Biden administration plans to send 50 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine

More tanks for Ukraine as Biden administration plans to send up to 50 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, U.S. officials disclosed yesterday, in what would be a major step in arming Kyiv as it tries to seize back its territory from Russia. It could take years before those tanks reach Ukraine, but the announcement would clear the way for Germany and other countries to send their battle tanks. The plan to send the Abrams tanks comes after a testy confrontation last week, during a NATO defense chiefs’ meeting, over the refusal by Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, to send Leopard tanks, which many military experts believe could be a decisive weapon in Ukrainian hands. German officials have privately insisted that the country would send the tanks only if the U.S. agreed to send its own M1 Abrams tanks. Publicly, American and German officials have denied that the two issues were linked, but the German news media reported last night that Scholz had decided to send the tanks. The chancellor will address Parliament today. Several top Ukrainian officials were fired yesterday amid a ballooning corruption scandal, the biggest upheaval in the country’s government since Russia’s invasion began 11 months ago