Home Americas US mulls sending tanks to Ukraine, urges allies to do same, report

US mulls sending tanks to Ukraine, urges allies to do same, report

Western MBTs for Ukraine
Illustration: US Army file photo of an Abrams tank

The Pentagon is said to be considering the transfer of modern Western-style main battle tanks to Ukraine and is urging other allies to do same.

According to Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung, the latest Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Germany on September 8 has shown that the US is continuing to push European countries to do more to aid Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion.

In addition to tanks, modern infantry fighting vehicles, and not just those of Soviet origin, should also be on the table.

Until now, the US and allies focused on sending Soviet-era vehicles and aircraft to Ukraine, under the presumption that Ukrainian troops are already familiar with these systems. This did not apply to various modern missile and artillery systems.

The report comes in the wake of major Ukrainian advances in the east of the country, which saw significant Russian retreats in the Kherson and Kharkiv regions.

Latest estimates put the total of liberated Ukrainian territory to around 3,000 square kilometers, with the Russian defense ministry confirming a retreat from Balakliya and Izyum in the Kharkiv area over the weekend.

The latest UK defense ministry intelligence report says Russia has likely ordered the withdrawal of its troops from the entirety of occupied Kharkiv Oblast west of the Oskil River.

In Kherson, in the country’s south, Russia is likely struggling to bring sufficient reserves forward across the Dnipro River to the front line, the intelligence briefing said.

In its latest update, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said its forces have entered the settlement of Sofiyivka in Kherson region, closing in on the city of Kherson.