Updated 9/26/23 at 2:52 a.m.
Volodymyr Zelensky wanted to announce this “good news” himself. The first American Abrams tanks have arrived in Ukraine at a time when the Ukrainian army is trying to finally break through Russian defenses before winter.
“Abrams are already in Ukraine and are preparing to reinforce our brigades,” the Ukrainian president said on Telegram, without specifying how many of these vehicles had been delivered at the time. He declared himself “grateful to the allies for the promises kept.”
A race against time as winter approaches
The delivery of these tanks to Kiev was announced last week by Joe Biden during a visit by Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House, seeking additional support amid a counteroffensive to liberate occupied territories by Russia. The United States had promised a total of 31 Abrams tanks equipped with 120 mm depleted uranium ammunition that could penetrate armor.
These first tanks were largely delivered “months earlier” than originally planned, the New York Times reported on Monday, as the Ukrainian army finds itself in a race against time. A slowdown in these operations is expected in the coming months as the weather worsens.
Supported by Western arms supplies, Ukraine launched a large-scale counteroffensive to repel Russian forces in early June. If this operation has long been hitting the lines fortified by Moscow and has so far only allowed the recapture of a few hundred square kilometers and a handful of destroyed villages, it seems to be accelerating in recent weeks. The Ukrainian armed forces managed to break through the Russian lines on the southern front and in the east.