Moscow [Russia], June 30: Stars and Stripes newspaper on June 28 quoted US Army spokesman Terry Welch as saying that 14 M1 Abrams battle tanks and an M88 armored recovery vehicle of this force arrived at the APS-2 storage facility in the village of Powidz, Poland on June 27.
The site, about 402 kilometers west of the Ukrainian border, will soon house up to 85 battle tanks and 190 armored warfare vehicles.
The US Army stressed that the APS-2 storage facility is NATO 's most important infrastructure in more than three decades and will be fully operational next year.
Stars and Stripes did not specify whether M1 Abrams tanks were delivered to Ukraine. An estimated 31 Abrams tanks have been deployed to Ukraine, according to Newsweek .
The APS depot in Poland aims to strengthen NATO's defense capabilities in Eastern Europe amid rising tensions between the alliance and Russia due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Ray Wojcik, a retired US Army colonel and senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said the APS warehouse would eventually have enough equipment for an armored brigade in the US Army.
"This means that in a very short period of time, the entire component of the US armored brigade can be deployed to Poland by air and be ready for combat in a few days or less. instead of having to wait at least 30 days for that equipment to arrive by ship," Mr. Wojcik commented.
Mr. Wojcik also said that the APS-2 warehouse is the only location of the US Army in eastern Berlin (Germany), so sending M1 Abrams tanks there will send "a message to Russia", according to Newsweek .
There is currently no information about Russia's reaction to the US Army's new move.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper