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The United States announced on Wednesday it will supply Ukraine with 31 advanced M1 Abrams tanks worth $400 million in a matter of months, a decision that helped break a diplomatic logjam with Germany over how best to help Kyiv in its war against Russia.See also: US finalizing plans to send approximately 30 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, two US officials say
President Joe Biden announced the decision at the White House, saying the tanks are needed to help the Ukrainians "improve their ability to maneuver in open terrain.""Germany has really stepped up. The expectation on the part of Russia is we're going to break up. But we are fully, totally and thoroughly united."The decisions by Washington and Berlin come as the Western allies help Ukraine prepare for a possible spring counter-offensive to try to drive Russia out of territory it has seized.
"There is no offensive threat to Russia" from the tanks, Biden said. "Germany didn't force me to change my mind, we wanted to make sure we were all together."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any Abrams shipments would be a waste of money as they "burn" like other tanks in Ukraine.
MONTHS FOR DELIVERY
The Abrams -- among the most powerful U.S. tanks -- will not be heading to Ukraine anytime soon.
Senior administration officials who briefed reporters on the decision said it will take months, not weeks, for the Abrams to be delivered and described the move in terms of providing for Ukraine's long-term defense.
While a highly sophisticated and expensive weapon, the Abrams is difficult to maintain and provides a logistical resupply challenge because it runs on jet fuel.
The total cost of a single Abrams tanks can vary, and can be over $10 million per tanks when including training and sustainment.
Kremlin's Peskov said about the Abrams tanks:"I am certain that many experts understand the absurdity of this idea. The plan is disastrous in terms of technology. But above all, it overestimates the potential it will add to the Ukrainian army. These tanks burn just like all the others."The United States will provide the tanks through a fund known as the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows Biden's administration to buy weapons from industry rather than taking them from existing U.S. weapons stocks. Buying them is a slower process.
Ukraine has sent an official appeal to EU countries asking for help in finding, capturing and transferring to Ukraine men of the appropriate age who are hiding from mobilization.
The representatives of Lithuania and Latvia were the first to respond to the situation on their pages on social networks.
In Vilnius, Remigijus Szymanius, former Lithuanian Minister of Justice and current mayor, wrote that "they will help the Ukrainian side in the search and return of Ukrainian conscripts who are temporarily staying on the territory of Lithuania and must return to Ukraine for military service."
Latvia was not left behind either, represented by Liepaja Mayor Gunars Ansins:
Let's help Ukraine! Our assistance will contribute to the return of persons eligible for military service to Ukraine so that they can fulfill their military duty.
Russia was not invited to events marking the 78th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Red Army.
This was announced by the Russian ambassador to Poland, Sergey Andreyev:
"However, our consul in Krakow will lay wreaths in the museum area - at the monument to the dead prisoners - and in the city cemetery in Auschwitz, where our soldiers who died during the liberation of the city and the camp are buried."
Andreyev emphasized that for the second year already, speeches by the ambassadors of Russia and Israel were not included in the program. This time, moreover, the museum closed the Russian exhibition, citing sanctions.
Chief of the General Staff of the Swedish Armed Forces - "Russia has an unpleasant habit of fulfilling what it promises"
In an interview with the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, Mikael Klasson said:
"Russia has a really unpleasant habit of delivering on what it promises. And I'm paid to think of the worst possible scenario. I am not saying that this threat is being exaggerated, it is just that it is present as one component among many others. I cannot say exactly how we are preparing in terms of nuclear weapons, but several measures have already been taken."
The lieutenant general openly declares that they are preparing for a nuclear attack.