European countries were not ready to transfer the promised number of German-made Leopard-2 tanks to Ukraine. The New York Times writes about it.
Germany and its allies have promised to assemble two tank battalions of 62 combat vehicles for Ukraine. However, almost a month after Berlin authorized the sending of its tanks to Ukraine, the flow of armored vehicles promised to Kiev “looks more like a stream”, writes the newspaper.
“Some countries have found that the tanks in their arsenal are not actually working or have no spare parts.
Political leaders faced unexpected resistance within their own coalitions and even from defense ministries.
And some armies had to use retired instructors to teach Ukrainian soldiers how to use old-style tanks,” the article said.
It’s not so much that countries are refusing to keep their promises, but rather a “gross realization” of the difficulty of keeping them, say tank negotiators quoted by the NYT in private conversations.
Germany and Poland have promised Ukraine the most Leopard tanks: 18 and 14 respectively. Poland sent the first batch of tanks on February 24, the anniversary of the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine. However, according to analysts quoted by the New York Times, Warsaw may suspend deliveries until it receives new K2 tanks from South Korea.
The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium have launched a joint initiative to repair and send 150 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine by the end of the year. But to train the Ukrainians to deal with this model, they had to look for retired tankers, since this old modification of tanks is not familiar to the current army, writes the NYT.
Sweden has announced that it will only donate 10 Leopard 2 tanks. Spain, which has 108 Leopard 2A4 tanks, has found that many vehicles are in poor condition and need repairs, which can take weeks , even months, the paper says. Initially, the country’s authorities announced the delivery of six tanks to Ukraine, then Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that this number would increase to 10.
Finland has promised to provide Ukraine with three Leopard 2 tanks for demining. Earlier this year, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said that the country’s contribution “cannot be very large” because Finland has to defend its long border with Russia.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told a security conference in Munich in February that he was “shocked” by some countries’ stance on supplying Leopards to Ukraine. “We had countries that preferred to hide behind Germany to say: we would be delighted (provided Leopard) if we were allowed. But when we allowed it, they didn’t do anything,” Pistorius said.
At the end of January 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Germany for its indecision over the supply of Leopard 2s. Shortly after, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the delivery of tanks to Ukraine and thus allowed d other European countries to transfer Leopard 2 from their arsenals. in Kiev.
In mid-February, Scholz reproached the Allies for insisting on the need to transfer tanks to Ukraine, but after Berlin gave its agreement, they must be urged to fulfill their obligations.
