The German defense minister added that Berlin had promised to send 14 tanks and Lisbon three. Poland leads the coalition to send about 30 tanks, but many will be in poor condition.
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Ukraine’s western allies are having difficulties securing the supply of two Leopard-2 tank battalions as planned, the German defense minister has said.
In statements to the press, Boris Pistorius revealed that only Germany and Portugal committed to sending the Leopard-2 tanks in their most recent version (A6), information that had already been confirmed on Tuesday by the Portuguese Defense Minister, Helena Careers. While Berlin promised 14 of these models, Lisbon was willing to supply three.
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However, the number is not enough to form a Ukrainian battalion, which normally consists of 31 tanks. “We are not going to reach the size of a battalion”, explained Pistorius, quoted by Bloomberg, after a meeting between the NATO defense ministers at the headquarters in Brussels.
According to the German minister, Poland is coordinating the delivery of about 30 Leopard-2 tanks, model A4, from the allies. However, many of them they are in disrepair and need to be repairedhe said, adding that they should arrive in Ukraine by the end of April.
The Polish Defense Minister, Mariusz Błaszczak, confirmed on Wednesday the formation of a first battalion. “In addition to the 14 Leopards that Poland will transfer, Norway has promised eight tanks, Canada four and Spain between four and five tanks. Finland will also be part of the project, ”he said, as quoted by the Kyiv Independent.
Ukraine also expects to receive 14 Challenger-2 tanks from the UK and 31 Abrams-M1s from the US.
Source: Observadora
