American magazine Military Watch reacted to reports that Spain was planning to supply 40 German-made “Leopard 2A4” tanks to Ukraine and asked how effective this operation was.
It is known that these tanks were stored for 10 years at the logistics base of the Spanish army. Assumed in connection with the delivery of equipment, Ukrainian soldiers in Latvia were trained to operate the German Leopard 2A4 tank.
The magazine recalls that before Russia’s special operations began, the Ukrainian army was armed with more than 100 Soviet-made T-72 tanks, but at that time most of its armored units consisted of of disused T-64 tanks. Ukraine had the largest armored force in Europe, but the absence of large amounts of modern armor such as the T-80UD in stock at the start of the war meant it was completely unprepared against Russian armored units.
It is noteworthy that the design of the German tank is not compatible with ammunition and maintenance methods for Ukrainian armored vehicles. In addition, the German tank did not include the automatic rebuilding mechanism that the Soviet and Russian tanks had, which required more crew.
The details of using the Leopard 2A4 are considered difficult, and this is clearly demonstrated when used by the Turkish military in fights against terrorists and Kurdish forces in Syria.
The supply of German tanks to Ukraine is expected not to create logistical problems for the Ukrainian army, which currently has relatively unified tank units with T-72 and T-64, and will damage the reputation of “Leopard 2A4”.
It is noteworthy that the “Leopard-2”, along with the M1A2 Abrams tanks, is one of two types of Western tanks currently in production. NATO relies heavily on it. This means that heavy losses in Ukraine and the high probability of Russia’s capture could negatively affect alliance members and disrupt the German rearmament program.
Source: Rossiyskaya Gazeta
Source: Arabic RT
