US to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine soon, Germany to follow.
The US is finalizing plans to send approximately 30 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, two US officials familiar with the deliberations told CNN. The Biden administration announcement to send the US-made tanks could come as early as this week, and it normally takes several months to train troops to use the tanks effectively. The US will also send a small number of recovery vehicles. This decision appears to break a diplomatic logjam with Germany about the provision of tanks to Ukraine, as German officials had openly stated that they would only send their Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine if the US sent the M-1 Abrams tank.
Top national security officials in the Biden administration have actively considered steps they could take to convince Germany to send the Leopards. On Friday, at a meeting of western defense leaders in Germany, the US and its allies failed to convince German officials to send them as part of Berlin’s next round of military assistance to Ukraine. But on Tuesday, the German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said “We are preparing our decision, which will come very soon” on the tanks. Later on Tuesday German newspaper Der Spiegel reported that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has decided to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine after “months of debate.”
The Biden administration has never taken the possibility of shipping American tanks entirely off the table, but US officials said publicly last week that it was not the right time to send the 70-ton M1 Abrams tanks because they are costly and require a significant amount of training to operate. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said Tuesday evening that “with any advanced system, you have to factor in things like supply chain and maintenance time.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has consistently asked Western allies for modern tanks as his country prepares braces for an expected major Russian counteroffensive in the spring. The UK has already announced it will send 12 of their Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, crossing what had previously appeared to be a red line for the US and its European allies. The US decision to provide Abrams tanks to Ukraine is an abrupt about-face from its stated position, one that allows Germany to send its tanks and to clear the way for the approval of other European countries to send in more of the German-made Leopard 2 tanks as well.
The decision to send US-made Abrams tanks will rely on an “iterative process” assessing Ukraine’s needs, what aid is appropriate for the US to send and technical considerations surrounding operation and maintenance of the tanks. Any announcement would be a long-term contribution of Abrams, meaning the Ukrainians will not have them on the ground anytime soon because of the training and getting the sustainment framework established. Tanks represent the most powerful direct offensive weapon provided to Ukraine so far, a heavily armed system designed to meet the enemy head on instead of firing from a distance.
The US is finalizing plans to send approximately 30 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. This decision appears to break a diplomatic logjam with Germany about the provision of tanks to Ukraine, as German officials had openly stated that they would only send their Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine if the US sent the M-1 Abrams tank. Top national security officials in the Biden administration have actively considered steps they could take to convince Germany to send the Leopards. On Tuesday, the German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said “We are preparing our decision, which will come very soon” on the tanks and German newspaper Der Spiegel reported that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has decided to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine after “months of debate.”
The Biden administration has never taken the possibility of shipping American tanks entirely off the table, but US officials said publicly last week that it was not the right time to send the 70-ton M1 Abrams tanks because they are costly and require a significant amount of training to operate. The US decision to provide Abrams tanks to Ukraine is an abrupt about-face from its stated position, one that allows Germany to send its tanks and to clear the way for the approval of other European countries to send in more of the German-made Leopard 2 tanks as well.
The decision to send US-made Abrams tanks will rely on an “iterative process” assessing Ukraine’s needs, what aid is appropriate for the US to send and technical considerations surrounding operation and maintenance of the tanks. Tanks represent the most powerful direct offensive weapon provided to Ukraine so far, a heavily armed system designed to meet the enemy head on instead of firing from a distance. Any announcement would be a long-term contribution of Abrams, meaning the Ukrainians will not have them on the ground anytime soon because of the training and getting the sustainment framework established.
The US is finalizing plans to send approximately 30 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, in order to break a diplomatic logjam with Germany about the provision of tanks to Ukraine. This decision is an abrupt about-face from the US’ stated position, allowing Germany to send its tanks and for the approval of other European countries to send in more of the German-made Leopard 2 tanks as well. The decision to send US-made Abrams tanks will rely on an “iterative process” assessing Ukraine’s needs, what aid is appropriate for the US to send and technical considerations surrounding operation and maintenance of the tanks.
Tanks represent the most powerful direct offensive weapon provided to Ukraine so far, a heavily armed system designed to meet the enemy head on instead of firing from a distance. Any announcement would be a long-term contribution of Abrams, meaning the Ukrainians will not have them on the ground anytime soon because of the training and getting the sustainment framework established. The US has begun supplying refurbished Soviet-era T-72 tanks, but modern western tanks are a generation ahead in terms of their ability to target enemy positions. The Pentagon and White House officials have denied that the risk of escalation with Russia has had anything to do with the US decision to delay a decision on sending the tanks.
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