Jan. 25 (UPI) — President Joe Biden said the United States will send 31 of its advanced Abrams tanks to Ukraine along with parts to help defend itself, joining Germany which said it will send its Leopard 2 tanks into the fight as well.
Biden made the announcement at a noon press conference at the White House, flanked by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Earlier Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his nation plans to quickly assemble two battalions with 14 Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine with its European partners sending additional tanks. The nation will also work to train Ukrainian troops and provide logistics, ammunition and maintenance of the systems.
“This decision follows our well-known line of supporting Ukraine to the best of our ability,” Scholz said in a statement. “We are acting closely coordinated and coordinated internationally.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a tweet that he had spoken on the phone with Scholz and was “sincerely grateful” for the support.
CNN, NBC News, and The New York Times quote sources saying Biden initially had reservations over the tank’s complex operations.
The plans to send tanks to Ukraine come after Scholz and the German government for weeks resisted calls from Zelensky and other Western supporters to send the tanks to improve Ukraine’s ability against more modern Russian weaponry.
The German government said its decision was made after “intensive consultations that have taken place with Germany’s closest European and international partners.” That includes NATO, where Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Berlin on Tuesday.
Poland helped force the issue when it announced that it would send its own allotment of the German-made tanks it had on hand to Ukraine, with or without Berlin’s approval.
The Leopard 2 tanks would help Ukraine even the playing field in artillery firepower. Russia used that advantage to capture areas in the Luhansk region early in the war. Technologically, the tank’s systems would improve targeting and long-range over the old Soviet-era tanks they are now using.
One advantage over the sophisticated U.S.-made Abrams tanks is, Leopards are already in Europe and in the quantity, they need to make a difference on the battlefield sooner. Training, repairs and logistics for the Leopard 2 would be far more streamlined, where it will take months of training before the Abrams can be deployed and be effective.
“Logistics and maintenance would be easier,” Minna Alander, a research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, told The New York Times. “Spare parts and know-how are here in Europe, so the training of Ukrainians would be easier.”
Poland’s Defense Minister Mateusz Morawiecki praised the decision to finally release the tanks.
“The decision to send Leopards to Ukraine is a big step towards stopping Russia,” he said on Twitter. “Together we are stronger.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose nation had previously committed tanks to Ukraine, said the German tanks will help Ukraine’s effort to push back Russia from its territory.
“Together, we are accelerating our efforts to ensure Ukraine wins this war and secures a lasting peace,” he said on Twitter.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday plans to send the Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine will lead to failure.
“I am convinced that many experts understand the absurdity of this idea as well, this plan is quite a failure in terms of technological aspects,” Peskov said in a news conference. “We repeat that these tanks will burn down just like all the others. Only they cost a lot, and all this will fall primarily on the shoulders of European taxpayers.”
