The United States is falling in line with a growing number of NATO members who will supply Ukraine with modern Main Battle Tanks (MBT). According to reports, the U.S. is getting ready to supply Ukraine with 31 M1 Abrams MBTs. Receiving tanks is a short-term win for President Zelensky, as he has been begging the west for months to send tanks to Ukraine in order to stop the recent Russian advances. However, the Abrams and other modern tanks are complicated, expensive, and difficult to maintain pieces of equipment. It’s questionable whether Ukraine will be able to keep the weapons of war running. Regardless, seeing American-made tanks on the Ukrainian battlefield is certain to anger Moscow, dashing any hopes that the war in Ukraine is anywhere close to cooling off.
BREITBART: Backflip: U.S. Now Set to Approve Abrams Main Battle Tanks for Ukraine
By Simon Kent; January 25, 2023
The White House is set to approve sending advanced M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Tuesday, reversing a months-long policy of resisting the repeated calls of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the same.
The U.S. announcement is expected to spark a similar one by Berlin approving Poland’s request to transfer German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, according to one official.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision is yet to be made public.
AP reports a decision to send 30-plus tanks could be announced as soon as Wednesday, though delivery and assignment could take months for the tanks to be delivered.
U.S. officials said details are still being worked out with the Zelensky administration even as a string of senior Ukraine government officials were sacked or resigned amidst a flurry of corruption claims Tuesday.
As recently as last week Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl told reporters the Abrams is a complicated, expensive, difficult to maintain, and hard to train on a piece of equipment, as Breitbart News reported.
He also noted U.S. defense chief Lloyd Austin has been keen to avoid providing equipment to Ukraine that “they can’t repair, they can’t sustain and that they over the long term can’t afford because it’s not helpful.”
Seven days later and the Biden administration has made a backflip, adding high-grade battlefield weapons to the billions in other assorted aid packages already approved.
One official quoted by AP said the tanks would be bought under an upcoming Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package, which provides longer-range funding for weapons and equipment to be purchased from commercial vendors.
The administration’s reversal comes just days after a coalition of more than 50 senior defense officials from Europe and beyond met in Germany to discuss Ukraine’s war needs, and battle tanks were a prime topic.
The likely plans to send the Abrams were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Photo: AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis