Germany wants to send Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine

Leopard 2A6 main battle tank

According to the report, this version will be delivered to Ukraine.

(Photo: dpa)

Berlin According to information from several media outlets, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to deliver Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine. It is planned to equip at least one company with the Leopard 2A6 version from Bundeswehr stocks, the “Spiegel” reported on Tuesday without citing sources. The news agencies dpa and Reuters reported similarly.

According to information from the Handelsblatt, a decision has been made on the issue of battle tanks. According to the “Spiegel”, the federal government also wants to allow other countries to export Leopard 2 to Ukraine. There was initially no comment from the Chancellery and the Federal Ministry of Economics.

Equipping a company means handing over 14 of the weapon systems. The new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in the morning that he expected a quick decision from Germany on deliveries of Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine.

This is expected “soon”, said the SPD politician in Berlin at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

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The AP news agency also reported that the US government was ready to provide Ukraine with Abrams main battle tanks. Further details were not initially known. Scholz had recently repeatedly emphasized that he wanted to coordinate closely with the western allies on the issue of supplying main battle tanks.

US M1 Abrams battle tank

According to AP, the US is ready to make the model available to Ukraine.

(Photo: AP)

FDP defense expert Marcus Faber called the decision to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine correct. “After eleven months, the training of the Ukrainian crews can finally start,” he told the Handelsblatt. “The consistent and rapid implementation is now crucial and at the same time the most important challenge for the new Minister of Defense. Ukraine urgently needs the tanks to persuade the invading troops to return home.”
According to Faber, all details about spare parts packages and the training of Ukrainian soldiers on the Leopard should be discussed in the defense committee on Wednesday.

More: All developments in the live blog

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