Image source, WHITE HOUSE

President Joe Biden starts his address from the White House paying tribute to Ukraine for dealing with Russia's "truly brutal aggression" over the last 11 months.

"Through every single step of this horrific war the American people have been strong in their support," he says.

He confirms he held a five-way phone call with leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Italy this morning.

"We are thoroughly united."

President Biden is expected to announce that the US will send Ukraine the equivalent of one Ukrainian tank battalion - or 31 M1 Abrams tanks, according to senior administration officials.

The US is also establishing a comprehensive training program for the vehicles, which are complicated to operate and maintain, Biden officials told reporters earlier on Wednesday.

They said the tanks could take months to arrive because they are being provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which uses equipment from commercial vendors instead of the US stockpile.

The White House has confirmed that US President Joe Biden spoke with the leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Italy this morning as part of their "close coordination on support for Ukraine".

We are expecting remarks from President Biden at the top of the hour.

Image source, .

Let's bring you some more snap comparisons on the tanks being sent to Ukraine and a hint as to why President Volodmyr Zelensky is so keen to have them in his war effort.

The German-made Leopard 2 is used by a number of European countries and simply put is easier to maintain and requires less fuel than some western alternatives.

It has been in service since 1979 and can reach speeds of up to 43mph.

Image source, .

The US-manufactured M1 Abrams is younger than the German Leopard 2 model - but it has a higher fuel consumption.

It came into service in 1990 and can reach roughly the same speed as the Leopard 2.

Ukraine's defence minister has said "more good news to be announced soon" following a call with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin today.

Oleksiy Reznikov said they discussed "further strengthening of (Ukraine's army), including tank supplies and maintenance of the new armament".

"We have full trust and strong support of (the US)," he tweeted, external, without providing additional details on any further support from the US.

It follows Germany's announcement that it would be sending 14 of its Leopard 2 tanks to help Ukraine on the battlefield.

Danny Aeberhard
Europe regional editor, BBC World Service

The move by Germany to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine follows months of intensive lobbying by Kyiv, which wants 300 advanced battle tanks.

Commitments in the days ahead will indicate just how many it's likely to get.

Countries that have shown willingness to provide German-made tanks include Poland, Finland, Spain and the Netherlands.

Britain, which has already committed 14 of its own tanks, welcomed the decision.

So too did the head of Nato, Jens Stoltenberg, who said the tanks would help Ukraine prevail as an independent nation.

But Russia responded angrily. Its embassy in Berlin warned of escalation, saying the move had caused "irreparable damage" to already deplorable bilateral relations.

Russia's ambassador to the US has spoken out against reports of a US decision to send M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, saying such a move would amount to a “blatant provocation against the Russian Federation”.

“If the United States decides to supply tanks, then justifying such a step with arguments about ‘defensive weapons’ will definitely not work," Anatoly Antonov wrote on the messaging app Telegram. "It is obvious that Washington is purposefully trying to inflict a strategic defeat on us."

He added that any US tanks would be “destroyed as all other samples of Nato military equipment".

A reminder that President Biden is due to speak at the White House in just over an hour.

Colonel André Wüstner who is from the Bundeswehr Association which represents soldiers earlier spoke about the decison to send the tanks to Ukraine , external

He's concerned that if needed, Germany may not be ready to defend itself and says that over the last 11 months, the country has given away a lot of military equipment.

When addressing parliament earlier, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said sending the tanks was the right thing to do.

Image source, Reuters

Germany plans to send additional military support to Ukraine - on top of the 14 Leopard 2 tanks announced earlier today, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.

"Alongside the tanks that are being discussed now, we continue to intend to expand what we have delivered," he said in a press conference with the prime minister of Iceland.

Scholz added that these deliveries could include air defence systems, heavy artillery and rocket launchers.

Earlier, when speaking to parliament, the chancellor stressed Germany would not be sending ground troops into Ukraine.

Damien McGuinness
BBC News, Berlin

For more than an hour MPs grilled Chancellor Olaf Scholz here in the German parliament — at times accompanied by boos and heckling in what is usually a relatively sedate chamber.

To understand why militarism is so controversial you just need to look at the walls inside the Reichstag building where Mr Scholz was speaking: the graffiti of Soviet soldiers from 1945, when the Red Army tore through a ruined Berlin, has been kept as a memorial.

During the debate left-wingers said a never-ending increase in weapons to Ukraine would escalate the war. Conservatives accused the chancellor of ruining Germany’s international reputation by hesitating.

But most surprisingly of all was the clapping and nods of support from his centre-left Social Democrat party and his coalition partners the Greens.

These two parties have pacifist roots and traditionally believe that peace can only be achieved with Russia, not against it — that is, until Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine last February.

A sign of just how much Germany has changed in the past year.

Image source, Getty Images

Dozens of countries have supplied military equipment to Ukraine since Russian's invasion began last year.

But Kyiv has ramped up requests for more advanced weapons as it prepares for a new Russian offensive - pleas that are now being met by several western allies.

Germany plans to send an initial shipment of 14 Leopard 2 A6 Tanks, a main battle 55-ton tank with a range of about 311 miles (500 km). The vehicle's speed and ease of use are seen as advantageous for Ukraine.

The country has also given permission for other European countries to supply their German-made Leopard 2 tanks.

The US, meanwhile, reportedly plans to send around 30 M1 Abrams tanks - a high-tech main battle tank that requires extensive training to operate. The heavy vehicle is one of the most modern battle tanks in the world.

It could take months - and potentially years - for the US to ship the vehicles, Biden administration officials told reporters this week. The US said it is evaluating Ukraine's longer-term defence requirements.

The UK has also agreed to send 14 Challenger 2 tanks, the British army's main battle tank, which is more advanced than other military vehicles currently available to Ukraine.

