Germany and U.S. Pledge to Send Battle Tanks to Ukraine

Although welcomed by Kyiv as a critical weapon to expel Russias invasion, the Leopard 2 tanks from Germany and Abrams tanks from the United States are unlikely to arrive soon.

With the precision of a military drill, first Germany and then the United States announced on Wednesday that each had agreed to provide battle tanks to help Ukraine beat back Russias invading forces.

In reaching a deal, the two countries extricated themselves from a diplomatic morass that had consumed the attention of Western officials for weeks and exposed divisions between Ukraines allies.

Ukrainian leaders, with an eye on the tough battles widely assumed to lie ahead in the spring, had urged Germany to send its vaunted tank, the Leopard 2. Berlin resisted.

Germany made clear it would proceed only if the United States sent its own powerful tank, the M1 Abrams. Washington resisted.

And all the while, Poland threatened give Ukraine the Leopards from its own stock with or without Germanys permission.