US to pay to refurbish Soviet-era T-72 tanks for Ukraine: 'Most technically advanced tanks on the battlefield'

• The US and the Netherlands will pay for the Czech Republic to refurbish 90 T-72 tanks for Ukraine.
• A Pentagon spokesperson said they will be "the most technically advanced tanks on the battlefield."

The US and the Netherlands are paying for the Czech Republic to technically upgrade 90 T-72 tanks for Ukraine, the deputy press secretary for the Pentagon said Friday.

The Pentagon is paying for the refurbishment of 45 Soviet-era T-72 tanks, and the Netherlands is matching the commitment for the cost of a further 45.

Sabrina Singh, the deputy press secretary for the Pentagon, said in a press briefing on Friday that the first tanks will begin arriving in Ukraine by the end of the year.

She said the refurbishment would add new optics, communications, and armor, and the tanks will become "the most technically advanced tanks on the battlefield."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Twitter on Friday that Ukraine was "sincerely grateful" for the tanks, which he said were "significant and much-needed support."

While other NATO countries have previously sent older T-72s to Ukraine, this is the first time the US is paying for the Czech Republic to upgrade the tanks, Singh said.

Ukraine has been lobbying for newer tanks, such as the American-made Abrams or the German Leopard, but neither country has pledged to send any.

Singh said that supplying tanks like the Abrams would be costly and require training for the Ukrainians, unlike the T-72s, with which they are already familiar.

The Czech Republic's defense industry will carry out the work to upgrade the tanks, she said.

The US is funding this as part of its latest $400 million military-aid package for Ukraine, which includes improved American Hawk air-defense missiles for Ukraine. It has a longer range than the Stinger missile systems that the US has already supplied to Ukraine.

The air-defense systems will help Ukraine defend against attacks from Russian drones and missiles that have terrorized its cities and targeted its energy infrastructure, Singh said.