Spanish Leopard tanks arrive in Poland, destined for Ukraine
Leopard tank (Photo:REUTERS/Ints Kalnins)
Spain has delivered the first six of ten
Leopard main battle tanks to Poland, as part of Madrid’s continued military
assistance to Ukraine, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said on
April 28, as reported by Spanish news outlet The Objective.
"By defending Ukraine, we are not only protecting the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty, but also supporting the right to legitimate self-defense enshrined in the UN Charter," Robles said at a meeting with her German and French colleagues in Madrid.
The Spanish Leopard tanks, which were shipped from Santander last Saturday, are of an older model – Type 2A4. They have long been out of service and have been stored at a warehouse near Saragossa since 2012.
Before being sent to Ukraine, the tanks were refurbished and tested for use on the battlefield.
Earlier, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Ukrainian tank crews had already started training on older Leopard-1 tanks and that 80 of these vehicles would gradually be transferred to Ukraine in 2023.
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