The defense minister said this Wednesday that she expects a decision on the deployment of the Leopard 2 tanks from the Portuguese army “in the coming days”, but assured that Portugal will help Kyiv develop its tank capabilities.
“There is no doubt: Portugal will participate and help Ukraine develop its capabilities in this area of Leopard 2 tanks,” Helena Carreiras assured the Lusa news agency during a visit to the Association of Disabled Armed Forces. Castelo Branco.
Regarding sending tanks to Ukraine, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said that Portugal is still evaluating the availability and the impact that the transfer of the Leopard 2 will have on the capabilities of the Portuguese army.
“I confirm that we are evaluating both our availability and the impact this will have on our capabilities, but with all due care and due diligence,” he said. “We must not lose opportunities in this movement,” he stressed.
According to him, the goal is to simultaneously help Ukraine together with Western partners, but not to allow Portugal to lose its defense capability.
“We are doing this work, and I hope that in the coming days we will be able to make a decision,” he explained.
Helena Carreiras said that Portugal received “a few days ago” an “official request from Ukraine” for tank training and is currently also evaluating the conditions under which this will take place.
The Minister of Defense also confirmed Portugal’s readiness to help Ukraine develop this potential, recalling, by the way, that the country has done this from the very beginning by offering training in the field of these combat vehicles.
In a note released last Friday, following the meeting of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine, which met that day in person in Ramstein, Germany, Helena Carreiras had already mentioned “the offer of training on combat vehicles of this type” and expressed “the readiness of the Portuguese government to determine, in coordination with ways to support Ukraine with the help of this potential with its partners”.
On the same day, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (CEMGFA), Admiral Silva Ribeiro, indicated that Portugal had 37 Leopard tanks, but declined to comment on how many could be sent to Ukraine.
“We have 37 on the Leopard,” Silva Ribeiro said at a joint press conference during a visit to Portugal by NATO Military Committee President Admiral Rob Bauer.
The CEMGFA was also asked about how many of these vehicles could eventually be included in the aid package for Ukraine, but indicated that they could not comment on “this issue” and referred to a communiqué issued by the Ministry of National Defense.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.