The head of the procurement department of the US Army, Doug Bush, said that the United States has officially approved the delivery of the first batch of Abrams tanks to Ukraine. They will arrive in early autumn.
CNN writes about it.
"They are done. Now they have to get to Europe, and then to Ukraine, along with all of the things that go with them. Ammunition, spare parts, fuel equipment, repair facilities. So you know, itʼs not just the tanks, itʼs the full package that goes with it. Thatʼs still on track," Bush said.
- At the end of May, the first group of 400 Ukrainian soldiers began training on US Abrams M1 tanks in Germany.
- Earlier, Pentagon representatives said that 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks would be delivered to Ukraine by the fall. Abrams deliveries to Ukraine are being delayed because certain technologies are being removed from the machines so that they do not get to the Russians in any case. This was reported by USA Today with reference to experts on May 8.
- Politico wrote that American Abrams tanks are likely to be in Ukraine in September. 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 — it would take a year to deliver it to Ukraine.