Ukraine sets sights on fighter jets after Biden says US will send 31 Abrams tanks

US President Joe Biden says the United States will send 31 M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine, granting a key request from Kiev that is expected to enhance the military capabilities of the Ukrainian army over the coming months.

Less than 24 hours after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced, after weeks of hesitation, that Berlin would send 14 of its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Biden told reporters at the White House that Washington would send 31 US-made M1 Abrams battle tanks, the world’s most powerful, to the ex-Soviet republic.

“Today, I’m announcing that the United States will be sending 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, the equivalent of one Ukrainian battalion,” the US president said, speaking about the new Ukraine-bound security package, which is worth roughly $400 million, according to the Pentagon.

“Today’s announcement builds on the hard work and commitment from countries around the world, led by the United States of America, to help Ukraine defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity. That’s what this is about, helping Ukraine protect and defend Ukrainian land. It is not an offensive threat to Russia. There is no offensive threat to Russia. If Russian troops return to Russia… where they belong, this war would be over today,” Biden added.

The American president, who reversed his previous position on sending Abrams tanks, also lauded Germany for its decision to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, stressing Western unity in the face of the war Russia has waged in Ukraine.

Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin had failed to drive a wedge between the US and European powers.

Washington’s move to send Abrams tanks to Kiev came despite concerns that the tanks are too logistically burdensome for Ukrainian forces. In his remarks, Biden acknowledged that the delivery of the tanks would “take time,” but said the US would use that time to ensure that the Ukrainian army is “fully prepared” to integrate the fighting vehicles into its defenses.

In another development, Ukraine on Wednesday said that it would now push for Western fourth-generation fighter jets, such as the US F-16, after securing supplies of main battle tanks.

“The next big hurdle will now be the fighter jets,” said Yuriy Sak, who advises Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov. “If we get them, the advantages on the battlefield will be just immense. It’s not just F-16s. Fourth-generation aircraft, this is what we want.”

Ukraine’s Air Force has a fleet of ageing Soviet-era warplanes that came off the assembly line before Ukraine even declared independence more than three decades ago.