Contrary to reports on Wednesday that the first Leopard main battle tanks could be delivered in three months, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stressed on Thursday that the tanks should arrive in Ukraine by the end of March. Apparently deliveries from Polish stocks are even earlier.
Kiev will receive the device at the “end of the first quarter,” Pistorius said after his arrival while visiting troops in Saxony-Anhalt. When asked if this was the right time to reinforce Ukraine in anticipation of an expected Russian spring offensive, Pistorius said, as far as he knew, it was “the right time.”
After much hesitation, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised to deliver Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine on Wednesday. In a first step, 14 Leopard tanks from Bundeswehr stocks will be made available to Kiev. According to the German federal government, the intention is to “assemble two tank battalions with Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine together with partner countries”. This would be 80 to 90 tanks. In addition, the government in Berlin had allowed other countries to supply their own Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
Poland: „Once training is complete, ready to deliver”
Among them is Poland. The government in Warsaw assumes that the announced 14 combat vehicles of the Polish army can be delivered to Ukraine within a few weeks. “Once (the Ukrainians) have completed the training, we will be ready to hand over this device to the Ukrainian side. I’m sure it’s a matter of a few weeks,” Deputy Defense Minister Wojciech Skurkiewicz told Radio Plus.
Source: Krone
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