German Chancellor Olaf Scholz decided to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
The German newspaper Der Spiegel writes about it.
We are talking about at least a tank company — from 10 to 14 vehicles. The Armed Forces will receive a version of the Leopard 2A6 tanks. According to Der Spiegel, German Leopard tanks allegedly come from Bundeswehr warehouses. In the medium and long term, Germany may transfer other main battle tanks from the industrial stockpile.
The federal government also wants to allow the export of such tanks belonging to other countries, including Poland.
Germanyʼs decision was likely preceded by several days of intensive consultations with the Allies, especially in Washington. Scholz always emphasized that he wanted to supply battle tanks only jointly with other countries, in particular with the United States.
The Bundestag announced that it will officially make a decision on Leopard 2 tomorrow, January 25. A representative of the German Ministry of Defense in a comment to CNN said that the German army has 320 Leopard 2 tanks of the A5, A6 and A7 series. They are in various states, from repair to readiness for deployment.
Before that, the German defense concern Rheinmetall stated that, if necessary, it can transfer 139 Leopard type 1 and 2 battle tanks to Ukraine. Most of them will be ready for transfer at the end of 2023.
- On January 4, 2023, France announced the transfer of AMX-10RC light wheeled tanks to Ukraine. The next day it became known that the USA and Germany are preparing for the transfer of M2 Bradley and Marder BMPs to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Germany agreed to provide another battery of Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems. At that time, Western analysts began to write that the agreement of the United States and Germany to transfer infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine opens the way for future deliveries of Abrams and Leopard tanks.
- On January 20, the eighth meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine was held at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. According to the results of this meeting, 12 countries agreed to transfer Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Among these countries are Poland and Finland, who spoke about it publicly, as well as Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark. The names of seven more donor countries have not yet been disclosed.
- On January 20, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov, announced that the Ukrainian military will already begin training to drive 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.
- The US may also soon announce the delivery of a "significant" number of Abrams tanks to Ukraine. This will be part of the agreement with Germany. Great Britain, for its part , should hand over 10 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.