Aware of the risk of weariness on the part of the great American ally, Volodymyr Zelensky was in Washington this Thursday to convince the United States to help him cross "the finish line" against Russia, if possible with powerful new weapons. The United States will provide Ukraine with “significant” air defense assets, the White House announced, but Joe Biden does not want to provide, for the moment, long-range ATACMS missiles, requested by the Ukrainian president .
American President Joe Biden nevertheless assured that the first Abrams tanks would arrive in Ukraine “next week” in order to strengthen the Ukrainian armed forces in their counter-offensive against Russian forces.
Additionally, the U.S. aid includes cluster munitions that the United States agreed to deliver to Ukraine last July. Controversial, these weapons are accused of causing numerous collateral victims, particularly civilians, due in particular to the unexploded charges which are buried in the ground.
They are prohibited in a number of countries, particularly European ones, signatories to the 2008 Oslo Convention, of which neither the United States, nor Ukraine, nor Russia or China are parties. Washington, however, claims to have received guarantees from Kiev that it would minimize the risk that these weapons pose to civilians, in particular by not using them in populated areas.
The United States had promised a total of 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, equipped with 120mm depleted uranium munitions. These munitions can pierce armor but are also controversial due to the toxic risks for the military and the population.
