Poland to Receive First Abrams Tanks This Spring

WARSAW (Sputnik) - Poland will start receiving its first heavy US Abrams tanks this spring to replenish its depleted weapons stocks, with a total of 58 tanks contracted to arrive this year, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Thursday.

"This spring we will receive the first Polish Abrams tanks," Blaszczak said.

The defense minister also said that a total of 58 Abrams tanks would be delivered to Poland in 2023.

Blaszczak added that the initial batches would include old generation heavy tanks, which have already been in use, to replenish the shortfalls after Poland sent its T-72 battle tanks to Ukraine.

In April 2022, Poland signed a contract with the US to receive 250 of the M1A2 heavy Abrams tanks and 300 second-hand 4x4 Cougar armored vehicles in place of the armaments it sent to the Ukrainians. Earlier in January, Warsaw signed a deal with Washington to buy an additional 116 Abrams main battle tanks.

Western countries ramped up their military support for Ukraine after Russia launched a special military operation there on February 24, 2022, responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. In April, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kiev. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.