prime Minister Sunak of the United Kingdom this morning ‘as part of our close coordination on support for Ukraine.’
The Biden administration had resisted sending Abrams M1 tanks to Ukraine, citing practical reasons. Up until now, the US has suggested that the complexity of the Abrams tanks was a barrier to supplying them to Ukraine.
That made some European countries such as Germany reluctant to hand over some of their own tanks.
Now the logjam has been removed, and Ukraine will be getting hundreds of armoured vehicles including tanks.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the moves by the US and Germany ‘long overdue.’
‘Now that Berlin is taking a step, I hope that other European countries with tanks in their inventory will move expeditiously to send them to Ukraine,’ McConnell said on the Senate floor.
McConnell added that modern tanks will provide ‘highly maneuverable firearms to keep pressure on the Russian aggressors, but underlined that time is of the essence.
“The Most Capable Tanks In The World”
President Biden disclosed that Abrams M1 tanks are “the most capable tanks in the world”. He added that the US will provide training and maintenance to Ukraine to make sure these tanks are sustained on the battlefield.
President Biden noted that he is “grateful” to Chancellor Olaf Scholz for Germany’s offer to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. “Germany has really stepped up,” Biden said.
The commitment to Ukraine is a “worldwide commitment”, Biden added.
The U.S President expressed his gratitude to every member of the 50-nation coalition for making significant contributions to support Ukraine. Biden told Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “We are with you for as long as it takes.”
Biden opined that Russian President Vladimir Putin expected that US support for Ukraine would crumble with time. “He was wrong,” Biden asserted.
“We are united, America’s united, and so is the world.”
President Joe Biden
Biden iterated that the decision to send tanks is “further evidence of our enduring and unflagging commitment to Ukraine.”
Commenting on why the U.S had finally decided to send the tanks and whether the decision came after pressure from Germany, Biden replied that he wanted to make sure western allies acted in coordination.
“Germany didn’t force me to change my mind,” Biden stated. “I wanted to make sure we’re all together … as we’re doing right now.”
Norway has also confirmed that it will also be sending German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
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