Ukraine will receive Abrams no earlier than the end of 2023

M1A2 Abrams tanks will be delivered to Ukraine at the end of this year or in 2024.

This was reported by the American newspaper Washington Post’s sources.

The 31 M1A2 main battle tanks would not be taken from U.S. military stockpiles, but would be procured under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

Under the Presidential Drawdown, Ukraine receives weapons from the Pentagon’s stockpiles, then under the USAI the United States buys new weapons for Ukraine.

“They would be built to task, without the depleted uranium armor, for delivery late this year or next,” the newspaper reported.

Previously, John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, reported that the delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine may take months.

At the same time, Kirby refused to answer whether Ukraine should wait for tanks until the end of 2023.

“I don’t want to get too specific because we’re still making plans, but it’s going to take many months,” Kirby said.

Kirby noted that Joe Biden’s administration is not going to waste time and will begin training the Ukrainian military, as well as establishing supply lines. The Ukrainian Armed Forces must be ready to immediately use the Abrams tanks when they finally arrive.

On January 27, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, noted that the Abrams tanks may arrive too late.

“I don’t know the real situation at the moment when they will be. I don’t know when the U.S. will give us Abrams tanks. And I don’t know when the tanks will actually arrive from Europe,” Zelensky said.

As previously reported, on January 25, President Joe Biden announced that the United States would provide Ukraine with 31 M1 Abrams tanks. The US plans to send M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine.