US Reversal on Abrams Tanks Underscores Focus on NATO’s Unity

As recently as last week, US officials insisted the M1 Abrams tank was a bad fit for Ukraine. Yet on Wednesday, President Joe Biden reversed course and offered 31 of them, saying the 70-ton vehicle would “enhance Ukraine’s capacity to defend its territory.”

The switch shows how, nearly a year into Russia’s war, keeping NATO unified remains paramount among the alliance’s leaders. Facing pleas from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Germany refused to send its battle tank, the Leopard, without other allies doing the same.