Lloyd Austin made the announcement at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
He spoke to reporters after the latest meeting of the so-called Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which brings together defence ministers from over 40 Ukraine-supporting nations to discuss further support for Kyiv’s war effort against the Russian invasion, according to officials.
Ukrainian troops to soon begin training on US tanks
The Pentagon chief said the United States was accelerating the delivery of the Abrams for Ukraine, with the tanks due to arrive in Germany in the next few weeks, allowing Kyiv’s soldiers to begin learning to use them, the Politico news service reported.
The 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks are expected to be delivered to Germany next month, US defence department officials told Politico on condition of anonymity.
Austin told reporters, as cited by the Pentagon: "Over the past year, members of this contact group have provided tremendous capability to Ukraine. Right after Russia invaded, we surged in Javelins and Stingers. Then we provided Ukraine's defenders with howitzers ... HIMARS ... and other artillery. And we continue to rush in ground-based air-defense capabilities and munitions to help Ukraine control its sovereign skies ... and to help Ukraine defend its citizens from Russian cruise missiles and Iranian drones."
The US defence secretary added that in the last few months, members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group have sent more than 230 tanks and more than 1,550 armoured vehicles to Ukraine, as well as munitions and other equipment to support more than nine new armoured brigades, Politico reported.
Hub in Poland to repair Ukraine’s Leopard tanks
Also at Friday’s meeting, Germany, Poland and Ukraine said they would create a hub to repair Leopard tanks used in Ukraine, which could open in Poland at the end of May, according to news outlets.
Germany’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced that Ukrainian troops would begin to receive training on using the Leopard tanks and added that Berlin's pledge to deliver around 80 such tanks to Ukraine by the middle of the year was progressing swiftly, the Reuters news agency reported.
Poland, Germany discuss Patriot deployment
Meanwhile, Poland’s Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak and Germany's Pistorius also discussed an extension in the use of German Patriot air-defence systems in Poland, the PAP news agency reported.
"There is openness to talks and as a result of that we are continuing dialogue," Błaszczak told reporters at Ramstein Air Base.
The German Patriot batteries were originally due to be stationed in Poland until the end of June, but Warsaw seeks an extension to the deal, according to news reports.
The Polish defence minister on Friday cited two reasons for this, "namely that the war in Ukraine rages on” and that the German Patriot systems in Poland “are helping protect deliveries of equipment to Ukraine,” the PAP news agency reported.
‘We support Ukraine and we are optimistic’: Polish defence minister
Poland’s Błaszczak told reporters that Friday’s meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group had focused on providing more anti-aircraft and anti-missile defence to Ukraine, and stressed that “Poland is supporting Ukraine in this regard.”
He said that “only coordinated support will enable Ukraine to defeat Russia."
Błaszczak stated: “We are awaiting a Ukrainian counteroffensive. We support Ukraine and we are optimistic. We believe that by fighting for its independence, Ukraine is also fighting for the independence of Europe and the free world.”
'Ukraine's future is in the Euro-Atlantic family': NATO chief
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he “absolutely believes” Ukraine can win the war.
He added: “We are now helping them to liberate more land by providing more advanced systems.”
The NATO chief cautioned that “this is now a battle of attrition and a battle of attrition becomes a war of logistics.”
Stoltenberg said that Ukraine needed “not only new platforms,” but also assistance “to sustain the existing platforms.”
He noted that battle tanks, for instance, required an “enormous amount of ammunition,” as well as fuel, trailers and recovery vehicles.
Stoltenberg also said that “Ukraine's future is in the Euro-Atlantic family," and that "all NATO allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a NATO member.”
Friday was day 422 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters, Politico, defense.gov, The Guardian, NATO
