The Department of Defense is finalizing plans to send M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. to me Wall Street JournalThe White House will be announced by the end of the week. Currently, the Pentagon is preparing logistical support for sending these tanks to Ukraine, which is considered the spearhead of American armored vehicles, capable of resisting nuclear, biological and chemical attacks.
The Pentagon showed its opposition to sending them, arguing that these armored vehicles needed large quantities of kerosene, the fuel used in aircraft, because their engines are turbines, and therefore a supply line had to be established before they could be deployed. Moreover, despite its tonnage, it weighs over 60 tons and requires special maintenance that cannot be taught to the Ukrainian army in a very short time.
The White House decision will be part of a compromise between Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, under which Berlin pledges to supply its Leopard 2 tanks and authorize their delivery to Kyiv by other European countries that want to use them.
According to CNNThe decision was allegedly made during a January 17 phone conversation between Biden and Schultz. The Pentagon initially ruled out sending the Abrams because it was deemed unsuitable for the theater of operations and because of the logistical difficulties associated with deploying them.
The German government did not want to be the first country to send tanks to Ukraine, and Olaf Schultz said he would not take the first step unless the United States supplied its own Abrams tanks.
to me hv newsDozens of European countries will supply Ukraine with 100 tanks. Finland and Poland have already publicly indicated their intention to supply the tanks, but according to the source, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark have said they are also available.
The Bundestag will discuss sending Leopard 2s to Ukraine tomorrow after Cdu and Csu, in opposition, asked to put the issue on the agenda.
A spokeswoman for the German Ministry of Defense told CNN that Germany has a stockpile of 320 Leopard 2 tanks, without saying how many of these tanks have been ordered by Ukraine and are in service.
Outside the military, arms manufacturer Rheinmetall said last week it had a stockpile of 139 Leopards, of which only 29 are combat-ready and could be supplied in the coming weeks. However, these tanks have already been ordered by other countries.
Anonymous sources told the Wall Street Journal that the number of tanks that Germany will agree to send will be less than the number of Abrams tanks that will be sent from Washington.
“Devoted bacon guru. Award-winning explorer. Internet junkie. Web lover.”
