First tranche of Aussie M1A1 Abrams tanks delivered to Ukraine to bolster fight against Russia
The first tranche of the retired tanks are now in the possession of the Armed Forces of Ukraine after they were shipped from the Port of Geelong.
Australia first purchased the fleet of 59 Abrams tanks – which were never deployed into a combat zone – in 2007.
The Australian Army has since replaced the fleet with newer M1A2 tanks.
Last year, Ukraine expressed interest in taking the M1A1 fleet after Australia refused to donate its retired fleet of Taipan helicopters – which have since been dismantled and buried – due to concerns they would be too complicated to maintain and operate.
The current $245m support package involving the M1A1 Abrams fleet is part of the $1.5bn in assistance Australia has provided to the war-torn nation since the start of Russia's conflict in 2022.
'The M1A1 Abrams tanks will make a significant contribution to Ukraine's ongoing fight against Russia's illegal and immoral invasion,' Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, who met the army personnel who helped deliver the tanks, said.
'Australia remains steadfast in our support for Ukraine and seeing a just and lasting peace.'
Ukraine has now taken possession of the majority of these tanks, with delivery of the final tranche to occur in the coming months.
Australia is also due to deploy a Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail to Europe to help protect a vital international gateway for assistance to Ukraine.
Since 2003, the Australian Defence Force has helped train hundreds of Ukrainian troops as part of the UK-led and based multinational training mission Operation Kudu, which continues today.
'Australia stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine,' Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said.
'These modified M1A1 Abrams tanks will deliver more firepower and more mobility to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
'They meet a direct request from the Ukrainian government and form part of Australia's unwavering commitment to protect the global rules-based order.'
The major update follows Russia handing over the bodies of 1000 slain soldiers to Ukraine, as further peace talks between both countries appeared to break down.
Ukraine also agreed to return the bodies of 19 soldiers to Russia as part of the agreement.
Earlier in the week, a 'very unhappy' US President Donald Trump set a 50-day deadline for Russia to reach a ceasefire deal with Ukraine, or risk tariffs that could cripple the eastern superpower.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far rejected calls for a ceasefire.
'The US president's statements are very serious. Some of them are addressed personally to President Putin,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier in the week.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
9 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Coalition demands answers after Albanese government lifts biosecurity restrictions on US beef imports
The Albanese government is being urged to explain its backflip on a US beef ban after the Prime Minister previously insisted Labor would not 'compromise' on biosecurity. The Australian Financial Review revealed on Thursday that Australian officials had notified their US counterparts that restrictions on the importation of US beef will be lifted following a scientific review of the biosecurity risks. Responding to the reports on Thursday, Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie said the decision could pose a risk to our beef industry. 'We need to make sure our $11 billion beef export industry is protected. Our concerns would be any watering down of those science-based protocols would lead the risk of disease, entering this country, and our farmers, being subjected to unnecessary risk,' Ms McKenzie said. Shadow finance minister James Paterson said the government needed to explain its backflip. 'The prime minister himself has said that we couldn't relax the restrictions on the importation of US beef because of serious biosecurity concerns," Mr Paterson told Sky News. "So if the government has found some way of dealing with that issue, protecting our domestic agricultural industry from the introduction of foreign diseases and pests, then they should say so they should stand up and explain that, not anonymously leak it to a newspaper. 'Full credit to the AFR for getting the story, but a major story like this affecting a major export industry of about $11 billion a year and about an $82 billion domestic industry, when you include red meat more broadly, deserves more answers than this.' The restrictions had been cited by President Donald Trump as a justification for his decision to impose a 10 per cent across the board tariff on Australian imports – as well as much larger tariffs on steel and aluminium – in violation of the existing Australia-US free trade agreement. 'Australia bans – and they're wonderful people, and wonderful everything – but they ban American beef,' President Trump said in April In response to the comments, Prime Minister Albanese emphatically declared his government 'will not change or compromise any of the issues regarding biosecurity, full stop, exclamation mark, it's simply not worth it. So it's that simple.' A blanket ban on US beef imports - imposed following a mad cow disease in 2003 - was repealed in 2019. However biosecurity rules have remained in place due to the risk of beef from countries such as Mexico and Canada being imported through the US, and no American beef has been imported under the new scheme. But a government source told the AFR on Thursday that the US Beef Imports Review had undertaken a 'rigorous science and risk-based assessment over the past decade' and the bans would be lifted. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins confirmed the report, saying in a statement that her department was "satisfied the strengthened control measures put in place by the US effectively manage biosecurity risks.' However Cattle Australia CEO Will Evans said he was sure the decision would not have been made unless scientific experts had the 'utmost confidence' it would not impose a risk to Australia's cattle industry. 'Context is important here. We export more than $4 billion of beef a year to the US, and this has been a multi-year assessment process undertaken by the Department of Agriculture - they're the competent authority in this, and they're required to assess this under a rules based trading system. 'What they've done is they've completed a technical scientific assessment, and they've said, look, there are the right processes in place in these countries to be able to manage these risks, and they've determined that they're going to grant access after making this assessment over many years. 'Now, the cattle industry is a $75 billion industry in Australia. I'm sure they wouldn't have made this decision unless they had the utmost confidence that the science was correct.'
