Germany and the allies will supply Ukraine with 112 Leopard 2 tanks in total, Bloomberg reports, citing the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s address to the Parliament.
Kyiv is set to start receiving the Leopard tanks in three months. The chancellor has also confirmed that the first step would be Germany sending 14 tanks to Ukraine, which the German government had announced earlier in the day. Germany will also allow other countries to supply Ukraine with the Leopard tanks.
Furthermore, the aid package includes training of Ukrainian servicemen in Germany, logistics, ammunition, and technical maintenance.
“It was right and it is right that we did not allow ourselves to be pushed but chose, and will continue to choose, this close cooperation,” Scholz told lawmakers, as quoted by Bloomberg.
Yesterday, 24 January, Der Spiegel reported that the chancellor had made the decision to hand the Leopard 2 tanks over to Ukraine. According to the newspaper, at least one company (12-14 tanks) of Leopard 2A6 tanks will be sent to Kyiv.
Earlier in the day, Reuters claimed, citing US officials, that President Joe Biden could announce sending the M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine on 25 January. According to another source of the agency, the US could supply Ukraine with around 30 Abrams tanks in the coming months. The process can take months and even years, Reuters notes.
Politico previously reported that the US Administration plans to send Ukraine 30 M1 Abrams tanks. Washington’s agreement to supply Kyiv with the Abrams tanks was Germany’s condition for allowing other countries to hand the Leopard 2 tanks over to Ukraine.
