
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Friday the planned sale of 250 Abrams tanks to Poland, as Washington moves to strengthen the defenses of a key eastern European ally amid a mounting threat of war between neighboring Ukraine and Russia.
Austin made the announcement during a trip to Warsaw, where Polish leaders have been alarmed by the deployment of thousands of Russian forces in neighboring Belarus, part of a massive Russian buildup around Ukraine that NATO says positions Moscow for an invasion. Russia denies plans to invade.