US to Begin Training Ukrainian Troops on Abrams Tank

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, from left, talk to the media after the meeting of the "Ukraine Defense Contact Group" at Ramstein Air Base in Ramstein, Germany, Friday, April 21, 2023. (AP)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, from left, talk to the media after the meeting of the "Ukraine Defense Contact Group" at Ramstein Air Base in Ramstein, Germany, Friday, April 21, 2023. (AP)
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US to Begin Training Ukrainian Troops on Abrams Tank

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, from left, talk to the media after the meeting of the "Ukraine Defense Contact Group" at Ramstein Air Base in Ramstein, Germany, Friday, April 21, 2023. (AP)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, from left, talk to the media after the meeting of the "Ukraine Defense Contact Group" at Ramstein Air Base in Ramstein, Germany, Friday, April 21, 2023. (AP)

The United States will begin training Ukrainian forces on how to use and maintain Abrams tanks in the coming weeks, as it continues to speed up its effort to get them onto the battlefield as quickly as possible, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Friday.

The decision comes as defense leaders from around Europe and the world are meeting at Ramstein Air Base, in the effort to coordinate the delivery of weapons and other equipment to Ukraine.

According to the officials, 31 tanks will arrive at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany at the end of May, and the troops will begin training a couple weeks later. Officials said the troop training will last about 10 weeks. The training tanks will not be the ones given to Ukraine for use in the war against Russia. Instead, 31 M1A1 battle tanks are being refurbished in the United States, and those will go to the frontlines when they are ready.

Germany, meanwhile, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Poland and Ukraine to set up a maintenance hub for Kyiv’s Leopard 2 tank fleet in Poland, near the Ukrainian border. Germany’s defense minister, Boris Pistorius, told reporters he expects the hub to cost 150-200 million euros ($165-220 million) per year, which “we will split fairly, like everything else.” He said he expects it to start work around the end of next month

The announcement came as ministers and representatives from about 50 nations gathered for the US-led meeting of what's called the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

Austin, speaking to reporters at the close of the meeting, said the delivery of training tanks in the next few weeks represents “huge progress.” He added, “I’m confident this equipment — and the training that accompanied it — will put Ukraine’s forces in a position to continue to succeed on the battlefield."

The US goal has been to have the Ukrainian troops trained by the time the refurbished Abrams tanks are ready so they can then immediately move to combat. The tanks are being refitted to meet Ukraine’s needs.

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, added that he believes the American tanks will be very effective on the battlefield. “I do think the M1 tank will make a difference,” he said, while cautioning “there is no silver bullet in war.”

According to officials, about 250 Ukrainian troops will be trained — with some learning to operate the tanks and others learning to repair and maintain them. Additional training on how to fight and maneuver with the tanks could also be provided after the initial 10 weeks.

So far, the US has trained 8,800 Ukrainian troops who have already returned to the battlefield, and an additional roughly 2,500 are in training now. Their training has included everything from basic weapons instruction to how to conduct combat operations and maintain and repair equipment.

In other comments, Austin dismissed questions about providing fighter jets to Ukraine, saying the US is giving Ukraine ground-based air defense capabilities, which he said is needed most.

President Joe Biden's administration announced in January that it would send Abrams tanks to Ukraine — after insisting for months that they were too complicated and too hard to maintain and repair. The decision was part of a broader political maneuver that opened the door for Germany to announce it would send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allow Poland and other allies to do the same.

Under intense pressure from Ukraine and others to get the tanks into Ukraine faster, the Biden administration said last month that it would speed up the delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine, opting to send a refurbished older model that can be ready faster. The goal is to get the 70-ton battle powerhouses to the war zone by the fall.

The US also made clear at the time that it would begin training Ukrainian forces on how to use, maintain and repair the tanks and that the instruction would coincide with the refurbishment of the tanks, so that both would be ready for battle at the same time later this year.

At the same time, the Pentagon must make sure that Ukrainian forces have an adequate supply chain for all the parts needed to keep the tanks running.

The Russian and Ukrainian forces have been largely in a stalemate, trading small slices of land over the winter. The fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defense. But both sides are expected to launch more intensive offensives in the spring.

Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Friday in its daily war assessment that soft ground conditions and mud across most of Ukraine will probably slow operations for both sides.

In other developments, Mykola Oleschuk, commander of Ukraine’s Air Forces, said Friday he had visited a US-made Patriot missile system deployed on the battlefield after its recent delivery. Ukrainian officials said Wednesday that the Patriots had arrived.

Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with Iranian-made self-exploding Shahed drones, the Ukrainian military said Friday. Russia launched about 10 drones at Ukraine targets, and eight of them were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses, Ukraine’s General Staff said.

At least six civilians have been killed and six more have been wounded in Ukraine over the past 24 hours, Ukraine’s presidential office reported on Friday morning.

According to Ukrainian officials, Russian shelling and missile strikes mostly targeted cities and villages in the embattled, partially occupied regions of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

Outside of these regions, the Russian forces also attacked the Chernihiv province on Thursday from mortars. Overnight, Russia launched drones to attack Kyiv, as well as the Poltava and Vinnytsia regions.



Israel Budget Passes but Vote Shows Cracks in Netanyahu's Coalition

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (Stoyan Nenov/Pool Photo via AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (Stoyan Nenov/Pool Photo via AP)
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Israel Budget Passes but Vote Shows Cracks in Netanyahu's Coalition

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (Stoyan Nenov/Pool Photo via AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (Stoyan Nenov/Pool Photo via AP)

Israeli lawmakers narrowly approved the country's 2025 state budget in an initial vote despite a rebellion by one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition partners demanding he fire Israel's attorney general.
The 59-57 vote in the Knesset, or parliament, to pass the wartime austerity budget in its first of three readings underscored divisions within the coalition that heavily relies on ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties, Reuters reported.
Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his six-seat ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party voted against the budget, sparking a war of words with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the head of another right-wing party.
Ben-Gvir has been pushing for the firing of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on the grounds that she opposes plans to overhaul Israel's judicial system and supports an independent inquiry into Israel’s handling of the Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border incursion led by Hamas. He has asked for the issue to be raised at cabinet meetings.
Ben-Gvir said on X that his faction would no longer be bound by the coalition's positions, including the budget law, and would operate independently.
Addressing Smotrich, he said the government must fire the attorney general so it can implement its policy. The right-wing government had to either send her home or face having her bring the government down, Ben-Gvir wrote.
A month ago, in a letter to Netanyahu, Baharav-Miara asked the prime minister to consider firing Ben-Gvir, citing evidence that he allegedly interfered directly in police operations and politicized promotions within the force, threatening its status outside politics.
Should the issue be raised at Sunday's cabinet meeting, "the crisis will be behind us," Ben-Gvir added.
In posts on X, Smotrich accused Ben-Gvir of irresponsibly aligning with the opposition and Arab parties and putting their right-wing government in danger in time of war.
Smotrich said Ben-Gvir and his party were jeopardizing a historic opportunity for further Israeli settlement of the occupied West Bank and for the State of Israel itself with Donald Trump's administration moving into the White House next month.
"We will continue to work for the people of Israel and for victory in the war, with or without Ben-Gvir," he wrote.
Netanyahu in September sought to bolster his coalition, which had a 64-56 edge in Knesset, by bringing in opposition lawmaker Gideon Saar and his four seats in the New Hope party, enabling him to be less reliant on other members of his ruling coalition. Saar last month was named foreign minister.
Total budget spending in 2025 will be 756 billion shekels ($210 billion), with a deficit target set at 4.4% of gross domestic product. The budget includes spending cuts and tax increases of 37 billion shekels, which are needed to keep the deficit under control as war costs have soared. Spending on defense will be 108 billion shekels next year.
All three agencies have cut Israel's credit rating this year due to war expenses that have pushed the budget deficit to near 8% of GDP.
The budget next goes to the Knesset finance and other committees, where it could face changes. It is not expected to be fully approved until at least January. Until a budget is approved in 2025, the 2024 budget will be divided into 12 parts and 1/12 is allocated each month.
Failure to approve the budget by March 31 would trigger new elections.