U.S. announces Abrams tanks for Poland as Russia threat mounts

U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin attends a news conference following a NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, February 17, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna Geron

WARSAW (Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Friday the planned sale of 250 Abrams tanks to Poland, as Washington moves to strengthen the defences of a key eastern European ally amid a mounting threat of war between neighboring Ukraine and Russia.

Austin was speaking during a trip to Warsaw, where Polish leaders have been alarmed by the deployment of thousands of Russian forces in neighbouring Belarus, part of a huge Russian buildup around Ukraine that NATO says positions Moscow for an invasion. President Vladimir Putin denies any plan to invade.