M1 Abrams tanks to enter Ukraine ‘soon’: U.S. defence chief
The Hindu
US Defence Sec. Austin announces M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine soon; dozens of countries meet in Germany to discuss new aid; US has pledged $43B in security assistance since Russia's invasion; Kyiv's forces making steady progress in counter-offensive; US sanctions on Russia target financial institutions, tech imports, energy exports.
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, U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on September 19.
Representatives of dozens of countries that support Kyiv are meeting in Germany to discuss new aid for Ukraine ahead of an address to the U.N. General Assembly by the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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.
"I'm... pleased to announce that the M1 Abrams tanks that the United States had previously committed to will be entering Ukraine soon," Mr. Austin said at the opening of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group.
A senior U.S. 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 armour-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.
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