American Abrams tanks for Ukraine will likely be purchased through the USAI (Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative) Fund, which allows to obtain weapons from the industry rather than from existing U.S. weapons stocks.

Reuters reported this, citing officials familiar with this decision.

One official mentioned it is likely that the Biden administration would use the USAI process to purchase Abrams from allies, repair them, and then send them to Ukraine. This process could last months and even years.

Another source shared that there are talks on transferring about 30 tanks in the coming months.

It is noted that the decision to transfer Abrams tanks to Ukraine may be announced on Wednesday, January 25. Information about this appeared the day before.

At the same time, the Pentagon declined to comment on the transfer of tanks.

“The M1 Abrams is a complex weapons system that is challenging to maintain … that was true yesterday, that is true today, and will be true in the future,” Pentagon press secretary, Brigadier General Pat Ryder, told the reporters.

He also stressed that the discussions between Ukraine and the Allies about what the medium and long-term defense assistance plan should be are ongoing.

It is noted that the decision to transfer American tanks to Ukraine came from an agreement between the United States and Germany.

“The United States was willing to make a significant commitment to assist them in making theirs. The tanks are an important capability, and if it took U.S. leadership then that’s what we were willing to do,” the source told Reuters.

On Wednesday, January 25, at 15:05 (CET), the Bundestag will consider the issue of transferring Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

“The hour has been set at the request of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, which wants to “end the Leopard blockade of the federal government” and fears a loss of confidence in the federal government among allies,” the German parliament stated on its website.

At the same time, Spiegel reported yesterday that the decision was made to transfer a Leopard 2A6 tank company to Ukraine.