American M1117 armoured personnel carriers, which were promised to Ukraine back in 2022, have finally arrived to Ukrainian soldiers

The M1117 Guardian APCs, which the United States announced in November 2022, eventually entered service with the 154th Separate Mechanised Brigade.

Here's What We Know

The press service of the 154th Separate Mechanised Brigade recently showed a video of infantry training, which shows that the brigade has received American M1117 Guardian armoured personnel carriers. Interestingly, they have already been fitted with so-called barbecues to protect them from FPV drone strikes.

It is worth noting that it first became known that the United States was going to transfer M1117s to Ukraine in November 2022. Back then, these armoured personnel carriers were allocated as part of a $400 million defence aid package. It was also stated at the time that Ukraine would receive 250 M1117s.

For a long time, nothing was heard about the delivery of these vehicles, but in September 2023, the United States even held a briefing on the restoration and transfer of armoured personnel carriers. At that time, it was announced that it would take another year and a half to complete the repairs.

Finally, in March 2024, the M1117 APCs were spotted for the first time - they were seen on a video of the 425th separate assault battalion "Skala".

The western think tank CSIS said that the pace of M1117 transfers to Ukraine was "anti-record". It took almost 500 days for Ukraine to receive what it was promised.

Source: Defence Express