The President of Ukraine, Volodímir Zelenski, turned 45 this Wednesday and could not have received a better gift. The United States will send 31 M-1 Abrams tanks to his country, as confirmed by the president of the United States, Joe Biden, in an intervention at the White House that certifies Washington’s turn regarding the military material it delivers to kyiv.
Biden’s announcement, which US media had already advanced a day earlier, coincides in time with that of the German government, which will deliver 14 of its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukrainian forces and will authorize other countries to also supply these German-made vehicles. Until now the two major allied countries – Germany on the European side and the United States – had been reluctant to provide offensive material to kyiv for fear of an escalation in the conflict.
“Abrams tanks are the most efficient in the world, they are extremely complex to operate and maintain, so we are also going to supply Ukraine with the parts and equipment necessary for the maintenance of these tanks on the battlefield,” he explained. Biden.
The batch of 31 tanks, manufactured by General Dynamics, will be worth approximately $400 million. The US president has pointed out that delivering them to Ukraine “will take time.” Months will be needed to fine-tune them, move them and, above all, train the soldiers of the former Soviet republic in their use. The training of these soldiers, the White House tenant has added, will seek to “improve their ability to maneuver in the open field” and their long-term military capabilities. Senior officials who spoke on condition of anonymity have specified that this training will take place in a third country, without specifying.
The allied countries “are united and determined” in supporting Ukraine, the US president has assured. The Russian head of state, Vladimir Putin, “believed that over time our resolve would start to collapse. He was very wrong ”. Biden has insisted that the shipment of the new weapons “does not represent an offensive threat against Russia.”
Immediately before his statement, the US president had had telephone conversations with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz; the French head of state, Emmanuel Macron; the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and the British head of government, Rishi Sunak, on assistance to Ukraine, as the White House had pointed out.
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The announcements from Washington and Berlin put an end to a major dispute between the allies over the best way to assist Ukraine, which was demanding tanks to respond to the offensive that Russia appears to be preparing for the coming months and to recover at least part of its the territories occupied by Moscow. Scholz was reluctant to authorize the supply of the Leopards alone for fear of a possible reaction from Moscow.
In his speech, Biden publicly thanked Scholz for finally approving the shipment of 14 Leopards to Ukraine. “Germany has lived up to it. The chancellor has defended (Western) unity at all times ”, he has maintained.
The Pentagon considered the Abrams not the most practical solution. Although they are very agile and resistant vehicles, they require special training to drive. They also consume huge amounts of jet kerosene and need a very large support group to ensure their upkeep: their logistics chains would be more difficult to build. By contrast, the Leopard uses much less fuel and is more established among European armies, making it easier to trace their logistics chains to Ukraine.
Finally, as senior officials have pointed out, the White House accepted the shipment of the Abrams to overcome Scholz’s resistance. “Today’s announcement has really been the product of good diplomatic talks, as part of our regular consultations with our partners and allies on security assistance for Ukraine,” a senior official said.
Named after a US Army artillery commander in World War II, Creighton Abrams, this tank entered service in the 1980s, is equipped with a 1,500 horsepower engine and a 120-millimeter gun. It played a key role in defeating Saddam Hussein’s forces in Iraq in 2003, and has also participated in the war in Afghanistan. The Pentagon describes it as a vehicle of “deadly might, unparalleled survivability, and bold maneuverability.”
US and NATO analysts believe that Russia is preparing a major offensive for the spring, and is rearming and recruiting for it. On several occasions, US commanders have urged it to supply Ukraine with the equipment it needs as quickly as possible.
Washington last week announced a new $2.5 billion in aid to kyiv, bringing its aid to more than $27 billion since the start of the war. Included in that batch were hundreds of armored vehicles, including Bradleys and Strykers, and Avenger air defense systems.
The shipment of Abrams tanks will be processed through a different route than that of these teams, which is slower and will take months to complete the delivery of these vehicles. The White House has already specified that the Abrams aim to respond to kyiv’s long-term needs, not the most immediate ones that an imminent Russian offensive may generate. The US government will use a fund known as the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows Washington to buy weapons from manufacturing companies, instead of sending what is already available in its arsenals.
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