US promises to start training Ukrainian military on Abrams tanks "relatively soon"
Ukrainian soldiers have not yet started training with American M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks, but it will happen "relatively soon".
Source: European Pravda, with reference to CNN; an American high-ranking defence official who spoke with reporters on condition of anonymity
"Training with Abrams [tanks] has not yet begun... We are still working on purchasing equipment, so we have not yet started training, but I would expect that this will happen relatively soon," the official said during a briefing.
He noted that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the United States has already trained more than 7,000 Ukrainian military personnel.
The Biden administration announced its intention to send tanks to Ukraine in January. It took this step after months of insisting that they were too complex and difficult to maintain and repair.
Initially, the United States planned to send Ukraine 31 newer M1A2 Abrams tanks, which could take a year or two to produce and deliver.
But in the end of March, Washington decided that Ukraine will receive an older version of Abrams; this is going to speed up their delivery to the Ukrainian military.
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