Denmark and Germany to supply 80 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine

Denmark together with Germany will transfer 80 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine. informed Acting Minister of Defense of Denmark Troels Lund Poulsen on TV2.

The Minister called the volumes of the future supply of military equipment to Ukraine “very large.” “The fact that we are delivering 80 Leopard 1 tanks is a very significant number,” he said.

May 5 Troels Lund Poulsen is in Berlin with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. They plan to meet with Danish military instructors who are teaching Ukrainian servicemen how to operate the Leopard 1. The TV channel clarifies that this tank model was removed from service in Denmark back in 2005.

According to TV2, by June 1, the announced Leopard 1 will be ready for use. It is noted that the Danish authorities allocated 1 billion Danish kroner (about $1.5 million) for the supply of tanks, ammunition and training of Ukrainian soldiers. An amount equivalent to 1 billion Danish kroner was also allocated for these purposes by the German government.

Russia’s special operation in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. In response, the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Japan and the EU countries imposed large-scale sanctions against the Russian Federation, and also began to provide military assistance to Ukraine. In January Germany announced on the supply of 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv, and USA – 31st M1 Abrams. Poland, Finland, Norway, Spain and other EU countries also announced plans to transfer tanks to Kyiv.

The Russian authorities have repeatedly criticized the supply of Western weapons to the Ukrainian army. In the Kremlin spokethat the supply of tanks to Kyiv will not change the situation in the special operation zone, but will “add problems” for Ukraine. And the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, earlier warnedthat pumping up Ukraine with weapons brings NATO closer to the dangerous line of a direct military clash with Russia.