US provided ‘cover’ for Scholz on tanks

The US devised a plan to commit M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine in order to provide “cover” for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was reluctant to send the country’s own tanks to help Kiev, the Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing more than a dozen people familiar with the matter.

Relying on sources “on both sides of the Atlantic,” the report details how the White House struggled to win over Scholz who initially resisted delivering the Leopard 2 tanks to fight Russian forces in Ukraine unless the US agreed to commit the Abrams. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the Pentagon reportedly were against sending American main battle tanks that they believed would be too difficult for Ukrainians to operate and maintain.