Australia starts shipping Abrams to Ukraine despite doubts from US officials - ABC
Australia has already begun sending a batch of decommissioned Abrams tanks to Ukraine, despite the disappointment of some US officials.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by АВС.
According to the media outlet, in Rome, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after he confirmed that M1A1 tanks were on their way to Ukraine.
However, the Australian government has not disclosed when the Abrams is expected to arrive in Europe for "security reasons". The newspaper confirmed that the process of loading 49 tanks onto a cargo ship has recently begun.
Before starting the shipment process, Australia had to wait for Washington's approval to export US-made tanks to a third country. The approval, according to media reports, was granted despite the fact that US officials remained privately frustrated about the assistance.
"Last year, even before Donald Trump returned as president, we warned the Australians that sending these Abrams tanks would be complicated, and once they finally get to the battlefield the Ukrainians will find them difficult to sustain," one US official told on the condition of anonymity.
In total, Australia has decommissioned 59 M1A1 Abrams tanks, which were purchased in 2007 but never used in combat. They are currently being replaced by newer M1A2 Abrams models with a 120mm cannon.
As a reminder, the Australian government announced the transfer of 49 M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine with a total value of about AUD245 million ($164 million) in October 2024.
