The Latest Breaking News on US defence chief Lloyd Austin in Ukraine vows backing 'both now and into the future'

The decision that Germany and the US will allow the export of M1 Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, alongside the British Challenger 2 tanks promised in mid January is the culmination of Nato’s policy to assist Ukraine and an important symbolic step in the west’s response to Putin’s…

It puts a final dagger in the heart of Germany’s decades-old policy of avoiding war in Europe through trade and cooperation.

Kyiv says the tanks are vital to it pushing back Russia’s invasion and reclaiming territory thas has been taken

The United States and Germany have announced deliveries of top-of-the-line tanks to Ukraine, signalling a new surge of Western support for an expected counter-offensive against Russia. French military and political officials are still debating the supply of additional armoured vehicles to Kyiv.

The West's move to send tanks to Ukraine was greeted enthusiastically from Kyiv, Berlin and Washington

Russia said on Thursday it saw the promised delivery of Western tanks to Ukraine as evidence of direct and growing U.S. and European involvement in the conflict.

The promise of modern tanks comes as both Ukraine and Russia are expected to launch new offensives in the war

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They are expensive and hard to maintain. They run on jet fuel. And they are difficult to operate.

It comes as Berlin confirms its Leopard 2 tanks could arrive in Ukraine before the end of March

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the decision by western allies but urged speed in the delivery of new weaponry