President Joe Biden announced that the United States will provide Ukraine with 31 M1 Abrams tanks. That is the required number to equip an entire Ukraine tank battalion. These tanks are needed, Biden said, because Ukrainian forces are working to defend the territory they hold and will be better prepared for additional counter-offenses. “They need to be able to counter Russia’s evolving tactics and strategy on the battlefield in the very near term. They need to improve their ability to maneuver in open terrain. And, they need an enduring capability to deter and defend against Russian aggression over the long term,” the president said.
The Abrams tanks are the most capable tanks in the world. And, they’re also extremely complex to operate and maintain. Along with the tanks, the U.S. will be giving Ukraine the parts and equipment necessary to effectively repair and maintain these tanks on the battlefield, he said. Ukrainian troops will be given training on logistics and maintenance as soon as possible, as actual delivery of these tanks will take some time, he said.
Biden said he had a long conversation with NATO allies, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni regarding continued close coordination and support of Ukraine. Biden mentioned strong allied support for Ukraine, which will include German Leopard 2 tanks, a German Patriot missile battery, Challenger 2 tanks from the United Kingdom, and AMX-10 armored fighting vehicles from France.
“This is about helping Ukraine defend and protect Ukrainian land. It is not an offensive threat to Russia,” he said. “The expectation on the part of Russia is we’re going to break up, we’re not going to stay united. But we are fully thoroughly totally united,” Biden said, speaking of the 50 nations that are part of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
Senior administration officials said that these Abrams tanks will be procured through Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funding. Unlike the presidential drawdown authority, USAI is an authority under which the United States procures capabilities from industry rather than delivering equipment that is drawn down from DOD stocks. The officials also noted that eight M88 recovery vehicles will also be shipped to Ukraine, to accompany the 31 tanks.
This all comes while Russia is preparing for an “imminent” new offensive on Ukraine, while 200,000 more Russian troops may soon be joining the war effort, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). An new ISW report says that Ukrainian, Western and Russian sources agree that “Russia is preparing for an imminent offensive” as the war nears its one-year mark. The report notes that NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said on the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who “retains his maximalist goals in Ukraine,” was planning to mobilize 200,000 or more new troops to join the fight.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian military official Ivan Tymochko reportedly said that Russian forces were “strengthening” in Ukraine’s Donbas region in anticipation of the offensive, which Russia was launching “due to increasing domestic pressure for victory” in the war. “Stoltenberg’s and Tymochko’s statements support ISW’s previous forecast that Russian forces are setting conditions to launch an offensive effort, likely in Luhansk Oblast, in the coming months,” ISW said, while adding that Russian military bloggers had indicated “that the Russian information space is setting conditions for and anticipating a Russian offensive.”
A Russian offensive and more NATO intervention may continue to escalate an already tense situation, in which NATO attempts to aid Ukraine while also not directly fight Russian forces.
PRAY: Pray for a great worldwide revival and for protection for hurting Christian brothers and sisters as tensions continue to escalate.