ABC News
9 minutes ago
- ABC News
Australia lifts biosecurity restrictions on US beef
Australia has lifted biosecurity restrictions on beef imports from the United States, one of the key grievances that led the Trump administration to impose tariffs on Australia. ABC NewsRadio's Sarah Morice spoke to John McKillop, the Chair of the Red Meat Advisory Council, about what the changes will mean for Australia's beef exports.
News.com.au
39 minutes ago
- News.com.au
'A free Ukraine': Kyiv protests law threatening anti-corruption bodies
At a rare protest in central Kyiv demonstrators rallied Wednesday against a law that curbs the power of anti-corruption agencies, warning the fight for Ukraine's democracy was taking place both on the battlefield and at home. The legislation, removing the independence of two key anti-corruption bodies, sparked the first major protests in Ukraine since it began fighting off the Russian invasion over three years ago. "Our struggle takes place on two fronts. Our main enemy is external, but we have an internal battle too," said protester Viacheslav Bykov. "We don't want Ukraine to be part of Russia, we don't want a corrupt or authoritarian Ukraine. We want a free Ukraine," he added. Several thousand demonstrators -- mostly young -- gathered outside a theatre in Kyiv, calling for a veto to the law passed by Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday. The law places the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) under the direct authority of the prosecutor general, who is appointed by the president. Critics say the legislation would facilitate presidential interference in corruption probes and threatens the independence of key institutions in Ukraine. - 'Ukraine is Europe' - Zelensky responded to the backlash on Wednesday evening, saying he would submit a new bill ensuring "all norms for the independence of anti-corruption institutions will be in place". Kyiv's partners had reacted with alarm, including European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, who the EU said demanded explanations from Zelensky over the change. Civil society groups warn the bill is part of a broader pattern of pressure on anti-corruption activists and bodies. Some European allies worry the moves will undermine anti-corruption reforms key to Ukraine's bid to join the European Union -- a fear shared by many protesting on Wednesday. "We've worked for years to move closer to Europe... only to be thrown back 10 years in a single day," said protester Anya Kutsevol. Ukraine's two anti-corruption bodies, NABU and SAPO, were born a decade ago in the wake of the 2014 Maidan revolution. Those pro-European protests, centred on Kyiv's main square, also called Maidan, ousted a Kremlin-backed leader who scrapped a key partnership agreement with the EU. The Kremlin, which refused to accept Ukraine's democratic turn toward Europe, then launched a first assault over Ukraine that led Moscow-backed separatists to occupy Crimea and parts of the eastern Donbas region. "Ukraine is Europe," Kutsevol said, "we won't be returned to Russia. We'll keep fighting for Europe." - 'Our turn' - Some fear that a political crisis over the legislation could work in Russia's favour by undermining unity within the country, which is struggling to hold the front. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov seized on the opportunity to say there was "a lot of corruption" in Ukraine. "If I were Russia, I would do the same," said another protester, Yevgen Popovychenko, convinced Moscow would try to exploit the protests. He was holding a banner that read: "Don't take me back" to the years of Maidan, where he took to the streets as a 21-year-old. As he stood in the crowd, he said he was having flashbacks from Maidan, a feeling shared by his friends. But many other protestors were only children during the famed 2014 demonstrations -- including 25-year-old Kutsevol. "When tyres were still burning, I was 14. What good was I?" she said. Wednesday's was her first political protest, and she teared up looking at people gathered around her for the second day in a row, despite martial law banning large gatherings. She vowed to keep defending Ukraine's democracy.
