Defence Minister Reznikov on prospects of Leopard tanks being supplied to Ukraine

EUROPEAN PRAVDA – MONDAY, 25 JULY 2022, 13:39

Ukraine is working with a European country to obtain German Leopard MBTs (main battle tanks).

Oleksii Reznikov, the Minister of Defence of Ukraine, talked about this live on a single 24-hour newscast on Monday, European Pravda reports.

"Most likely, we will start with one of the friendly countries that have Leopard tanks. They are prepared to send them to us," said Reznikov.

According to Reznikov, the plan is that Ukraine will receive the first few dozen tanks for military training. Training can take place at test sites in the Baltic states, with which there is a corresponding agreement.

"When the tank crews are ready, we will continue to talk in parallel about arming the Ukrainian armed forces with modern tanks. It's not just Leopards - we're also trying to convince our partners that it could also be American-made Abrams," Reznikov said.

Earlier, the ruling coalition of Germany expressed support for the direct supply of tanks to Ukraine.

Ukraine has been trying to get Western MBTs for several months, but has not yet received consent for this from partner states.

According to media reports, Spain is ready to send Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine. To do so, Madrid needs Berlin’s consent.