US says some Abrams tanks will be used to train Ukrainian Armed Forces, while others will arrive at front by end of year

This was announced by Pentagon spokesman General Patrick Ryder, Ukrinform reports.

"So these tanks will be for training purposes only. These will not be the refurbished tanks that eventually go to Ukraine," the spokesman said.

He noted that the United States allocates training tanks not from the army's stockpile, but from other storage facilities, which will speed up the preparation and delivery of combat vehicles to Ukraine.

Ryder expressed hope that by the end of this year, some M1 Abrams combat units will be transferred to Ukraine and that training of Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel on American tanks will be completed.

Ryder also said that the Abrams tanks, which will be sent for use at the front, will be equipped according to the specifics of combat operations in Ukraine.

• The head of the US Defense Department, Lloyd Austin, said on April 21 that the Ukrainian military would begin training in Germany in a few weeks on American M1 Abrams tanks.