Pentagon confirms it will send older version of Abrams to Ukraine as it will be faster

On Tuesday, Patrick Ryder, US Department of Defence spokesman, confirmed that Ukraine will receive an older modification of American Abrams tanks – this will speed up their shipment and acquisition by the Ukrainian military personnel.

Source: European Pravda, Ryder's statement at a briefing for journalists, quoted by CNN.

"After further study and analysis on how best to do this, DoD in close coordination with Ukraine has made the decision to provide the M1A1 variant of the Abrams tank, which will enable us to submit significantly expedite delivery timelines and deliver this important capability to Ukraine by the fall of this year," he said.

According to the Pentagon's representative, the United States will also provide Ukraine with "modern armoured vehicles and weapons systems" that are "very similar in capabilities" to the M1A2 Abrams tank, particularly 50 mm heavy machine guns and 120 mm guns.

As American officials explained their comments the day before, it will be easier for Ukrainian troops to learn to use and maintain an older tank model.

Initially, the United States planned to send Ukraine 31 newer M1A2 Abrams tanks, which could take a year or two to produce and deliver.

The Biden administration announced its intention to send tanks to Ukraine in January. They took this step after months of insisting that the tanks were too complex and challenging to maintain and repair. 

The decision was part of a broader political manoeuvre that prompted Germany to announce the shipment of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and let Poland and other allies do the same.

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