Australia is going to more than double the size of Ukraine’s Abrams tank force

The planned transfer of Abrams tanks marks a reversal for the Australian government, which said earlier this year that such a move is “not on the agenda.” Several countries, including the US, have ended up walking back statements saying that certain weapons systems were off-limits for Ukraine.

“These tanks will deliver more firepower and mobility to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and complement the support provided by our partners for Ukraine’s armored brigades,” Conroy told reporters on Wednesday during a visit to London, per the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

A formal announcement of the transfer is expected at the NATO Defense Ministerial meetings later this week.

Vasyl Myroshnychenko, the Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, said that the Abrams tanks will be an “essential part” of Kyiv’s land defenses.

“We have already been operating some of those tanks, which we’ve been provided by the Americans in the past, so we already have teams of people who know how to use that equipment,” Myroshnychenko told ABC.

“The armor they have, the missiles that they also use, will be of huge help to Ukrainians on the battlefield, especially where we build those defense lines,” he added.

Since the Abrams are American-made tanks, Australia had to get the US to sign off on the transfer. Canberra has already received some of the newer M1A2 variants, which were slated to replace the aging M1A1s that are now going to Ukraine.