A high-ranking official of the US Ministry of Defense said that providing Western-style tanks to Ukraine is "absolutely on the table."

 He announced this at a press briefing on September 19.

 The representative of the ministry noted that now Ukrainian forces mostly rely on Soviet-style tanks, and the US has made a lot of efforts to encourage countries, mainly in Europe, to provide tanks of this type to Ukraine.

 "But as I said, when we look at Ukraine's long-term needs, we understand that there will come a day when they may want to transition and they may have to move to NATO-compatible models. We are always very careful to any new equipment that we deliver to Ukraine or that our allies, our partners provide, to provide training, maintenance and support. So we want to make sure that when we provide capabilities, all of that is taken into account," the representative said US Ministry of Defense.

 To a clarifying question, whether the transfer of tanks requested by Ukraine is being considered, the Pentagon representative noted that "tanks are absolutely on the table, along with other areas."

 "We look at all Ukrainian armed forces and think about the future, what capabilities they will need, and how the United States and our allies can support Ukraine in building these capabilities," he said.

 Without further clarification on whether the transfer of equipment is in the distant future and not for fighting right now, a Pentagon spokesman said the US "remains open".

 "From a direct combat point of view, the available tanks that can be provided very quickly with virtually no training are Soviet tanks. But we are of course open to other options provided training, maintenance and support is provided," he said. .