The United States Department of Defense estimates that Abrams tanks that it has announced that it will send to Ukraine could arrive in the European country towards the boreal autumn (October in the US) of this year, after it chose to send an older version of this armored car than the one initially planned.
The Pentagon spokesman, Brigadier General Pat Ryder, said Tuesday at a press conference that last January the US reported that it was going to supply 31 Abrams tanks of the M1A2 type. “However, since making this announcement, we have been committed to exploring options to deliver this armored capability as soon as possible and after studying and discussing with Ukraine what was best, the Department of Defense has decided to provide the M1A1 variant,” detailed.
With this change, Washington would be able to provide Abrams tanks to kyiv more quickly, after initially estimating that it would take a year to do so.
Ryder explained that it is about tanks that are in the Pentagon inventorywhich are going to be updated and renewed so that they are ready to go into combat.
Several Western allies have announced that they are going to send tanks to Ukraine, such as Germany, Poland, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Finland and Norway.
The president of the USA, Joe Biden, indicated in January that his country was going to deliver 31 Abrams tanks to the Ukrainians, after Germany informed the supply to kyiv of Leopard battle tankslike other allies.
EU macro-financial assistance
On the other hand, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Tuesday the disbursement of 1,500 million euros more in macro-financial aid to Ukraine, part of a support package through which they will arrive in Kiev until 18,000 million euros during 2023.
“Today, we disburse another 1.5 billion euros to Ukraine. Our support helps let Ukraine continue to function while defending itself and it puts the country firmly on its way to the European Union by supporting reforms, in good governance and financial stability, for example. Today, we write Ukraine’s European path together,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on Twitter.
Brussels had already disbursed a first tranche worth 3,000 million euros in mid-January, one sixth of the total of 18,000 million planned for this year, which it will obtain by going to the markets with the endorsement of the community budget.
In a statement, the European Commission assured that this amount will allow essential services such as hospitals, schools or shelters for displaced people and will support the reconstruction of critical infrastructure destroyed by Russia, such as bridges, roads or transportation networks.
(With information from EFE)
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Source-www.infobae.com