officials have been stressing privately, saying the Abrams tanks are “very expensive to operate, very expensive to fuel, very expensive to maintain, and a lot of training.” government besides Milley and Austin also appear dug in on not sending the Abrams tanks.Ī spokesperson for the National Security Council echoed some of the concerns U.S. Every day of delay is the death of Ukrainians. “But today’s indecision is killing more of our people. “You’ll help Ukraine with the necessary weapons anyway and realize that there is no other option to end the war except the defeat of Russia,” wrote on Twitter. Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Kyiv’s allies to “think faster” about stepping up their military support on Saturday. “As soon as the decision is made and the tanks are provided, we will conduct training very quickly and, believe me, they will be used with the incredible power that this or that weapon has. officials said his position has been privately - that he does not see tanks as critical to the current fight in Ukraine and that they can’t be brought on line right away. We’re not going to have anything additional to provide.”Īustin hosted the Ukraine Contact Group at Ramstein, a meeting of nearly 50 nations to discuss aid and contributions to Ukraine.ĭuring public remarks Friday, Austin appeared to allude to what U.S. Patrick Ryder declined to comment on Austin and Milley’s views on the matter, saying in a statement that their comments at Ramstein Air Base in Germany about U.S. On Friday, Pentagon press secretary Brig. officials also noted that Ukraine already has hundreds of tanks at its disposal and over the past year has captured hundreds of Russian tanks on the battlefield and added those to its inventory. Wojtek Radwanski / AFP - Getty Images file A Polish Leopard tank takes part in a military exercise in Nowogard, Poland, on May 19, 2022. official said Austin has argued the training to operate and maintain the tanks would take months, and even though the Ukrainians have proven adept at learning many new platforms, he continues to resist sending the Abrams.
They also have argued they are not the right vehicles for the fight in Ukraine right now, according to the officials. Milley and Austin have cited how long it takes to train personnel to operate the tanks and how difficult the tanks are to maintain.
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