'It's an important step on the path to victory,' Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter.Īndriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, called it a 'historic day' that would help determine the outcome of the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Biden for the 'powerful' decision. The leaders agreed to continue military support to Ukraine in close Euro-Atlantic coordination, Scholz's office said. Separately, the German chancellery said Olaf Scholz spoke on the phone with Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday afternoon. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The US was not initially keen to send some of its most powerful battle tanks to Ukraine, arguing that the Abrams were too difficult to operate and maintain.īut senior officials said Washington had to reverse course to persuade Berlin to send its more easily used Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.Īnswering a reporter's question on whether Berlin 'forced' Biden to change his mind, the US president said: 'Germany didn't force me to change my mind, we wanted to make sure we were all together.' 'But we are fully, totally and thoroughly united.' 'The expectation on the part of Russia is we're going to break up,' he said. 'Germany has really stepped up,' Biden said, adding that US and European allies were united in their efforts to support Ukraine. The announcement came hours after Germany agreed to deliver Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Coordinated move

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