DSlovakia and the Czech Republic support the idea of supplying Ukraine with heavy Leopard 2 main battle tanks made in Germany. The FAZ learned this from diplomatic circles. Both countries have already delivered dozens of their own Soviet-designed battle tanks to Kyiv to help the country fight the Russian aggressor.
As part of the so-called ring exchange, Germany had agreed to replace these in smaller numbers with refurbished Leopard 2A4s, i.e. not the very latest versions. The first of these tanks were delivered to Prague and Pressburg (Bratislava) in December, and crew training has also already begun.
Pressure on the federal government continues to grow
At today’s Ramstein conference, both countries could offer to forego further deliveries for the time being and forward the tanks to Ukraine. It is about a total of 30 Leopard tanks, which were bought up and stored by the industry after being decommissioned from Swiss and German stocks.
The plan was to deliver around two tanks per month, with Berlin bearing the costs. Another partner in the ring exchange, Greece, recently held talks with the Ministry of Defense about whether Marder infantry fighting vehicles that had already been delivered could be handed over to Ukraine, since German stocks probably do not allow for a quick delivery.
With the apparently agreed offer, the pressure on the federal government continues to grow. Previously, Poland had also announced several times that it would deliver a number of its Leopard tanks to the Ukraine, and other countries have indicated a basic willingness to do so. The United States may have learned of the planned course of action in advance and would be willing to supply older Abrams tanks to Prague and Pressburg (Bratislava) for short-term compensation.
However, there are various unresolved issues to consider, including the training of the tank crews and the supply of spare parts for the main battle tanks, which is already complicated for the Bundeswehr. In addition, it is pointed out in military circles that larger numbers of the older, somewhat simpler Leopard 1 could also be considered, of which around 150 are still stored in the industry.
A further risk in the event of a possible delivery could be that the Leopard tanks, which are neither used in an active network nor routinely operated, would become the preferred targets of the Russian armed forces, according to expert circles. If the Leopard were then used undervalue, so to speak, it could weaken its reputation as arguably the best main battle tank in the world. On the other hand, the Ukrainian armed forces had already proven last year that they can handle Western and German weapons extremely skillfully and efficiently, contrary to the massive misgivings of experts about the anti-aircraft tank Gepard.
