Portugal to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, PM says
Leopard 2 tank (Photo:Broń Pancerna/flickr.com)
Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa has announced that his country intends to transfer Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias reported on Feb. 4.
Costa also said that Portugal is currently working with Germany to carry out a logistics operation that will allow the supply of spare parts for the restoration of some tanks.
“We are currently working to be able to dispense some of our tanks,” Costa told Lusa news agency during a trip to the Central African Republic. “I know how many tanks will be (sent to Ukraine) but that will be announced at the appropriate time.”
Costa noted that “the movement that is taking place in Europe is to be able to have all these means available by the end of March.”
On Jan. 25, Germany approved the transfer of 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and their re-export from partner countries. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the first tanks can be sent to Ukraine by the end of March.
On the same day, the United States announced the future deployment of 31 Abrams tanks to the front.
On Jan. 31, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine will receive 120-140 modern Western tanks “in the first wave,” adding that the tank coalition already includes 12 participating countries.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the defenders of Ukraine need 300-500 tanks to launch an offensive to liberate more Ukrainian territory from Russian invasion forces.
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