Since the summer of 2022, the German Ministry of Defense has a detailed list of Leopard tanks in the German army, their number and condition. It also specifies which of them can be transferred to Ukraine.
The German magazine Spiegel writes about it with reference to its sources.
According to the list, the Bundeswehr has a total of 312 Leopard-2 tanks of various modifications, of which 99 were undergoing maintenance and repair as of May last year, and one of them was being prepared for retirement. Thus, 212 tanks are currently considered suitable in Germany. These are different models of 2A5, 2A6, 2A7 and 22A7V, which is the most modern version. The last ones in the Bundeswehr were 53 units.
19 Leopard 2A5 tanks are considered the most suitable for transfer to Ukraine. This is an improved version of the Leopard 2A4, which is the most common version in Europe. Currently, 19 German tanks are being used for training at the armyʼs combat training center. They simulate enemy tanks during maneuvers.
If the federal government makes the political decision to transfer the tanks, German Leopard 2A5 models could be combined in a package for Ukraine with Leopard-2 models from other European countries, such as Poland.
- On January 20, the eighth meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine was held at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the Western allies at the Ramstein-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, announced that the Ukrainian military would 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.
- According to Business Insider, former German Defense Minister Lambrecht, before her resignation, banned the Bundeswehrʼs inventory of tanks in order to delay the governmentʼs response to the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine.