The Pentagon plans to accelerate the delivery of promised Abrams tanks to Ukraine, a US official and another source familiar with the situation confirmed to Reuters.
US President Joe Biden announced on January 25 that the United States would send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, noting that Ukrainians need the ability to defend against Russian aggression in the long term.
Biden called the Abrams tanks “the most powerful tanks in the world,” but “extremely difficult to operate and maintain.”
“Therefore, the US also provides Ukraine with the necessary parts and equipment to effectively support these tanks on the battlefield. “It will take time to deliver these tanks to the field – time that we will use to ensure that the Ukrainians are fully ready to integrate Abrams tanks into their defense,” the US president promised.
One Reuters source said the Pentagon wants to delay the shipment of American tanks to Ukraine for a year, which would mean they could arrive in Kyiv sometime this fall.
Although they would arrive months after the start of any spring/summer offensive in Ukraine, US media reported shortly after Joe Biden announced plans to remove Berlin’s objections to delivering Leopard 2 tanks to Kiev, Germany does not want to be the first. countries will send Western-made tanks to Ukraine.
By the way, shortly before Biden’s statements on January 25, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, after months of pressure from Ukraine and Poland, officially announced that he authorized the shipment of Leopard 2 tanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and also approved transfers for partner countries that wish to do so.
Ukraine received the first tanks of Western production
On March 9, Poland, in turn, announced that all 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks promised to Kyiv had arrived in Ukraine.
“We are talking about a battalion of heavy tanks, which in the case of Poland have already been delivered, and in the case of our allies, they will be delivered to Ukraine very soon,” Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak told the press.
This Monday, Norway also announced that Ukraine received the 8 Leopard 2 tanks promised by the government in Oslo.
Asked Tuesday about reports that the U.S. is preparing to expedite the delivery of promised Abrams tanks to Kiev, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby declined to comment, saying it would take “months.”
“We are working on it. There are some changes you can make to the process to kind of speed things up,” he stated curtly before declining further questions on the subject.
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Source: Hot News
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