<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">The US will send 31 powerful battle tanks to Ukraine, joining Germany in sending the vehicles to support the fight against Russia's invasion.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The decision to deliver the M1 Abrams tanks was announced just hours after Germany said it would send 14 of its Leopard 2 tanks to the battlefield.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Berlin also cleared the way for other European countries to send German-made tanks from their own stocks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ukraine has lobbied Western allies to send the military equipment for months.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It hailed the twin announcements as a turning point that would allow its military to regain momentum and take back occupied territory almost a year after Moscow invaded. It also said the tanks could help deter a potential Russian offensive in the spring.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"An important step on the path to victory," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said. "Today the free world is united as never before for a common goal - liberation of Ukraine."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Russia, meanwhile, condemned the moves as a "blatant provocation" and said any supplied tanks would be destroyed. "These tanks burn like all the rest. They are just very expensive," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Putin expected Europe and the United States to weaken our resolve," President Joe Biden said while announcing the decision at the White House on Wednesday. "He was wrong from the beginning and he continues to be wrong."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We're also giving Ukraine the parts and equipment necessary to effectively sustain these tanks in battle," he said. "This is about helping Ukraine defend and protect Ukrainian land. It is not an offensive threat to Russia."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A Ukrainian tank battalion typically consists of 31 tanks, which is why that number has been agreed upon, Mr Biden said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The US decision, however, marks a reversal in their position as the Biden administration has insisted for some time that the heavy M1 Abrams tanks would be difficult to deliver, expensive to maintain and challenging for Ukrainian troops to operate.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The US-made military vehicle is one of the most modern battle tanks in the world and requires extensive training to operate. The $400m (£323m) American package also includes eight recovery vehicles that can tow the tanks if they become stuck.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But it is likely to be many months before the tanks reach the battlefield, experts say, as they will be purchased from private contractors and not sent from an existing stockpile.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The German-made Leopard 2 tanks, however, will be drawn from existing stock and are expected to arrive in two to three months. They are widely seen as one of the most effective battle tanks available.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The decision to send the heavy weapons follows weeks of diplomatic wrangling. Germany faced mounting international pressure to send the tanks, and there are reports that the eventual decision to do so was conditional on the US doing the same.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Both sides participated in "good diplomatic conversations" that made the difference and contributed to the "extraordinary shift in Germany's security policy", a senior US official said on condition of anonymity earlier on Wednesday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When asked if the US decision was designed to give Germany cover to send tanks, national security spokesman John Kirby said: "I wouldn't use the word cover. What this decision does do is show how unified we are with our allies."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He attributed the change in Washington's position to the conditions on the ground as well as Russia's tactics, without giving further details.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Kirby also said the decision was based on the "kinds of fighting... that we believe the Ukrainians are going to need to be capable of in the weeks and months ahead".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ukrainian crews would soon be trained to use the Leopard tanks in Germany, officials in Berlin said. Mr Biden said troops would be trained to use the American-made tanks "as soon as possible" but added that delivering them would take time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While the acquisition of tanks from the West will be considered a diplomatic coup for President Volodymyr Zelensky, he said on Tuesday that his country required at least 300 of them to defeat Russia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Several European countries have Leopard 2 tanks in their stocks, and the German decision means some of these can also be sent to Ukraine. Germany hopes around 90 will ultimately be delivered to the battlefield.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Norway announced later on Wednesday that it would send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, but did not specify how many it would deliver. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>