After months of intense lobbying for the military equipment, news of the tanks' supply comes as a major relief for Kyiv - particularly as Russia reports advances in Bakhmut, an eastern Ukrainian town the invading forces have been trying to capture for months.

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky thanked his German counterpart Olaf Scholz for the "important and timely" decision to allow the long-sought delivery of its powerful Leopard 2s.

Hours later, president Joe Biden delivered an address from the White House to announce the United States will also be providing 31 M1 Abrams tanks - the equivalent of one Ukrainian tank battalion - for Kyiv's fight.

Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg "strongly" welcomed the decision by Germany - which reportedly sought a US commitment of tanks before giving its own green light - saying it would help Kyiv defeat Russia's invading forces. 

Unlike the German tanks, the M1 Abrams will be procured with Ukraine assistance funding rather than directly drawn from existing US stocks, meaning they will not arrive on the battlefield for months.

"Tanks are complex systems that require a significant amount of training and maintenance," a US official said, and the US "will begin now to work to establish a comprehensive training program."

'Blatant provocation'

The twin announcements come despite dire warnings from Moscow, with Russia's ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, warning US approval for Abrams deliveries would be "another blatant provocation against the Russian Federation."

While scores of nations have pledged military hardware for Ukraine in recent weeks, Kyiv has been clamoring for the more sophisticated Western tanks, seen as key to punching through enemy lines.

© Agence France-Presse