American M1A1 Abrams tanks have arrived in Ukraine since September, but so far they have not been seen in photos and have not been used in combat. Until now, the tanks have been used for the training and exercise of the Ukrainian military, and some reports indicated that the Ukrainian army may retain them for operations next spring.

Now the first images of American Abrams tanks in Ukraine, somewhere near the front, have begun to appear.

So far, the tanks provided by the US have been used for training the Ukrainian military and have not yet been put into battle.

Images on social media show tanks in eastern Ukraine, but it is unclear how far they are from the front line.

Ukraine can keep Abrams tanks for spring battles

The American publication Businnes Insider wrote a few days ago that, although the United States has been supplying Ukraine with Abrams M1A1 tanks for some time, the Ukrainian army has not yet used them in combat, defendromania.ro reports.

31 tanks of this type arrived in Ukraine in September, but have not yet participated in combat operations and are unlikely to participate, at least until next spring. According to American experts, the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is saving tanks for a new counteroffensive, which may be planned for 2024.

“Since the front is stable, the Ukrainians probably keep American Abrams M1A1 tanks in reserve,” said Mark Kanchian, an expert at the US Center for Strategic and International Studies.

In addition, a retired US colonel who served in the US Marine Corps estimated that the US tanks were included in the same group as the previously delivered M2 Bradley IFVs, but the use of this combination would not be effective in the current weather conditions, as they better to work in the summer.

Currently, the Ukrainian army has 3 main models of Western-made tanks

About 200 Ukrainian servicemen were trained at American military bases in Germany to operate Abrams tanks, during the training a joint military exercise was also conducted, which simulates actions with battalion forces.

The US has already promised and delivered the first of 31 M1A1 tanks to Ukraine since September.

The Abrams tanks are the third model of heavy battle tank that Ukraine is receiving, after Challenger 2 tanks received from Great Britain and Leopard 2 tanks provided by several NATO countries, in particular Poland and Germany.

They were joined by Leopard-1 tanks, the predecessors of the most modern Leopard model, but it is currently unknown how many units of this type Ukraine received, as many of them required repair and restoration before being sent into battle. .

The Ukrainian army also received several Soviet-made tanks that were extensively modernized in NATO countries after the collapse of the USSR, such as the M-55C model donated by Slovenia.