The first of the 49 M1A1 Abrams tanks pledged to Ukraine by the Australian government are already on their way to the country.
That is according to the Australian news outlet ABC News, Ukrinform reports.
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“During an overnight meeting in Rome, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after he confirmed the fleet of second-hand M1A1 vehicles was on the way,” ABC journalists said.
The outlet confirmed that the process of loading the first of the 49 vehicles onto a cargo ship began recently, but the government will not discuss their current location or expected arrival date in Europe for “security reasons.”
Before the shipping process could begin, Australia had to wait for Washington’s approval to export the U.S.-made tanks to a third country, which was granted despite American officials remaining privately frustrated about the donation.
Defense Minister Richard Marles on Monday declined to say whether U.S. officials have expressed any concerns about the donation.
“We’ve been working very closely with Ukraine, very closely with the United States, to see this shipment occur and to see the tanks be on their way,” he told reporters in Melbourne.
“The first tranche has been on their way now for some time but I’m not going to go into the specific details of that,” he added.
Previously, reports indicated that the transfer of decommissioned M1A1 Abrams tanks from Australia to Ukraine — part of a $245 million military aid package — had been delayed due to U.S. resistance to granting the necessary export approval.
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Back in October 2024, Australia announced that dozens of Abrams tanks would be sent to Ukraine as part of a new military assistance package valued at $245 million.
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