TOP HEADLINES

• The U.S. will conduct a 10-week training program to train hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers how to use its innovative advanced M1A2 Abrams tanks. READ MORE BELOW

• U.S. Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says that while the decision to provide Ukraine with these tanks will make a difference, it's no silver bullet.

• Germany will also establish a repair hub in Poland to mend damaged tanks and return them to the battlefield.

• Six German-made Leopard 2A4 tanks destined for Ukraine left Spain by ship, according to a naval monitoring website.

• Ukraine pressed allies for long-range weapons, jets and ammunition as the U.S. hosted a meeting at the Ramstein air base in Germany on Friday to discuss stepping up support to repel the Russian attack.

• Russia's Defense Ministry said assault troops were fighting in western parts of Bakhmut, the last part of the embattled Ukrainian city still held by Kyiv's forces.

• Ukraine said Russian forces had made some advances in their fight for Bakhmut but the situation was under control.

* NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said NATO allies agreed Ukraine would eventually become a member and that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy had been invited to attend the Western military alliance's summit in July.

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IN DEPTH

Allies bolster Ukrainian tank forces

The United States said it will soon start training Ukrainian troops to use its Abrams tank and Germany announced a deal to establish a Polish hub to repair tanks, as the U.S. hosted a meeting of allies on Friday.

The meeting at Ramstein Air Base, the latest in a series of arms-pledging conferences since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, made no major announcements on weapons but said its focus was air defense and ammunition.

It also reassured Ukraine of unwavering support and backed its aspirations to join NATO at some point but officials stressed the immediate focus was the battlefield.

Ukraine has pressed its allies for long-range weapons, jets and ammunition before a counteroffensive expected in the coming weeks or months.

"The M1 tank, when it is delivered, will make a difference," said U.S. Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff.

The Abrams tanks will arrive in Germany in the coming weeks for Ukrainian troops to begin training, U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, added the training would last about 10 weeks and involve hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers.

In January, Washington pledged to supply Kyiv with 31 advanced M1A2 Abrams tanks.

NATO member states and their allies have provided Ukraine with weapons and armor, but Kyiv has repeatedly asked for more powerful weapons and quicker supplies.

Asked about the demands for advanced jets, Milley said what Ukraine needed first was ground-based air defence.

"The Russians are cautious to come into Ukraine because of the effective use of the Ukrainian air defence system. That is the most critical thing right now," Milley said.

Also at Friday's meeting, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced a deal to establish a hub in Poland to repair the German-made Leopard tanks being deployed in Ukraine.

All parties agreed on how to finance such a hub, which costs around 150-200 million euros ($384 million) a year and could begin operations at the end of May, Pistorius told reporters.

He also said Ukrainian troops would begin to receive training on using the Leopard tanks and said Berlin's pledge to deliver around 80 of them by mid-2023 was progressing swiftly.

"What does all this show? It shows our determination that we want to persevere," he said.

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