Germany and the United States announced on Wednesday that they would supply heavy tanks to Ukraine to meet invading Russian forces and retake captured territory.
The US will send 31 M1 Abrams tanks, which is the US Army’s main battle tank, while Germany will send 14 of its sophisticated Leopard 2s, which the Bundeswehr calls a “predator on the rails”.
Ukraine has asked the West to send its most powerful weapons, saying Western-built tanks were needed to push back Russian forces in the south and east.
“That’s what it’s about – helping Ukraine defend and protect Ukrainian land. It’s not an offensive threat to Russia, there’s no offensive threat to Russia,” US President Joe Biden said at the White House .
Biden’s announcement came hours after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Berlin would send 14 Leopard 2s from its own military stocks.
His government has agonized over the delivery of the tanks for months, fearing they could prompt Moscow to escalate the war.
Berlin’s goal is to quickly assemble two tank battalions with Leopard 2 with the addition of tanks from other European countries, such as Poland, Finland, Norway and Spain.
Scholz has rejected allegations that Germany has done too little to provide military support to Ukraine. “Germany will always be in the lead when it comes to supporting Ukraine,” he told parliament.
His Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the training and arrangement of tank supply routes would begin very quickly after the “historic” decision.
The first Leopard tanks from Germany could be in Ukraine in about three months, the government said. The German government will also issue the necessary export licenses for other countries to ship the German-made tanks.
Biden admitted that getting US Abrams tanks to Ukraine could be a long process.
“The delivery of these tanks to the field will take time. Time that we will see and use to make sure the Ukrainians are fully prepared,” he said.