The head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, after the Ramstein-style meeting in Germany, denied any connection between the provision of American and German tanks to Ukraine. When asked by journalists whether the USA should provide Ukraine with several tanks, just to unblock Germany's decision regarding Leopard 2, Lloyd Austin answered:
"There is no connection between the provision of Abrams and Leopards, so the term 'unblocking' is not an issue," the US Defense Secretary said, adding that German Defense Minister Pistorius also agreed that Washington and Berlin's decision to provide tanks to Ukraine are not interconnected.
When asked whether Germany is doing enough to help Ukraine, Lloyd Austin answered: "Yes, but we can all do more."
Even without German tanks, but with the joint aid package announced today, Ukraine has a chance to succeed on the battlefield, according to the US Defense Minister. According to him, American Stryker combat vehicles and Bradley armored vehicles, which are being sent to Ukraine for the first time, will provide the Armed Forces of Ukraine with new opportunities in this war.
Lloyd Austin: "The German Minister of Defense stated that they have not made a decision on the provision of Leopard 2 tanks." What we are currently focusing on is that Ukraine has the necessary capabilities to achieve success now. We have a window of opportunity between now and the spring (when they're planning a counteroffensive operation over there), and that's not much time, and we have to put together all the right capabilities that we and some of our partners have offered to provide."
Austin added that he currently has no announcements about providing Ukraine with American Abrams M1 tanks.
"We are working hard to meet Ukraine's need for tanks and other armored vehicles. Great Britain has announced its intention to provide Ukraine with a significant number of Challenger 2 tanks, and these will be the first Western-made heavy tanks in Ukraine. I congratulate our British allies on the adoption of this decision," the US Defense Minister said.
When asked if the US is disappointed with Germany's position, the head of the Pentagon answered: "We are not talking about only one platform (weapons - ed.). Our goal - and I think we have been quite successful in this - is to provide Ukraine with the capabilities it needs to succeed in the near term. … “I think this will be a very powerful aid package that we have put together. If applied correctly, it will help them succeed. And we do everything necessary so that they can use it properly.
"It's a combined armed effort that I truly believe will give them the opportunity to succeed," Austin said. - I am truly convinced that he will help Ukrainians to achieve success ahead.
Ministers of defense and representatives of defense departments from 54 countries of the world gathered at the Ramstein-style meeting in Germany on Friday, January 20. A number of countries have announced large aid packages for Ukraine. In particular, representatives of Estonia, Great Britain, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Slovakia agreed to jointly seek the transfer of tanks, heavy artillery, air defense equipment, ammunition and combat vehicles to Ukraine.
The USA, Great Britain, Finland, Germany, Estonia are among the countries that have announced large packages of new defense aid for Ukraine. The latest large-scale US aid package to Ukraine, totaling $2.5 billion, includes Stryker armored vehicles for the first time.
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