Washington — President Biden introduced Wednesday that the U.S. will ship 31 top-of-the-line M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine, delivering on a key request from Kyiv that may present a significant enhance to Ukrainian firepower over the approaching months.
“Today, I’m announcing that the United States will be sending 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, the equivalent of one Ukrainian battalion,” Mr. Biden mentioned on the White House, flanked by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The safety package deal is price roughly $400 million, the Pentagon mentioned.
The transfer comes after Germany mentioned it will shortly present 14 of its personal Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and permit Western companions to re-export their very own, a transfer that Mr. Biden praised. France, the U.Ok., Finland, the Netherlands and different nations are additionally sending key safety help, Mr. Biden famous, emphasizing that the United States’ transfer is a part of a concerted effort by Western allies.
“Today’s announcement builds on the hard work and commitment from countries around the world, led by the United States of America, to help Ukraine defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity,” Mr. Biden mentioned. “That’s what this is about, helping Ukraine protect and defend Ukrainian land. It is not an offensive threat to Russia. There is no offensive threat to Russia. If Russian troops return to Russia … where they belong, this war would be over today.”
The supply of the Abrams tanks will take a number of months, given the time wanted to acquire them and prepare Ukrainian troops on their use.
INTS KALNINS / REUTERS
On a name with reporters previewing the president’s announcement, senior administration officers mentioned the choice to supply the tanks is a “continuation of our effort to provide Ukraine with the capabilities that they need to continue to better defend themselves.” Mr. Biden spoke with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the U.Ok. Wednesday morning forward of his remarks.
The M1 Abrams is the U.S. army’s most important tank system and “the most capable tanks in the world,” Mr. Biden mentioned. Ukrainian officers have been pleading with Western allies to supply them with tanks to bolster counter-offensives within the spring geared toward retaking areas held by dug-in Russian troops. The U.S. and greater than 50 different international locations dedicated to offering roughly 500 different armored automobiles throughout talks final week.
The Abrams tanks and different armored automobiles are key to serving to Ukraine combat the Russians on open terrain, like that discovered within the principally flat Donbas area, which has seen intense combating between Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists since 2014.
U.S. officers have for weeks resisted arming the Ukrainians with Abrams tanks, arguing the Leopard tanks, which run on diesel versus the jet gas wanted to energy the Abrams, are higher suited to satisfy the Ukrainians’ rapid wants on the battlefield. But stress from different allies — notably Poland and the Baltic states — and the Ukrainians themselves to supply Kyiv with superior tank programs had been rising for weeks.
One of the U.S. officers on the decision Wednesday mentioned the tanks will assist Ukraine defend itself towards anticipated Russian offensives within the spring and assist Ukrainian troops reclaim territory.
“We want to make sure that they have the right capabilities to not only defend themselves against the Russian onslaught — and we do expect that Mr. Putin and the Russian military will try to go on the offense here in coming weeks and months, as the weather gets better — but also that they have the ability to retake, to reclaim their sovereign territory,” together with Crimea, the official mentioned.
The U.S. announcement occurred to fall on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s birthday. He advised a German TV community on Tuesday that the tanks from Western allies will present a much-needed morale enhance to his troopers on the entrance strains.
“They do only one very important thing — they motivate our soldiers to fight for their own values, because they show that the whole world is with you,” Zelenskyy mentioned.
The tanks won’t come immediately from the U.S. arsenal. The administration will as a substitute procure the programs utilizing funds from its Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. That determination, coupled with the in depth coaching wanted to function the tanks, means it should take some time for the automobiles to be in Ukrainian arms.
“We’re talking months as opposed to weeks,” one senior administration official mentioned.
“[The Pentagon] is currently working through the mechanisms to deliver the fuel and equipment Ukraine will need to operate and to maintain the Abrams,” one other official added. “We do expect other nations to announce contributions of additional armored capability, including some that will be readily available for use on the battlefield in the coming weeks and months.”
David Martin, Eleanor Watson and Haley Ott contributed reporting.