German Leopard 2 tanks have arrived in Ukraine

Chancellor Scholz: Leopard 2 battle tanks, which Berlin promised to Kyiv, were transferred to the Ukrainian side, writes dw.com.

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Leopard 2 battle tanks, promised by Berlin to Kyiv, have been handed over to the Ukrainian side, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Monday, March 27, during his visit to the Netherlands. This was reported earlier by the German weekly Der Spiegel with reference to its sources.

According to the publication, 18 Leopard 2 battle tanks, which the German government promised to provide to Kyiv, have already been delivered to Ukraine. The last tanks from this batch left Germany at the end of last week and were handed over to representatives of Ukraine at the border of this country. In addition, according to these data, Ukraine has already received about 40 Marder armored personnel carriers.

Deliveries of German tanks to Ukraine

Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz at the end of January, after several months of discussions, announced plans to deliver Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, which is defending itself against the Russian invasion. At the first stage, Germany will provide Kyiv with a company of 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from the reserves of the Bundeswehr, he said in the Berlin Bundestag. In addition, this package of military assistance to Kyiv includes the training of Ukrainian crews, logistics, ammunition and system maintenance. This step is the result of intensive consultations with Germany's closest European and international partners, the chancellor emphasized. Later it became known that Germany will supply Ukraine with four more Leopard 2 A6 tanks from the Bundeswehr stockpile, increasing their total number to 18.

On September 4, 2022, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal addressed Berlin for the first time with a request for the supply of battle tanks. But then Scholz rejected this request. Official Berlin explained its restrained position by the fact that it was forced to correlate the threat of an escalation of Russia's war against Ukraine with the need for international coordination in the matter of military aid to Kyiv. Chancellor Scholz was repeatedly criticized, including by allies of the ruling coalition in Germany, for his indecision regarding the provision of this type of weapons to Ukraine.

In February, it also became known that the Bundeswehr began training Ukrainian servicemen in the operation of Leopard 2 battle tanks. It was reported that the training takes place at the training center of the tank forces in Munster (Lower Saxony) and will be completed by the end of the first quarter, "synchronously" with the transfer of tanks to Ukraine .

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