Spain to transfer six Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in spring, says defense minister
Leopard tank (Photo:REUTERS/Benjamin Westhoff)
Spain will transfer six Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine in late March or early April, Spanish news agency EFE quoted Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles as saying on Feb. 22.
Speaking at a plenary meeting of the Congress of Deputies in Spain, the minister said the tanks are being repaired so that they meet modern requirements.
Robles added that the number of tanks to be sent to Ukraine could grow if necessary or at the request of allies.
Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Feb. 15 that Poland, Norway, Canada, Spain, and Finland had equipped a battalion of Leopard-2A4 tanks to be sent to Ukraine.
On Feb. 14, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that a group of countries, including Germany, Poland, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands, are working on the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
On Jan. 25, after long hesitation, Germany approved the transfer of 14 Leopard-2 tanks to Ukraine and their re-export from partner countries. On the same day, the United States announced the delivery of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the first tanks could be sent to Ukraine by the end of March.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that Ukraine would receive 120-140 modern Western tanks in the first wave.
On Feb. 7, Berlin issued a license to German military companies to supply Ukraine with 178 Leopard-1A5 tanks. Pistorius stated that Ukraine would receive more than 100 Leopard-1A5s from several European countries.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine needs 300-500 tanks for a major counter-offensive to liberate all Ukrainian territory from Russian occupation.
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