US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said today that Germany is a reliable ally, despite the fact that Berlin has not yet approved the transfer of German Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

“He’s a reliable ally, he’s been that way for a long time, and I really think he’ll continue to be a reliable ally going forward,” Austin said.

During the same press conference at US Ramstein Base in Germany, Chief of the General Staff of the US Armed Forces General Mark Miley stated that it will be “very difficult” to evict Russian troops from Ukrainian soil before the end of the year.

“From a military point of view, I still maintain that it will be very difficult to dislodge Russian troops from all the occupied territories of Ukraine,” Miley said.

Senior U.S. officials are urging Ukraine to delay launching a major offensive against Russian forces until the latest U.S. weapons shipment and preparations are completed, a senior Biden administration official said today.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States is sticking to its decision not to supply Abrams tanks to Ukraine at this time amid a dispute with Germany over Leopard tanks.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters, AFP.