U.S. May Send Main Battle Tanks To Ukraine

A senior US military official has told CNN that Washington may be compelled to ship in main battle tanks to Ukraine after its forces steamrolled through 8,000 sq km of territory in Kharkiv and forced Russian forces to flee, Kyiv Independent reported.

Photo Insert: An Abrams M1A2 Main Battle Tank is loaded onto a trailer.

The official said that tanks are "absolutely on the table," but are currently not an option due to issues of training, maintenance, and sustainment, even as thousands of Ukrainians have been secretly trained on operating tanks and fighting vehicles.

Scores of Ukrainian pilots have also flown A-10 Warthogs, a tank-killing, close infantry support aircraft that can hit troop concentrations with a variety of missiles and cannons.

Germany and Slovenia have already agreed to transfer 28 M-55S tanks to Ukraine. In a phone call on Sept. 19, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed on an “exchange” in which Slovenia will receive military equipment from Germany in return for transferring tanks to Ukraine.

The arrangement was first announced in April 2022. Germany will also send four more Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers to Ukraine. The plan was announced by Germany's Defense Ministry. The delivery will bring the number of self-propelled artillery pieces sent to Ukraine by Germany and the Netherlands to 22 units, including 14 sent by Germany.

“The war is not going too well for Russia right now. So, it’s incumbent upon all of us to maintain high states of readiness, alert,” US General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said after visiting a military base in Poland on Sept. 18, Reuters reported. Milley also said he was not suggesting that US forces stationed in Europe were under increased threat.

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