War in Ukraine, day 578 | The first Abrams tanks delivered to Kyiv

(Kyiv) The first American Abrams tanks have arrived in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Monday, welcoming this “good news”, at a time when his army is trying to take advantage of the last weeks of favorable weather before the cold season.

“Abrams are already in Ukraine and are preparing to reinforce our brigades,” Mr. Zelensky said on Telegram without specifying how many of these vehicles have been supplied. He declared himself “grateful to the allies for fulfilled promises”.

The delivery of these powerful tanks to Kyiv was announced last week by Joe Biden during a visit to the White House by Mr. Zelensky, seeking additional support in the midst of the Ukrainian counter-offensive to liberate the territories occupied by Russia.

“Next week, the first American Abrams tanks will be delivered to Ukraine,” Mr. Biden said at the time. The United States had promised a total of 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, equipped with 120mm depleted uranium munitions.

These munitions can pierce armor but are also controversial due to the toxic risks for the military and the population.

These first tanks were supplied to Kyiv “months ahead” of the initial schedule, the American newspaper said on Monday. New York Timeswhile the Ukrainian army is engaged in a race against time as the expected slowdown in these operations approaches in the coming months due to deteriorating weather.

Two dead in Odessa

Bolstered by Western arms deliveries, Ukraine launched a vast counter-offensive in the South and East at the beginning of June to repel Russian forces.

If this operation has long come up against the powerful lines fortified by Moscow and has so far only allowed the retaking of a handful of devastated villages, it seems to be accelerating in recent weeks.

Ukrainian forces thus claim to have managed to reach the first Russian lines on the southern front and regain ground in the East.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian authorities also announced the death of two civilians in a “massive” Russian attack on Odessa, a major Black Sea port, three days after an unprecedented Ukrainian strike against the headquarters of the Russian fleet. from the Black Sea to Sevastopol, annexed Crimea.

Two people were found dead in a grain warehouse in Odessa, according to a new report announced on Telegram by regional governor Oleg Kiper, who initially reported one injured.

Combat drones, supersonic Oryx missiles and Kalibr missiles were involved in the attack, according to the Ukrainians, who claim to have shot down most of them.

The Russian Defense Ministry, for its part, said it had carried out a massive “strike” against centers hosting “foreign mercenaries” and those training “sabotage groups” from Kyiv.

Also in the South, two septuagenarians died in the morning in a Russian air attack in Beryslav, the Kherson region (South), according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.

Russian commander killed, Kyiv says

Ukrainian special forces also claimed on Monday to have killed the commander of the Russian Black Sea fleet by striking his headquarters in Sevastopol, in annexed Crimea, on Friday.

“Thirty-four officers including the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet died” and “105 other occupants were injured” following the strike, the special forces said on Telegram, without providing any proof. .

The AFP is unable to verify these claims, while Moscow almost never reports its losses in Ukraine, even when it comes to senior officials.

Russia reported Friday that only one soldier was missing after the attack which heavily damaged the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

This attack illustrates the difficulties of Russian anti-aircraft defense in countering regular strikes on this Ukrainian peninsula, annexed in 2014 by Russia and which is an important logistical node for Moscow’s troops.

The Russian Defense Ministry also said on Telegram on Monday that four Ukrainian drones had been destroyed over the annexed Crimean peninsula and the northwest Black Sea.

Two other drones were shot down over the Kursk region, according to the same source.

In the neighboring Bryansk region, just to the north, Governor Alexander Bogomaz counted three Ukrainian aerial drones shot down, without reporting any casualties or damage.