Monica Duffy Toft

President Joe Biden announced on Jan. 25, 2023, that the U.S. would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys repeated requests for more military tanks to help wage its war against Russia.

This is about helping Ukraine defend and protect Ukrainian land. It is not an offensive threat to Russia. There is no offensive threat to Russia. If Russian troops return to Russia, where they belong, this war would be over today. That is all what we want, Biden said in his remarks at the White House.

The presidents announcement came on the same day Germany confirmed it was sending 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine a fraction of the 300 tanks Ukraine has said it needs to push Russia back from occupied territory. The United Kingdom has promised 12 tanks, alongside several other Western European countries that are giving armored vehicles and other war supplies.

The U.S. has not formally declared war against Russia, but the battlefield in Ukraine serves as a classic case of a proxy war, waged without a formal declaration.