Whitehouse, delegation speak about recent meeting with Ukraine's Zelenskyy

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators, including one from Rhode Island, is calling on President Joe Biden to send tanks to Ukraine.

Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) recently returned from an overseas visit to Ukraine to meet with country leadership, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In a press conference Tuesday, the senators emphasized the need for the U.S. to send tanks.

"We're at an inflection point, a tipping point," said Graham. "We're convinced -- the three of us -- that Ukrainians needs heavy tanks and that the best tank for the fight is the German Leopard tank. American tanks can be helpful in this regard: if we send some [M1] Abrams tanks, it will open the flood gates to more tanks coming from allies and more German leopard tanks flowing into Ukraine."

Russia invaded the country nearly a year ago and war has raged on since. Ukraine has asked for tanks, but Western allies have been at odds over when to supply them and how to train Ukrainian soldiers to use them.

In what would be a reversal, the Biden administration is poised to approve sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Tuesday, as international reluctance to send tanks to the battlefront against the Russians begins to erode. The decision could be announced as soon as Wednesday, though it could take months or years for the tanks to be delivered.

Blumenthal touted the tanks' current location in Europe being of utmost importance.

"[The Leopard tanks] are there...thousands of them within east transport, training, fueling. They are essential," he said. "There is an urgency to now. Time is not on our side. The Russians are coming and their onslaught will begin in weeks."

Whitehouse is helping lead the charge on holding Russian aggressors accountable.

"People who participate in atrocities and engage in systematic, brutal massacres of civilians will pay an individual price," he told NBC 10 News. "You can't just go home to Russia and get off Scott-free!"

Poland has asked Germany for permission to transfer German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

The Associated Press and NBC 10's Cal Dymowski contributed to this report.