After weeks of intense pressure from its partners, Germany announced last week it would approve the delivery of about 80 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine | Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images
The German government has approved the delivery by a private arms-maker of its old Leopard 1 tanks to Kyiv, a government spokesperson said Friday.
“I can confirm that an export license has been issued” for the Leopard 1 tanks, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said at a press briefing, without confirming specific numbers.
Earlier on Friday, Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that Berlin had approved German arms-maker Rheinmetall’s plans to sell 88 of the older Leopards to Kyiv, once these are repaired, for a total cost of more than €100 million.
The move further signals a reversal of Berlin’s policy on tanks for Ukraine, nine days after the chancellery announced it would send one company of Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv as part of a European coalition.
Yet, this risks creating supply bottlenecks, because Leopard 1s are no longer produced, and their shells have a different caliber than the newer Leopard 2s, the newspaper explained.
The German government is also considering buying back 15 Gepard tanks it had sold to Qatar — but might also face some issues there, since ammunition for these is made in Switzerland, which has so far refused to approve re-exports to Ukraine on the grounds that it would breach its neutrality. However, some Swiss lawmakers are pushing for the country to reconsider its position.
After weeks of intense pressure from its partners, Germany announced last week it would approve the delivery of about 80 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, including about 14 of its own tanks, as part of a coalition of European countries. Since the tanks are German-made, other countries or private companies willing to send them to Ukraine needed the German government’s approval.
Kyiv has been pressing its allies to send tanks for months, saying it needs hundreds to face a potential Russian counteroffensive in the spring.
The U.K. has also pledged to send Kyiv some of its own Challenger 2 tanks,while the U.S. has said it will send 31 M1 Abrams tanks.
BubiBalboa on February 3rd, 2023 at 12:27 UTC »
People need to stop with the numerology. lol
Germany hasn't even announced how many Leo 1 will be sent. The press just assumes it will be 88 because that's how many Rheinmetall reportedly has in stock. The only official word was "The export request for Leopard 1 tanks has been granted." That's all we know for now.
egotim on February 3rd, 2023 at 10:26 UTC »
according to other german news this is true, but there are problems to get the needed amount of ammo and not all of them are ready, some need maintenance, also this needs approval from german parliament which it does not have. So you will probably hear more about this in 4 weeks.
Rocco89 on February 3rd, 2023 at 10:22 UTC »
This is the most important bit of the news IMO