Ukrainian soldiers will likely finish training on Abrams tanks by the end of summer, a senior U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command official said on June 14, as cited by the Pentagon press service.
The end of the training program will roughly coincide with the scheduled fall delivery of the 31 M1A1 Abrams, pledged by the U.S. earlier.
About 400 Ukrainian service personnel began training on American M1 Abrams tanks in Germany last month.
"The Ukrainians first receive platform training, which includes operating and maintaining the systems they'll be using. Training then progresses to maneuver warfare, including force-on-force, which is as close to real combat as one can get," the U.S. Army official said.
U.S. President Joe Biden announced the decision to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine in late January after U.S. lawmakers' call to give Kyiv the tanks to push Germany to authorize the delivery of German-made Leopard tanks.
Two months later, Pentagon said it would provide Ukraine with 31 M1-A1 Abrams tanks instead of the newer M1-A2 version it had previously promised to speed up delivery.
Compared with Soviet tanks, which Ukraine and Russia currently use on the battlefield, the mobility and firepower of Western equipment could help Ukraine launch more counteroffensive operations.
Illia Ponomarenko
