OTTAWA, January 30. /TASS/. The Ukrainian armed forces are likely to start using Western tanks on the battlefield in the spring, the country’s Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov said in an interview with the Canadian CBC television channel on Sunday.

"I hope we will start using them probably in the spring," he said. According to the minister, the Ukrainian military intend to form at least two tank battalions from the supplies promised by Western countries, which will be used "to continue the counteroffensive."

Reznikov expressed hope that Western countries would continue to supply tanks to Kiev in the future. He said the promises of tanks are "not the end of the story, it's just the start of the story."

On January 25, the US authorities announced their intention to deliver 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Kiev. In turn, Germany said that it would send 14 Leopard 2 tanks from the country’s inventories and will allow other nations to re-export the armored military vehicles. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said, according to a Focus Online report on January 26, that Leopard 2 tanks would be sent to Ukraine before the end of March.

On January 25, Norway and Slovakia also voiced their intention to send tanks to Kiev. Earlier the decision to provide tanks to Ukraine was announced by the authorities of the UK, Poland and France.