According to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday, September 19, Ukraine is set to receive M1 Abrams tanks from the United States as Ukrainian forces continue to make progress in their counter-operations against Moscow’s military.
Ukraine will soon receive M1 Abrams tanks from the United States as Kyiv’s forces steadily advance in their counter-offensive against Moscow’s troops, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday.
Washington had promised the 31 tanks to Kyiv at the start of the year, part of more than $43 billion in security assistance pledged by the United States since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
A senior US military official said the first tanks will be sent in the coming days and the process completed within weeks.
The tanks will be paired with 120mm armor-piercing depleted uranium rounds.
Such munitions are controversial due to their association with health problems, such as cancer and birth defects, in areas where they were used in past conflicts, although they have not been definitively proven to have caused them.
The decision to provide Abrams tanks to Ukraine represented a U-turn as American defense officials had repeatedly said they were ill-suited for Kyiv’s forces due to their complexity.
Ukraine’s limited progress against entrenched Russian positions has spurred debate among Kyiv’s Western allies over its military strategy.
US officials have spearheaded the push for international support for Ukraine, quickly forging a coalition to back Kyiv after Russia invaded and coordinating aid from dozens of countries through near-monthly Contact Group meetings.
Ahead of the latest meeting, Germany announced it will give another 400 million euros ($428 million) of weapons and aid to Ukraine.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
