WARSAW, February 3. /TASS/. The Polish Armed Forces have started to train Ukrainian troops as part of the handover of tanks, Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said at a press conference in Kiev on Friday.

"The first stage of the handover process involves the training of Ukrainian troops. Poland has already launched the training. Ukrainian troops have been chosen and they will soon undergo training on Leopard tanks," he said.

On January 25, the US authorities announced plans to provide 31 Abrams tanks to Kiev. The German government, in turn, confirmed that it would send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and would also give re-export permission to other countries. The Leopard 2 tanks will be delivered to Ukraine "before the end of March," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said. The UK, Norway, Poland, Slovakia and France also stated they would send tanks to Kiev. The Ukrainian authorities expect to get up to 140 tanks from 12 counties at the first stage.