‘Tank coalition’ has full battalion of Leopard-2A4 tanks ready for Ukraine
Tank Leopard (Photo:REUTERS/Benjamin Westhoff)
Through joint effort, Poland, Norway, Canada, Spain, and Finland have equipped a battalion of Leopard-2A4 tanks to be sent to Ukraine, Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak told Polish newspaper Dziennik Gazeta Prawna on Feb. 15.
“I want to say that we have equipped a battalion of Leopard 2A4 tanks,” said Blaszczak.
He added that Poland transferred 14 tanks, Norway – 8, Canada – 4, Spain – 4-6, with Finland donating an unspecified number of vehicles.
According to the minister, training of Ukrainian crews is currently underway in Poland, with help from Canadian and Norwegian instructors.
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 U.S. announced the delivery of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the first tanks can be sent to Ukraine by the end of March.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that Ukraine will receive 120-140 modern Western tanks in the first wave. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine needs 300-500 tanks for a major counteroffensive.
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.
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