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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Australia delivers Abrams tanks to Ukraine for war with Russia
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's government said on Saturday it had delivered M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine as part of a A$245 million ($160 million) package to help the country defend itself against Russia in their ongoing war. Australia, one of the largest non-NATO contributors to Ukraine, has been supplying aid, ammunition and defence equipment since Moscow invaded its neighbour in February 2022. Ukraine has taken possession of most of the 49 tanks given by Australia, and the rest will be delivered in coming months, said Defence Minister Richard Marles. 'The M1A1 Abrams tanks will make a significant contribution to Ukraine's ongoing fight against Russia's illegal and immoral invasion," Marles said in a statement. The tanks formed part of the A$1.5 billion ($980 million) that Canberra has provided Ukraine in the conflict, the government said. Australia has also banned exports of alumina and aluminium ores, including bauxite, to Russia, and has sanctioned about 1,000 Russian individuals and entities. Australia's centre-left Labor government this year labelled Russia as the aggressor in the conflict and called for the war to be resolved on Kyiv's terms. ($1 = 1.5366 Australian dollars)
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Australia delivers Abrams tanks to Ukraine for war with Russia
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's government said on Saturday it had delivered M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine as part of a A$245 million ($160 million) package to help the country defend itself against Russia in their ongoing war. Australia, one of the largest non-NATO contributors to Ukraine, has been supplying aid, ammunition and defence equipment since Moscow invaded its neighbour in February 2022. Ukraine has taken possession of most of the 49 tanks given by Australia, and the rest will be delivered in coming months, said Defence Minister Richard Marles. 'The M1A1 Abrams tanks will make a significant contribution to Ukraine's ongoing fight against Russia's illegal and immoral invasion," Marles said in a statement. The tanks formed part of the A$1.5 billion ($980 million) that Canberra has provided Ukraine in the conflict, the government said. Australia has also banned exports of alumina and aluminium ores, including bauxite, to Russia, and has sanctioned about 1,000 Russian individuals and entities. Australia's centre-left Labor government this year labelled Russia as the aggressor in the conflict and called for the war to be resolved on Kyiv's terms. ($1 = 1.5366 Australian dollars)
Arab News
6 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Australia delivers Abrams tanks to Ukraine for war with Russia
SYDNEY: Australia's government said on Saturday it had delivered M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine as part of a A$245 million ($160 million) package to help the country defend itself against Russia in their ongoing war. Australia, one of the largest non-NATO contributors to Ukraine, has been supplying aid, ammunition and defense equipment since Moscow invaded its neighbor in February 2022. Ukraine has taken possession of most of the 49 tanks given by Australia, and the rest will be delivered in coming months, said Defense Minister Richard Marles. 'The M1A1 Abrams tanks will make a significant contribution to Ukraine's ongoing fight against Russia's illegal and immoral invasion,' Marles said in a statement. The tanks formed part of the A$1.5 billion ($980 million) that Canberra has provided Ukraine in the conflict, the government said. Australia has also banned exports of alumina and aluminum ores, including bauxite, to Russia, and has sanctioned about 1,000 Russian individuals and entities. Australia's center-left Labor government this year labelled Russia as the aggressor in the conflict and called for the war to be resolved on Kyiv's terms.
Daily Telegraph
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Telegraph
Australia provides 49 M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine to bolster fight against Russia's invasion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Breaking News. Followed categories will be added to My News. Australia is providing 49 M1A1 Abrams tanks – valued at $245m – to Ukraine to help bolster its war against Russia's illegal invasion. 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. An Australian Army M1A1 Abrams main battle tank is lifted onto a ship in Australia, bound for Ukraine. Picture: Supplied 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.' The first tranche of M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks gifted to Ukraine are prepared for servicing at a port in Europe. Picture: Supplied Part of a support package worth $245m, the tanks have been retired by the Australian Army but were gifted to Ukraine as part of its fight against Russia. Picture: Supplied 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. Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko thanks Australian Army soldiers for their efforts in loading M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks onto a ship. Picture: Supplied '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. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Picture: AFP Russian President Vladimir Putin. Picture: AFP 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. Originally published as First tranche of Aussie M1A1 Abrams tanks delivered to Ukraine to bolster fight against Russia
ABC News
6 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Australia's Abrams tanks reach Ukraine after nine months
The first of Australia's retired M1A1 Abrams tanks have arrived in Ukraine, nine months after they were gifted to aid the country's war effort. Defence Minister Richard Marles said the tanks, first promised last October, would "make a significant contribution" to Ukraine's "ongoing fight against Russia's illegal and immoral invasion". More than half of the 49 promised tanks have now reached the Ukrainian army, according to a statement from Mr Marles, with the remainder expected "in the coming months". The lengthy delay was blown out by the need to gain Washington's approval to send the US-made tanks to a third country, and what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described earlier this year as "logistics challenges". In May, when the ships were first being loaded, a US official told the ABC of American frustration about the "complicated" undertaking to send tanks that the Ukrainians would find "difficult to sustain" once in their possession. An Australian official told the ABC in April there was "doubt if the Ukrainians actually want these vehicles", which had never seen combat and were being replaced, and which could be vulnerable to drones given their weak roofs. But the tanks were requested by Ukraine, and the gift has been welcomed publicly by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko. "These modified M1A1 Abrams tanks will deliver more firepower and more mobility to the Ukrainian Armed Forces," Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said. "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 49 tanks come from a fleet of 59 originally purchased in 2007. They are being replaced by the M1A2 model. They are valued at $245 million, part of a total of $1.5 billion in Australian assistance to Ukraine.
