U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed Wednesday that he will send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine in a move coordinated by the allies after Germany reported that it will supply Leopard tanks to Kiev.
The shipment will be accompanied, according to Washington, by other measures, such as training Ukrainian troops in their use, with the aim also of «improving their ability to maneuver in the open field» and their «long-term» military capabilities.
The battle tanks will be procured through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funds and will take months to arrive, according to senior Biden Administration officials.
«We are talking about months rather than weeks,» they stressed, adding that the process will not be short also because of the training Ukrainian forces have to receive not only to operate the tanks, but also to maintain them.
Thus, this specialized program for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use the new U.S. weaponry will not take place in Ukraine, although the senior officials have not been able to specify where it will take place.
In addition, they have also emphasized that these 31 M1 Abrams tanks are the equivalent of a Ukrainian tank battalion and will be accompanied by eight M88 recovery vehicles that will support these tanks, which are «complex systems.»
«We expect other nations to announce contributions of additional armored capability,» they have noted, adding that Wednesday’s announcement is the result of «good diplomatic talks» as well as regular and ongoing consultations between the allies.
For his part, Biden used his press conference to also thank German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine. «Germany has been up to the task. The chancellor has defended (Western) unity at all times,» he said, adding that this decision by Washington is not the result of pressure from Berlin.
«That’s what it’s all about. Helping Ukraine to defend and protect Ukrainian territory. It is not a threat to Russia,» clarified the US leader, who spoke on Wednesday with Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and the prime ministers of Italy and the United Kingdom, Giorgia Meloni and Rishi Sunak, European leaders of the G7.
The U.S. leader stressed at a press conference that the members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group have made a significant contribution to Ukrainian defense with the supply of Challenger 2 tanks, in the case of the United Kingdom, or the delivery of French-made AMX-10 RC tanks.
THANKS FROM UKRAINE Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski has thanked Washington for the shipment of Abrams tanks, assuring on his Twitter profile that «it is an important step on the road to victory. «Today the free world is united as never before for a common goal – the liberation of Ukraine,» he added.
For his part, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denis Shmigal, thanked the United States on the same social network for the supply of this type of weaponry, the result of «allied negotiations and a manifestation of comprehensive support» for Kiev.
The Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Oleksei Reznikov, had shortly before said that there would be «more good news» for the country after holding a conversation with the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, on Wednesday.
Washington’s decision comes on the same day that Berlin has confirmed that it will supply Leopard 2 tanks to Kiev after days of speculation about the position it would finally adopt. Specifically, it will deliver 14 Leopard 2A6s in the German Armed Forces’ arsenal.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)