Jan. 20 () –
The United States Government has announced this Thursday a new military aid package for Ukraine valued at 2,500 million dollars (2,300 million euros), which highlights the absence of M1 Abrams tanks, as requested by the Ukrainian Executive.
However, this new package includes military material for Ukraine such as 90 Stryker armored personnel carriers, 59 Bradley fighting vehicles and a series of other equipment, according to the Bloomberg agency.
The package includes millions of ammunition cartridges, tens of thousands of artillery cartridges or night vision equipment, as detailed by the Pentagon, which has sent weapons to Ukraine thirty times since the war began.
Also noteworthy are 125 million dollars (115 million euros) in funds to support Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and the promise of Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky to retake the Crimean peninsula.
“The most recent Kremlin airstrikes against critical infrastructure in Ukraine demonstrate once again the devastating impact of Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine,” the US Department of Defense said in a statement.
The Biden Administration has decided not to send tanks to Ukraine for now arguing that “it does not make sense”, since the American Abrams have high maintenance and fuel costs, as reported by ‘The Hill’.
The announcement came on the eve of a meeting of defense ministers from several NATO member countries on Ukraine at the Ramstein airbase in Germany, where they hope to overcome the German government’s reluctance to supply its Leopard tank to Ukraine.
From Berlin, they signal their refusal to provide Leopards — German-made — or to allow other countries to do so unless the United States first sends its M1 Abrams.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Zelensky has requested the supply of tanks, although he has reiterated his request on the eve that Russia launch a major offensive in the spring, so it will have to carry out another major counteroffensive to maintain the advantage in the war.
