"As soon as they are combat-ready": Dutch PM comments on possibility of supplying 100 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine

The Netherlands, together with Germany and Denmark, plans to transfer 100 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine; they will be sent as soon as they are ready for combat.

Source: This was said by Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday, 17 February, reports European Pravda.

"Together with Germany and Denmark, we will provide 100 Leopard tanks. Together with Germany and the USA, we will also provide Patriot air defence systems," Rutte said.

Regarding the terms of delivery to Ukraine, the Dutch PM did not give any specific predictions, but promised that it would be done "as soon as possible".

"As soon as the first batch is operational, it will be delivered to Ukraine. We want to do it as soon as possible. I can't tell you the dates. We know the main principle: better today than tomorrow. But everything needs to be in order," Rutte said. 

He emphasised that Ukraine must win the war.

"We must do everything we can so that Ukraine can defend itself against the terrible violence perpetrated by Russia. You [i.e., Ukrainians] must win," said the Dutch Prime Minister.

According to unofficial information, this concerns formerly Danish Leopard tanks, which were decommissioned in 2010 and sold back to the German manufacturer Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft, where they remained in warehouses.

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