Washington: The Biden administration is poised to approve sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, US officials said Tuesday, as international reluctance to send tanks to the battlefront against the Russians, begins to erode.
The decision could be announced as soon as Wednesday, though it could take months or years for the tanks to be delivered.
US officials said details are still being worked out. One official 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 US announcement is expected to come Wednesday in coordination with an announcement by Germany that it will approve 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 has not yet been made public.
By agreeing to send the Abrams at an as-yet unspecified time under the assistance initiative, the administration is able to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s demand for an American commitment without having to send the tanks immediately.
Weapons provided through the assistance initiative can take many months to several years to reach the battlefield. Much of the aid sent so far in the 11-month-old war has been through a separate programme drawing on Pentagon stocks to get weapons more quickly to Ukraine.
But even under that programme, it would take months to get tanks to Ukraine and to get Ukrainian forces trained on them.
It’s unknown how many tanks would be approved.
Until now, the US has resisted providing its own M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, citing extensive and complex maintenance and logistical challenges with the high-tech vehicles.
Washington believes it would be more productive to send German Leopards since many allies have them and Ukrainian troops would need less training than on the more difficult Abrams.
Ukrainian leaders have been urgently requesting tanks, but Germany had resisted mounting pressure either to supply its own tanks or clear the way for other countries, such as Poland, to send the German-made tanks from their own stocks.
The likely plans to send the Abrams were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
AP