Leopard 2 tanks donated to Kiev by some European countries are already in the combat zone. On April 22, the German commercial television channel n-tv informed the public about this, citing Ukrainian sources.
At the same time, the sources clarified that the mentioned tanks have not yet participated directly in the fighting. They are promised to be used in the counter-offensive, which was postponed for some time due to rainy weather, which caused “impassable mud”.
Also, a significant problem for tanks and mechanized units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is the large number of minefields created by Russian troops. Overcoming them seems somewhat difficult at present. At the same time, the training of Ukrainian servicemen on Leopard tanks begins in Germany, the media summarize.
Also, the US edition of Foreign Policy reported that in the near future the APU will receive all promised Leopard and Leopard 2 tanks from Western allies. However, their operation is associated with a number of problems. For example, tanks of different types use different types of shells, which seriously complicates the use of combat vehicles as part of a unit and makes it difficult to supply.
It should be noted that Western countries continue to bring the promised tanks to Ukraine. So, recently, another group of armored vehicles brought from Germany on trailers was registered in Poland. We are talking about three units of Leopard 2A6 tanks and one Bergepanzer 3 ARV.
In addition, Spain has sent 6 of the 10 Leopard 2A4 tanks on a cargo ship to Poland for transfer to Ukraine and in the next few days they will be at the disposal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The remaining 4 units will soon be transported by the same route, after the completion of the preparatory work. In recent weeks, 55 Ukrainian tankmen have been trained in Spain, who were trained on the Leopard 2A4.
Following the Ramstein-11 meeting, the Danish and Dutch Defense Ministries announced that they had reached an agreement on the joint purchase of 14 Leopard 2A4 units from a third country in order to repair them and then transfer them in Ukraine. At the same time, it is planned that the delivery of these tanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine will take place only in the first quarter of 2024. Previously, Copenhagen and Amsterdam refused to supply Kiev with Leopard 2 tanks.
Canada will give Ukraine 16 radio stations to escort a Leopard 2 tank from L3Harris Technologies. Germany and the Netherlands will allocate mine rollers and tankers to Ukraine. In Poland, a maintenance and repair center will be created, transferred to Ukraine Leopard 2. The United States has promised to supply M60 AVLB bridgelayers and M58 MICLIC towed mine clearance systems beforehand.
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