Germany plans to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine "end of March, beginning of April"
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks to soldiers in front of a Leopard 2 battle tank after a training exercise in Ostenholz, October 2022 (Illustrative image).
AP - Moritz Frankenberg
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Germany expects to deliver the promised Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine "at the
end of March, beginning of April
".
This is what Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday, January 26.
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"
It is planned that we will have the company at the end of March at the beginning of April
" in Ukraine, the minister said during a visit to Bundeswehr troops in Saxony-Anhalt, in the east of the country.
The training of Ukrainian soldiers in the handling of Marder light armor, promised by Berlin at the beginning of the year, will begin "
by the end of January
" in Germany and the training on the Leopards will follow "
a little later
", he said. added.
Ukraine said it hoped to receive these machines as soon as possible, stressing that “
the key
” would be “
speed and volume
” of deliveries.
►Also read: Four questions around the delivery of Western heavy tanks to Ukraine
After weeks of hesitation,
the United States and Germany
announced on Wednesday January 25 the delivery of heavy tanks to Ukraine, taking a new step in military support for Kiev in the perspective of a possible counter- offensive to the Russian invasion.
Two tank battalions
Berlin must provide kyiv with 14 Leopard 2 type 2A6 from the stocks of its army, the Bundeswehr, and has decided to allow its Western allies with these German-made tanks to do the same.
According to the German government, the objective is to constitute, with partner countries, “
two tank battalions equipped with Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine
”.
This would represent 80 to 90 gear.
Washington, for its part, announced the dispatch of 31 Abrams.
Poland and Norway have declared themselves ready to deliver Leopard 2s. According to several media, the coalition of countries ready to provide such armored vehicles also includes Denmark and the Netherlands, in addition to Poland and Finland.
Spain has confirmed that it is "willing" to deliver tanks as well.
(
With
AFP)
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