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“It feels more like the path of helping Ukraine avoid losing.” “Unfortunately, the amount of time it took to get to this decision-and the way it is going to be implemented-does not convey a sense of urgency by the Administration or the Pentagon to help Ukraine win,” he says. Army forces in Europe, says the decision to send Abrams is welcome news but should have come sooner. “We are supporting the Ukrainians to be able to synchronize all of their different capabilities… in a unified way that will enable them to retake territory,” the senior official said.īen Hodges, a retired lieutenant general who once commanded all U.S. In the end, however, the White House determined the maintenance and logistics concerns weren’t significant enough barriers to prevent sending the Abrams, senior Administration officials said. The Pentagon contended that Leopards consume less fuel, are easier to maintain, and, perhaps most importantly, are already widely available across Europe because more than a dozen European nations operate them and many are willing to send them to Ukraine. A major issue they cited is that the turbine engine guzzles jet fuel rather than diesel like the German-made Leopard tank. “Time that we’ll use to make sure the Ukrainians are fully prepared.”Īs recently as last week, the Biden Administration had insisted the Abrams tank was too complicated, too expensive, and too difficult to train Ukrainian forces to use. “Delivering these tanks to the field is going to take time,” Biden said in his speech at the White House. Administration officials said the Ukrainian troops’ Abrams training will take place “outside” Ukraine, but wouldn’t say whether it will be held in United States, like the ongoing Patriot system training. At around 45 miles per hour, it’s faster than older tanks with specialized armor-plating designed to withstand direct hits with antitank weapons. The Abrams tank weighs more than 60 tons with a 120 millimeter cannon that can hit targets a mile away. The Ukrainian military currently operates a Soviet-era tank fleet, which is expected to be over-matched in the coming months when Russia’s mobilizes its offensive in the east.

and Western partners for new armor since the early stages of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion last February. Under this longer timeline, the new Abrams tanks aren’t likely to arrive ahead of an expected spring offensive by Russian forces.

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