In what would be a reversal, the Biden administration is poised to approve sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Tuesday, as international reluctance toward sending tanks to the battlefront against the Russians begins to erode. The decision could be announced as soon as Wednesday, though it could take months or years for the tanks to be delivered. …

The U.S. announcement is expected to come on Wednesday in coordination with an announcement by Germany that it will approve Poland’s request to transfer German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, according to one official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not yet been made public.

[There are real security risks in sending our topline tanks against the Russians, the least of which is that we can expect at least a few of them to fall into Russian hands. That will give them an up-close look at the M1A1’s capabilities, although they probably have most of that intel by now. The far bigger risk is escalation, of course, although Putin’s not been inclined to follow through on earlier “red lines” of Western assistance. — Ed]