Germany, Denmark And Netherlands Send Leopard 1 Tanks To Ukraine

Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands announced that they plan to provide Ukraine with at least 100 refurbished Leopard 1 battle tanks in the coming months, a pledge that comes as Kyiv anticipates a new Russian offensive around the anniversary of its invasion, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Photo Insert: Three other countries will pool funds to refurbish at least 100 old Leopard 1 tanks from industry stocks and supply them to Ukraine.

For its part, Reuters reported that the three countries will pool funds to refurbish at least 100 old Leopard 1 tanks from industry stocks and supply them to Ukraine, according to a joint statement published on Tuesday.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, on a surprise visit to Kyiv, said between 20 and 25 of the tanks would arrive by summer, about 80 by the end of the year and another 100 in 2024, according to a statement by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov's office after the counterparts met.

In Washington, Robert Habeck, Germany's vice chancellor, said that while Ukraine should have a double-digit number of German-made Leopard 1 tanks at its disposal in the first quarter, it was unclear how many of the 178 tanks his country had authorized would ultimately be sent.

"The numbers are there but they have to be refurbished for battle, re-equipped, so we don't know exactly how many," he told reporters after meeting US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

"But it's a large number to repel Russia's spring offensive."

Asked whether the decision to send them, after months of mounting pressure on Berlin, should have been taken earlier, Habeck said: "I hope the decision was taken at just the right time."

Canada already sent the first Leopard 2 tank to Ukraine while German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius delivered a scale model of the Leopard 2 tank to Kyiv, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

More than 300 such tanks may arrive in Ukraine sooner as other European countries are sending tanks from their armored regiments. One German armored unit has seen its 14 Leopard 2 tanks shipped to Ukraine.

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