Spain will have six Leopard tanks ready to ship to Ukraine next week, Spanish Defense Minister Margherita Robles said on Thursday.
Six Leopard 2A4 tanks, which the Spanish army has not used for 15 years, have been under repair for a month and a half at a military equipment factory in Seville, southern Spain, and will be ready for use next week. minister.
Spain pledged to first send six of these tanks to Ukraine, and then said it could send four more, which will soon arrive at the same plant for repairs, confirmed Margarita Robles, who visited sites this Thursday where Leopards could be restored.
Since they had not been used for so many years, the tanks were in an “extremely unsatisfactory” condition, but they were repaired “totally and absolutely”, with a guarantee of safety, in a timeframe that the minister considered a record. .
In addition to the obligation to supply Ukraine with 10 Leopards, Spain is also training Ukrainians to operate and maintain these tanks.
Germany has pledged to supply Kyiv with about 60 modern tanks as part of a coalition that includes countries such as Portugal, Spain, Norway, Canada and Poland.
Poland was the first country in the group to send Leopard tanks, delivering four units on February 24, the first anniversary of Russia’s war with Ukraine.
According to the US military, nine countries have already pledged to send about 150 Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
The supply of weapons and training of soldiers was one of the forms of support for Kyiv by its Western allies, in addition to imposing sanctions against Russia.
The Leopard 2A4 tank dates from the end of the 20th century and served as the basis for the development of one of the most modern and effective battle tanks used by Western countries, the 2A6 model in its German or Swedish versions, as well as the development of the Spanish Leopard 2E tank, the main vehicle of the Spanish armored forces in present day.
The 2A4 is superior to most of the main tanks currently on the battlefield, and the 2A6 supplied by Germany is on par with the most advanced Russian vehicles to date.
Leopard 2A4 and 2A6 are about 80% logistically compatible.
The Russian military offensive into Ukraine, launched on February 24, 2022, plunged Europe into the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939–1945).
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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