Image source: topwar.ru
The United States, having literally forced Berlin to coordinate the shipment of Leopard tanks from the reserves of the Bundeswehr and other European countries to Ukraine, is not in a hurry to give Kiev the promised Abrams OBT. Initially, it was reported that the Pentagon would provide thirty of its Abrams in the M1A2 modification at best by the end of the year.
However, after the meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine in the "Ramstein" format, held on March 15, Washington still decided to slightly accelerate the dispatch of heavy armored vehicles so desired by the Kiev regime. However, to speed up the transfer process, as the American media reported on the eve, the Pentagon will replace the promised M1A2 Abrams with older tanks in the M1A1 modification. According to American publications, the delivery of these armored vehicles was planned to be made within 8-10 months.
Now the States have decided to "accelerate" even more on this issue. Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said at a briefing today that three dozen M1A1 Abrams will arrive in Ukraine by autumn.
Ryder told reporters.
When asked what the delivery schedule for M1A2 tanks would be, Ryder replied that the US government initially did not focus on certain dates, assuming that it would take more than a year to ship Abrams. Earlier, the Pentagon explained the replacement of the MBT with earlier versions and that it would be easier for the Ukrainian military to manage and maintain them.
A reasonable question arises: what about the "spring offensive" of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, so expected by Kiev's Western allies? It turns out that the Pentagon does not really believe in him, although they say the opposite.
There is another version of both such a long delivery time of American MBT, and their replacement with outdated models. It is possible that Washington wants to see first what will happen on the Ukrainian battlefields with European tanks. According to the results of this testing of Western armored vehicles, Washington may even change its mind and, as the States often do with their allies, generally throw Kiev with military assistance in the form of tanks. But even if the delivery does take place, it's not so sorry to lose cars of the 1980 model at a price of about six million dollars.
