Array
International military leaders are still unable to come to an agreement on a push to provide battle tanks to Ukraine. The U.S. has been hesitant to send the M1 Abrams tanks to the country, citing the need for specialized training and expensive fuel. Instead, the U.S. has been angling for Germany to send its Leopard 2 tanks.
We’ll share where the two countries are at today and new calls from lawmakers to move the needle, plus more members of the far-right Oath Keepers militia found guilty of seditious conspiracy for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and details of the U.S. weekend mission in Syria that captured two ISIS members.
This is Defense & National Security, your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, I’m Ellen Mitchell. Germany still undecided on tanks for Ukraine
As Russia continues its attacks on Ukraine in the nearly yearlong war, Poland is pushing to supply Kyiv with German-built Leopard tanks — but Berlin, as the weapon maker, needs to sign off on the move before the tanks are sent to a non-NATO country.
Germany instead has asked for the U.S. to send its M1 Abrams tanks before it agrees to send allow its Leopards to be shipped over to Ukraine, though top defense officials have insisted the Abrams is not the right tool for the fight, citing its complex maintenance requirements.
The Pentagon’s stance: On Monday the Pentagon’s top spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder reiterated the U.S. stance on the Abrams, telling reporters that “our focus has been on providing capabilities to the Ukrainians that they can use right now.”
“The M1 is an extremely capable and effective fighting system. But it’s also a very complex system that requires a lot of maintenance, requires a lot of logistic support.”
Under pressure: Western allied continue to push Germany to allow the Leopards to be delivered, with Poland among the most vocal countries in saying it will go ahead and send the tanks if other a “small coalition” of countries with the vehicle also agree to do so.
Germany’s defense minister, meanwhile, said a decision on the tanks will come soon.
MCCAUL CALLS ON US TO TAKE FIRST STEP ON TANKS
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) pressed the Biden administration and military leaders on Sunday to send M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine to aid the country in its war against Russia, arguing “we cannot slow-walk the weapons.”
“Let’s give [Ukraine] what they need because when we do, they win,” McCaul, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Dana Bash on Sunday. “The tanks are vitally important.”
Following suit: McCaul argued that if the U.S. were to send its Abrams tanks first, then Germany would follow by unleashing its Leopard 2 tanks, saying the U.
