Sunday, January 8, 2023

Germany Under Pressure To Release Leopard II Tanks To Ukraine

Photo credit: Defence View

The Telegraph: Olaf Scholz under pressure to release Leopard II tanks to Ukraine after Poland and Finland pledge 

Pressure is building on Germany to release Leopard II tanks to Ukraine after Finland and Poland pledged to send Europe’s most fearsome tank to fight the Russian army. 

Germany manufactures Leopard II tanks and also holds the export licence for them, meaning Berlin must approve any shipment of the tanks to Ukraine or elsewhere. 

After both the Finnish and Polish governments signalled their desire to send Leopard II vehicles to Ukraine, Lars Klingbeil, a German MP and part of the ruling coalition, said the government wouldn’t be bounced into a deal and that no countries “were yet delivering heavy battle tanks” to Ukraine.  

Read more ....  

Update #1: 'Free the Leopards!' Campaign aims to 'embarrass' Germany into sending tanks to Ukraine -- Euronews  

Update #2: German won't rule out deliveries of Leopard tanks to Ukraine, economy minister says -- Reuters  

WNU Editor: There are 2,000 Leopard II tanks in Europe .... 2,000 Leopard 2 tanks in Europe, 10% could be donated to Ukraine (DPA).

9 comments:

fazman said...

Game changer

Bigus Macus said...

So, who will be manning these EU and American tanks. It's not like you can just jump in and drive down the road. They all require training to use. Does the Ukraine have anyone left to train? Does this mean that NATO will be manning them?

Anonymous said...

Ukraine has 60 million ppl and every able bodied person is eager and willing to fight…

Mr. Nobody said...

Was it not just reported last month that the German tank force was "Kaput" due to parts and maintenance issues?
If they do arrive to the Ukraine, it may be a while.

Anonymous said...

They'll need properly trained tank crews, mechanics, technicians & other support troops, armoured recovery vehicles, spare parts, tank transporters, trucks etc. That'll take months at least to sort. By then the war may be over. Keep ducking

Anonymous said...

More than a few tanks were reflagged during WW2.

The hardest thing to sort out might be the language on any computer system. Other than language it would take about as much time to learn the take as a preflight check. It could take months to a year, if they are government service employees.

Tasman Gleeson said...

That was because of problems with the Germans new Puma IFV just like the British with the Ajax. The Leopard 2 in there army is ready to go as are a lot of the other countries that use Leopard 2s.

Anonymous said...

some girls know how to do this: they wear tank tops

Anonymous said...

Pretty rich coming from a Swedish politician.