Germany officially agreed to transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine. It also granted permission to other countries

Germany officially agreed to transfer Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. It also issued permission for re-export to other countries that have such tanks in service.

The press service of the German government writes about it.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized that this decision was made in close coordination with allies and partners. The main goal now is to quickly assemble two Leopard tank battalions for Ukraine.

Germany itself will transfer 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks from the reserves to the Bundeswehr. Other countries will also transfer some of their tanks. Training of the Ukrainian military will begin in the near future in Germany.

In addition to the tanks themselves, the aid package will include logistics, ammunition and maintenance.

• On January 20, the eighth meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine was held at the Rammstein Air Base in Germany. German Defense Minister Borys Pistorius said that the Western allies at the Rammstein-style meeting have not yet reached an agreement on providing Ukraine with Leopard 2 main battle tanks. According to him, Germany does not block this decision.
• At the same time, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov informed that the Ukrainian military will already begin training to operate Leopard tanks. This means that as soon as a political decision on deliveries is made, the Ukrainian army will be able to use these tanks immediately.
• White House spokesman for national security and defense John Kirby said that Germany is going through "its own process" on the issue of providing Leopard tanks to Ukraine. According to him, the United States does not put pressure on the Germans.