US lawmakers on Sunday urged President Joe Biden’s administration to export M1 Abrams combat tanks to Ukraine, saying sending even a symbolic number to Kyiv would be enough to encourage European allies to do the same.
Newly appointed Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, told ABC’s “This Week” that “just one” Abrams tank would be enough to encourage allies. Especially Germany, on Send tanks in support of Ukraine fighting Russia.
He added, “Even saying that we will introduce Abrams tanks will be enough.”
Leopard tank (archived from Reuters)
Ukrainian officials have been pleading with Western allies for months to supply them with modern tanks as their country fends off an all-out Russian invasion.
Britain recently announced that it would supply Ukraine with about 14 Challenger 2 tanks, but the real prize is the German heavy Leopard 2 tanks, which Ukraine’s allies are arranging to supply.
Pressure has been building on Berlin for weeks to send some Leopard tanks to Ukraine, or at least to agree to transfer them from other countries.
However, it seems that Germany linked the provision of these tanks to the United States’ move to send Abrams tanks, which was rejected by American officials because the vehicles are complex to maintain.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons told ABC it was time to put those concerns aside.
He pledged that “if it takes us to send some Abrams tanks to make it possible to get Leopard tanks from Germany, from Poland and other allies, I will support that.”
He concluded, “I respect that our military leaders believe that the Abrams (to maintain) are too complex and (to operate) too expensive to be as useful as the Leopard tanks, but we need to continue working with our close allies and move forward on that intractable step.”
