Despite President Biden’s promise to send 31 Abrams M1 tanks to Ukraine on Wednesday, the artillery could take months to arrive, according to reports.
The New York Post reported that Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh confirmed that the United States does not have enough M1 Abrams tanks in its stockpile to send to Ukraine at this time.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Army M1A1 Abrams tanks fire during NATO’s Forward Presence battle group Crystal Arrow 2021 military exercise in Adazi, Latvia, March 26, 2021, REUTERS/Ints Kalnins/File Photo
“We just don’t have these tanks available in excess in our US stocks, so it will take months to transfer these M1A2 Abrams to Ukraine,” Singh told the Post.
BIDEN APPROVES SENDING 31 M1 ABRAMS TANKS TO UKRAINE, IN REVERSE
If the tanks were in the possession of the Pentagon, it would take less than a week for the tanks to be boxed and sent. But when using the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, or USAI, program, it could take months or years as the government goes through procurement to identify and hire contractors to build the weapons.
Biden announced the approval of the weapons on Wednesday, just hours after German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz said Ukraine would also receive Leopard 2 tanks from Berlin as Russia plans a major offensive.
President Biden talks about inflation and supply chain issues in Los Angeles.
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of Defense Antony Blinkin joined President Antony Blinkin, who described the tanks as the “most capable tanks in the world” that will strengthen Ukraine’s capability on the battlefield.
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“This is about freedom, freedom for Ukraine, freedom everywhere,” Biden said.
The decision to send tanks came after weeks of stalled and frustrated negotiations with Germany, which senior defense officials described as the “product of good diplomatic conversations”.
Earlier this month, Germany suggested it would not agree to send its tanks to Ukraine unless the United States did as well, citing concerns about an escalation of the war.
Located in Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac from Washington, the Pentagon has served as the epicenter of the US military, housing the Department of Defense, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, since the 1940s.
(Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
While senior defense officials would not confirm whether the decision was a condition from Berlin or an inducement from Washington to get Germany to field the Leopard tanks, the move was championed as a show of long-term support for Ukraine.
The US has already delivered thousands of combat vehicles, including 1,700 Humvees and promised earlier this month to send an additional 500 armored vehicles of various types.
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The Abrams tanks will be procured through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and will not come directly from US stockpiles.
It remains unclear how long it will take to get the Abrams tanks operational in Ukraine and defense officials have not said where the training will take place, although it has been confirmed that the training will take place outside of Ukraine.
Caitlin McFall of Fox News contributed to this report.
