Germany announced plans on Wednesday to deliver heavy tanks to Ukraine, and the United States was poised to do so too, a breakthrough hailed as a decisive military boost by Kyiv and condemned by Moscow as a reckless provocation, reports Reuters.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius says Leopard 2 tanks could take three months to get to Ukraine despite months of pressure to approve the request from Kyiv, also reported by Aljazeera.
Kyiv has been calling for months for Western main battle tanks that would give its forces the firepower, protection and mobility to break through Russian defensive lines and swoop through territory occupied by the invaders.
Germany announced plans to send an initial company of 14 Leopard 2 tanks from its own stocks, and also approve shipments by allies who field them, with the aim of supplying Ukraine with two full battalions. A battalion normally comprises three to four companies, according to the Reuters report.
Two sources in the United States said Washington would also provide dozens of its Abrams M1 tanks.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any US tanks sent to Ukraine would "burn like all the rest".
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