RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — American-made Abrams tanks that Ukrainians will use for training will arrive in Germany in the next few weeks, allowing soldiers to begin learning to use the much-anticipated armor, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Friday.  

The 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks — a Ukrainian battalion’s worth — will arrive at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany by mid-to-late May,  according to two Defense Department officials, who were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive details of the move. The training will begin a week or two later, after the tanks go through a maintenance period. 

At the Ramstein meeting Friday, Ukraine, Germany and Poland agreed to establish a maintenance and service center in Poland for the Leopard 2 main battle tanks being provided to Kyiv. The “‘armored fist’ formed by collaborative efforts will thwart the terrorist regime’s aggression against Europe and the entire free world,” tweeted Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. 

But the tanks the Ukrainian armed forces will train on in Germany are different from the ones that will eventually arrive in Ukraine for use on the battlefield, one of the DoD official added, noting that those are still being refurbished.

Austin made the announcement at Friday press conference after the eleventh meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a gathering of more than 40 nations dedicated to supporting Kyiv. Over the last few months, members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group have already sent more than 230 tanks and more than 1,550 armored vehicles, as well as munitions and other equipment to support more than nine new armored brigades, Austin said. 

“Our collective efforts have made a huge difference on the battlefield,” Austin said. “I’m confident this equipment — and the training to accompany it — will put Ukraine’s forces in a position to continue to succeed on the battlefield,” he said.

The training on how to operate and maintain the Abrams is expected to take up to 10 weeks and may include instruction on how to maneuver in combat, the official said. Some 250 Ukrainians are expected to go through the training program, which is run by 7th Army Training Command.

The U.S. is accelerating the delivery of the Abrams by opting to send older M1A1 versions, rather than the newer M1A2 type originally planned to go to Ukraine. The Pentagon anticipates the tanks will arrive on the battlefield by the end of the year.

During his opening remarks ahead of the contact group meeting, Austin applauded his counterparts for their donations. He noted that Italy, France, Canada and Norway are also providing air defense systems, while Estonia has spent more than 1 percent of its GDP on Ukraine.

“Our common efforts have made a huge difference to Ukraine’s defenders on the battlefield. And they underscore just how badly the Kremlin miscalculated,” Austin said. “After more than a year of Russian aggression and deceit, this contact group is as united as ever and more global than ever.”

The group is also working to deliver defense systems to counter Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, Austin said. Two Patriot missile defense systems, including one from the U.S. and one made up of components from Germany and the Netherlands, arrived in Ukraine on Wednesday.

“After more than a year of Russian aggression and deceit, this contact group is as united as ever and more global than ever,” he said. “Together, we will support Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

During the press conference, Austin thanked his counterparts, particularly those in Germany and the Netherlands, for donating “key enablers that will help Ukraine repel Russian forces,” including heavy equipment, transport vehicles, refuelers and mine rollers.”

The European Union recently announced a proposal to speed up production and delivery of ammunition for Ukraine, and other countries are also examining how they can increase their own production — for both the near and long term, Austin said.

“That is a powerful reminder that we stand with Ukraine’s defenders for the long haul,” he said.

The defense secretary also noted that Finland, which has long taken part in the contact group, is now a new NATO ally, and added that he expects Sweden will soon follow.

“That makes something crystal clear: [Vladimir] Putin’s war is not the result of NATO enlargement. Putin’s war is the cause of NATO enlargement,” Austin said.  

Roughly 8,800 Ukrainians have completed combined arms training — which includes basic soldier tasks such as marksmanship, along with small-unit drills — and returned to Ukraine, according to DoD spokesperson Col. Martin O’Donnell. Another 2,250 soldiers — four motorized infantry battalions — are going through the program at the Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels training areas.

In total, the members of the contact group have provided more than $55 billion in security assistance for Ukraine since the group’s founding a year ago. The U.S. alone has provided $35 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began, including the most recent package of $325 million.

This article has been updated.