JAKARTA - United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced Friday the planned sale of 250 M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks to Poland, as Washington moves to bolster the defenses of its main eastern European ally, amid rising tensions on the Ukraine-Ukraine border. Russia.
Minister Austin made the announcement during a trip to Warsaw, Poland in which the country's leaders were concerned about the deployment of thousands of Russian troops in neighboring Belarus, part of a massive Russian buildup around Ukraine.
Conditions that make NATO assess Moscow is planning an invasion. Meanwhile, Russia has repeatedly denied accusations that it will invade its neighboring country.
"Some of those troops (were) within 200 miles of the Polish border," Minister Austin said.
"If Russia invades Ukraine further, Poland could see tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees and others pouring across its borders, trying to save themselves and their families from the catastrophe of war," he said.
The sale of Abrams tanks to Poland, which is also home to a future US missile defense site, is another sign of the defense's deep and growing relationship with the United States.
This follows the deployment of nearly 5,000 additional US troops to Poland as well as additional warplanes, as part of Washington's response to the Ukraine crisis.
The Abrams M1A1 battle tank carries a crew of four and has a manually loaded cannon that can fire at enemy personnel armored vehicles to low-flying aircraft, according to its manufacturer, General Dynamics.
"This is the most modern version of the Abrams, and will give Poland a very advanced tank capability," Minister Austin told a news conference.
"It will also strengthen our interoperability with the Polish armed forces, increasing the credibility of our joint deterrence efforts and that of our other NATO Allies," he said.
To note, Poland is one of the most hawkish members of NATO in the face of what it sees as Russia's revisionist ambitions in Eastern Europe.
The birthplace of the Solidarity trade union movement which played a key role in toppling Communism in central Europe, Poland is highly sensitive to what it sees as the threat of Russian expansionism, and both conservative and liberal governments have been steadfast in supporting Kyiv.
"Poland knows firsthand the high costs that victims of aggression from their larger neighbours have to pay. And Poland has made a valuable contribution to assisting Ukraine in building its defense capabilities," said the US Defense Secretary.
Austin's visit comes as the United States completes the deployment of an additional 4,700 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division, more than double the US troop presence in the eastern European country.
In addition, the US military has sent F-15 fighter jets to Lask Air Base, Poland, offering additional capabilities for air policing, officials said.
Poland's southeastern border is close to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, where the United States moved its embassy, given growing fears of a Russian invasion.
US officials said their troops in Poland could help Americans who might flee to the country if Russia invaded Ukraine as well as assist Poland with a possible influx of refugees. American officials believe millions of Ukrainians may become refugees and displaced in a full-scale conflict.
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