US to hand over Abrams tanks to Ukraine in early fall

The U.S. Secretary of Defense expressed expectations that U.S. Abrams tanks would be transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces early this fall.

He said this on Thursday during a hearing in the U.S. Senate on the defense budget for the next fiscal year, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We are doing everything possible to accelerate the delivery of these tanks, the beginning of autumn is the forecast," the head of the US Defense Department said in response to a question from Senator Susan Collins.

At the same time, he said that several tanks are already available to the Ukrainian military so that they can start training on these combat systems. And when the training is completed, all tanks will be available for combat use.

In addition, he said, the United States is deploying infrastructure to support and maintain the combat vehicles. In this regard, he pointed to the peculiarities of American tanks, which have turbine engine and are equipped with modern sophisticated systems.

"But we are trying to act as quickly as possible to transfer these capabilities to the Ukrainians," the head of the US Department of Defense said.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 12/05/2023