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On Wednesday, Biden promised that the U.S. would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. This marks an escalation in American efforts to support Ukraine. And help them defend themselves after the Russian invasion almost a year ago.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been asking Western allies to provide larger numbers of high-end tanks. Ukraine forces have been mainly using Soviet-era tanks. 

The MI Abrams, manufactured by General Dynamics Corp. can move up to 42 miles per hour with a range of 265 miles.

Biden announced the weapons deal just hours after German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz said Leopard 2 tanks from Berlin would be sent to Ukraine. 

The U.K. also announced it will send 14 of its Challenger 2s to Ukraine.

14 of the fighting machines will come from Germany’s current weapons stocks. And they are agreeing to coordinate with allies to provide a total of 88 tanks.

Zelensky tweeted out a thank you to Scholz.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinkin joined the president in the announcement that the "most capable tanks in the world" would be sent to Ukraine.

M1 Abrams tanks have jet engines

Colin Kahl, U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, has repeatedly emphasized that these tanks might not be the best fit for Ukraine’s military. 

He and other military experts claim that using it would present challenges. And one of the problems is it runs on jet fuel.

In 2017, just before Trump took office, Obama sent a number of tanks to Poland. They were to protect against the potential of Russia invading. Russia's first invasion of Ukraine took place in 2014.

Blinkin may remember the fiasco of transporting the tanks only to belatedly realize the fuel cost millions of dollars and some of those tanks were parked and never moved for years.

“I just don’t think we’re there yet,” Kahl said a week ago. “The Abrams tank is a very complicated piece of equipment. It’s expensive, it’s hard to train on, it has a jet engine.”

Biden’s decision to send the tanks was a big reversal for the US top brass. And it could take up to a year to manufacture and send them. 

The decision to send the powerful tanks came after over a month of frustrated and stalled negotiations with Germany. Senior defense officials described it as the "product of good diplomatic conversations."

Tank delays

According to a New York Post report, it could take up to a year for the artillery to arrive on the battlefield.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh explained, "We just don’t have these tanks available in excess in our US stocks, which is why it is going to take months to transfer these M1A2 Abrams to Ukraine." 

The Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, or USAI, program, requires an extended procurement process to identify and hire contractors. 

Other U.S. moves to aid Ukraine that have been viewed as notable steps up include a December decision to send a Patriot anti-missile system. 

The Ukraine military is hoping they will be provided with fourth-generation fighter jets such as the F-16.