The first U.S. Abrams tanks pledged to Ukraine have arrived in the country and are being prepared to send into battle, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Monday.

“Good news from Defense Minister [Rustem] Umerov. Abrams are already in Ukraine and are preparing to reinforce our brigades. I am grateful to our allies for fulfilling the agreements!” Zelensky wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Zelensky added that Ukraine is “looking for new contracts and expanding the geography of supply.”

The Pentagon confirmed the tanks arrived in Ukraine, with a spokesperson saying “the mere presence of Abrams tanks serves as a potent deterrent.”

“By having these tanks in their arsenal, the Ukrainian army can more effectively discourage aggressive actions,” the Defense Department spokesperson told The Hill. “We will continue to focus on what we can do to help Ukraine succeed on the battlefield and protect its people.”

    • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I don’t know why you’d say that.

      I always feel better about the fact that our people can’t afford to have an injury or illness treated without going into debt, provided I get to see a line of really cool tanks heading off to fight another country’s war.

      • Franzia@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 year ago

        I said it because we can have both. Not that, you know, maybe we shouldn’t have such a large military budget… But universal healthcare would actually cost less than our current privatized healthcare. It’s efficient. So it is not the cost that’s stopping it from happening.

        • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I said it because we can have both

          Canada has universal health care. Their military budget is 26 billion a year.

          Better things are possible, at least they would be if we weren’t such warmongers.