According to Pentagon Press Secretary Patrick Ryder, the M1 Abrams tanks, which the US will soon transfer to Germany, will be used exclusively for training the Ukrainian military. He explained that they will differ from combat units that Ukraine will receive separately because they will be used only for training.
“These are not the updated tanks that will later go to Ukraine,” Ryder clarified. He added that the training tanks are not allocated from US military reserves but from other places. This will speed up the training of the Ukrainian military and the delivery of combat vehicles to Ukraine. The combat M1 Abrams, which the Ukrainians will use at the frontline, will be equipped according to the specific combat operations in Ukraine.
Ryder hopes that by the end of 2023 Ukraine will receive separate M1 Abrams combat units, and the Ukrainian military will finally master these machines.