Spiegel: Germany may transfer 19 Leopard tanks to Kyiv from stocks

The Bundeswehr could transfer 19 Leopard tanks to Ukraine from its stocks, such a supply can be combined with other models of tanks that European countries want to transfer, informs SPIEGEL.

At the disposal of the publication was a classified table, which lists the various models of Leopard tanks available to the German armed forces. According to Spiegel, the list contains tank models as of early summer 2022. It follows that 19 old tanks may be suitable for delivery to Ukraine.

“The existence of such a Leopard list should also be of interest to the new Minister of Defense, Boris Pistorius. At a conference of Ukrainian supporters in Ramstein on Friday, Pistorius said he wanted to check which and how many Bundeswehr Leopard tanks are suitable for delivery to Ukraine.

As the minister explained, in this way he intends to prepare for the moment when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz “makes a political decision” on the supply of tanks. It follows from the list that the Bundeswehr has 312 Leopard 2 tanks of various series, of which 99 were under repair and maintenance work in May last year, and another tank was decommissioned. Among the remaining 212 models are the 2A5, 2A6, 2A7 and 2A7B tanks, which, according to Spiegel, represent the most modern version of the weapon system. In addition, by the end of May, the German troops had 53 Leopard 2A7V tanks.

As noted, 19 Leopard 2A5 models may be suitable for delivery to Ukraine, but such tanks are used only in exercises. Moreover, if the delivery is approved by the German government, it can be combined with Leopard 2 models from other European countries, in particular Poland. Collecting such a package of assistance will not be easy, the newspaper notes.

“Most Leopard 2 tanks in Europe are equipped with hydraulic turret control, while Bundeswehr models are electrically controlled. For delivery to Ukraine, the military agrees, a homogeneous fleet would be an advantage, as repairs and maintenance would otherwise be even more difficult, and Ukrainian soldiers should ideally be trained on a sample,” the article says.

Following consultations between the heads of defense ministries of NATO member countries on January 20 at the American Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, the alliance agreed to provide Ukraine with an unprecedentedly large package of military assistance in terms of nomenclature, but German Leopard 2 tanks were not included in it. After that, the Foreign Ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania urged German authorities urgently transfer tanks to Kyiv.

The Russian authorities have repeatedly criticized Western financial and military assistance to Ukraine. In particular, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, has repeatedly warned that pumping Ukraine with weapons brings NATO closer to the dangerous line of a direct military clash with Russia. The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov also warned about the negative consequences of the transfer of heavy tanks to Kyiv.