Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked his US counterpart Joe Biden on Wednesday for his “strong decision” to send 31 Abrams tanks to the Ukrainian armed forces, calling it an “important step towards victory”.
“Thank you [a Joe Biden] for another strong decision to deliver the Abrams to Ukraine. Grateful to the Americans for their support”emphasized the Ukrainian head of state on the social network Twitter.
Zelensky further emphasized that this is “an important step towards victory” and that “the free world is united by a common goal as never before – the liberation of Ukraine”.
thanks @POTUS for another strong decision to offer Abrams. Grateful to people for leadership support! It is an important step on the road to victory. Today the free world is united as never before for a common goal – liberation from. We’re moving forward
– Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 25, 2023
Joe Biden announced this Wednesday that he would send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, in a statement guaranteeing that the Allies are “fully united” to help Kiev.
The deployment of armored vehicles will be accompanied by other measures, such as training Ukrainian troops, with the aim of “improving their maneuverability in the open field” and their long-term military capabilities, the US head of state said.
During the communication, Biden took the opportunity to thank German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, for sending Leopard 2 tanks (German-made) to Ukraine and assured that this measure “does not pose an offensive threat to Russia.”
The US decision to send Abrams tanks comes on the same day that Berlin confirmed the delivery of 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Kiev, authorizing other countries to send these combat vehicles to Ukraine. Germany’s defense minister said the tanks could be operational on Ukrainian territory in about three months.
Biden explained that in total, the European allies agreed to send enough tanks to equip two Ukrainian armored car battalions, for a total of 62 tanks.
“As spring approaches, Ukrainian troops are working to defend the territory they control and are preparing for counter-attacks”said Biden.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has so far led to the flight of more than 14 million people — 6.5 million internally displaced persons and nearly eight million to European countries — according to the latest data from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
Currently, 17.7 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and Russia political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented 7,068 civilian deaths and 11,415 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, underlining that these numbers are well below the real ones.
Source: DN
