The U.S. and German governments appear to be on the cusp of announcing that they will provide Ukraine with M1 Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks respectively, several media outlets have reported.
The Wall Street Journal first revealed on Tuesday that President Joe Biden’s administration could announce this week that it plans to send “a significant number” of Abrams tanks to Ukraine. Politico then reported that the U.S. government is considering providing the Ukrainians with between 30 and 50 Abrams tanks.
Separately, the German magazine Der Spiegel tweeted on Tuesday that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had decided to allow deliveries of tanks to Ukraine.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, dodged reporters’ questions about U.S. and German tanks on Tuesday by reiterating several times that he had nothing to announce about M1 Abrams tanks and he deferred questions about Leopard II tanks to the German government.
“When and if we have something to announce, we will,” Ryder said during a Pentagon news conference.
