The U.S. military will begin training Ukrainian forces on how to operate Abrams tanks next month, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Friday.
U.S. M1A1 Abrams tanks will arrive "in the next few weeks" in Grafenwoehr, Germany, where roughly 250 Ukrainians will undergo a 10-week training course instructed by U.S. troops, a U.S. official told reporters traveling with Austin, per CNN.
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"All of this is huge progress. And I am confident that this equipment and the training that accompanied it will put Ukraine's forces in a position to continue to succeed on the battlefield," he explained.
The secretary made the announcement during a press conference with Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at Ramstein Air Base in Germany following the conclusion of their monthly Ukraine Contact Group meeting, in which defense leaders from roughly 50 countries come together to discuss Ukraine's most pressing and latest needs.
Milley clarified that the tanks that will arrive in Germany shortly are training tanks, not ones that are combat-ready.
The collection of countries included in the group has provided more than $55 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, Austin added.
The United States announced it would provide Ukraine with 31 M1A2 tanks, which is the size of a Ukrainian tank battalion, in January, though the administration later decided to give M1A1, an older version, because it would accelerate the timeline for the arrival of the tanks on the battlefield.
Ukraine will also receive German Leopard 2 tanks and British Challengers.
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President Joe Biden's administration announced its latest military aid package to Ukraine earlier this week. It was valued at roughly $325 million and included ammunition and munitions for many of the weapons previously provided to Ukraine, which is in line with many recent packages.