Biden Announces 31 Abrams Tanks, Calls Austin 'the Secretary of the — of the Military' (January 25, 2023)

President Joe Biden walked into the Roosevelt Room to announce that America would send its most powerful tanks to Ukraine, and he could not come up with the title of the man standing behind him. “The Secretary of State and the Secretary of the — of the military are behind me. Are — they — they’ve been deeply, deeply involved in this — this whole effort,” Biden said on Jan. 25, 2023, according to the official White House transcript [1].

The “Secretary of the — of the military” was Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Biden went on: “Armored capability, as General Austin will tell you, spe- — is — has been — has been critical.” [1]

He had opened with a time check. “Good almost morning. It’s exactly noon. Thank you for being here,” Biden said [1].

The video above shows Biden’s remarks on Jan. 25, 2023. Quotes are from the official White House transcript, the American Presidency Project and Military Times [1][2][3].

“31 Abram Tanks”

Then came the news. “And today — today, I’m announcing that the United States will be sending 31 Abram tanks to Ukraine, the equivalent of one Ukrainian battalion,” Biden said [1].

“The Abrams tanks are the most capable tanks in the world. They’re also extremely complex to operate and maintain, so we’re also giving Ukraine the parts and equipment necessary to effectively sustain these tanks on the battlefield,” he said [1].

He warned it would not be quick. “Delivering these tanks to the field is going to take time, time that we’ll see — we’ll use to make sure the Ukrainians are fully prepared to integrate the Abram tanks into their defenses,” Biden said [1].

He thanked Germany too. “I’m grateful to Chancellor Scholz for providing German Leopard 2 tanks and will lead an effort to organize the European contribution of two tank battalions for Ukraine,” he said [1].

”More Than 8,000” Artillery Systems? Make That 800

The White House had to fix one sentence twice. “Together with our Allies and partners, we’ve sent more than 3,000 armored vehicles, more than 8,000,” Biden said. The official transcript adds a bracketed correction right after that number: 800 [1].

He kept going: “artillery systems, more than 2 million rounds of artillery ammunition, and more than 50 advanced multi-launch rocket systems, anti-ship and air defense systems, all to help counter Ukraine’s [Ukraine counter] brutal aggression that is happening because of Russia.” The words “Ukraine counter” in brackets are the White House’s second fix [1].

He mixed up countries a few lines later. “Our terms that preserve Russia’s sovereign — Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and honor the U.N. Charter, that’s our — they’re the terms we’re working on,” Biden said [1].

”The Findalization [Finlandization] of Europe”

Biden also had a line about Vladimir Putin. “And I said — I let Putin know. He thought that he was going to have — end up with the Findalization [Finlandization] of Europe. Well, he’s got the NATOization of Finland,” he said [1].

He added a note about Ukraine’s president: “As I told President Zelenskyy when he was here — and today is his birthday, by the way — in December: We’re with you for as long as it takes, Mr. President.” [1]

“Germany Didn’t Force Me”

Biden took one question. “Mr. President, why are you taking this decision now? Did Germany force you to change your mind on sending tanks?” a reporter asked [1].

“(Laughs.) Germany didn’t force me to change my mind. We wanted to make sure we were all together. And that’s what we were going to do all along, and that’s what we’re doing right now. Thank you,” Biden said. The remarks ran from 12:01 to 12:10 p.m. [1]

“Basically, a Jet Engine”

At the briefing that afternoon, a reporter asked National Security Council spokesman John Kirby what had changed. “For a long time, U.S. military officials had resisted this move to send Abrams tanks, saying that they’re difficult to operate, difficult to train people on. And that was essentially what we heard from President Biden today. What changed?” [2]

“There’s — there’s training that’s needed. There’s sophisticated maintenance requirements. There’s a supply chain. I mean, it uses a gas turbine engine to — basically, a jet engine — 1,500 horsepower,” Kirby said. “That said, we never ruled tanks out.” [2]

Asked how soon the tanks could arrive, he said: “There’s no date certain on the calendar. I think what we’re looking at is what’s probably going to be many months before they’re actually there.” [2]

Another reporter said a Zelenskyy adviser wanted far more: “what they want, what they need is about 200 to 350 tanks from the West. So, is that a realistic number?” Kirby answered: “I don’t think it’s wise to get ahead of where we are right now.” [2]

By the Numbers

31: Abrams tanks Biden announced [1].
About $10 million: the cost of each tank, per Military Times [3].
200 to 350: tanks a Zelenskyy adviser said Ukraine needed, a reporter told Kirby [2].
1,500: horsepower of the Abrams engine, per Kirby [2].
9 minutes: the length of Biden’s remarks [1].

What Happened Next

The tanks arrived, then left the fight. Zelenskyy “announced on his Telegram channel in September that the Abrams had arrived in Ukraine,” Military Times reported [3].

Seven months later, “Ukraine has sidelined U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press,” Military Times reported in April 2024. “Five of the 31 tanks have already been lost to Russian attacks.” [3]

One official added that “the Ukrainians also have not adopted tactics that could have made the tanks more effective.” [3]

For Jean-Pierre on layoffs at the same briefing, see HYGO News’ page on Jan. 25, 2023.