They believed the discussion about whether to do so was still active even after Biden had made the decision to provide the missile system, the sources said. would supply Ukraine with a Patriot missile defense system, these people said. Last month, some military leaders were similarly caught off guard when news reports appeared saying the U.S. The president’s reversal on tanks caught some military officials by surprise, and it marked the second time in a month that such a dynamic has played out between the White House and the Defense Department over Ukraine aid, said three people familiar with the matter. promise of a future delivery opened the door for Germany to send tanks to Ukraine now. But because Germany had said it would send Leopards to Ukraine if the U.S. would announce it would provide 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine but not actually send them for many months, if not a year. The plan that Biden ultimately approved in a meeting Monday morning with members of his national security team, according to the officials, was tailor-made to provide Germany with cover: The U.S. Wojtek Radwanski / AFP - Getty Images file Abrams tank crew participates in a military exercise with troops from Poland, France and Sweden in Nowogrod, Poland, on May 19, 2022.
He warmed to the idea after Secretary of State Antony Blinken presented him with potential solutions to an issue that was very publicly exposing divisions within the U.S.-European alliance, the officials said. officials said.īiden wasn’t initially sold on sending the tanks, despite pressure to do so to give cover to Germany to send Ukraine some Leopard 2 tanks, the officials said. to send the tanks to Ukraine, and he made his recommendation about how to provide them only after it was clear Biden wanted to send them, about 48 hours before his announcement, three U.S. But Austin, along with other military leaders, had for weeks argued it didn’t make sense for the U.S. When he announced his decision to provide Abrams tanks to Ukraine, President Joe Biden made a point to say Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had recommended the move.
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