Morocco Becomes The First African Country To Give Tanks To Ukraine

The Moroccan army sent nearly 20 vehicles modernized in the Czech Republic to the battlefield last week

Morocco sold an unknown number of T-72B tanks to be modernized in the Czech Republic and deployed to Ukraine, media reported on Sunday.

According to an Algerian news outlet Menadefense, the Moroccan army sent nearly 20 vehicles to the battlefield last week. They have been reportedly modernized by the Czech company Excalibur Army in the Czech town of Sternbeck.

In the photos dated January 9, when Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala visited the site, the old Moroccan tanks can be seen on the repair line. The report underlined that the turrets of the tanks are in the original colors of the Moroccan army (sand).

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The United States had earlier promised financial aid to countries that decide to get rid of their Russian or Soviet military equipment. The report suggests that the Moroccan T-72s sent to Ukraine could be later replaced with M1 Abrams from the American military surplus.

The Moroccan army had originally purchased 148 T-72s, 136 T-72Bs and 12 T-72BKs from the Belarusian army in two batches in 1999 and 2000. Rabat's decision to deliver arms to Ukraine was made during the Ramstein Air Base summit on Ukraine in April, 2022 organized by the United States. Tunisia and Morocco were the only two countries representing north Africa at the event.

Kyiv has been pushing its European allies to supply the much-needed tanks for months, but the most recent meeting of the Western defense officials in Ramstein did not result in an agreement on the issue. Germany is reluctant to give consent to Poland and other countries to deploy its Leopard tanks to Kyiv until the U.S. sends its Abrams first.