Pentagon weighs sending Stryker combat vehicles to Ukraine: Politico
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A Pentagon official says the Stryker armored vehicles may be part of the next package of military assistance delivered to Kiev.
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Stryker armored vehicles, Colorado (AFP)
The United States is considering providing Stryker armored vehicles to Ukraine, Politico reported, citing two informed sources.
The newspaper cited a US Defense Department official as saying that the Stryker armored vehicles may be part of the next package of military assistance delivered to Kiev, which the Biden administration could announce, with or without Strykers, late next week.
According to the Pentagon official, "Ukrainians need armored personnel carriers and short of other countries providing it, is what we have in inventory."
"Not as good as a Bradley for a tank fight, but good to protect infantry and get up close to a fight," the official told Politico.
On January 7, the Pentagon announced that the latest military assistance package for Ukraine worth $3.75 billion includes 50 Bradley fighting vehicles, 500 TOW anti-tank missiles, and 250,000 rounds of 22mm ammunition.
It is noteworthy that US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a joint statement on Thursday that Washington and Berlin will supply Ukraine with armored combat vehicles.
Commenting on the announcement, The Washington Post highlighted that "the first supply of Western mobile armor is another major milestone in the escalating provision of advanced weaponry to Ukrainian forces, including heavy artillery and long-range precision rocket launchers."
The decision came just weeks after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urgently appealed for tanks during his visit to Washington late last month.
Macron agreed on January 4 during a phone conversation with Zelensky to send French-made light tanks to Ukraine.
Last week, the Ukrainian President described the French decision as "a clear signal to all our other partners: There is no rational reason why Ukraine has not yet been supplied with Western-style tanks."
"Modern Western armored vehicles, Western-type tanks are just one of these key capabilities," Zelensky noted.
In this regard, Sky News also reported, citing a familiar source, that the United Kingdom might be supplying Ukraine with Challenger 2, the British Army's main tank, and there have been talks about the affair for the past two weeks.
This comes just weeks after the Biden administration announced that it would supply Kiev with a Patriot missile battery, which is the most sophisticated air defense weapon in the US arsenal.
In their joint statement, Biden and Scholz also announced that Germany will supply Ukraine with an additional Patriot battery.
Read more: Athens, Berlin discuss supplying BMP-1 combat vehicles to Ukraine
