It may take more than a year for the United States to deliver M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. This was stated by the commander of the ground forces of the US Armed Forces Christine Wormuth on Thursday, February 23.
“It won’t be a matter of weeks. None of the options we are considering are designed for weeks or two months. There are longer time frames involved. But I think there are options for less than two years, less than a year and a half, ”translates her words Defense News.
Wormouth pointed out that there are different ways to produce tanks – from building them from scratch to using American stocks, many of which are refurbished old tanks.
Wormouth noted that the US is supplying not only Abrams tanks, but also support equipment such as recovery vehicles, ammunition and a training package.
Earlier, on January 25, US President Joe Biden announced the delivery of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. Britain will also supply tanks to Kyiv.
On February 20, during a visit to Kyiv, Biden announced a new $500 million military aid package that could include howitzers and Javelin systems. In addition, the US President predicted that hard days, weeks and years await Ukraine.
On January 27, it became known that four Republican congressmen in a letter to Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin demanded clarification about the supply of 31 Abrams tanks for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They denounced subsidies to Ukraine, while the US has many internal security problems that are ignored by the authorities.
Moscow has repeatedly condemned the supply of arms to Ukraine. So, on January 16, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that a new round of supplies to Ukraine of more advanced military equipment could “only drag out the whole story.”
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine against the backdrop of Russia’s special operation to protect Donbass, which the Russian authorities announced amid the aggravation of the situation in the region due to Ukrainian shelling.
