ANKARA

Poland has agreed to send 60 more tanks to Ukraine in addition to the 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks it already announced it will send, the Polish premier announced on Thursday.

Stating that Poland is the first state that provided 250 main battle tanks to Ukraine around half a year ago, Mateusz Morawiecki said they are glad that Warsaw was able to convince its allies to more actively support Kyiv during his interview with Canadian CTV broadcaster.

He noted that 30 of the 60 tanks Poland will transfer would be PT-91 tanks, a heavily updated version of the Russian-made T-72 tank with local and Western components.

“And if we don't want Ukraine to be defeated, we have to be very much open and brave in supporting Ukraine,” he said, arguing that Ukraine’s defeat would mean the defeat of the whole free world.

The US announced on Wednesday that it will send Abrams tanks to Ukraine, while Germany, Canada, Spain, and Norway said they will also supply it with heavy Leopard 2 tanks.

Ukraine has been pressing for the tanks for some time, along with other weapons, arguing that they are needed to fight off an expected Russian offensive this spring.