Did Chancellor Scholz explain today why they appeared to have changed their minds? KELLY: Rob Schmitz, jump in here because Germany had also been reluctant. He said the German tanks represent a near-term commitment. official tried to put the best face on this. is going to go through the procurement process, which can be a military synonym for do everything in slow motion. But these are tanks that are not already in service. will have to train the Ukrainians, who've proven to be very fast learners on other weapons systems.
We're talking about 31 of the Abrams tanks. But a senior administration official said it would be months, not weeks. KELLY: Do we know how long it's going to take to get these tanks over there? So President Biden's announcement gave Germany some political cover, and Biden went out of his way to praise the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz. But Germany had been reluctant to get out in front on sending tanks. Germany also has these excellent tanks that could get to Ukraine more quickly. So it wasn't seen as a great, short-term option, which leads us to the political reason. It also uses jet fuel, not the usual diesel fuel that other tanks use. It needs lots of training and maintenance. It's considered the world's best but also the most sophisticated. has acknowledged that Ukraine needs tanks, but it kept saying the Abrams, which is the main U.S. MYRE: Well, I think there's both a military reason and a political reason. had been adamant that it would not be sending these Abrams tanks. We are joined from Berlin by NPR's Rob Schmitz.
Well, these two countries are considered to have the best tanks in the world. and Germany promised to send these tanks. For months, Ukraine has been demanding state-of-the-art, western tanks, and for months, they have been denied.
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