Jessica Parker
Reporting from Berlin

We've been bringing you the latest on Germany's decision to send 14 Leopard tanks to Ukraine. But what do Germans think of it?

Katy, a legal trainee in Berlin, says she is in favour of the decision.

"I think it's a great decision to show support for the strong and always fighting people of Ukraine."

Another, Christian Kleinert, says the decision is "right," but that he also believes the German government was correct in taking its time to consider whether to send the tanks.

"It was the right way to think about it very carefully because it's a very dangerous decision on the one hand. On the other hand, I think it's high time to support Ukraine," he says.

He adds that he feels that in sending tanks, there is a "certain danger" that there could be an escalation in the war, with a risk that it could spill over into other European countries.

He says the "worst case scenario" would be if Nato got involved. "That is of course something we don't want."

Image source, EPA

It feels like a huge development in the war as it approaches nearly a year since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Plenty has happened today and we are expecting more as well too; so let's have a quick recap of where we are at and what is still to come:

• After weeks of intense pressure Germany has confirmed it will send 14 of its Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine
• Other European countries which have the German-made tanks will also be allowed to send their vehicles to Ukraine after Germany granted permission to do so
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country is one of Kyiv's leading supporters
• President Zelensky thanked the German Chancellor during a phone call between the two leaders
• Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki described the decision as a "big step towards stopping Russia".
• But, the Kremlin has branded the move "extremely dangerous"
• US President Joe Biden will make an address on Ukraine at the White House at noon local time - that will be 17:00 here in the UK. He is widely expected to announce plans to send at least 30 of America's advanced combat vehicles to Ukraine

Image source, Gett

In the last few minutes we've heard that President Joe Biden will address Americans from the White House at 17:00 GMT (12:00 EST), where he is expected to announce the US will deliver M1 Abram tanks to Ukraine.

His administration has previously been reluctant to send the vehicles - but US officials told reporters on Tuesday they are expected to send 30 tanks, although they cautioned they were still working through the details.

The tanks are unlikely to arrive for many months and are not for near-term fighting, the officials said.

A Pentagon spokesman declined to confirm that the US would send tanks at a press conference yesterday, but said the US is "continuing to have discussions about what are the medium- and long-term defence requirements".

The US has avoided sending its own M1 Abrams vehicles - the country's most advanced tanks - because of concerns about how Ukraine would maintain the high-tech vehicles, which require significant training to operate.

The decision comes after a Nato defence meeting last week during which Germany reportedly expressed reluctance to provide its Leopard 2 tanks unless the US agreed to send the M1 tanks.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is "sincerely grateful" for the tanks Germany has decided to send to his country.

Writing in a tweet, external, he says: "German main battle tanks, further broadening of defence support & training missions, green light for partners to supply similar weapons.

"Just heard about these important & timely decisions in a call with Olaf Scholz.

"Sincerely grateful to the Chancellor and all our friends" in Germany.

Image source, EPA

We have been hearing from the Russian foreign ministry too in the last few moments.

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has condemned what she calls a "pre-planned war" against Moscow.

Adam Easton
Warsaw Correspondent

The reaction from Poland was one of gratitude and a certain amount of self-congratulation. “We are glad that our arguments and our common allies convinced the German government to change its mind,” government spokesman Piotr Muller told the state news agency PAP.

For weeks now, the Polish government has been pressurizing Germany, both behind the scenes and increasingly publicly, to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. If Berlin wouldn’t do that, at least authorise other Nato allies to send them, whilst simultaneously hinting that should the German government fail to give its consent, Poland would go ahead anyway.

Warsaw has offered to send fourteen of its own Leopards, but senior Polish officials acknowledge that so few machines would make little practical difference to Ukraine’s fighting capabilities. That’s why they’ve been encouraging both Germany and other Nato countries to send as many tanks as possible.

For the Polish government, it’s not just Ukraine’s fate that is at risk here, but Europe’s. “It’s good news for Europe’s security. The European Union and Nato should take bold steps to defend the continent against a Russian invasion,” Mr Muller said.

Image source, Reuters

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been telling the Bundestag about his country's decision to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, as well as allowing other countries to send their Leopard 2 tanks.

Here is what was said:

• Scholz noted his country had faced particular economic challenges due to the war in Ukraine
• He confirmed the tanks would be sent, and that there is "no mathematical basis for these decisions"
• Asked why sending tanks was no longer a provocation, he said it would have been "a severe mistake" for Germany to proceed alone (Joe Biden is expected to announce US tanks will be sent to Ukraine later today)
• Scholz told the chamber relations with the US were better than they had been "for a long, long time".
• One MP accused Scholz of overthrowing the principles of post-war German politics, saying the decision was "imperialism". Scholz rejected this, saying that was why the country was supporting Ukraine.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has just reacted to the German decision, saying the tanks will help Ukraine win the war.

Andrew Harding
Reporting from Zaporizhzhia

At a bus stop in the centre of the city of Zaporizhzhia in south-eastern Ukraine this morning, most commuters were enthusiastic about the news foreign tanks might soon be on their way to the Ukrainian front lines.

“This will make a huge difference for us on the battlefield”, said student Ivan Babkin.

One older woman, a pensioner who gave her name as Victoria, and was wrapped up against the cold winter weather, expressed concern about an escalation.

“First they send tanks, then bigger missiles, and where does it end - with nuclear weapons? We need peace, we need to find a diplomatic solution.”

Overhearing her, 65-year-old Olena Orlova reacted angrily, arguing with Victoria.

“You talk of a diplomatic solution but we know Putin is not serious. We need all the weapons we can get to recapture all our territory.”

Zaporizhzhia lies around 25km north of the southern frontline.

The boom of artillery was audible from the frontlines south of the city, amid reports of renewed offensives by both sides in recent days.