President Biden is considering sending Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine in response to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s ongoing plea for additional armor to fight Russia’s invasion, now in its 11th month.
Mr. Biden was asked by reporters Wednesday in Kentucky whether shipping Bradleys is on the table to provide Ukraine with more firepower in its fight against Russian troops.
“Yes,” the president said, declining to elaborate.
The Bradley Fighting Vehicle is designed to carry troops into battle while providing them with cover firepower to combat enemy troops. The Bradley is armed with a 25mm chain gun and a TOW missile launcher capable of taking out most tanks.
However, the Bradley is not a tank, such as the M-1 Abrams that Mr. Zelenskyy has long requested.
“I assure you that Ukrainian soldiers can perfectly operate American tanks and planes for themselves,” Mr. Zelenskyy said last month in an address to lawmakers during his visit to Washington.
The Bradley was introduced into the Army’s inventory in the 1980s. More than 2,000 were sent to Saudi Arabia for the Gulf War, where they destroyed more Iraqi tanks than the M-1 Abrams.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that his country would send its AMX-10 RC light tanks to Ukraine. The first such vehicles to be supplied by a European NATO member.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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