Ukraine has received delivery of much-waited Leopard 2 tanks from Germany, Berlin confirmed during the late hours of Monday.
“As promised, our tanks have arrived on time in the hands of our Ukrainian friends”, The Guardian quoted Boris Pistorius, the German defence minister as saying. “I am sure that they can make the difference on the front,” Pistorius said.
German news magazine Der Spiegel reported the tanks were handed over at the Ukrainian border at the end of last week. The report said 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles and two tank recovery vehicles were also delivered to Ukraine. Germany did not reveal the route through which the tanks were delivered owing to security reasons.
While Germany promised delivery of 18 Leoprad2 tanks, the US has promised delivery of 31 American-made M1A2 Abrams tanks. While Portugal will be contributing three tanks, Sweden would send 10.
The Guardian reported that the Leopard tanks, operated by a crew of four – a commander, gunner, loader, and driver – about 2,000 Leopard 2s are in use by European countries.
Ukrainian soldiers underwent training for the past two months at a Bundeswehr site in Munster, Lower Saxony.
Ukraine had been demanding Western countries to supply it with tanks and fighter jets to improve its defences against Russia. Germany agreed to supply Ukraine with tanks as part of an international coalition after the US agreed to send Abrams tanks.
Britain agreed to deliver Challenger 2 tanks and Ukraine's defence minister on Tuesday confirmed they received the first set of British tanks. Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said, “It was a pleasure to take the first Ukrainian Challenger 2 MBT for a spin. Such tanks, supplied by the United Kingdom, have recently arrived in our country. These fantastic machines will soon begin their combat missions.”
