Military
First Abrams tanks from the USA arrived in Ukraine
An Abrams tank from the US Army: Soldiers will also fight with these tanks in Ukraine in the future. photo
© Matthias Merz/dpa
Ukraine is receiving further arms aid for its offensive to retake the occupied territories. New tanks have now arrived from the USA.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the first US tanks of the Abrams type are in the Ukraine arrived. “The Abrams are already in Ukraine and are preparing to reinforce our brigades,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram. In total, the United States announced the transfer of 31 main battle tanks to Ukraine.
Zelensky did not provide any information about the number of US tanks already in the country. He thanked the allies for the weapons assistance. The USA is considered Kiev’s most important military supporter.
$43.9 billion for Ukraine
Since the start of the war, US military aid to Ukraine has amounted to $43.9 billion, according to government figures. Most recently, weapons and equipment worth 128 million dollars (around 120 million euros) were newly approved from US military stocks. ATACMS missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers, which Kiev had long requested, were not included.
Ukraine’s Western allies had long struggled to supply battle tanks. The US announcement finally came at the end of January in parallel with Germany’s promise of Leopard tanks.
Initially, the US government argued that it did not consider the provision of this main battle tank to make sense for various practical reasons. In the end, however, Washington surprisingly reversed course. Ukrainian soldiers were trained on the Abrams at the US military training area in Grafenwöhr, Bavaria.
Ukrainian offensive since June
Ukraine has been fending off a Russian war of aggression for 19 months. It is heavily dependent on Western financial and military aid. Last year, the Ukrainian military succeeded in stopping the Russian army in front of Kiev and later also in forcing the Russians to retreat in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv and the Black Sea region of Kherson.
Since June, another Ukrainian offensive has been underway with the aim of liberating more areas, especially in the south, and driving a wedge between the Russian occupation troops stationed there. So far, this offensive has been slow.
Western military observers attribute this to massive mining of the area by Russian troops. It is said that the Ukrainians have now broken through this first defensive wall at least in one place.
The tanks are intended to be used to advance as quickly as possible after overcoming the minefields in order to conquer further terrain.