Pentagon: USA plans to procure new Abrams tanks for Ukraine

The security assistance package to Ukraine recently announced by the U.S. President, which includes 31 Abrams M1 tanks, provides for the purchase of new vehicles for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“We are using the USAI [Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative] capability in order to procure these tanks for the Ukrainians,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said at a press briefing on January 26, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

She noted that she cannot now outline the time frame when the Abrams M1 will appear in Ukraine, clarifying that it’s going to be months, not weeks.

At the same time, the Pentagon representative reacted to the remarks that appeared in the media regarding the seemingly small number of American tanks for Ukraine.

“I think that it's certainly not a symbolic commitment, it is a commitment that we're in it for the long term, we're in it for what Ukraine might need on the battlefield in the coming future and then further out in the future,” Singh stressed.

As reported, on Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced the transfer of 31 M1 Abrams tanks and other equipment to Ukraine.

ol