Pentagon indicates impact of Abrams tanks in Ukraine,America’s top-ranking military officer has warned that the M1 Abrams tanks that Washington has pledged to Ukraine will have a limited impact when they arrive on the battlefield later this year.
“I’m biased, but I think the M1 tank’s the best tank in the world …,” US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said at a press briefing on Friday after a meeting of Ukraine’s military benefactors at Germany’s Ramstein Air Base. “I do think the M1 tank, when it is delivered, will make a difference.” However, he added, “I would also caution there’s no silver bullet in war.”
After previously claiming that the Abrams tanks were too complicated to use and maintain, US President Joe Biden’s administration agreed in January to deliver them to Kiev. The M1 Abrams has a jet engine and runs on aviation fuel rather than regular diesel. It weighs 63 tons and can drive around three miles per gallon of the fuel.
According to Milley, the fate of Ukraine’s confrontation with Russia will be determined by a variety of factors rather than a particular military system. He went on to say that US tanks would have to be used in combined arms operations, synchronizing their maneuvers with mechanized infantry, artillery, and other armament.
M1A1 training tanks will arrive within the next few weeks in Germany, where Ukrainian forces will be taught how to operate them, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters. The 31 tanks earmarked for use in Ukraine are being refurbished in the US and will be sent to Kiev when they’re ready.
“All of this is huge progress,” Austin said. “I am confident that this equipment and the training that accompanied it will put Ukraine’s forces in a position to continue to succeed on the battlefield.”
When asked whether US public support would allow Biden’s administration to continue supplying weapons to Ukraine, Austin expressed optimism. “This is about the international order based on rules.” This is about a bully not being able to freely trample his smaller neighbor. This is about giving a country the option to safeguard its sovereign rights.”
Polls in the United States reveal that popular support for Ukraine help is dwindling. Washington has already pledged $113 billion in aid to Kiev. On Wednesday, a group of 19 Republican legislators urged Biden to cease “unrestrained” Ukraine aid, saying it was extending the violence, reducing US military readiness, and increasing the likelihood of a disastrous catastrophe with Russia.
