Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Monday that the first American-made Abrams tanks have reached Kyiv, months ahead of schedule, as his military ramps up its counteroffensive against Russia.

"Good news from Defense Minister [Rustem] Umerov. Abrams are already in Ukraine and are preparing to reinforce our brigades," Zelensky said in a statement on social media.

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Zelensky did not say how many tanks arrived in the country or how long it would take for them to be deployed to the front line.

The shipment, which arrived over the weekend, is the first of 31 that President Joe Biden's administration promised to send to the Eastern European country that has spent 19 months locked in a war with Russia. The tanks are part of a $43 billion security assistance pledge the United States has made to Ukraine.

Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said last week that the tanks would be shipped soon. Their earlier-than-expected arrival shows an incredible effort from Ukraine's Western allies to deliver a powerful weapon ahead of schedule to help keep Russian President Vladimir Putin's troops at bay.

The U.S. announced earlier this month that in addition to the tanks, it would send depleted uranium anti-tank rounds to help Ukraine push through Russian lines. The 120 mm rounds will be used to arm the 31 tanks and have prompted calls by Russia to claim it is "not just an escalatory step" but a "reflection of Washington's outrageous disregard for the environmental consequences of using this kind of ammunition in a combat zone."

"This is, in fact, a criminal act, I cannot give any other assessment," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to state news agency Tass.

Depleted uranium is the waste product of the process to create enriched uranium, which is used in nuclear fuel and weapons. Depleted uranium is denser than lead, which makes it so effective as a projectile that it can slice through armor, RAND nuclear expert Edward Geist said, adding, "It heats it up so much that it catches on fire."

When Britain announced in March it would send similar depleted uranium rounds, Russia falsely claimed they had nuclear components and threatened the delivery would escalate the situation and possibly result in retaliation by nuclear weapons use.

The weekend delivery of the Abrams tanks is a departure from the measured response and hesitation the allies had shown just a year ago when they resisted sending Western-made tanks to the battlefield out of fear it would directly draw NATO forces into the war and escalate already rising tensions with Putin.

Ukraine said it needs about 300 tanks for its counteroffensive but has only gotten about half that number. Russia, by comparison, has been manufacturing 200 tanks each year.

Separately, Ukraine announced on Monday it killed Adm. Viktor Sokolov, commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, in a missile strike on the naval headquarters in the Crimean port of Sevastopol.

"After the strike on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, 34 officers died, including the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Another 105 occupiers were wounded. The headquarters building cannot be restored," Ukraine's Special Operations Forces posted on Telegram, a messaging app.

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If true, it would be one of the most high-profile losses for the Russian military.

Sokolov replaced Igor Osipov as the highest-ranking commander of the Black Sea Fleet on Aug. 17, 2022.