Biden mulls over sending Ukraine Bradley Fighting Vehicles for brutal fight on eastern front
President Biden on Wednesday said the U.S. is considering sending Kyiv Bradley Fighting Vehicles as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to plead for western tanks to help his forces fighting on the eastern front.
When asked by reporters in Kentucky if he would consider sending the tracked vehicles to Ukraine Biden responded with a simple “Yes.”
The president did not provide further detail on when or how many vehicles could be sent to Ukraine.
The Bradley Fighting Vehicle – though not technically a tank – is an armored vehicle that is propelled on tracks, equipped with a free turning turret and has mounted firepower.
A US Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) fires an AGM-114 Hellfire during a heavy-weaponry military exercise with troops from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Special Operations in the countryside of Deir Ezzor in northeastern Syria, on March 25, 2022. (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
It is also capable of transporting more infantrymen, arms and communications than tanks and can quickly and effectively maneuver on the battlefield.
Though the cannon on the Bradley is significantly smaller than on the U.S.’s M1 Abrams tank which has a 120 mm cannon as opposed to a 25 mm cannon – roughly a difference in firing range of 82,000 feet versus 22,000 feet.
Though the U.S. has employed Bradley Fighting Vehicles in war zones in the Middle East, it is unclear if Zelenskyy would classify the vehicle as sufficient given its lighter armor and smaller cannon.
SEYMOUR, AUSTRALIA – MAY 09: A M1A1 Abrams main battle tank fires during Exercise Chong Ju at the Puckapunyal Military Area on May 09, 2019 in Seymour, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
In an overnight address, the Ukrainian president once again renewed his calls for Western tanks to help his troops in areas like Donetsk where brutal ground warfare continues.
Fighting continues in other areas as well including Luhansk, where according to its regional governor, Ukrainian troops are making slow, incremental “step-by-step” gains, though he warned these advances were “not happening fast,” first reported by Reuters.
The most intense fighting is still happening around the city of Bakhmut which sits on a Russian supply chain route.
Though Russia would gain relatively little in capturing the devastated city that has been pummeled for months, it could help Russia gain a stronger foothold in the area and allow it to secure neighboring cities.
Battlefields in the Donetsk region resemble something out of a World War One depiction with trench warfare and blackened landscapes decimated by constant shelling.
The fighting in Bakhmut has been described as a “meat grinder” and on Thursday Ukrainian defense officials claimed that some 800 Russian soldiers were killed in a 24-hour period, largely in the highly contested region.
Fox News Digital could not independently verify Ukraine’s Wednesday death toll figures.
US Bradley Fighting Vehicles (BFV) patrol in the Suwaydiyah oil fields in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province on February 13, 2021. (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
“There is no rational reason why Ukraine has not yet been supplied with Western-type tanks,” Zelenskyy said in his overnight address. “We must put an end to the Russian aggression this year exactly and not postpone any of the defensive capabilities that can speed up the defeat of the terrorist state.
“Modern Western armored vehicles, Western-type tanks are just one of these key capabilities,” he added.
France became the first Western nation to commit to sending Ukraine tanks, though it is unclear when Kyiv can expect to receive the French-made AMX-10 RC light tanks.
The U.S. has already provided Ukraine with 2,000 combat vehicles which include 477 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles and more than 1,200 Humvees.
