Washington: According to US officials speaking to The Associated Press, the Pentagon is hastening the delivery of its 70-ton battle powerhouse Abrams tanks to Ukraine, choosing to send a refurbished older model that can be ready sooner.
The original strategy called for sending 31 of the more modern M1A2 Abrams to Ukraine, which could have required a year or more to construct and transport. However, officials claimed that the decision was made to send the older M1A1 model, which can be obtained from Army stocks and will be simpler for Ukrainian forces to operate and maintain.
The officials discussed the plan on Tuesday under the condition of anonymity because it has not yet been made known to the general public. The announcement is anticipated to be made soon by Pentagon officials.
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After claiming for months that the tanks were too complicated and difficult to maintain and repair, the Biden administration finally admitted in January that it would be sending the tanks to Ukraine.
The choice was a component of a larger political ploy that allowed Germany to declare it would send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, paving the way for Poland and other allies to follow suit.
It is unknown when the US will start educating Ukrainian forces on how to operate, care for, and repair tanks. The time it takes for the tanks to enter combat could be impacted by that training pipeline.
The Pentagon will also need to make sure that the Ukrainian forces have access to a sufficient supply chain for all the tank-maintenance supplies.
There were, however, few details regarding the US tanks that would be deployed, including whether they would be taken from the existing stockpile of more than 4,000 Abrams and retrofitted, or if the US would use the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative to purchase new systems to potentially supplement any allies who send their own or purchase new systems outright for Ukraine.
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Using the assistance initiative funding route, however, means that even though Abrams have already been promised to Ukraine, it will probably be many months before the tanks actually enter combat, leaving little time for Russia's anticipated Spring offensive.
Sergey Nechayev, the Russian ambassador to Germany, described Berlin's decision to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine as "extremely dangerous" on Wednesday.
The action, according to Nechayev, "shifts the conflict to a new level of confrontation and contradicts the statements of German politicians about their reluctance to get involved in it," he said in a statement posted online.
The statement said: "We're seeing once again that Germany, along with its closest allies, is not interested in a diplomatic resolution of the Ukraine crisis, but is determined to permanently escalate it and to endlessly supply the Kyiv regime with new lethal weapons.
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The US has so far refrained from giving Ukraine one of its own M1 Abrams tanks, citing the logistical and extensive maintenance requirements for the sophisticated vehicles. Given that many allies already possess them and Ukrainian troops would require them, Washington believes that sending German Leopards would be more effective.