and salma abdelaziz is live in london on the new u.s. moves against a mercenary group aiding russia's war. but first oren liebermann has a look at the types of defensive weapons that will be going to ukraine. >> reporter: in the halls of ramstein air force base, the u.s. and more than 50 allies stood united on every issue but one. lloyd austin heaping praise on countries for sending more advanced weapons to ukraine as the war nears its one year mark. u.s. with its own $2.5 billion package that includes bradley infantry fighting vehicles, much more. but what is missing is at the top of ukraine's wish list. >> translator: we have to fight for the supply of modern tanks, but every day we make it more obvious there is no alternative. >> reporter: germany refuses to sign off on end is being its leopard tanks to ukraine. berlin won't budge. >> translator: there are good reasons for the delivery and there are good reasons against it. we cannot all say today when a decision will be made nor what that decision on the leopard tanks will be. >> rep

. >> salma abdelaziz joins us with more on these developments.know zelenskyy is always pushing for as much procurement as he can get to bolster ukraine's defenses. we're expecting this offensive in the spring. what are his procurement priorities now that he has the commitment on tanks. >> now that he has the commitment on tanks, i think president zelenskyy senses the door has opened a little bit, that there is greater political will, that nato is more confident in standing up against the kremlin and less afraid of the consequences potentially as they were earlier in this war when you heard threats of spars of using nuclear weapons coming from russia. everything is on the wish list. actually, everything. from fighter jets to longer range missiles, to ammunition, everything. why is that? he has an army that a lot of times is dependent on soviet era equipment. it's simply not up to the standards of nato and he's facing a much larger fighting force in russia. while he can't have a quantitative advantage, what he can have is a qualitative advantage. t

. >> cnn's salma abdelaziz is tracking developments here in london. this is a big moment, isn't it?ome people say it could be a game changer. we'll have to see how these tanks are used in the battlefield. >> it is absolutely a small milestone. throughout the conflict the western united states and europeans are trying to find a balance between how to support ukraine, give it the weapons and support it needs to defend itself, win back the territories but not give so much that it could widen, deepen the conflict. clearly the calculations are being made in the last few days in berlin and in d.c. we're starting to move towards those official announcements. the united states, according to u.s. officials familiar with the matter, are prepared to announce 30 abrams tanks will be going to ukraine. it's important to remember. this is a long time line. it takes months to train. it's unclear when we'll see them on the battlefield. germany easing its stance in the wake of this news and is preparing, we understand according to the local paper, to make this announcement. in a few hours there's goi

. >> let's go to london and bring in salma abdelaziz. how did this deal come together? how many total tanks will the ukrainians receive from the west? >> this deal came together in the way a lot of things have come together in this conflict, in lock step with the united states and its allies. germany did not want to send tanks on its own. it's absolutely gotten the wish. the united states is sending over 30 abrams tanks and across europe some le 0 leopard tanks making their way to ukraine. it's important to read the message here behind this announcement. this is absolutely a huge strategic shift. this is a west that was extremely reluctant to provide tanks at the beginning of the conflict. now the united states is making it clear, it sees russia as less of a threat. it absolutely believes moscow is weakened by the conflict. president putin has lost tens of thousands of troops on the ground. according to u.s. officials, he's running out of weaponry. on the other hand, ukraine seems to have a bottomless pit of support. we have the abrams tanks -- rather, the leopard tanks