Blinken made the comments after meeting British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, whose country announced at the weekend it would be supplying heavy battle tanks to Kyiv. In view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, these tank deliveries are a "moral imperative," Cleverly said, increasing the pressure on other countries to follow his country's decision.

Blinken "applauded" London's decision, but did not want to commit itself to possible US tank deliveries. "I expect you will hear more announcements in the coming days," the US Secretary of State told journalists at the joint press conference with Cleverly. At the same time, he referred to the upcoming consultations between the USA and its allies in the course of the week.

Ukraine has long been demanding deliveries of heavy tanks from its supporters. Several EU countries appealed to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Tuesday to quickly approve the delivery of Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine.

Recently, Poland and other EU and NATO countries had agreed to deliver German-made Leopard tanks to Kyiv. The federal government would have to give the green light for this.