Ukraine will receive 120 to 140 Western tanks in a first wave of deliveries from a coalition of 12 countries, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday that Kyiv secured pledges from the West this month to supply main battle tanks to fend off Russia's full-scale invasion, with Moscow mounting huge efforts to make incremental advances in eastern Ukraine.
The tank coalition has 12 members. Kuleba said that the Ukrainian armed forces will receive between 120 and 140 Western-model tanks in the first wave of contributions.
He said that the tanks would include the German Leopard 2, the British Challenger 2 and the US M 1 Abrams, and thatSUkraine was really counting on supplies of French Leclerc tanks being agreed.
Kuleba didn't give a timeline for any of the deliveries. There will be time for training with the tanks.
Kuleba said that Kyiv was working behind the scenes to win more countries to supply tanks at a critical time in the war.
He said that we continue to work on both expanding the membership of the tank coalition and increasing the contributions of those already pledged.
Kyiv plans to launch a major counteroffensive to recapture swathes of territory taken by Russia in the south and east of the country.
The United States has told Kyiv to hold off on those plans until Western military assistance arrives in Ukraine.
Ukraine is concerned that Russia could launch its own major offensive in the coming weeks or months.