Zelensky hails Warsaw for readying to send 60 additional tanks to Kiev

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
27 Jan 2023 17:45

Kiev is also expecting tanks from Germany and the US, both who made the announcement a few days ago.

PT 91 Twardy tank (Wikimedia Commons)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed on Friday Poland for preparing to deliver an additional 60 tanks to Kiev to assist it in its war efforts against Russia.

"Thank you... Poland for these important decisions to deliver to Ukraine 60 Polish tanks -- 30 of which are the famous PT-91 Twardy, along with 14 Leopards," Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

Dziękuję @AndrzejDuda @MorawieckiM @mblaszczak @JacekSiewiera i Narodowi 🇵🇱 za tak ważne decyzje o przekazaniu Ukrainie 60 polskich czołgów, 30 z których to słynny PT-91 Twardy, i 14 Leopardów-2. Jak 160 lat temu jesteśmy razem, ale tym razem wróg nie ma szans. Razem zwyciężymy!
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 27, 2023

Kiev is also expecting tanks from Germany and the US, both of which made the announcement a few days ago.

Poland's commitments were revealed on Thursday by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during an interview with Canada's CTV News.

"Right now, we are ready to send 60 of our modernized tanks, 30 of them PT-91. And on top of those tanks, 14 tanks, Leopard 2 tanks, from in our possession," he said, noting that since the start of the conflict Poland has sent "sent 250 tanks... or even more than that" to Kiev's forces.

Tanks that have already been sent by Poland to Ukraine include the T-72 Soviet models, of which the PT-91 is a modernized version.

President Biden announced on Wednesday that the US would send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. However, US officials have stated that it will take a few months to finalize the training and delivery process before they can be mobilized on the battlefields in Ukraine, most likely they wouldn't be delivered before the anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Moreover, after weeks of pressure from Ukraine and other allies, Berlin agreed on the same day to send 14 of its Leopard 2 tanks, seen as among the best in the world.

The move opened the way for other European nations that operate Leopards to send tanks from their own fleets to Ukraine, including Spain, Norway and Sweden.