Poland says newest 10 Leopard tanks delivered to Ukraine

WARSAW: Poland on Thursday stated it had delivered to Ukraine the extra 10 Leopard 2A4 tanks it had promised, whereas allies would ship theirs shortly.

“We’re speaking a couple of battalion of heavy tanks which, within the case of Poland’s share, have already been delivered and, within the case of our allies, they are going to be delivered to Ukraine very quickly,” Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak advised reporters.

Warsaw had promised to ship a complete of 14 German-made Leopard 2 heavy tanks to Kyiv.

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The primary 4 had been delivered in late February, on the primary anniversary of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.

Blaszczak stated the tanks to comply with from allied international locations embrace eight from Canada, eight from Norway and a minimum of six from Spain.

“I spoke to Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles. There could also be 4 extra ones,” Blaszczak stated.

Poland has been spearheading efforts to ship the trendy Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

Germany initially resisted the stress from allies to authorise the transfer however early this yr, Berlin agreed to ship its personal Leopards and greenlighted the deliveries from different international locations.

Blaszczak additionally stated Poland would arrange a service hub for the battle tanks utilized in Ukraine.

“We’re continuing with a hub that can be liable for servicing and fixing the tanks which have been delivered to Ukraine or can be quickly,” he stated.

He added that he had raised the problem in talks together with his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius.

“The problem is spare elements for these tanks. Twenty years in the past they stopped producing these elements however we’re ready to renew manufacturing – in fact in cooperation with the Germans,” he stated.