The US has delivered all the promised 31 US-made M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, VOA reported.
According to the US military, all of the Ukrainians who trained on the tanks with US forces in Germany have also returned to Ukraine, along with ammunition and spare tank parts.
“We have lived up to our end of the bargain. From this point forward, it is up to them [Ukraine] to determine when and where they will deliver this capability,” Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for US Army Europe and Africa, told VOA.
The first of the 31 American-made Abrams tanks were delivered to Ukraine late in September 2023, according to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“The delivery came faster than initial estimates and in time for potential use in the final weeks of Kyiv’s counteroffensive against Russian forces before winter sets in,” VOA reported.
Ukraine has asked for hundreds of Western tanks for its offensive and has received dozens to date. Ukraine has intensified a campaign of missile and drone strikes to hit targets deep behind Russian lines, which has placed parts of the occupied Crimean Peninsula under repeated attack.
The Abrams tanks’ arrival in Ukraine comes as the United States provided up to $200 million in additional military aid for Ukraine in a package announced on 11 October. That package included additional air defence capabilities, anti-tank and anti-drone weapons, electronic warfare equipment, ammunition for HIMARS and artillery, and other equipment to help Ukraine counter Russia’s ongoing war of aggression.
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