(USNewsMag.com) – On Wednesday, January 25, President Joe Biden announced that the United States would send 31 tanks to Ukraine in what has been described as an escalation in U.S. support for the war.
In a statement about the shipment of Abrams M1 main battle tanks he has approved, the President cited Ukraine’s need to defend their territory and prepare to liberate land Russia has captured since the beginning of the conflict nearly one year ago. Biden said the 31 tanks would be equivalent to one battalion for the Ukrainians.
On the same day, Germany announced it would also send tanks to the Ukrainians. Previously, Germany had said it would send tanks but only if the United States did so as well. Now, according to statements from the German government, it appears that the NATO member intends to send 14 Leopard 2 tanks.
While President Biden did not include the cost of supplying Ukraine with the weapons in his speech, the Department of Defense package announced under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative in the hours afterward cited a cost of $400 million. In a separate press conference, the DoD said the package that included the tanks would also include ammunition, support vehicles, eight tactical vehicles, and funding for maintenance and training.
The goal of NATO allies has been to send Ukraine two battalions of tanks. Britain and France have also promised to send tanks to help the beleaguered nation fight back against Russia’s incursion into Ukrainian territories.
Neither the president nor the Department of Defense gave a timeframe for when the tanks would be delivered to Ukraine. Biden only said that getting them to the field would “take time.” He did, however, take the time to wish Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a happy birthday, and promise the United States would lend support for Ukraine “as long as it takes.”
In earlier reports, Kyiv claimed that Russia could potentially have over 10,000 tanks in storage. Speculation about the condition of the tanks abounds due to Russia’s decision to use older, outdated tanks thus far in the conflict.
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