US working with allies to send Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine to aid in war against Russia

Against the backdrop of the Russia Ukraine war, the United States is planning to send Soviet-made tanks to war-stricken Ukraine. In a key development, an unnamed US official told The New York Times on Friday said that the US is working with allies and partners to send Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine.

The United States will work with allies to transfer Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine to strengthen its defences in the Donbas region, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing an unnamed US official. 

This key development comes following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's appeal to his EU partners and NATO Alliance to deploy their aircraft, tanks, and weaponry in Ukraine to safeguard the territories being pounded fiercely by the assaulting Russian forces.

US announces $300 Million in security aid to Ukraine

The United States Department of Defense has stated that it will provide Ukraine with an additional $300 million in security assistance. The supplementary security package provided to Ukraine would include laser-guided missile systems, drones, medical supplies, and other defence necessities, according to US Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby.

Armoured high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles, non-standard machine guns, small-to-large calibre non-standard ammunition, night vision devices, thermal imaging systems, and optics utilised in the battle will all be part of the $300 million security aid package. The statement, however, made no mention of tanks.

1% of all NATO aircraft, tanks and weaponry

Earlier last week, stressing that the provision of defence equipment would ensure the "common security" of all European nations, Zelenskyy said, that Ukraine’s European allies needed to ramp up the military assistance to war-ravaged Ukraine, as he also posed a question—“Who runs the Euro-Atlantic community [to make those decisions], is it still Moscow because of intimidation?”

Demanding just 1% of all NATO aircraft, tanks, and weaponry from NATO, Zelenskyy said: "This is what our partners have. This is what is covered with dust at their storage facilities. After all, this is all for freedom not only in Ukraine -- this is for freedom in Europe. Because it cannot be acceptable for everyone on the continent if the Baltic states, Poland, Slovakia and the whole of Eastern Europe are at risk of a clash with the Russian invaders.”