Germany will transfer 88 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine

Germany has approved the export of Leopard 1 tanks from its stocks to Ukraine, the representative of the German government, Steffen Hebestreit, said on Wednesday. The total number of tanks is 88, they are in the warehouses of the production company Rheinmetall. According to Hebestreit, deliveries may begin in the coming weeks.

“Leopard 1” is the previous main model of tanks in service with the Bundeswehr, since the mid-1980s they are no longer produced, giving way to a more modern modification – “Leopard 2”. However, “Leopards 1” are still in service with many armies of the world and are constantly being modernized. The cost of 88 tanks that Ukraine can get is more than 100 million euros.

As noted by the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, the old Leopard model uses shells of a different caliber than the new one, so there is a risk of a shortage of ammunition. The countries that provide military assistance to Ukraine will deal with the solution of this problem.

• In January, Germany, after long hesitation, approved the delivery of its Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, both directly from the Bundeswehr’s reserves and from EU countries that had previously purchased these tanks. Thus, Kyiv can receive at least 112 units of German tanks. It is expected that they can appear in Ukraine within two to three months. Kyiv and Berlin declared that tanks will not be used on the territory of Russia within its borders officially recognized by the international community. The equipment will be used only to liberate the territory of Ukraine.
• The USA also announced its readiness to transfer 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
• Russia’s ambassador to Germany, Sergey Nechaev, called Berlin’s decision on tanks “extremely dangerous.” “The decision takes the conflict to a new level of confrontation and contradicts the statements of German politicians about the reluctance of the Federal Republic of Germany to get involved in it,” said Nechaev.