Announcing his intention to deliver 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine on January 25, US President Joe Biden reversed the administration’s previous opposition to Kyiv’s requests for the highly advanced but maintenance-intensive vehicles.
The relocation of the tanks, according to Biden, was suggested by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin because it would improve Ukraine’s ability to “defend its territory and achieve its strategic objectives.”
“The Abrams tanks are the world’s most effective tanks. We are also providing Ukraine with the parts and tools required to effectively sustain these tanks on the battlefield because they are also very difficult to use and repair. In remarks from the White House, Biden said, “We’ll start training the Ukrainian military on these sustainment, logistics, and maintenance challenges as soon as feasible.
Senior administration officials estimated that it would take months for the Abrams to arrive and that Ukrainian troops would need significant training before using them. The US must navigate convoluted supply channels to obtain the tank-related parts.
“It will take some time to get these tanks to the field. The time will be used to ensure that the Ukrainians are completely ready to incorporate the Abrams tanks into their defenses, Biden continued.
Top US officials didn’t believe the Biden administration would agree to give Ukraine the vehicles as recently as last week.
Biden has still approved the shipment of the vehicles following a series of diplomatic efforts with Germany, which had made it clear that it would only deploy its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine if the United States put up the Abrams. A full Ukrainian tank battalion will be made up of the 31 Abrams.
Following their ninth meeting last week, President Joe Biden announced that the Ukraine Defense Contact Group members are also delivering additional military hardware.
Additionally, Biden commended the 50 countries that have so far helped Ukraine, noting that each is “significantly contributing in their own way to the integrity of Ukraine.”
The vice president continued, “I want to congratulate every member of that coalition for continuing to stand up.
He claimed that the nations listed below are providing military hardware and weapons:
The UK is donating Challenger 2 armored vehicles to Ukraine.
AMX-10s, armored battle vehicles, and vital air defense equipment are all provided by France.
Germany and the US: Patriot missile battery and Leopard tanks
The Netherlands: Providing launchers and a Patriot missile
Poland: delivering armored cars
Donating infantry fighting vehicles to Sweden
Giving artillery to Italy
Danish and Estonian howitzers are being sent
Latvia: Making stinger missiles available
providing anti-aircraft weapons to Lithuania
Finland: Made its most significant announcement regarding security assistance to date.
France, Canada, the UK, Slovakia, and other countries have given crucial air defense systems to assist secure Ukrainian skies and preserve the lives of innocent civilians who are literally the objective — the aim of Russia’s aggression, said Biden.
