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.”
It’s not about “using twitter” being a terrible thing, it’s about using a platform controlled by the same exact guy that cut off your communications via starlink that lead to them being unable to stop Russia’s navy from sending missiles toward Ukraine.
If you don’t see the irony in that, I don’t know what else to say.
Oh the irony of it all is clear. Even if Putin owned Twitter and the Abrams tanks were Tesla, it would still make sense to use the website and tanks*.
*(Although you have to assume Zelensky isn’t posting directly to Twitter given location metadata; and if an unsavory person gave you a tank you’d need to REALLY REALLY check it for explosives, spyware, etc.)