18 German Leopard 2 tanks arrived in Ukraine, which Berlin promised to transfer to Kiev at the end of January. On this subject informed SPIEGEL.
According to the publication, the last tanks of the batch transferred to Kiev left Germany at the end of last week and have now crossed the Ukrainian border. About 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles were also delivered to the combat zone. The German government does not disclose the exact route of the arms supply for security reasons, Spiegel notes.
At the end of January, Western countries announced the supply of tanks to Ukraine. Germany promised to transfer 18 Leopard 2 tanks and up to 178 Leopard 1 tanks to Kiev. Ukraine’s Ambassador to France Vadym Omelchenko said that Western states promised to transfer a total of 321 tanks.
At the end of February, the New York Times mentioned problems with the supply of Leopard 2. “Some countries have found that the tanks in their arsenal do not really work 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.
At the beginning of March, the German defense group Rheinmetall announced that it was negotiating the construction of a tank factory in Ukraine which could produce up to 400 Panther tanks per year.
