RAMSTEIN, 22 Apr. (DPA/EP) –
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Friday that his country plans to send Abrams tanks in the coming weeks to train Ukrainian soldiers.
Austin has met with Western allies in the Ukraine Contact Group at the US military airbase at Ramstein in Germany, and arms deliveries to Ukraine have been the focus of discussion.
The training, previously reported by the US media and now confirmed by Austin, will take place at the Grafenwoehr military training area in southern Germany. It is scheduled to last around 10 weeks and about 250 soldiers will participate, according to reports.
US Chief of Staff Mark Milley, who is also in Ramstein, has reported that tanks no longer fit for combat will be delivered first. Abrams tanks destined for Ukraine are still undergoing repairs.
“Ukraine urgently needs our help to protect its citizens, infrastructure and forces from the Russian missile threat,” Austin said, adding that “Ukraine will receive support for as long as it is needed.”
GERMANY WILL REPAIR DAMAGED TANKS, BUT WILL NOT SEND FIGHTERS TO UKRAINE
For his part, the German Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, has promised that from now on the German Leopard tanks damaged in the Ukrainian war will be repaired in Poland, to guarantee their rapid return to the front. The new repair center will be coordinated between Warsaw and kyiv.
“This is to ensure that the tanks can be maintained and repaired if necessary, thus increasing demand,” Pistorius explained. The leaders will establish a joint fund to finance the project and “share fairly” the annual costs of between 150 million euros and 200 million euros.
The center will start operating at the end of May and the first work session on the project will begin next week.
Pistorius has also announced that more than 100 Ukrainian soldiers will begin training to control Leopard 1 tanks this Sunday.
However, the minister has rejected the possibility of delivering German fighter jets to Ukraine. “It’s not like switching from one rental car to another,” he added, referring to the differences between the two countries’ fighter jets.
German Tornados and Eurofighters have different capabilities than those needed in Ukraine, he added.
