Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Friday that tanks provided by NATO countries will be used as a “steel fist” in a counteroffensive against Russian forces in Ukraine, CNN reports.

“We need a “tank coalition” with the main tanks of NATO countries for a counteroffensive. That is, we will use them as a “steel fist” to break their defense line,” Reznikov said at a joint press conference with his Polish colleague.

To deter a possible new Russian offensive in the south and east, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, among other types of weapons, “will primarily use 155 mm artillery,” he added.

“That’s why we say today that the priority on the battlefield remains 155-mm artillery and shells for it.”

Recently, Kyiv’s ambassador to France, Vadym Omelchenko, said that many countries have confirmed their “agreement to supply Ukraine with 321 heavy tanks.”

He did not specify which countries would supply the tanks, nor did he name the models for each country.

The US promised to supply 31 M1 Abrams tanks, and Germany agreed to send 14 Leopard 2 A6s.

Earlier, Great Britain promised to deliver 14 Challenger 2 tanks, and Poland asked Germany to obtain permission to transfer part of its own German Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

Germany has also approved the export of Leopard 1 battle tanks, a combat vehicle that entered service in 1965, to Ukraine from the industry’s warehouses, a government spokesman confirmed at a press conference in Berlin on Friday, Reuters reported.

“I can confirm that the export permit has been issued,” the spokesman said, but declined to comment on the number of tanks to be exported.

On Friday morning, Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that Berlin had approved plans by the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall to sell 88 old Leopards to Kyiv after their repairs at a total cost of more than 100 million euros, writes Politico.