After two mass shootings in days in California president calls for return of nationwide ban passed in 1994 but since expiredThe United States is leaning towards sending its Abrams M1 tank to Ukraine, both in a bid to bolster its government’s fight against Russia and to convince Germany to send its own Leopard 2 tanks, the Wall Street Journal reports.The weapons delivery represents an attempt by Washington to resolve the question of sending tanks to Ukraine, one of the few issues splitting the coalition of western countries that came to Kyiv’s defense since Russia invaded last year. Despite pressure from its allies, Germany has yet to commit to send the Leopard 2, and so the Biden administration is considering sending the Abrams M1 tank in hopes of convincing them. The Pentagon has previously demurred on delivering the massive armored vehicle, arguing its needs for fuel and other logistics will hamper its effectiveness.The shift in the U.S. position follows a call on Jan. 17 between President Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in which Mr. Biden agreed to look into providing the Abrams tanks against the judgment of the Pentagon. A senior German official said that the issue had been the subject of intense negotiation between Washington and Berlin for more than a week and appeared to be on the way to resolution.Military officials have argued publicly that the Abrams tanks require a substantial amount of training and logistics support and therefore aren’t appropriate for this moment in the conflict. Continue reading...
Continua a leggere su "The Guardian"