Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is “happy” and “thankful” for the international donation of tanks to their war effort, but stressed their arrival as “critical” in a recent interview with Sky News. “Overall I am very thankful to the world for the support for Ukraine. But speaking frankly, the number of tanks and the delivery time to Ukraine is critical,” said Zelenskyy. According to some reports, it may take months or even years for the war machines to reach the battlefront.The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it would send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. Germany is also slated to deliver 14 Leopard 2 tanks, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz leading an effort to organize a donation of two tank battalions from across Europe. “The expectation on the part of Russia is that we’re going to break up, we’re not going to stay united,” Biden said on Wednesday, referring to NATO and its allies. “But we are fully, thoroughly, totally united.” Moscow has been dismissive of the new weapons’ ability to thwart Russia’s invasion, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov telling reporters on Wednesday that the Western tanks will “burn like all the rest.”
