NewsUSAThe United States accelerates its delivery of arms to Ukraine

The United States accelerates its delivery of arms to Ukraine

An M1A1 Abrams tankROMEO GACAD (AFP)

The United States is in a hurry to deliver promised weapons to Ukraine as the war is about to enter a new phase of heavy fighting. The Patriot missiles that Washington had announced will arrive “on an accelerated schedule,” a Pentagon spokesman confirmed on Tuesday. That weaponry could be available in a matter of weeks. The delivery of its Abrams tanks will also be brought forward, according to the Department of Defense, and the first units will be delivered to kyiv this fall, about a year earlier than initially estimated.

The White House had announced in January the shipment of 31 M1A2 Abrams tanks to kyiv. A gesture that came after months of reluctance. The Pentagon’s initial recommendation had been against it: manufacturing these vehicles was going to be a lengthy process; moving them would be difficult, and maintaining and operating them a severe test for the Ukrainian army, which is not trained in their use. M1A2 Abrams are fueled by jet kerosene instead of the diesel in German Leopards and other models Ukrainian soldiers are familiar with. The forecasts calculated that the Government of President Volodímir Zelenski could not count on this weapon until the end of 2024 in the best of cases.

Finally, the Biden Administration chose to give the green light to the supply at the same time that Germany announced its approval to send its Leopards, also after months of resistance for fear of triggering harsh reprisals from Russia on Ukrainian territory.

The idea is, as Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder explained at a press conference, to revamp these units to “leave them ready for battle.” The tanks could be ready for delivery this fall; meanwhile, the US military will train the Ukrainian military in the handling of this “significant combat capability”, so that by the time those vehicles are received they will have completed their training.

“Since we launched the (original) announcement, we have been committed to finding options to deliver this armored equipment as soon as possible. After studying and assessing with Ukraine what was best, the Department of Defense has chosen to supply the M1A1 model”, Ryder specified. The older model will have the same weapons as the newer one, a 120-millimeter cannon and a .50-caliber mortar, the spokesman added.

As previously planned, the funds to purchase and refurbish the tanks will come from a mechanism known as the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which allows the Biden Administration to purchase material for Kiev directly from manufacturers, rather than procuring it. from US military warehouses.

In addition, the Pentagon “is committed to speeding up as much as possible” the delivery of the Patriot missile system to the Ukrainian authorities. Ryder did not want to specify deadlines, in this case, although it could be weeks. A contingent of 65 soldiers from the attacked country has been at the US military base at Fort Sill, in Oklahoma, since January to familiarize themselves with the use of these batteries.

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