American Abrams tanks are likely to be in Ukraine in September.
Six people familiar with the matter told Politico. Among them were a Pentagon official, an industry representative and an aide in the US Congress.
In August, several Abrams tanks are planned to be sent to Germany for final repairs there. After that, the first batch of Abrams will be transferred to Ukraine. These will be older M1A1 models instead of the more modern A2 version, which would take a year to deliver to Ukraine.
The first batch will include six to eight tanks, according to two Politico interviewees. In total, the US plans to send 31 tanks.
"We are definitely working to get them to Ukraine as soon as possible," Pentagon spokesman Col. Martin OʼDonnell said, declining to discuss timing details.
According to the representative of the Pentagon, in August, the Ukrainian military should complete a 10-week training course on Abrams at the Grafenwehr army base in Germany.
Another US Defense Department official stated the United States is working with European allies to establish repair bases for Abrams and other heavy armored vehicles transferred to Ukraine.
- Earlier, Pentagon representatives informed that 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks would be delivered to Ukraine by the fall. The delay in the delivery of Abrams to Ukraine is related to the removal of technologies that can get to the Russians. This was reported by USA Today with reference to experts on May 8.
- At the end of May, the first group of 400 Ukrainian soldiers began training on American Abrams M1 tanks in Germany.