As part of the inaugural mass of the new Pope Leo XIV in Rome, the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, assured his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, that the M1A1 Abrams tanks promised months ago as part of a military assistance package are already being transferred. The news comes shortly after Australian government officials pointed to U.S. resistance to advancing this process, considering various objections from Washington to the proposal that were hindering the necessary authorization, which resulted in a delay of more than six months from the time the shipment was announced to the current developments.
Being an announcement of great strategic importance, both the Australian and Ukrainian governments did not provide further details about the arrival of these armored vehicles in Kyiv, so the delivery schedules and the number of tanks to be sent in each batch remain unknown. The only detail disclosed to the public by Prime Minister Albanese was that the M1A1 Abrams tanks are already “on their way“, while Zelensky himself merely expressed his gratitude for Canberra’s commitment to his country’s war effort, to which it has contributed nearly 1.5 billion dollars.
It is worth recalling at this point that, despite confirmation of the start of the transfer process of the tanks formerly belonging to the Australian Army, it is not free of challenges, considering that in previous instances local defense officials stated that there is not enough personnel to oversee the shipment via ships, in addition to the significant costs associated with use and maintenance that Ukraine will have to bear.
On the other hand, it is unavoidable to mention that doubts also extended to the question of the usefulness of these armored vehicles on today’s battlefield, where the use of relatively low-cost drones capable of neutralizing them has prevailed. So much so, that by the end of April, Australian sources told local media: “We’re starting to wonder whether the Ukrainians really want these vehicles: the top of the tank is the Abrams’ weakest point, and this is a drone war.”
Finally, expanding on some aspects of the Australian leader’s visit to Rome, it is important to highlight that he also met with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who recently expressed support for a new agreement to deepen defense cooperation between her bloc and the country, in a manner similar to the agreements reached with Japan and South Korea. The Prime Minister responded to the idea with caution, stating that although there is a broad degree of connection between both international actors, negotiations are still in very early stages and the potential results should not be exaggerated.
*Images used for illustrative purposes
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