- The US and the Netherlands are paying the Czech Republic to overhaul 90 T-72 tanks for Ukraine.
- A Pentagon spokesman said they would be “the most technically advanced tanks on the battlefield.”
- The pledge is part of a recent US $400 million military aid package.
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The US and the Netherlands are paying for the Czech Republic to upgrade 90 T-72 tanks for Ukraine, the Pentagon deputy press secretary said Friday.
The Pentagon is paying for the overhaul of 45 Soviet-era T-72 tanks, and the Netherlands is meeting the obligation for the cost of another 45.
Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, said in a news conference on Friday that the first tanks will arrive in Ukraine by the end of the year.
She said the refurbishment would add new optics, communications, and armor, and the tanks would become “the most technically advanced tanks on the battlefield.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted on Friday that Ukraine was “sincerely grateful” for the tanks, which he described as “significant and much-needed assistance.”
—Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 5, 2022
While other NATO countries have already sent older T-72s to Ukraine, the US is paying for the Czech Republic’s tank upgrade for the first time, Singh said.
Ukraine has championed newer tanks like the American-made Abrams or the German Leopard, but neither country has pledged to send one.
Singh said that supplying tanks like the Abrams would be costly and would require training for the Ukrainians, unlike the T-72s with which they are already familiar.
The defense industry of the Czech Republic will carry out the work on upgrading the tanks, she said.
The US is funding this as part of its recent $400 million military aid package to Ukraine, which includes upgraded American Hawk air defense missiles for Ukraine. It has a longer range than the Stinger missile systems that the US has already supplied to Ukraine.
The air defense systems will help Ukraine defend against attacks by Russian drones and missiles that have been terrorizing its cities and hitting its energy infrastructure, Singh said.